Two-Thirds of Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Say FAS Does Not Provide Them Enough Support
Two out of three non-tenure-track respondents to The Crimsonâs annual faculty survey said they believe the Faculty of Arts and Sciences does not provide sufficient support.
Two out of three non-tenure-track respondents to The Crimsonâs annual faculty survey said they believe the Faculty of Arts and Sciences does not provide sufficient support. By Meera S. Nair
Two-thirds of non-tenure-track respondents to The Crimsonâs annual faculty survey said they believe the Faculty of Arts and Sciences does not provide enough support to non-tenure-track faculty.
In addition, 31 percent of non-tenure-track faculty surveyed â which included lecturers, preceptors, professors of the practice, and visiting professors â said they were considering a job offer outside of Harvard. Of those with job offers, nearly 60 percent said they were considering taking the external offer.
UPDATED: March 16, 2021 at 5:40 p.m.
A committee charged with reviewing the role of preceptors and senior preceptors within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences released a report early this month reaffirming its stance on time-capping appointments for the non-tenured positions, prompting disappointment among preceptors in various departments.
Convened by FAS Dean Claudine Gay in fall 2019, the committee concluded its work and submitted its report to Gay in May 2020, though the findings were only shared with preceptors this month. The report includes several recommendations, such as standardizing course loads for preceptors, as well as affirmations of existing policies, such as maintaining the term caps that have drawn criticism from preceptors in the past.