BY JANE HARTY

There is evidence that teaching in higher education can lead to long-term health issues brought on by stress, especially for non-tenure-track (NTT) faculty. Although the achievement of tenure can mitigate long-term stress, it certainly is not eliminated for those tenured faculty who are targeted for dismissal for one reason or another.

An extensive survey of non-tenure-track faculty was done at Pacific Lutheran University in order to gather statistics on the following categories: employment status, demographics, quality of work-life, and questions for visiting faculty. One of the final questions asked what respondents considered to be the greatest challenge of working as an affiliate faculty member at PLU. The following are selected responses, with comments that reveal an emotional reaction to the challenges indicated in bold. The purpose of sharing these survey results is not to castigate Pacific Lutheran in particular but to call attention to severe challenges for faculty within the academy as a whole. NTT faculty nationwide may recognize respondents’ experiences as disturbingly similar to their own.

• “Extremely low salary. Constantly on the job market which is time-consuming and stressful.”
• “Pay is less than market rate and little to no hope of benefits.”
• “I have to work three jobs (two off campus) to pay my bills.”
• “The low salaries have a demoralizing effect on the faculty and are commented upon in other quarters.”
• “I am sad at how I never get any merit increases even after years of employment. I’d be making at least 20K more had I stayed in K–12.”
• “No job security. An institution that finally doesn’t care about its affiliate faculty and doesn’t do what it can/should to provide better compensation and more employment opportunities.”
• “I always fear that if I speak out too much—with such minimal job security—I could lose my courses.”
• I was just dropped into my job and expected to function. The only “handbook” I have is a departmental folder full of confusing and even out-of-date material… “
• “After five (soon to be six) years of genuine devotion to this university coupled with reaping success (and deep gratification/affirmation) in the classroom, it’s heartbreaking to think that I am, ultimately, a rather expendable entity.”
• “I feel as an affiliate faculty member that I’ve been chewed up and spit out by an institution—like so many other academic institutions—-that is moving to a profit/consumerist model of education and saving money wherever it can.”
• “Tremendous isolation. My greatest personal challenge is that I truly feel students deserve 100%. It is very, very difficult to do this as an adjunct.”
• “I don’t think that tenure will be forthcoming, and may even go away for all new hires. I would just like some stability. This is death to myself and my family, to constantly be in a state of uncertainty about where my employment will be.”
• “Unequal pay for equal work; no collegiality. The faculty ‘caste system’ is very difficult to manage, especially for long-term affiliate faculty. There is no ability to advance within the university, and no possibility of even improving poor working conditions. Students pay the same tuition, whether they are taught by a tenure-track faculty member or an affiliate. The disparity in salary for teaching the same course is enormous. The university has taken advantage of a poor job market for highly trained academics and have hired affiliates who are only able to keep their jobs because of the generous support of spouses and family members. Their work is not appreciated or even noticed. The affiliates are invisible and the reputation of the university is built on their backs.”

(Affiliate Faculty Survey Report, Jane Harty and Kirsten Christensen, Pacific Lutheran University)

Respondents in general expressed a deep sense of sadness over their work life at PLU, in spite of their commitment to teaching. Responses like those above all suggest a fundamental psychological turmoil and low faculty morale that the academy seems willing to accept as long as students continue to pay and budgets are balanced. I would submit that the root cause for this highly stressful work environment is administrative abuse and neglect.

The Mayo Clinic provides an excellent summary of the long-term effects of stress that may be symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD). In some cases, the “terrifying event” the Mayo Clinic refers to as triggering PTSD could be a series of events that begins with disparity in pay for the same or similar courses. If you speak up about it or if you are a union activist, you may be targeted for disciplinary action for some completely unrelated issue. The disciplinary action often comes without warning, and you may find yourself sitting in an administrator’s office listening to criticisms of your behavior that have no basis in fact. Or accusations are made against you over a non-existent or incoherent policy. You may escape with a warning that goes into your personnel file for future action—or you are suddenly and inexplicably terminated.

The “terrifying event” can also be in the form of bullying, especially from those of higher rank, directed toward those of lower rank. That can happen if you assert an opinion based on your own research that goes counter to those of higher rank, and you are publicly accused of not knowing what you are talking about. The effect of long-term bullying in the academy is to assert dominance and discredit those who challenge that dominance, similar to what happens on middle-school playgrounds.

Over time, these “terrifying events” can leave a faculty member at any rank feeling emotionally numb or burnt out.  It is obvious that these long-term psychological health issues not only affect faculty but can also affect students whose mentors cannot rise above their own emotional exhaustion. Those faculty who prevail for the sake of their students are indeed heroes.

The prescription to treat faculty stress and post-traumatic stress is complicated, but here are a few suggestions for administrators:

• Work for fairness in determining compensation and resources. Allow equal rights in governance.
• Do not ignore faculty bullying. Require apologies that are meaningful when it happens.
• Explore the idea of social-dominance orientation among the faculty under your charge. What that means is that there are those who do not question rank and privilege and consider them always merited, never random or the luck of the draw. Model mutual respect for all ranks, and insist that faculty follow your lead.
• Remember that you as an administrator are hired to serve and support faculty—not the other way around—so that faculty can teach to the best of their abilities.

Here are some suggestions for faculty who are under severe stress:

• Seek out solidarity with others under similar conditions. Form advocacy groups or labor unions, and join the AAUP and other professional organizations within your discipline.
• If your stress levels are impacting your physical health, connect with a health professional.
• Remember that you are in a noble profession and your work as an educator is valuable, even if not valued by your institution.

Guest blogger Jane Harty has been a non-tenure-track faculty member in the department of music at Pacific Lutheran University for forty years.