Contingent Faculty Resources

Call for Programs

The Coalition on the Academic Workforce is developing two lists of programs for this website that address adjunct and contingent faculty work. One list will feature programs supported by associations, and it will document various kinds of help associations offer adjunct and contingent faculty. The other list will feature institutional programs. If your institution has a program or policy that supports non-tenure line faculty members through benefits and practices to help these teachers share in institutional work, practice, and culture, please send an electronic link or description of that program to Monica F. Jacobe at mjacobe@aaup.org. You may also send information about programs you may know of at other institutions.

The programs listed here have been presented to CAW as valuable and useful opportunities for contingent faculty seeking professional development in various fields. Not all information could be verified, but any corrections or problems with this information sould be brought to our attention.

Association Programs

Conference on College Composition and Communication Professional Equity Project

The Conference on College Composition and Communication, known as CCCC, promotes an opportunity for adjunct and part-time faculty to attend the annual CCCC convention through its Professional Equity Project (PEP). Open to adjunct and part-time faculty members who have not attended a CCCC convention previously, the program grants $250 towards convention expenses. The $250 grant includes a paid-up convention registration, a coupon for one year’s membership in CCCC, and $150 in cash to defray convention expenses.

To learn more about the project and the nomination process, contact the CCCC administrator at (217)278-3602 or visit the website.

Modern Language Association Travel Reimbursement Fund

The Modern Language Association has allotted funds to provide partial travel reimbursement of $200 to part-time and contingent non-tenure-track faculty members and those without employment to attend the 2006 convention in Philadelphia. To be eligible, applicants must have been members of the MLA in 2005 and must be nonstudent members of the MLA by 30 June 2006. They must teach less than full-time, be non-tenure-track faculty members, or be unemployed. Their income must place them in the lowest income range in the dues schedule. Funds are available to cover up to 175 awards; if more members apply, priority will be given to applicants who have not received a grant, including a graduate student travel grant, in the previous five years. If necessary, recipients will be selected in a random manner. Eligible applicants not selected in 2006 will be given priority in 2007, provided they still meet the eligibility requirements.

To apply for a grant, members should send their contact information along with a brief statement stipulating that they are part-time or non-tenure-track faculty members or are unemployed. Mail applications by 1 November 2006 to the Office of Special Projects at the MLA office or fax them to 646 835-4067. Fax transmissions may be used to meet the deadline, but they must be followed by signed applications. (Applications by e-mail will not be accepted.) As part of the application process, members must request matching funds from their departments or institutions by using a letter provided by the MLA (available for downloading after 1 August). The MLA council wants to make institutions aware of the importance of supporting all instructional staff members in their professional development activities. The institution's response must be presented when grant recipients pick up their checks at the convention, even if no matching funds are granted.

Since 1997, the Executive Council has invited MLA members to donate money to a professional education assistance fund that will provide ongoing support for these travel reimbursements. A space on the membership renewal form allows members to add to their dues payments a tax-deductible contribution to the fund.

Institutional Programs

Under construction; please see Call for Programs.