To the Maroon-News Editors,

Thank you for publishing the letter signed by over 40 members of Colgate’s contingent (i.e., non-tenure-track  academic) faculty  (April 2, 2021), announcing their call to form a union. We also encourage students and alumni to support this effort. As tenured Colgate faculty members, we wholeheartedly wish to add our voice in support of unionization. Contingent faculty are dedicated professionals committed to Colgate students’ growth, learning and well-being. As such, their work is vital to Colgate’s educational mission. We urge the Colgate administration, our American Association of University Professors chapter and all Colgate co-workers to adopt a neutral and welcoming stance towards non-tenure-track faculty organizing for union representation. It is the contingent faculty’s decision-making process, not ours. Our shared support for our precarious and vulnerable academic colleagues will continue to realize Colgate’s mission—as articulated in The 13 Goals of a Colgate Education—to “strive for a just society.”

Sincerely,

Peter Balakian, Donald M. and Constance H. Rebar Professor in Humanities, Professor of English

Danny Barreto, Associate Professor of LGBTQ Studies

Jeff Bary, Associate Professor of Physics & Astronomy; Co-Director, Coleman and Irene Brown Commons; University Professor for First-Year Seminars, Global Engagements, and Core Distinction

Georgia Frank,  Charles A. Dana Professor of Religion

Hélène Julien, Professor of French and Women’s Studies, Arnold A. Sio Chair in Community and Diversity

Alexander (Xan) Karn, Associate Professor of History; Director, Peace and Conflict Studies Program

Matthew D. Miller, Associate Professor of German

Jacob Mundy, Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies (PCON) and Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (MIST)

Navine Murshid, Associate Professor of Political Science

Kezia Page, Associate Professor of English and Africana & Latin American Studies; Director, Africana & Latin American Studies Program