Surviving the Workday

Marianna M. Vieira taught at the University of New Haven for 14 years as non-tenure track faculty. She was dismissed by a dean without a hearing when she was on the cusp of getting a multi-year contract:

Vieira was dismissed under standards for those with minimal job security — not tenure or even the assurances that come with multi-year contracts. Under these standards, the AAUP found, her department’s backing meant nothing and a dean could — and did — make a decision to get rid of her. AAUP officials noted that the case demonstrates the vulnerability of adjuncts to such treatment.

The irony in this case was that before the inquiry that led to her dismissal — when Vieira was serving on the Faculty Senate — she raised questions about the status and protections of non-tenure-track faculty members. Further, she was backed by a faculty grievance panel, and her department, which believed it was close to winning a multi-year contract for her.

This seems like another example of a university adopting corporate behavior as well as an example of the huge discrepancy between standards and protections afforded to tenured and untenured faculty.

This entry was posted by Ms. Theologian on Thursday, May 15th, 2008 at 8:03 am and is filed under spirituality You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.