Commentary: College’s action against contingent faculty impacts students
By firing these three professors, the administration has communicated once again that it does not have the best interests of students in mind.
By firing these three professors, the administration has communicated once again that it does not have the best interests of students in mind.
Never knowing if we will be brought back from one year to another makes it hard to plan our lives and fully support our students and our families.
It’s clear that dragging out negotiations with the current administration beyond the grueling 17-month process would have accomplished little more.
Instead of seriously engaging with our proposals, our leadership has tried to clamp down on the prospect of progress at IC through intimidation.
To reiterate, there is nothing in the letter that is intended to limit free speech or is contrary to existing policies at Ithaca College.
On February 24, the college made a proposal to the part-time unit to increase compensation by 14.3% over four years.
We recognize that all labor actions by our colleagues and professors at Ithaca College are actions against the corporatization of higher education in the US.
If it must come down to it, the campus community should support contingent professors if they go on strike.
Our teaching needs, and therefore our students’ interests, are best served by faculty working under just conditions.
Ithaca College and our department depend on their work every semester and this need is not likely to diminish in the foreseeable future.
The Ithaca College bargaining team is disappointed that the contingent faculty unions have announced that they have voted to authorize a strike.
The following presents a summary of the compensation model for part-time faculty that the union has proposed to the IC administration.