Part-time faculty and gerontology programs:dilemmas and solutions

This article presents an overview of the use of adjunct faculty generally and within gerontology programs and discusses the benefits, drawbacks and possible solutions for both adjunct faculty and gerontology programs to utilize part-time teaching staff. The benefits reported for being a part-time faculty member include wanting to be in academia and supplementing an income. The reasons gerontology programs hire adjunct faculty members include their being less costly and bringing new skills to the programs. There are also practical and substantive drawbacks faced by part-time faculty. Practical issues include confusion with the pay schedule and last-minute class cancellations. Substantive issues include a lack of both respect and opportunities for professional development. The solutions to these issues include assigned space and support to part-time faculty members, maintaining peer and student evaluations, and affirming diversity in gerontology by recruiting adjunct faculty with knowledge and research capabilities for tenure-track positions as a strategy for successful gerontology program development.