GREETINGS to the campus community! We are proud to present the first newsletter of the Association In Support of Non-Tenure Track Faculty. What is this association, who are its members, and why did we organize?

Origin

Our association is a group of tenure- and non-tenure track faculty who have come together out of concern for the quality of the instructional program and the working conditions of non-tenure track faculty.

Goals

Our stance is cooperative within the campus community and in line with President Votruba's Defining Our Future: Northern Kentucky's Five-Year Strategic Agenda.. Prior to our association, the non-tenure track faculty were the only university constituency without representation in the collegial governance process. Our goals include:

• educating ourselves and all stakeholders in the university as to the status of non-tenure track faculty on this and other campuses;



• searching for plans and proposals to better the situation for non-tenure track faculty and the entire NKU learning community;



• ensuring that students' freshman year experience is a positive one with regard to the faculty and quality of instruction that they encounter.

The freshman experience is one of our major concerns because part-time and adjunct faculty are often the majority, if not the only, professors incoming students encounter at NKU.

Membership

Our current membership is comprised of approximately 100 faculty, both tenure- and non-tenure track, from the College of Arts and Sciences and the Communication Department, both of which are heavy users of non-tenure track faculty.

We would like to broaden our membership to all the colleges. We invite you to join our association. Membership dues are based on a sliding scale of $1 to $10. You contribute the amount that you choose. These dues will be used to fund our newsletters and to gather and disseminate information in other ways. Your membership dues can be sent (in a sealed envelope) to Darlene McElfresh, LA 500 or via e-mail at McElfreshD@nku.edu. You will be sent a receipt in return. You may also contact her if you would like to act as your department coordinator and collect membership dues.

The Future

We have set our sights on working to achieve productive change. Early in the 1998-99 academic year, we plan to have an open forum where we will discuss goals and solicit new ideas.

Also, remember that the campus fund drive time is here. Please consider ear-marking a portion of your donation for our Foundation account, # 23470.