I have long had a stereotyped view of affluent college professors living in relative comfort, but in a trend reflective of America’s new economic model, many colleges are dealing with drastic budget cuts by relying more heavily on part-time contractors, without job security or benefits. The result is that a substantial number of college professors are living below the poverty line. A recent piece by The Atlantic takes a hard look at the realities facing adjunct professors in today’s university system and the revelations are shocking.
It was horrifying to learn that approximately one in four adjunct professors are on welfare, food stamps or receive some other type of public assistance. Basically the adjunct professor goes in, teaches whatever the class is and – if the student wants office hours – they have to pull their documents or books out of the trunk of their car. No office space is afforded them. How sad is it that you have a Doctorate or a Master’s degree and you can barely afford to feed your family?
This “new normal” for higher education is not only negatively impacting the lives of the teachers, but the education of the students may be suffering as well. Shawna Vercher, author and media strategist, says that this will have long-term affects on those seeking an education and the people that are paying for it. “I definitely don’t think that the parents are aware of what is going on, nor do I think that the students will understand what they are missing out on until they look back on it.”
Listen as Anita and Shawna discuss the state of today’s university faculty – and a theory on how we got here – on this episode of Dare We Say.
