Letter to the editor

Do you know how many of your professors are having trouble paying rent?

How about how many might not have a job at the end of the year?

It might be more than you would initially guess.

Every undergraduate at Duke likely has had at least one contingent faculty member as a professor during his or her time here, given that such faculty comprise over 40 percent of Duke’s total staff. These professors spend hours in the classroom with us each week during the semester, edit our midterm papers, answer frantic emails before exams and help us understand particularly difficult concepts in office hours.

In spite of their work and qualifications, many contingent professors lack access to benefits and job security. These faculty members possess advanced degrees across all areas of study, ranging from Biology to Evolutionary Anthropology to Mathematics; from Italian to Economics to Sociology. A majority of such professors have terminal degrees; by all metrics, they are regarded as experts in their respective fields. This is why they teach at Duke. Yet our Spanish, Writing 101 and Biology instructors often have difficulty accessing necessary technology and lack permanent offices.

They provide students with a world-class education and produce incredible publications, all of which adds to Duke’s prestige. However, these professors must work knowing they could be let go during the next academic year. More than half of the faculty in the bargaining unit have contracts for one year or less. Effectively, they get “fired" every year or semester and must be rehired again each time with no guarantee of return. When students walk into a classroom, we do not know if our favorite professor is at risk of losing his or her job next year, or if he or she struggles to pay rent.

The contingent faculty voted overwhelmingly in favor of forming a union last year. Now contingent faculty members need the support of students as they bargain for better working conditions and request the compensation they deserve. As undergraduates across demographics, classes and majors, we stand by our professors as they undertake contract negotiations. They are the ones who have guided us during our time as students here; they deserve better wages and increased job security. We ask the University to adhere to the community standard it has set forth and practice the “principles of honesty, fairness, respect, and accountability” it preaches—at the bargaining table. If Duke insists on raising our tuition by four percent each year, professors should be fairly compensated and treated as community members rather than as expendable labor.

Signed:

Duke Democrats

Spoken Verb

Mi Gente

United Students Against Sweatshops

Duke Students and Workers in Solidarity

Asian American Studies Working Group

Duke Students for Justice in Palestine

Duke Climate Coalition

The Feminist Make-Space

Native American Student Alliance