Adjunct Faculty Information

Mason - Fairfax campus
The Future of Adjunct Faculty
The Future of Adjunct Faculty

In March 2015, a task force was convened to identify issues of concern to adjunct faculty members and to make recommendations on potential remedies. The results of a comprehensive survey of 1000 adjunct faculty were presented in May of 2016.

Mason is fortunate to enhance our academic community by leveraging the proficiency of our regional knowledge base as adjunct faculty who provide rich, relevant learning experiences for our students.

Adjunct faculty offer professional expertise that is outside of the experience of most fulltime faculty members, and provide students with examples from their profession, which helps build practical connections between the subject matter and their chosen careers. Support for Mason’s adjunct faculty is essential for facilitating their success as instructors, and in turn, the learning and development of their students.

New Adjunct Faculty Success Workshop

Workshops for new adjunct faculty are held approximately one week before classes begin for the semester each January and August. Register now for August orientation through Faculty Resources. 

Your academic unit will work with the Office of the Provost to set up the administrative details of your faculty appointment. Information about adjunct faculty appointments, including faculty salary minimums, submission of transcripts, and offer letters are all available.

Adjunct Faculty Committee

The Adjunct Faculty Committee is charged with engaging the adjunct community in identifying needs, with making recommendations for improving areas of importance, and with being responsive to requests from the Provost. The committee is also charged with making an annual report on progress towards goals to the Provost. University offices will be asked to provide information to the committee to enable this assessment. 

Committee Roster

Name Department Email
Cathy Tompkins (co-chair)  College of Public Health ctompkin
Carolyn Wilson (co-chair) College of Engineering and Computing cwilso44
Auzzie Brown Costello College of Business, IT/Cybersecurity abrown
Pamela Creed Carter School pcreed
Janet E. Dandridge College of Visual and Performing Arts, School of Art jdandri
Kim Eby Provost Office, Faculty Affairs and Development keby1
Savannah Fetterolf CHSS/Honors College sfettero
Jessica Harley College of Public Health jharley6
Kristi Horton College of Engineering and Computing khorton3
Deborah Leben College of Science, Forensic Science Program dleben1
Lawrence Leiser CHSS, Criminology, Law, and Society llawrenc
Michelle Lim Human Resources and Payroll mlim1
Reggie Meneses College of Education and Human Development rmeneses
William Porter Dewberry School of Music wporter

The work of Mason’s adjunct faculty is essential to providing a high-quality education for our students and complementing the fulltime faculty role. We honor this significant contribution through the annual Adjunct Faculty Teaching Excellence Awards.

Adjunct Faculty Evaluation

Mason values the contributions of adjunct faculty as a key component of meeting our mission of supporting student success. Each College or School has established their own evaluation process for adjunct faculty members. It is expected that the adjunct faculty evaluation process be constructive and collegial while also including opportunities for collaborative discourse with the leadership of their academic program.

Objectives of Adjunct Faculty Evaluation

We are committed to providing our adjunct faculty opportunities to grow and evolve in their teaching. This is accomplished through providing robust professional development opportunities through our New Adjunct Faculty Success Workshop, through invitations to participate in events organized and hosted by the Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning, and by assuring the evaluation of adjunct faculty members as part of the university’s procedures for the assessment of its instructional faculty.

The purpose of the evaluation process for adjunct faculty is to assure excellence in teaching and adherence to academic and professional standards. Moreover, Mason’s accrediting body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), requires that the university publish and implement policies pertaining to the evaluation of all faculty members, including adjunct faculty. Generally speaking, feedback and performance review are the responsibility of the academic unit leadership and adjunct faculty are encouraged to talk with their Local Academic Unit head or chair for the adjunct faculty evaluation policy specific to their unit.

Please see Mason’s Evaluation of Adjunct Faculty policy (University Policy 3012) for additional information, especially the Procedures and Expectations for Evaluation of Adjunct Faculty, which were informed by the Adjunct Faculty Committee.