A Laundry List for Improving Contingent Faculty Conditions

• Survey the contingent faculty to identify key issues and monitor problems.
• Provide contingent faculty members with elected, voting representation on the faculty governing organization.
• Expect debate but remember that cooperation gets you farther than adversarial relationships.
• Keep focused through an explicit common goal, such as the benefit to students.
• Seek support from administrators (president and provost).
• Engage tenure-line faculty members in the discussion.
• Solicit suggestions, advice, and support from a broad range of campus constituents, including the provost, deans, department chairs, human resources staff members, and part-time faculty members themselves.
• Set priorities for what is most easily accomplished in the short term, but do not lose sight of the long-term goals.

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