By Elizabeth Scalzo and Amaya Morales
Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor
Our professors have been the backbone of the university during the pandemic. Even when they all had to learn new technology on their own last spring, they still showed up and were here to help educate us.
“There are 277 adjuncts teaching 405 classes at the Metropolitan Campus,” Angelo Carfagna, associate vice president of communications, said to The Equinox in an email.
Salary and Benefits… or Lack Thereof
Much of these adjuncts are overworked and underpaid, receive no benefits and do not get help.
Monthly, adjuncts working at Fairleigh Dickinson University can receive anywhere from $215 to $450, and, on average, $332.50 monthly, according to Glassdoor.com
Hourly, adjuncts in New Jersey make $32.66, according to indeed.com. Some adjuncts are offered child care, tuition reimbursement and 403b, indeed reports.
Of course, every institution is different and offers different benefits for their faculty.
Adjunct professors are the unsung heroes of our university. They don’t teach us for the glory or the pay, they teach us because it’s what they like to do and what they feel is necessary.
Without these professors our university would collapse overnight. In the Communication department at the Metro campus there are only two full-time faculty members teaching this semester. Recently, there have been anywhere from seven to 10 adjuncts teaching in the department, with six employed this semester.
We invite you to take a look at your area of study and your professors. Who is actually tenured and who is an adjunct? Sometimes the adjunct professors have even more of an impact on you as a student because they bring different backgrounds and life experience to the class.
COVID-19 forced our adjuncts to be there, even when it was seemingly impossible and without any major benefits from the university when it comes to healthcare and staying safe during the pandemic.
We would like to thank every adjunct professor, not just at FDU, but at any institution for higher education. These professors will continue to show up, just like they did when the pandemic hit and that is the representation of true leaders at our university.
Thank you adjunct professors, you are much more appreciated than you could ever know.
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