College English - Volume 73, Issue 4, 2011

This policy statement from a committee of the NCTE College Section identifies problems with the discipline’s dependence on contingent faculty and makes recommendations for better treatment of them.

Drawing on their recent interviews with various scholars who were involved, the authors review the history of the highly significant Wyoming Resolution and analyze its subsequent impact on conditions for contingent faculty.

The forum contributors draw on their personal experiences and insights to put forth ideas about contingent faculty’s relations with other faculty and with the academic institution as a whole.

The authors report on and analyze a survey they conducted of staffing in college professional and technical communication courses. In addition, they make recommendations for better treatment of contingent faculty who teach such courses.

The forum contributors draw on their personal experiences and insights to put forth ideas about contingent faculty’s relations with the profession of English studies in general.

Drawing on work logs kept by participants, the authors report and analyze a project at their university in which contingent faculty recorded the amount of work they actually performed during a week. The authors also recommend ways to enhance the working conditions of such faculty.

The forum contributors draw on their personal experiences and insights to put forth ideas about how contingent faculty might improve their working conditions through various kinds of alliances.