According to the Faculty Forward Network, there are currently over 218,000 students and 20,000 faculty members who study and work at 28 Jesuit institutions across the United States. Once a middle-class job, too many university faculty are now working part-time for very low pay, isolated from colleagues without job security, benefits or even office space.
As sociologists and anthropologists, we argue a change in priorities is needed at Jesuit colleges and universities that reflect the Jesuit commitment to social justice.
Although Jesuit colleges and universities have increased tuition and fees 68 percent between 2003 and 2013 to an average of $37,000, they spent less than one-third of their revenue on instruction in 2012-2013. More than half (53 percent) of instructional faculty at Jesuit colleges and universities are now non-tenure track. At least 43 percent of faculty at Jesuit colleges and universities are part-time. The average salary for an adjunct is only $2,700 per course nationally. Though it is a higher at Fairfield (partially given our expensive location), it is far from a living wage: Calculate how many courses you have to teach to raise a family.
You all want a college education because a degree is associated with a better life, more money and “the American Dream.” But to an increasing number of university faculty, a college education — even an advanced degree — isn’t enough to keep them above the poverty level.
At Fairfield, we are compelled to recognize and participate in the larger mission of social justice and service that accompanies a Jesuit education. Our mission is an ethical one, and it’s rooted in a belief that our community of students and educators is tasked with the opportunity to make the world we live in a better place. Nationwide, 31 percent of part-time faculty are near the poverty level, while graduate students are increasingly saddled with a record amount of debt.
Faculty like us who teach full-time are asking that you join us in demanding that our administration reverse trends and take the moral high ground, leading the way for others to follow. This fall, inspired by the pope’s call to reduce social inequality, faculty at Jesuit schools are uniting to urge a new national standard of Just Employment. All faculty deserve a fair and livable wage in as much as all students deserve access to an affordable and accessible education. We will all benefit from such a change.
Signed,
Rachelle Brunn-Bevel, Assistant Professor (Sociology)
David Crawford, Professor (Anthropology)
Scott Lacy, Associate Professor (Anthropology, Chair of the Sociology & Anthropology Department)
Eric Mielants, Associate Professor (Sociology)
Rose Rodrigues, Assistant Professor (Sociology)
Kurt Schlichting, Professor (Sociology)
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