The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) South Carolina conference (AAUP-SC) has named Julia Eichelberger, director of Southern studies and Marybelle Higgins Howe Professor of Southern Literature at the College of Charleston, the 2019 AAUP Champion Professor for her work on behalf of contingent faculty.
While serving as a faculty administrative fellow at the College from 2013 t0 2015, Eichelberger exhaustively researched contingent faculty conditions, oversaw the creation of an Adjunct Oversight Committee and drafted a list of best adjunct employment practices for institutions in South Carolina. She shared her findings at the fall 2018 AAUP-SC State Conference on the College of Charleston campus, and her list of “Adjunct Employment Best Practices” appears on the last page of the 2019 AAUP-SC Campus Equity Week. Her findings also prompted the College’s Adjunct Oversight Committee to create a public dashboard and a webpage for adjunct faculty that provides information about policies, resources and other data relevant to new and current adjunct faculty members.
To draw attention to the widespread displacement of tenured/tenure-track faculty by contingent contract faculty at U.S. institutions of higher education, the AAUP has designated the last week in October as Campus Equity Week since 2001. The AAUP-SC coordinates its Equity Week activities on campuses across the state and confers the AAUP Champion Award on individuals or groups whose actions have substantially benefited contingent faculty and furthered the causes of academic freedom and shared institutional governance.