Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Task Force

Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Task Force (ad hoc, 2019-2021) will issue a report to the Provost that summarizes findings and makes recommendations about means of addressing concerns or improving policies and practices about non-tenure-track faculty (NTT). This report will be shared in its entirety with the full faculty. More specifically, the task force will

  • analyze W&L practices, policies, and perceptions relating to the employment of NTT faculty members. This initiative will begin by reviewing results of the Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Member Survey conducted by the Faculty Affairs Committee. Issues to be examined include but are not limited to appointments, assignments, methods of evaluation, work/life balance, participation in faculty governance, predictability of future employment, and academic freedom;
  • assess the educational and ethical dimensions of employing NTT faculty members. W&L's unique ecosystem and values constitute the primary context for this assessment. A secondary context is how these issues are approached at peer institutions, including but not limited to the top 25 liberal arts colleges and Virginia institutions; and
  • develop a set of best practices, identify guiding principles, and draft an overarching philosophical statement of the University's approach to NTT faculty positions.

See Interim Report 2019-20

Co-chairs: Colin Reid and Paul Youngman

Committee membership:
One tenured faculty member, Advisory Committee: Karla Murdock, Cognitive and Behavioral Science and Mudd Center
One tenured faculty member, Faculty Executive Committee: Lloyd Tanlu (Accounting)
Two members, Faculty Affairs Committee: Colin Reid, Accounting and Alison Bell, Sociology and Anthropology
One tenured law faculty: Beth Belmont
One Library faculty member: K.T. Vaughan
One faculty from Physical Education and Athletics: Nathan Shearer

Four NTT faculty members:
Julie Kane - Library
David Eggert, Law
Tom McClain, Physics and Engineering;
Charles Winder, Biology

Two academic administrators:
Fred LaRiviere, Associate Dean of The College and Associate Professor and Associate Professor of Chemistry
Paul Youngman, Associate Provost and Professor and Professor of German
Jodi Williams, Executive Director of Human Resources