Lecture-faculty within the College of Ethnic Studies are demanding that the college’s new dean invest in improving lecturer job protections and hiring opportunities.
The statement, released Friday morning, referenced the Third World Liberation Front strikes of 1968 and ’69, which led to the formation of the college — the first of its kind in the nation.
Since the strikes, the statement reads, there has been an ongoing struggle to maintain student and faculty autonomy and “legitimize teaching faculty of color as full faculty members.”
More than two dozen faculty members, largely lecturers, are demanding that the forthcoming dean institute a pay equity policy that ensures fair compensation, recognize lecturers as full-time faculty and prioritize existing lecturers when considering tenure-track openings.
Of the 140 lecturers within the college, three are full-time — meaning they teach five classes in a semester for a single department — and 50 teach at least two courses, according to the statement. Lecturers who teach across departments and campuses, both within and outside of the California State University, are considered “part-time temporary.”
“There is a prevailing ideology that in fact we should be satisfied with our compensation because we are contributing something of value unlike other forms of work,” the statement reads. “The reality though, is even more harsh.”
Ethnic Studies has no replacement dean for the time being. The university is searching for a new dean to head the more than 6,000-student college. Amy Sueyoshi, the outgoing chair of four years, is set to assume the position of university provost on July 1.
Thursday’s statement comes following a collective bargaining agreement between the CSU and its faculty union, the California Faculty Association, that took roughly two years to reach in February.
The contracts went into effect immediately and included a $3,500 COVID-19 bonus the first year CSU universities transitioned to online learning. The CSU, however, has failed to disperse these funds.
“We believe that the hiring of the new Interim Dean presents a unique opportunity to put someone in the Dean’s chair that represents the interests of the college as a whole and the interests of those of us who do much of the teaching in the college, the lecturer faculty,” the statement reads.
