ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
Options Regarding Employment of Temporary Faculty [DRAFT]
Background
Temporary faculty are employed subject to (a) review and ranking by Recruitment and Selection based on application materials; (b) department approval; and (c) department need for a given year.
In the past, the McGuire Memorandum limited service to one and—in case of emergency—two years; the department voted some years ago to enforce McGuire with a view to limiting the number of temporary faculty; we also voted to convert eligible faculty under Article 11.G of the CBA, which remains in effect.
Temporary faculty, like tenure-track faculty, are evaluated each year and issued a maximum one-year contract. Unlike pre-tenure faculty, however, temporary faculty must apply each year, and each year the applicants are ranked according to the above criteria. The CBA prevents an offer of more than one year to all temporary (or for that matter, tenure-track).
Options
At the moment, I have identified three options for your consideration. There may be others.
Option #1
A maximum of three consecutive years of teaching and then no further possibility of a position
Issues to Consider
*More coherence and continuity than the previous McGuire policy.
*Using the temporary positions to support those who seek permanent positions.
*No “underclass” of temporary faculty who are essentially permanent.
*Tenure-track hires remains our purview in terms of perceived need.:
*Some of our best teachers may be replaced by others in the applicant pool who may be less effective.
Option #2
A maximum of three consecutive years followed by a mandatory “year out” before applying again.
Issues to Consider
*Eliminates the concern regarding 11G conversions. Department maintains the right to hire tenure-track faculty in areas of perceived need.
*Encourages some to seek permanent jobs elsewhere, while seeking to ensure that no “underclass” of temporary faculty develops.
*Allows R&S to consider the best possible applicants, rather than eliminating those who are no longer eligible to apply.
*Maintains control of job descriptions and hiring in the department
*Creates a class of faculty whose primary job is to act as “drones” for the permanent or tenure/tenure-track faculty.
Option #3
No limit on renewals.
Issues to Consider
*Article 11.G allows for conversion of temporary faculty to permanent, tenure-line positions if, after four years of service, that temporary faculty is renewed
*Effective temporary faculty with expertise in LSE have a goal: the possibility of a tenure-line position.
*Department reduces reliance on (and, some might say, exploitation of) temporary faculty: “We need the courses, we need the faculty, therefore such faculty should be tenure-line.”
*Conversion under 11.G has, in the past, been used to deny the department other tenure-track hires/lines (“Well you just converted someone into tenure-track, why do you need to hire someone else in tenure-track to teach “Obscure British Literature.”
*As I have pointed out to Gail (who is an incredible record keeper!), identifying that we have, say, 63 tenure track lines does seem to mean very much anymore, given that: (a) lines can be taken away at whim and (b) lines no longer equate to “permission to hire.”