Administrators have used it as a catalyst for transforming their policies and procedures to honor the important roles both tenured and non-tenure-track faculty members play, writes Adrianna Kezar.
As the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged campuses the last two years, light was shed on the mission-central importance of the faculty, the role of teaching and the need to support faculty as they support students in higher education. Since the pandemic’s start, faculty members have adapted in-person courses to online formats, often with little to no assistance. They have also provided emotional comfort to students grieving deaths among family, friends and community members. We have heard dramatic stories of the toll on faculty during the pandemic.