FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 16, 2013 Contact: Caprice Lawless, President, FRCC Chapter American Association of University Professors coloradoadjuncts@gmail.com Ph. 720-939-3094

Adjunct faculty at Front Range Community College form multi-campus chapter, American Association of University Professors
The Front Range Community College Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) has been officially chartered by the powerful Washington D.C. advocacy group, following more than a year of organizing effort across the colleges four campuses. Since March, 2012, as campus leadership had so directed them to do, adjunct faculty at Front Range Community College (FRCC) have been working with members of the Colorado State legislature to improve the working situation for adjunct faculty at the college. Through their association with legislators and related figures in Colorados higher-education community, they learned of the many benefits of the AAUP. Through the AAUP, faculty are supported by the august organizations constitution, policies on shared governance, recommendations to the IRS on health care reform in regard to the computation of adjunct hours, and guidelines on compensation. For nearly 100 years, the AAUP has championed the American professoriate and advanced academic freedoms. Locally, the work of AAUPs Colorado Conference, through its promotion of the groundbreaking House Bill 1144 last year, is widely recognized by legislators as the states strongest advocate for adjunct and contingent faculty. FRCCs new chapter is welcomed by the AAUP Colorado Conference, according to copresidents Stephen Mumme (Colo. State Univ.) and Dean Saitta (Univ. of Denver). It provides needed voice for a badly underrepresented segment of the Colorado professoriate and a channel for conveying FRCCs faculty concerns to Colorados higher education policy makers, said Mumme. Saitta concurred, adding: "We are delighted to add the FRCC chapter. The efforts by FRCC adjunct faculty to improve their working conditions translate as an improvement in the educational environment for FRCC's students. This is courageous and exemplary work, and we congratulate our FRCC colleagues on their accomplishment. FRCC adjunct faculty earn, on average, less than half the wages of campus custodians and dining service managers. Although they outnumber full-time faculty nearly four-to-one, and teach two-thirds of all the courses the college offers, their average wage ($15,500/annually) represents a fraction of that earned by their full-time counterparts. Furthermore, adjunct faculty work without health care, sick leave or other benefits enjoyed by professional, technical and service staff in the community college.

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