Poverty wages for adjunct professors

Poverty Wages/Should adjunct professors be paid more?

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/letters/poverty-wages-705065/

A little more research done: http://amestrib.com/sections/news/ames-and-story-county/adjuncts-lecturers-draw-less-pay-teach-more-classes-tenure-track

Category of problem: Economy/Education

Level of problem: Local

This is a problem/issue that individuals/families face.

Why this important/how does it affect families/individuals? This affects anyone continuing on or currently seeking a degree of higher education. This affects the teaching system and degree to which professors get paid.

My views on the issue/policy:  After doing some research on professor/lecture salary, I have found that although the course load may be the same, the level of degree may be the same, and the number of years teaching may be the same (as well as research grants), the level of income is not. Lecturers or ‘adjunct’ professors get paid substantially less than tenure or track professors at some universities. I find this hard to believe since we pride ourselves on education. And based on today’s economy, it is very hard to get a job without a degree yet the people who help others earn the degree are underpaid. According to the article, a professor passed away with health issues after not having health insurance or enough money to pay for her healthcare. Her health status was known at the university and that’s not what the articles are blaming it on, it is about the lack of benefits and income that adjunct professors get. Income level comes with the ‘title’. The woman had worked at a private and Catholic university and after 25 years of teaching commitment to students of undergraduate and graduate levels, she was let go leaving her with no means of income. Not only that but she was only receiving $10,000 a year in the first place. A university professor was getting paid below the poverty level. I feel that a professor who has continued serving at the same institution, put forth his/her time and effort to help educate, and remained involved in the university deserves the same pay as any other professor with a fancy title.