“Graduate Enrollment and Part-Time Faculty: Do They Correlate?” (11/1/2019)
Posted: 10/24/2019 (Local Events)
Join us for the Labor Studies Workshare Series lecture on “Graduate Enrollment and Part-Time Faculty: Do They Correlate?” by Daniel Jacoby
Speaker: Daniel Jacoby
Professor of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, UW Bothell
Date: Friday, November 1, 2019
Time: 12:30-2:00 PM
Location: Smith Hall, Room 306
University of Washington, Seattle
Format: The presenter’s paper will be circulated to registered attendees a week in advance of the workshare. Participants are expected to read the paper before the meeting and be prepared for a discussion.
Please feel free to bring your lunch. Coffee will be served.
RSVP: To register for the workshare and receive the paper, please email hbcls@uw.edu.
Abstract: Using cross sectional data from the National Center of Educational Statistics, we find a strong correlation between regional production of masters or doctoral degrees and the percentage of faculty working part-time at collegiate institutions.
Where earlier research has shown that urban and rural institutions have different levels of reliance upon part-time faculty, no attempt was made to link those differences to regional supply. Our research finds graduate degrees are more significantly correlated to part-time employment than is the degree of urbanization.
We are very hesitant to suggest that oversupply of graduates causes increased casualization of the faculty, but feel much more comfortable with the proposition that higher output of graduate degrees accommodates a high level of demand for part-time faculty.
Our finding suggests that local conditions matter and that graduate degree-granting institutions that wish to protect the investments of their students may need to work with local partners and labor unions to improve their prospects. To this point, few if any institutions have shown a proclivity to move in this direction. Traditionally labor unions have understood the importance of controlling the supply of labor to improve conditions for their members. We welcome discussion of strategies to improve prospects for aspiring academics.
Date: 11/01/2019
Time: 12:30-2:00 PM
Location: Smith Hall, Room 306