Abstract
In this paper, we explore the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on contingent faculty in Catholic higher education. As a baseline for comparison, we draw on our 2019 essay which traced the increasing reliance on contingent faculty in Catholic higher education from 2001-2017. When compared to 2020, we find three significant results. First, Catholic colleges and universities responded to the pandemic by reducing all employment – administration, staff, tenured/tenured track faculty, and contingent faculty. In this general reduction, contingent faculty was reduced by 2.6%. Second, the reduction in employment was particularly pronounced in small Catholic schools. At these schools, contingent faculty was reduced by 10.7%. Third, surprisingly, men fared worse than women at Catholic schools. The reduction in contingent faculty was 5.2% for men whereas for women it was reduced by 0.7%.
Recommended Citation
King, Jason
(2022)
"The Pandemic, Contingent Faculty, and Catholic Colleges and Universities,"
Academic Labor: Research and Artistry: Vol. 6, Article 6.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/alra/vol6/iss1/6
Publication-Ready Author Bio
Jason King is the Irene S. Taylor Endowed Chair for Catholic Family Studies and Director of the Core Curriculum at Saint Vincent College.
Andrew Herr is an Associate Professor of Economics at Saint Vincent College.
Julia Cavallo is the Executive Director of Conference for Mercy Higher Education.