by Michele Alperin

As universities bandy about expressions like “academic freedom” and “educational excellence,” they apparently still see themselves as idealistic bastions of knowledge. But at The George Washington University (GW) in Washington, D.C., finances have engendered a new language in academe, including phrases like “strategic priorities” and “available resources.” Indeed, financial concerns have been used to dictate the last word on a variety of debates within higher education, including the debate over the use of part-time faculty.

At GW, administrators and part-time faculty disagree about whether or not adjunct faculty there are primarily specialists brought in to share their expertise, or faculty essential to undergraduate education at the institution. Tracy Schario, Director of Media Relations at GW, says the institution’s adjuncts are a “selling point” for students, because they have access to people in the fields they are studying—lobbyists, former NGO’s, and government leaders. Kip Lornell, a part-time faculty member who teaches music, and a driving force behind the move to unionize GW’s adjuncts, sees it differently. He says the majority of GW’s part-time faculty do not work outside the university and are not being paid a living wage.

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