Charge
The Committee supports the efforts of the American Academy of Religion to address a wide range of issues connected to educational institutions’ heavy reliance on contingent faculty, including those working on a part-time basis as well as single or multi-year contracts. The Committee advocates cultural and structural change to ensure just work conditions, pay, and collective bargaining rights for contingent faculty in order to foster equity, labor justice, and the common good in the Academy. Contingent faculty chair the Committee.
Duties and Responsibilities
Members of the Academic Labor and Contingent Faculty committee are expected to participate in the following:
- The ALCF Committee hosts a luncheon each year at the Annual Meeting and is responsible for developing the theme, activities, or speakers during the lunch. Committee members are expected to make every effort to attend.
- The ALCF holds two or more sessions/panels/roundtables during the Annual Meeting. The group also cosponsors sessions with other committees and program units. Often committee members are asked to be panelists or respondents in these sessions, and it’s important that they attend as many ALCF-sponsored events as possible during the meeting.
- During the Annual Meetings, ALCF members participate in a Ribbon campaign, occasional poster campaign, and occasional hosting of union organizers in the Exhibit Hall.
- Some committee members may be asked to also serve on the Annual Meeting Travel Grant jury.
Meeting Schedule
- One in-person committee meeting at the Annual Meeting in November
- Quarterly virtual meetings via Zoom
Timeline of Activities
- March 1 – date by which to have date, theme, and total number of available spots for Annual Meeting luncheon
- April 1 – date by which to have Special Topics Forums complete (with speakers and description)
Recommended Resources
Recent Reports
- AAUP Report – Visualizing Change: The Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession, 2016-17
- UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education Report – The High Public Cost of Low Wages, 2015
Data Sources
- Chronicle Data – Searchable user-submitted salary and compensation information
- Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) – Primary source for information on U.S. colleges, universities, and technical and vocational institutions
Advocacy and Support
- Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor – Access to Unemployment Benefits for Contingent Faculty
- SEIU Faculty Forward – Advocacy group of faculty and graduate student workers
Committee Leadership
Minjung Noh (1/1/2024 – 12/31/2027), Co-Chair
Patrick B. Reyes (11/20/2023 – 11/22/2026), Co-Chair
Becca Ehrlich (1/1/2025 – 12/31/2028), Committee Member
Jennifer Guerra (1/1/2025 – 12/31/2028), Committee Member
Tamisha A Tyler (1/1/2025 – 12/31/2028), Committee Member
Chase L. Way (1/1/2025 – 12/31/2028), Committee Member
Roy Fisher (1/1/2024 – 12/31/2027), Committee Member
Shan Overton (1/1/2023 – 12/31/2026), Committee Member
C. Melissa Snarr (1/1/2022 – 12/31/2025), Committee Member