Also known as Fair Employment Week in some states and in Canada, Campus Equity Week is designed to draw attention to the dramatic decrease in the proportion of professors who hold tenure-track positions—now only 35 percent of the faculty in the United States. Part- and full-time non-tenure track faculty are often subject to exploitative employment conditions, and the dwindling number of tenure-track faculty threatens the quality of higher education.
Campus Equity Week occurs biennially; the most recent was October 29 to November 4, 2007. During the week, faculty activists across the United States and Canada don costumes, participate in hearings on university employment practices, give awards to adjunct faculty, and host film screenings. Faculty design activities that best suit their local conditions, so goals and activities vary. Events are designed to put contingent faculty in touch with one another, support statewide legislation, inform campus communities about the exploitation of contingent faculty, or achieve specific change on campus.
The AAUP is a cosponsor of Campus Equity Week. For more information on Campus Equity Week, visit www.campusequityweek.org.
Campus Equity Week Plans
Information received about planned 2007 events included:
University of West Florida Department of English
On Friday, November 2, the department will host four screenings of two films, a Simple Matter of Justice and Degrees of Shame. Screenings will be followed by discussions and, in some cases, presentations by guest speakers.
Rochester Institute of Technology AAUP Chapter
The chapter will contact all RIT adjuncts and invite them to a get-together; will partially subsidize first-year dues for adjuncts who are not yet AAUP members and are interested in joining; and will encourage and support the formation of an adjunct coalition within the chapter. The chapter also proposes that adjuncts ask for a representative seat on the Institute Academic Senate.
Rutgers Council of AAUP Chapters
Campus Equity Week activities will center around a petition drive that will go on all semester and possibly all year. The petition links the conditions of contingent faculty with access to quality undergraduate education. The council will develop a list of home addresses so it can broaden its outreach on these issues to include parents. It will focus on first and second year students being taught by contingent faculty. It will also send the petition to members of the state PTA, the state student council (high school student leaders), members of the legislature, and possibly the high school councilors association. See the draft petition.
AAUP Maryland Conference
The conference's fall meeting, titled "Realities on American Campuses," will be Saturday, November 3, and will include a discussion of contingent faculty issues and a showing and discussion of the documentary Degrees of Shame.
Central Connecticut State University AAUP Chapter
On October 27, the chapter will host a Campus Equity Week forum, "Equity Through Unity." The keynote speaker and workshop facilitator will be Rich Moser, senior staff representative at the Rutgers Council of the AAUP Chapters and former national AAUP staff member.
On November 1, the chapter will host Joe Berry, author of the contingent faculty organizing guide Reclaiming the Ivory Tower. Berry will discuss his book, changes in higher education, and the purpose of Campus Equity Week and its meaning to the university as a whole.
SUNY Cortland Chapter
On November 1, the chapter is hosting a forum, under the banner “I Teach New York,” to discuss SUNY’s reliance on part-time faculty. The forum will include a panel of community leaders who will hear testimony from Cortland faculty and students.
Western Michigan University AAUP Chapter
The chapter will distribute “Equity for Contingent Faculty” buttons to members and ghost pins for part-time faculty to wear during Campus Equity Week. It will host four showings of Simple Matter of Justice and Degrees of Shame during the week, each of which will be followed up by a discussion session primarily focusing on issues faced by and contractual concerns of contingent faculty. The chapter is also working on a letter writing campaign.
Colorado State University-Pueblo AAUP Chapter
The chapter is conducting a survey of department chairs and adjunct faculty about the state of adjunct faculty on campus. How many are there? How many courses do they teach? How do they survive on those terrible wages? The chapter has scheduled a meeting with the provost during Campus Equity Week to talk about the situation and present him with the data.
Saint Joseph's University AAUP Chapter
The chapter will conduct an extensive survey of contingent faculty, kicking off during Campus Equity Week. The data will inform the chapter's advocacy for contingent faculty. The chapter has asked the campus chapter of Students for Workers' Rights to take on the issue of faculty equity as an item for investigation and advocacy; SWR plans to issue a statement on the topic. In addition, the chapter has been in touch with a reporter on the student paper about doing some work on contingent faculty for the issue of the paper that comes out during equity week.
University of Hartford AAUP Chapter
On November 1, the chapter, in collaboration with the Campus Progressive Alliance, will sponsor an open forum at which adjunct faculty are invited to share their concerns—compliments, complaints, or anything in between. The goal is to give all faculty a better understanding of the conditions and aspirations of contingent faculty at the university.
Fairfield University
Results of a survey of part-time faculty will be presented to the campus community during Campus Equity Week. The survey, which covers both demographic information (who are the part-time faculty at Fairfield?) and questions relating to professional needs and the functions that a coordinator of part-time faculty concerns might serve was sent over the summer to approximately 280 part-time faculty members; 170 completed and returned the survey. The survey is part of a project led by faculty member Ruth Anne Baumgartner that is researching ways to improve the professional lives of part-time faculty at the university.
Campus Equity Week Resources
These documents are designed for you to download and adapt to your situation, adding local content and deleting parts that do not apply. You can use them during Campus Equity Week or any time they may be useful.
Sample media advisory (Word doc) (send before your event if you want media to attend)
Sample press release (Word doc) (send after your event to let media know what happened)
Sample op-ed on part-time faculty (Word doc)
Sample op-ed on contingent faculty generally (Word doc) (including full-time non-tenure-track)
Sample faculty senate resolution (Word doc)
Sample petition (Word doc)
Trends in Faculty Status, 1975-2005 (.pdf), a bar chart showing the dramatic growth in contingent positions
Petition (Word doc) supporting contingent faculty
Tips on Starting Campus Coalitions
Media Communications Tips
(updated 10/07)