Tag: VAPs
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“I was so active in service on campus that I won two service awards”: 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…
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“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…
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“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…
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“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…
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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…