Tag: contingency

  • “Save Ohio Higher Ed!”: Inter-university forum

    “Save Ohio Higher Ed!”: Inter-university forum

    Higher Education across the state of Ohio is under threat. Join Miami AAUP and your colleagues at Ohio State University and Ohio University, who want to learn more about what is happening at Miami and share what is happening there (e.g., layoffs of tenure-track and contingent faculty at OU). Together, we will strategize about how we…

  • “The face of the social dance program for 17 years”: Studies in Precarity

    “The face of the social dance program for 17 years”: Studies in Precarity

    In solidarity and gratitude, we are sharing a series—”Studies in Precarity”—of stories from departing contingent faculty, who still have much to teach us. Scores, perhaps over 200, of Miami contingent faculty have received notices of non-renewal for 2020–21. Many may soon find themselves unemployed and without health insurance in the middle of a pandemic and…

  • “I ran a very successful research center that involved more than 70 students…it will close down”: Studies in Precarity

    “I ran a very successful research center that involved more than 70 students…it will close down”: Studies in Precarity

    In solidarity and gratitude, we are sharing a series—”Studies in Precarity”—of stories from departing contingent faculty, who still have much to teach us. Scores, perhaps over 200, of Miami contingent faculty have received notices of non-renewal for 2020–21. Many may soon find themselves unemployed and without health insurance in the middle of a pandemic and…

  • “The die is cast: my retirement is gutted”: Studies in Precarity

    “The die is cast: my retirement is gutted”: Studies in Precarity

    In solidarity and gratitude, we are sharing a series—”Studies in Precarity”—of stories from departing contingent faculty, who still have much to teach us. Scores, perhaps over 200, of Miami contingent faculty have received notices of non-renewal for 2020–21. Many may soon find themselves unemployed and without health insurance in the middle of a pandemic and…

  • “Torn Between Two Worlds”: A VAP’s Story

    “Torn Between Two Worlds”: A VAP’s Story

    We are reposting in its entirety this article about Miami Visiting Assistant Professor Karim Ibrahim, which appears in today’s issue of the Miami Student. Warning: it’s a heartbreaker. It’s hard to imagine a story that better illustrates the risks of contingent faculty precarity and how those risks are multiplied for those without citizenship status. As…

  • Miami’s “Boldly Creative” Profit Focus: How to Reduce the Risks

    Miami’s new “Boldly Creative Initiatives” plan — funded by $50 million that’s just been swept from department and program budgets—is an effort to respond to a difficult situation for higher ed. Moody’s, the bond rating agency, has just revised the bond outlook for higher ed downward. Higher education’s financial outlook is not good. Publics such…

  • Why should contingency matter to tenure-line faculty?

    Why should contingency matter to tenure-line faculty?

    First, what’s contingency? As defined by the GAO* and AAUP, “contingent faculty” is an umbrella term encompassing all non-tenure-system faculty — that is, faculty who, to different degrees, experience precarity. Contingent faculty teach about 60% of the credit hours taught at Miami.  Contingency matters a LOT to tenure-line faculty. Why? Reduction in TT numbers leads to increased service…

  • Do NTT faculty at Miami have academic freedom?

    Do NTT faculty at Miami have academic freedom?

    Do NTT faculty at Miami have academic freedom? What about due process in case of non-renewal?* Fact: The answer to both questions is no. While Miami asserts both the value and existence of academic freedom at Miami, it provides due process protections only for tenured faculty — not for non-tenure-track faculty, now the majority of faculty, whose…