Before Dad got sick, I was interviewing to be a tenured-track professor in Chemistry. I'm glad I didn't get any of the jobs because I wouldn't have been an effective teacher and a supportive daughter during the cancer.
But one thing I really did learn when I was interviewing around the country was the dependence on adjuncts, even in small, remote, liberal arts colleges. I also talked to women who were mourning that they waited to have children until they got the brass ring of tenure.
If we really want to know why women and minorities are under-represented in the privileged world of the tenured professor, we only need to look at how many drop off the elitist path to greatness.
Graduate school programs are relatively easy to enter. Graduate universities depend on students to teach the masses and to run the research in their labs. Graduate students are usually earning poverty level wages, while doing 60 hours or more per week in the lab and classroom, then going home to grade papers. While having your lab students finish the PhD is an important checkmark in the tenure track file, students are cheap and the 3-4 year PhD program often extends to 8-10 years. These aren't high school drop-outs, but students who have already earned a Masters degree and our doing the high level research that fills the academic journals. And living in poverty. Coming from a white, suburban background, my parents were able to help with medical and vehicle expenses and subsidize my time in grad school. I gave up a good paying professional job, and lost over $40,000/year in opportunity costs. But that's ok, when you graduate you'll get to be that professor right? For someone without family support, living in poverty while your friends from college are earning a good income is a hard choice. Of course, since the recession, more students are fleeing to graduate school rather than facing unemployment. Too bad when they graduate they face: The Adjunct
Adjuncts get paid $1500-$4000 per course and our part time teachers at colleges, thus not eligible for any type of benefits. Many adjuncts work at 3 or more schools to put together a living salary. Adjuncts perform the same basic role as teaching assistants, but work at community colleges and other colleges without a pool of grad students to teach. At many community colleges 70-80% of courses are taught by these part-time no benefit positions. Many adjuncts begin by thinking, if I adjunct for a year or two I'll be a sure thing for the opening when Prof X retires in a few years.
But adjuncts age badly, the freeway flyer is not a true colleague, she doesn't have time for leisurely office chats, long lunches or Friday happy hour. She probably doesn't even have a desk, let alone an office. She arrives a few minutes before class and leaves immediately after. She has other classes to teach off campus, no time or resources for new research and probably a parking problem. And that tired, frazzled adjunct can't compete with the shiny, new PhDs with fresh publications and time to craft and practice a fancy job talk.
So the small department has a pool of permanent adjuncts that may get a formal interview, but probably will be forced to smile and play nice with the bright new star that the college hired for the new tenure-track line. Or even more likely, all of the candidates will be sent a letter to thank them for their time, but the university has decided not to fill the tenure-track position at the time. But if you are interested 6 more courses are now available and they are looking for adjuncts.
