The VCUarts adjunct workers' protests were a series of protests in late 2017 into early 2018 by

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...

s employed by

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virginia ...

, VCU full-time, tenured professors, and VCU students protesting over low pay, lack of benefits, and long working hours.

Background

The VCU School of the Arts is the art school for

, a public-research university located in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. The School of the Arts, branded as VCUarts, is a nationally recognized art program, which employs around 400 professors on its academic staff. Approximately 202 of these teachers in VCUarts are adjunct professors, who are contractual professors who are paid by credit hour and do not receive

employee benefits Employee benefits and (especially in British English) benefits in kind (also called fringe benefits, perquisites, or perks) include various types of non-wage compensation provided to employees in addition to their normal wages or salaries. Insta ...

. Most adjunct professors at VCU, including the School of the Arts are paid about $800 per credit hour they teach, and are limited to two or three classes they can teach per semester. This ultimately leaves them earning a potential annual salary of approximately $15,000, which is just above the federal

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

. According to a report from Style Weekly, most VCUarts adjuncts make about $10,000 per year, which ranks last of the Top-10 art schools from '' U.S. News & World Report''. In the fall of 2017, adjunct professors began organizing and formed a coalition known as "VCU Adjuncts for Fair Pay". In December 2017 and again in February 2018 the group protested the lack of pay, and protested in the propose raise in adjunct pay from $800 to $1,000 per credit hour, demanding that it is raised to $2,000 per credit hour. Such a raise would allow a full-time adjunct professor to earn close to $36,000 per year. The group further attacked

Michael Rao Michael Rao is an American academic administrator who is the current president of Virginia Commonwealth University, a public university in downtown Richmond, Virginia. During his time as president, Rao has overseen hiring and expansion of the uni ...

and his administration for having nearly $1 billion in endowment and used monies to purchase a night club off the VCU Campus.

Reactions

VCU administration

VCU's Vice President for Finance and Budget Karol Kain Gray said in response that the low pay for adjunct faculty was becoming a morale issue. The Board of Visitors approved a budget for the 2018-19 school year that increased adjunct pay from $800 per credit hour to $1,000 per credit hour, which was about $1,000 less than what the VCU Adjuncts Organizing For Fair Pay demanded.

VCU students

The reception from students, especially art students, was positive. Most of the people in the protests were reported to be students in the VCUarts program.

References

External links

VCU Adjuncts for Fair Pay
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vcu adjunct workers' protest 2017 labor disputes and strikes 2018 labor disputes and strikes Vcuarts adjunct protest Vcuarts adjunct protest Education labor disputes in the United States Labor disputes in Virginia December 2017 events in the United States February 2018 events in the United States Virginia Commonwealth University 2017 in Richmond, Virginia 2018 in Richmond, Virginia