This study begins by examining faculty employment rights as a subset of employee rights more generally. By necessity, however, it will also address the unique conditions of faculty life, including the necessity of upholding principles of shared governance at an institution of higher education.
According to the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs
Respect for workers' rights helps ensure equal opportunities for all women and men to obtain decent and productive work, in conditions of freedom, equity, security, and dignity.
Faculty employment rights certainly function to create an equitable workplace environment. But they also protect the academic freedom, First Amendment, and due process rights of faculty essential to the intellectual enterprise. In short, faculty employment rights aid universities in achieving their missions to "discover, create, transmit, and apply knowledge to address the needs of individuals and society." (UNC Mission Statement)
This project explores the connection between maintaining a robust system of informal and formal measures to protect faculty employment rights and institutional effectiveness. As higher education and the nature of faculty employment in the 21st century university undergoes change, how the traditional rights and privileges of faculty continue to serve institutions and where transformations may disrupt university life and practice are considered.
After collecting all of the data, the study of the 16 higher education campuses in the UNC System will be contextualized within the larger issues of faculty employment rights nationally, with a particular focus on the dynamics of public institutions in non-union states.
Here are the overview survey results (posted 25 March 2019).
Presentations at national conferences and in peer-reviewed journals will be sought.