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December 1, 2015

Proceedings of the Natural Institute of Science | Volume 2 | SCI-NEWS 25

Students unsure if professor's rant about being an adjunct will be on the final exam

COLLEGE STATION, TX – A lecture on supply and demand in Assistant Adjunct Professor Gail Whitely’s Introduction to Economics class that turned into a 15-minute rant on the unfairness of being an adjunct professor has students confused if that material will be on the final exam. “I guess I’m just wondering if I should spend the time to memorize the different ‘college president-to-adjunct salary ratios’ that Dr. Whitely presented,” said Amber McDowell, a student in Whitely’s class.

According to McDowell’s class notes, Dr. Whitely’s diatribe began after discussing the different strategies that companies employ when dealing with increases in supply. “One minute, she was talking about the price elasticity of supply, and then the next minute she was wondering how she would be able to feed her family while making less than minimum wage and working 80 hours a week,” said McDowell. “Also, her definition of minimum wage, which was ‘something that a professor should never have to aspire to’, differed from my textbook’s definition, so I’m not sure which one I need to know for the final exam.”

Other topics that were covered in Dr. Whitely’s rant were: the difficulties of conducting your own research without a lab or grant funding, the best methods to prevent crying while grading papers, and a list of nearby grocery stores that regularly run double coupon promotions.

McDowell and other students attempted to contact Dr. Whitely about the kind of material that would be on the final exam, but have not yet received a response. “Gail is teaching 8 different courses at 3 different colleges this year, so she’s probably pretty busy this time of year” said Jeffrey Wellington, a close friend. “Plus, I think she was recently spending a lot of time trying to find an affordable health care plan.”

Despite the rant, most students were pleased with the class. “It was a great class; I really liked Prof. Whitely a lot,” said McDowell. “I also learned a lot, too, especially that I never want to be an adjunct professor when I graduate.”

 

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