Sunday, August 03, 2008
Academic Freedom Comes with Higher Pay
Academic freedom is one of the biggest reasons given for fighting to maintain and protect tenure. Hey, I am with you there. But, before I can be free, I need to eat and have decent health care. So, while academic freedom concerns me, parity in pay and benefits is more important.
I am sure that some adjuncts—maybe even a majority—want to preserve their academic freedom and protect their work. Near as I can tell, the universities largely devalue and dismiss our work. Why? Because if they actually valued our intellectual contributions, we would be paid more. And if we were paid more, then we would accrue more social standing, power, and respect. Unfortunately, pay scale equals respect in this culture (this is true in the academy as well in spite of cries of denial), and if you make more money, you have greater value. If you have greater value, as determined by pay scale, it makes it harder for a university to come after you. Oh yes, they can still come after highly paid and/or tenured folks if they are motivated. However, it is far easier to dismiss a low-paid adjunct than a high paid tenure tracker.
Parity in pay means an increase in respect from colleagues and the institution. This respect means being heard, and it means greater protection from the whims of power holders and public personalities. If you do not have decent pay, then you are accorded little respect. Little respect equals little protection which means little academic freedom. Not only can you not pay your power bill, but you have to keep your mouth shut in order to keep your job.
While tenure trackers are our colleagues, and we like to regard them as peers, it is hard to struggle or be concerned about our tenured colleagues’ academic freedoms when we cannot pay our bills. And when we have to pay for dental work on an over-taxed credit card, the freedom to trash the president or the bourgeoisie pales in comparison. It really is a matter of priorities.
Academic freedom and protections usually arrive with pay increases, not before. Pay us more, give us health benefits, and you will likely see academic freedom flourish.