The CBMS2000 survey¹ detected a substantial shift between fall 1995 and fall 2000 in the way that colleges and universities staff their mathematics departments and programs. In mathematics departments of four-year colleges and universities, there has been a marked decline in the number of tenured and tenure-eligible faculty, coupled with a substantial increase in part-time faculty and in full-time faculty who are neither tenured nor tenure eligible. In the mathematics programs of two-year colleges, there has been a decrease in the number of faculty on the permanent full-time roster, coupled with a substantial increase in temporary full-time faculty and part-time faculty.

Over-reliance on temporary faculty (whether part-time or full-time) can decrease stable and continuous faculty involvement in course and curriculum development, peer teaching review, student advising, and departmental governance, and simultaneously lead to a shift of responsibility for out-of-class departmental duties into the hands of fewer permanent faculty members. In addition, the CBMS2000 survey shows that temporary faculty tend to have a lower level of graduate education in mathematical sciences than do permanent faculty, and widespread use of non-doctoral faculty can have an adverse effect on the intellectual life of departments. Finally, the decline in the number of permanent faculty positions can disrupt the professional development of new PhD recipients who are forced to be in job-search mode year after year, as they move from one temporary position to another.

While recognizing that faculty who are neither tenured nor tenure eligible can make significant contributions to mathematics departments and programs, the Board of Governors on the Mathematical Association of America recommends that in staffing their programs mathematics departments and programs not run counter to the MAA Departmental Guideline² concerning over-reliance on part-time faculty.

The Board further recommends that the staffing shift described above continue to be monitored carefully by future CBMS surveys.




¹ Lutzer, David J., Maxwell, James W., Rodi, Stephen B. "Statistical Abstract of Undergraduate Programs in the Mathematical Sciences in the United States. Fall 2000 CBMS Survey." Providence RI: American Mathematical Society (2002), pages 4, 76-82.

² "Guidelines for Programs and Departments in Undergraduate Mathematical Sciences." Washington DC: Mathematical Association of America (August 2000), Section C.6, page 6. The new Guidelines document may be found at the MAA website.