The Costs and Benefits of Temporary Faculty

Between 1993 and 1998, 40 percent of institutions of higher education decreased the number of full-time faculty, with 22 percent of them replacing full-time with part-time faculty, according to a new research brief from ASA’s Research and Development Department in collaboration with the ASA Task Force on Part-time and Contingent Work in the Academic Workforce.

Sociology departments were not immune to this trend, according to the brief, which examines the use of “supplementary” or adjunct faculty in sociology departments. Drawing on data from the ASA 2002 Survey of Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Sociology, the report also summarizes comments from 167 chairs of ASA-affiliated departments collected from a recent open-ended online survey.

In order to make sound scientific policy decisions, the U.S. Congress and the executive branch have historically relied on scientists and engineers as knowledgeable sources. Many of these scientists serve in federal government positions as Presidential Appointees or they serve as advisors on Federal Advisory Committees. Nominations for these two roles should be based on merit, according to a new National Academies of Science (NAS) report, not on congruence with the President’s political beliefs.

The American Sociological Association is pleased to announce the slate of candidates for ASA Offices, Council, and the Committee on Publications. Ballots for the 2005 ASA election will be mailed in early May 2005. The candidates are: ...