Over the past three decades, the faculty in US higher education have undergone a structural shift. Where full-time, tenure-line faculty once constituted the majority of college instructors, today non-tenure-track or part-time faculty teach nearly three out of four courses (American Association of University Professors [AAUP], 2022). Institutions often justify their reliance on contingent labor as a pragmatic solution to fiscal pressures and enrollment fluctuations. Adjunct instructors are paid on a per-course basis, generally without health benefits or job security, yielding immediate savings to institutional budgets (TIAA Institute, 2018).
Character (Still) Counts: Moral Injury and the Case for Character Education
Many academic leaders remember the Character Counts! initiative from the 1990s and early 2000s. It was visible in schools and youth programs nationwide, emphasizing as core values the Six Pillars
Teresa Maggard Stephens
June 15, 2026
