The Nons: Advocacy for those off the tenure track

Abstract

Advocacy for issues important to women in the chemical sciences has been central to the mission of the Women Chemists Committee (WCC) since its founding in 1927. One of our current task forces is focused on working conditions for non-tenure-track faculty. Available data strongly suggest that women are hired into such roles in increasing numbers, outpacing the increase of women hired into tenure-track positions. As employment in the academic landscape shifts toward a heavier reliance on non-tenure-track and part-time faculty, the chemistry community needs to consider ways to address the many issues this group faces and support their work in educating our students and advancing our discipline. The discussion of academic employment, including tenured and tenure-track faculty, is an important and complex one. Tenure-track faculty lines are in peril, and universities have been intentionally formed without including tenure as a feature of faculty employment (C&EN, Sept. 19, 2016, page 28).