To the Editor:
I’d like to clarify a comment attributed to me in the recent article about adjunct professors losing their jobs. My comments about cuts in jobs were never intended to suggest arbitrary cuts to any level of the university as a solution to the budget crisis. My point to Ms. Williams was that adjunct faculty contribute substantially to the university’s bottom line, in part because they are (unfortunately) paid the least and often impact the greatest number of students, compared with other faculty in their units as well as some members of university administration.
Rather than dismissed, these part-time professors should be paid equitably and employed as part of the university’s future. Adjunct faculty dedicate their versatility, real world experience and innovative approaches to their classes. They enrich our urban university, but are often bypassed when full-time faculty positions come available. To sacrifice these members of the academic community during PSU’s budget crisis is to miss the opportunity to creatively reassess the future of the university’s faculty and build on the talented people already at PSU who are crucial to its team of academic professionals.
Sincerely,
Sue Brower, Ph.D.
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Film Studies
School of Theater + Film
Portland State University
