Adjunct Science Faculty Contribute Valued Expertise To Universities

with the title of adjunct can vary greatly. An adjunct may be a professor in name only, lending the prestige of name recognition, but requiring no inclass time. This is the case for the National Institutes of Health's Robert Gallo, who is an adjunct professor at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. Gallo "is listed as an adjunct professor of veterinary microbiology, immunology and parasitology, and . . . has an assigned office in the Veterinary Research Tower here, but a phone number that probably rings at the NIH," says Roger Segelken of Cornell's News Service. Another example of a situation in which an adjunct doesn't teach is Stone's affiliation at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, which is strictly researchoriented. K. Douglas Nelson, a professor of geology at Syracuse University in New York, is an adjunct associate professor of geological sciences at Cornell, where he is continuing research begun as a graduate student and postdoc at Cornell's Institute for the Study of the Continents. "When he does something interestinglike obtain a profile of the mountains of Tibetwe public relations types claim him as one of our own, and mention in tiny type that he is also connected to another institution," says Cornell's Segelken. Many adjuncts are industry, government, or museum scientists who teach occasional courses at nearby colleges or universities, usually on a topic that the regular faculty do not wish to teach, or do not have the precise expertise to teach. Still other adjuncts are scientists in between permanent positions, or those accompanying a spouse who has a faculty appointment. They might be in search of something to do while job hunting, or may regard an academic connection, albeit temporary, as a foot in the door to a more permanent position. These faculty standins may carry quite a loadtwo, three, or even four courses a semester. Adjunct affiliations also help define the work of scientists whose expertise doesn't neatly shoehorn into traditional departments. This is the case for Douglas R. Hofstadter, an expert in cognitive science at Indiana University in Bloomington, who is currently on sabbatical in Spain. At Indiana, he is a professor of computer science, a professor of cognitive science (although there is no such department), and an adjunct professor in the departments of psychology, philosophy, and the history and philosophy of science. Students taking his courses receive credit in whichever department the course is listed in. Hofstadter's numerous titles reflect the fact that his field, cognition, is part psychology, part computer science, and part philosophy. Such an arrangement regular faculty with adjunct status in related departments within the same institutionis not uncommon. a good symbiosis, as museum scientists can fill gaps in an academic department and offer students diverse research opportunities. The department of botany at Duke, for example, has tapped into the expertise and enthusiasm of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., to broaden graduate students' experience. "A number of plant biologists at the Smithsonian are very active in evolutionary biology, and we have asked selected ones of them to be adjunct professors at Duke," says Culberson. "As such, they can direct graduate students in research." One such Smithsonian scientist now very happily in front of the classroom is paleobotanist Vicki Funk. "I felt the need to be involved more with students and stay connected with the university scene," she says. "You can get isolated being in a lab all the time and only talking to people who do what you do." Funk says she was thrilled to be offered adjunct status at Duke because of the school's excellent program in plant systematics, to which she feels some departments give short shrift in their search for more molecular biologists and the funding they bring. Funk at first made the fourhour trek to Duke from Washington to give frequent seminars and serve on graduate student committees. Then, when a sabbatical leave came up, she gladly came to Durham, where she now teaches a graduate course in the systematics of flowering plants. "There was no money to start a tropical collection here at Duke, and no money at the Smithsonian for starting a graduate program," she says. But courses offered by Funk and three Smithsonian colleagues are helping to expose students to professionals in the field. "Hopefully, in the future, systematics can have more of these kinds of collaborative programs between universities and zoologists and botanists from museums," she says. Norton Miller is another museum paleobotanist who is enthusiastic about his university connection. Miller travels throughout the Northeast and Midwest to obtain millionyearold fossilized plants, which he studies at the New York State Museum in Albany. He teaches a course in plant taxonomy and morphology at nearby SUNYAlbany. "Three years ago, some undergraduates asked for additional courses on organismal biology," says Miller. "One colleague from the museum, Bob Daniels, had taught a successful course in icthyology at the university, and we were persuaded by that. It was a way to get a highly specialized faculty member there." Both Funk and Miller see their adjunct appointments as ways for graduate students to conduct research at their museums. lifeline to academia for scientists who have wandered off the tenure track. New parenthood and adjunct stints are particularly