Office of the Academic Vice President
April 23, 2014
Dear Colleagues,
Since I last wrote to you on March 6, faculty have continued to bring questions to my office
about SEIU Local 925. I want to take this opportunity to communicate with you further about
the University’s stance with regard to “contingent” faculty—that is, lecturers and adjunctive
faculty—and any union activity. As I noted in my communication of March 6, I am committed
to continuing our open and constructive dialogue with faculty regarding Gonzaga’s fixed-term
lecturers and adjunct faculty.
1. Who are contingent faculty and why does Gonzaga have them?
The term “contingent faculty” refers to those faculty colleagues who hold the rank of either
lecturer or adjunct faculty. These ranks are formally recognized in the Faculty Handbook and
those who hold them have rights under the Handbook. Lecturers may hold one-year, variable
term (one-to-three years) or long-term (three year rolling) contracts (300.05.d). Adjuncts are
contracted on a course-by-course basis each term and teach part-time (300.08).
The current lecturer ranks were incorporated into the Faculty Handbook in 2007, as a result of
dialogue with faculty, resulting faculty action and with the concurrence of the administration
and Board of Trustees. Lecturers who hold short or variable term contracts cover shifting,
temporary staffing needs due to sabbatical or other leaves, surge in student demand in a
particular field, and other temporary or short-term academic staffing needs. Lecturers with
long-term contracts hold faculty positions that have been deemed for pedagogical reasons to
be more appropriately carried out by faculty not on the tenure track. (A few faculty who were
on non-tenure-track contacts before the lecture ranks were adopted maintained their previous
titles, but have long-term contracts as do the long-term lecturers.) The lecturer ranks were
created because of the faculty’s and administration’s commitment to the Catholic principle of
just and fair working conditions and compensation for labor, especially for faculty colleagues
who hold positions for which there are not permanent, long-term contractual
arrangements. Gonzaga is distinctive in paying its lecturers using the same compensation
structure and scale that is used to determine pay for tenured or tenure-track faculty. Gonzaga
also is distinctive in having three-year rolling contracts for long-term lecturers.
Adjunct faculty—those contracted on a course-by-course basis—bring particular professional
expertise to the curriculum of a department or school, and in certain cases help to cover
temporary surges in demand in a particular area. Established pay structures by College or
School exist for adjunct faculty. (A few select incidences exist of individuals with “temporary
professional” contracts who are paid on an hourly basis but are referred to as lecturers.) The
Faculty Senate began a review and discussion of compensation for adjunct faculty this year.
Previous administrations worked together with faculty to examine and increase adjunct pay; at
the present time, I am working with the academic deans to evaluate Gonzaga’s practices
regarding adjunct compensation.
2. What is Gonzaga’s stance with regard to the creation of a union for contingent faculty?
As a Jesuit, Catholic, humanistic institution, Gonzaga is committed to Catholic principles of
social justice, including fairness for labor. That commitment motivated the creation of the
current lecturer ranks, informs the current review of adjunct compensation, and undergirds the
compensation system used for full-time faculty, be they tenure-stream or lecturer rank.
Those same Catholic principles encourage open and honest conversation between employees
and management about concerns of employees. We have used such communications well in
the past and believe such direct communications are the best method to resolve any future
concerns. Adherence to these principles has allowed the university to successfully address the
concerns of contingent faculty when those concerns were brought forward. The university is
committed to continuing this practice: engaging in conversation with contingent faculty and
with faculty as a whole. I remain available and committed to proactively discussing contingent
faculty concerns with our lecturers and adjuncts or with other faculty members.
Gonzaga University does not believe that the introduction of a third party – whether it be the
SEIU or another union – as the intermediary in such conversations is in the best interests of
contingent faculty, the faculty, or the University as a whole. As I noted in my communication of
March 6, “should a union be formed, compensation and benefits for ‘the bargaining unit’ (e.g.
adjunct and contingent faculty) would be handled through bargaining and would no longer be
part of the shared governance process that currently applies to all Gonzaga faculty – tenurestream, lecturers, and adjuncts.” Further, as I noted on March 6, the creation of a bargaining
unit would not automatically assure better compensation or working conditions for contingent
faculty than they currently have. As well, opting for union bargaining would cut contingent
faculty out of our current shared governance model and replace it with formal negotiations
with elected representatives.
3. What should I do?
Guided by Catholic principles, and in accord with the NLRA (National Labor Relations Act), I
want to reiterate that it is entirely your choice whether to meet with an SEIU
representative. You are free to do so, or to refrain from doing so. And you are free to express
your viewpoints about the organizing activity at any time.
A key part of the union organizing effort is the SEIU representative’s request that you sign an
“authorization card.” I believe it is very important that in arriving at a decision about whether
to sign, you have accurate information to inform your deliberation. To that end, I will be
providing further information in the coming weeks regarding current compensation practices
and working conditions for lecturers and adjuncts, as well as what adopting collective
bargaining would mean for these colleagues and for the University.
Further, President McCulloh and I believe that it is important to invite active conversation on
this matter. Therefore, we would like to propose the following two opportunities for the two of
us to meet and to continue our dialogue with contingent faculty:
Tuesday, April 29, 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Wednesday, May 7, 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Globe Room, Cataldo
Globe Room, Cataldo
In an effort to facilitate open and candid discussion, these sessions will be restricted to
members of Gonzaga’s faculty who are fixed-term lecturers or adjuncts.
I continue to believe that it is better to work directly with our adjunct faculty and lecturers to
achieve our mutual goals, and am committed to continuing the work in this spirit, without
involving an outside organization.
Sincerely,
Patricia O’Connell Killen, Ph.D.
Academic Vice President