New publications that detail the 2023 Delphi Award-winning programs created by Loyola Marymount University (LMU) and University of Arizona (UA) are now available for download from the Pullias Center’s website. The case study for Delphi Award finalist University of Massachusetts Amherst is also now available.

These case studies highlight the innovative and important policies, programs and initiatives instituted by these universities in support of their contingent faculty. The new publications were written in collaboration between the Pullias Center and the featured campuses.

The Delphi Award was launched in 2018 as an initiative of the Delphi Project on the Changing Faculty and Student Success, a partnership with the American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U). The Delphi Award is an annual $15,000 cash award given to two individuals or organizations who have worked to support adjunct, contingent and non-tenure-track faculty (NTTF) in promoting student success, and creating new faculty models to enhance higher education institutions.

Delphi Project and Pullias Center Director Adrianna Kezar noted, “This year’s winners illustrate a positive future for faculty. University of Arizona’s Career Track faculty model will be an inspiration for campuses across the county. Loyola Marymount University’s comprehensive and extensive changes also result in an excellent model to mimic in order to professionalize the faculty and create greater equity.”

The case studies detail the steps the institutions have taken to support contingent faculty on their campuses.

Loyola Marymount’s award-wining program, ‘Promoting a Greater Sense of Inclusion and Stability for NTTF at Loyola Marymount University’ created a holistic environment where their more than 950 contingent faculty are provided with clear rank and promotion criteria, fair faculty evaluation for both part time and full time faculty/lecturers and improved compensation and benefits. Their program also includes inclusion in shared governance through contingent faculty participation in the Faculty Senate, class scheduling priority for part-time faculty, and annual and extended contracts that help ensure employment stability.

‘The Career-Track Faculty Model: Best Practices in Appointment, Advancement and Retention of NTTF at University of Arizona’ highlights the processes and practices guided by UA’s Career-Track Faculty Model. With appointment, advancement and retention targeted as key policy and practice areas, the Model serves as the foundation that guides the development of equitable policies, programs and practices for ‘career-track,’ or contingent faculty. UA significantly increased clarity and consistency in titles, roles and compensation, created a transparent and equitable pathway for career advancement, and examined faculty compensation, ultimately increasing the overall faculty salary pool by more than half a million dollars.

Representatives from the two winning institutions will be honored as part of the AAC&U’s Annual Meeting on January 17-19, 2024 during the Thursday, January 18 afternoon session. Applications for the 2024 Delphi Award will become available on the Pullias website in February 2024.

The Delphi Award is funded by the TIAA Institute, while the Delphi Project has received generous funding from The Spencer Foundation, The Teagle Foundation, The Carnegie Corporation of New York and TIAA Institute.

Numerous resources, tools and research reports to assist campuses in supporting NTTF are available on the Pullias/Delphi Project website, including Designing Accessible and Inclusive Professional Development for NTTF and Non-Tenure-Track Faculty on our Campus: A Guide for Campus Task Forces to Better Understand Faculty Working Conditions and the Necessity of Change.

Additionally, case studies of last year’s award-winning projects from Dominican University of California and Montgomery College and finalists UC-AFT and the University of Texas – San Antonio are available on the Pullias Center’s website, as well as case studies from all Delphi Award winners for the past 4 years, and AAC&U’s webinar with the 2022 winners.