The other crisis facing higher ed (from The Hill)

[theblackbox]

It's about adjuncts and COVID-19, lack of healthcare and sick leave. Not necessarily new ideas, but published in a regular press/non-academic outlet.

https://thehill.com/opinion/education/511552-adjuncting-the-other-crisis-facing-higher-education

[downer]

Her conclusioon, "Protections for those who contribute to the curriculum — even part-time — need to be mandatory." is a nice sentiment, but seems like a million miles from harsh realities.

I wonder how many adjuncts have been looking to supplement income with COVID contact tracer jobs. I know a couple of people who have tried to get those positions.

[Wahoo Redux]

I keep the hope alive that this sort of press will help fix this conundrum in the long run.

[polly_mer]

This is basically the recent press release from the AAUP committee on contingent faculty.  The time to have made and implemented the plan to do something was decades ago.  The institutions that rely heavily on part-time faculty are the ones that did so when times were relatively good and yet their budgets were really tight.

It's a lovely thought that is seriously out of touch with even last year's reality, let alone now.