The Association in Support of Non-Tenure-Track Faculty (ASNTTF) kicked off the 2006-07 year with a bang! For the first time in our eight-year existence, we have a 15-member Executive Board with representation from all colleges/schools at Northern Kentucky University. During our meetings on September 20 and October 5, 2006, we looked back on the Association’s accomplishments and discussed current issues and plans for the year.
Since 1998, the Association has made great strides in improving the status of full-time lecturers and part-time instructors at NKU. Some accomplishments include:
During the summer, Michelle Heatherton created a listserv in order to communicate more directly with other lecturers and to enhance the visibility of ASNTTF. So, if you’re a full-time, non-tenure-track faculty member, you should be receiving these periodic updates via the listserv. If you aren’t and would like to be added to the listserv, please email Michelle at HeathertonM@nku.edu.
The Association is also working on the development of a centralized communication system for part-timers. However, this is a greater challenge because many adjuncts teach at other institutions and may only use their personal email accounts for correspondence. Michelle, Bonnie May, and Kathy Culp met with Mary Ryan and Pat Moynahan in September to address some of the issues affecting part-time instructors. As a result, Mary Ryan ordered a report from IT so we could have a comprehensive listing of all part-timers teaching in the fall of 2006. Additionally, Mary and Bonnie worked with Dr. Doug Robertson to have the part-time (three-tiered) pay scale and handbook included on the POD Web site. The URL is http://pod.nku.edu/adjuncts.asp. We will continue to collaborate with Dr. Robertson in regards to the resources available for adjunct instructors.
Would you like to become more involved in ASNTTF? At the September 20th meeting, Michelle proposed the creation of three sub-committees: 1) electronic newsletter/updates; 2) membership drive; and 3) salary/data collection. Jan Anderson, Kathy Culp, and Vicky VanWinkle volunteered to work on the membership drive. Dr. Jon Cullick, Jeremy Goebel, Melissa Ibarra, and Larry Smith expressed interest in serving on the newsletter and salary/data collection committees, respectively; however, we need more participants for these two committees! If you are interested in either of these, please email Michelle at HeathertonM@nku.edu.
So, how can you become a member of ASNTTF? Actually, all full-time lecturers and part-time instructors are technically members of the Association, and the Executive Board encourages all of you to get involved in the meetings and other activities. After all, this is your Association! If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to ASNTTF, please contact Jan Anderson at andersonja@nku.edu, ST 323. The annual requested membership contribution is $5.00 for part-time instructors and $10.00 for full-time lecturers. These funds are used to meet the minimal operational costs for communication and collaborative efforts of our Association and its members.
For the first time, we’ve been asked by the Administration to submit a document outlining our strategic priorities so they can be addressed in the budget process. Some of our proposals will include the following:
If you would like a particular issue or concern to be addressed by ASNTTF, please contact your college/school representative (http://www.nku.edu/~asnttf/contacts.html) or send an email message to Michelle (heathertonm@nku.edu) or Kathy (culpk@nku.edu). We are extremely interested in your feedback! During our Executive Board meeting in November, we will be solidifying our proposal for submission in December. Our next open faculty meeting will be in February 2007.