Adjunct Emergency FundAugust 2, 2011, 1:57 pm
A strange thing is happening in this country. Highly educated, highly motivated, intelligent people are struggling. We know the economy is in turmoil. While many in academe feel the blows, some are feeling it worse than others.
Chris LaBree and Debra Leigh Scott have been interviewing adjuncts across the nation for an upcoming book and documentary project, called ‘Junct. They have come across many adjuncts living in poverty, some of them homeless or on the verge of homelessness. Which is why they have set up the “adjunct emergency fund.”
Full article (including stories of individual adjuncts, link to donate, and comments, which so far are supportive but at least as depressing as the article itself) here . And no, I don't know anything about these folks except what I've read about them on the web, so use your own judgment in deciding whether to donate, or, for that matter, to inquire about receiving funds. It may make more sense to donate to organizations that are working on structural issues, such as the New Faculty Majority or even the AAUP (though the latter needs to make much more of an effort to make its meetings affordable for contingent faculty).
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Also, while I'm thinking of it, though it's not new, I just heard about versatilephd.com , which apparently is the successor to the work4us list. I'll admit to a certain cynicism about universities which run on grad student labor and a certain foundation which once claimed there would be a dearth of Ph.D.s in the '90s supporting initiatives with the message "look at all these things you can do with a Ph.D.!", but, given the current situation, I think it's more likely to help than hurt.
Cassandra, you are an angel!
ReplyDeleteYeah. Not giving money to adjuncts. That would just encourage them to remain adjuncts.
ReplyDelete@EMH: it's worth a try, but I wouldn't put too much stock in it. These folks' main project is making a movie about adjuncts, and it may in part be a publicity stunt (though quite possibly a well-intentioned one, and hey, it worked -- they made the Chronicle). On the other hand, they might like to hear your story.
ReplyDelete@Stella: my skepticism comes mostly from the fact that they're not, as far as I can tell, a registered nonprofit (so, no accountability), I don't see an articulated plan for deciding how to distribute any funds collected -- basic "check out the charity before you give" stuff like that. There's also, of course, the fact that many, many people are hurting right now, not just adjuncts, and that the basics that adjuncts need are the same as the basics that anybody who's un- or underemployed needs. I'm probably being extra-skeptical because I don't want to be responsible for spreading the word about something that turns out to be questionable. And I do think some of the things New Faculty Majority has been working on -- e.g. access to health insurance plans (if you can pay for them - a big if, I know) and unemployment for laid-off adjuncts (not a foregone conclusion in many states) -- will do more people more good in the long run than individual stopgap help.
Or maybe you mean that you *won't* be giving money to adjuncts because it would encourage them to remain adjuncts? Sorry, my snark meter isn't working too well today.
Please don't equate being an adjunct with a drug problem. As if we're only adjuncts because we want to be.
ReplyDelete