Adjunctivitis: The Search for the Cure

That's the title of a paper I wrote in my doctoral program about six years ago. It told the stories of my woes as a "freeway flyer" - a part-time faculty member working for several institutions of higher education at the same time to fool myself into believing I had a full-time job.

My worst semester (out of seven years) I taught six courses for three colleges in five different locations. I had a Monday/Wednesday/Friday book bag, a Tuesday/Thursday book bag, and a Wednesday night book bag. God help me if I ever grabbed the wrong bag or pointed the car the wrong direction.

I also edited newsletters for two local government bodies.

My best year I earned almost $30,000. I had no health insurance most of the time - I finally caved in and bought an individual plan that cost about $200 a month.

But I was living in the lap of luxury compared to Margaret Mary Vojtko, whose sad story, written by Daniel Kovalik, appeared in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on September 18 - read the story here if you haven't already.

The story has, as they say, gone viral. But its fifteen minutes of fame seem to be fading, after just a week. Groups that were already focused on the exploitation of part-time faculty are still spreading the story and the many and varied reactions to it, but the general public seems to have moved on. No more letters to the editor in the P-G. No more outrage from Catholic publications. Hey! There's a new iPhone! and did you read about the 40-foot rubber ducky coming to Pittsburgh?

I talked to my students about the story. They were shocked. We are fortunate to be in a remote, rural area of West Virginia where there is no labor pool to exploit. Pittsburgh is very different - with such a rich collection of colleges and universities, there are many many people with masters' degrees and even doctorates who are eager to teach. So - supply and demand, right? Why even pretend to pay them a living wage?

Of course, there are many good reasons to, apart from the obvious ethical issues. Or are they obvious?

This blog will continue to share the writing on this subject as well as my own experience. Professor Vojtko's nephew's wish is that the story is so powerful that there will be no more Margaret Marys. From his lips to God's ear . . .