compatible, scientists say. Beth Burnside, for example, taught undergraduate biochemistry at the University of Maryland when having children and between permanent positions in the pharmaceutical industry. "Being an adjunct is pretty amenable to a family situationI could work at home and go in to give lectures and hold office hours," she says. Burnside has just resolved her child care dilemma, and she has accepted a position as an assistant director of pharmaceutical development at Pharmavene Inc. in Gaithersburg, Md. For Alexis Burton, becoming an adjunct allowed him to maintain his university ties when he had to retire from his regular faculty appointment a decade ago for health reasons. Burton taught basic science to medical students at the University of Texas Health Science Center. He no longer teaches, but makes frequent use of the parking permit that comes with his adjunct status so he can use the library, attend seminars, and continue to interact with his colleagues. And scientists who have enjoyed successful stints as nontenuretrack faculty can maintain connections by becoming adjuncts. taste of the real world that isn't quite the same as traditional course fare. In return, he or she networks with basic researchers in a manner that can lead to fruitful collaborations. The relationship between the Glaxo Research Institute in Research Triangle Park, N.C., and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, illustrates the mutual benefits possible from an academicindustrial alignment. The GlaxoUNC collaboration began when the United Kingdombased company sought temporary laboratory space in Chapel Hill, and borrowed a UNC undergraduate lab for four years until its new facility was built. While on campus, Glaxo researchers forged important relationships with professors. "We got to know the faculty and their research projects, and can support their work if it meshes with what we do," says Dan Sternbach, principal research investigator at the Glaxo institute, who holds an adjunct appointment at UNC. "The arrangement is a pipeline to the company. University people work here in the summers, and we teach courses at the university. Other things go along with it, too. For example, Glaxo and UNC sponsor the Glaxo UNC Frontiers in Chemistry symposium, inviting speakers spanning the biological to the physical sciences." professors aren't paid much, if anything. Beth Burnside says her $5,000 for teaching biochemistry was paltry compared to her former salary as a research scientist at Johnson & Johnson of Raritan, N.J., where she worked in 1991 and 1992. But actually, this is at the higher range of adjunct pay for those who do not have a concurrent fulltime position here. Percourse compensation ranges from $2,000 to $6,000, according to veteran adjunct teachers. AAUP: "The large numbers of faculty who now work without tenure leaves academic freedom more vulnerable." Adjuncts on loan from industry, a museum, or government usually re ceive no extra pay. Says Funk, "I don't get paid, I just do it." One research chemist at General Electric's Research and Development Center is paid $4,000 for teaching a graduate course in inorganic chemistry at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, but in order to have time "off" to teach, he's agreed to turn over the check to GE. And, of course, there is no job security for a position that is semesterbysemester. An adjunct at a large state university was lulled into "real job" complacency because she had taught one or two courses a semester for six years, tackling the large, nonsciencemajor courses that many regular faculty avoid. But when the state ran into budget problems, and as a result regular faculty were given heavier teaching loads, she received a "termination notice" in her campus mailbox. The use of adjunct and other nontenuretrack faculty is a source of concern for some academics. According to a report entitled "The Status of NonTenureTrack Faculty" by the American Association of University Professors (Academe, 79[4]:3946, JulyAugust 1993), "the growth of nontenuretrack faculty erodes the size and influence of the tenured faculty and undermines the stability of the tenure system. The large numbers of faculty who now work without tenure leaves academic freedom more vulnerable to manipulation and suppression. The professional status of faculty suffers when so many are subject to economic exploitation and demeaning working conditions inconsistent with professional standards." Lack of a hefty paycheck and job security, however, are of little concern to most adjuncts, because their motivations aren't monetarythe attraction of an adjunct position is interaction with people, particularly students just beginning their scientific careers. And the regard many adjuncts have for their students is refreshing. "I love graduate students. They are so committed and interested," says Funk. Adds Stone, "I immensely enjoy stimulating work with undergraduates, training them in science. Sitting right beside me now is one undergraduate who enjoys research so much that he has decided to pursue an M.D./Ph.D. That makes me feel really good." Ricki Lewis, an adjunct assistant professor of zoology at Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) and of biology at the State University of New York, Albany, writes college biology texts.

Adjunct Science Faculty Contribute Valued Expertise To Universities

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November 1993

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