SAIC adjuncts, lecturers get support from tenured, tenure-track faculty

Nearly 100 tenured or tenure-track faculty of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago have signed a letter of support for their non-tenure-track colleagues forming their union with AICWU.

The letter was delivered Tuesday, May 17, to SAIC President Elissa Tenny and Provost Martin Berger.

The signers include almost two-thirds of the school’s tenured or tenure-track faculty.

The letter in full:

As full-time, tenured and tenure-track faculty at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, we support our non-tenure-track faculty colleagues — lecturers and ranked adjuncts — who are seeking to form a union with Art Institute of Chicago Workers United as part of AFSCME Council 31. The organizing effort represents faculty from every academic and studio department at the School. Our letter, too, includes faculty from all departments.

The School will not run without our non-tenure-track colleagues, as outlined in the SAIC Faculty union announcement letter. These faculty constitute 75% of teaching staff, and are active — often leading — creators of our renowned and innovative curriculum. Part-time faculty provide key curricular coverage and make up the most diverse segment of the SAIC faculty. In addition to teaching at both graduate and undergraduate levels, part-time faculty also serve as program coordinators and elected representatives in faculty governance, and they represent the school in admissions, exhibitions, and connections to Chicago communities. This does not include the hours that part-time faculty put toward unpaid student mentorship and advising, especially during the challenging last two years of pandemic response. Moreover, faculty appointed as Lecturers (who constitute up to 45% of all SAIC faculty in a given year) are not eligible for employer-supported health insurance while also being more likely to work in person during the pandemic. As full-time faculty we acknowledge the challenges to morale that have resulted from this lack of job security and institutional support. 

We recognize the significant, invaluable, and substantial contributions our non-tenure track colleagues make to teaching excellence, curricular development, student success, institutional service, and creative practice. They are an important reason why SAIC is internationally known as the leading American art and design school.

We support the right of our faculty colleagues to organize and represent themselves, and make their own decisions about their collective representation. We urge our President and Provost to continue to meet in good faith with part-time faculty. After a challenging two years of pandemic work, we ask our senior administration to foster a community of active listening to restore trust and allow us to work together in shared commitment to the School and our students.

Sincerely,

Abigail Glaum-Lathbury, Associate Professor, Fashion Design

Adam J Greteman, Associate Professor, Art Education

Adam Mack, Associate Professor, Liberal Arts 

Adrian Wong, Associate Professor, Sculpture

Alison Ruttan, Associate Professor, Contemporary Practices

Amy Vogel, Associate Professor, Contemporary Practices

Andres L. Hernandez, Associate Professor, Art Education

Andy Hall, Associate Professor, Contemporary Practices

Anke Loh, Associate Professor, Fashion

Anna Martine Whitehead, Assistant Professor, Contemporary Practices

Anne Harris, Associate Professor, Painting and Drawing

Anne T. Sullivan, Associate Professor, Historic Preservation

Anne Wilson, Professor Emeritus, Fiber and Material Studies

Annie Bourneuf, Associate Professor, Art History, Theory, and Criticism

Anonymous, Assistant Professor

Arnold J. Kemp, Professor, Painting and Drawing

Benjamin Larose, Assistant Professor, Fashion Design 

Bess Williamson, Professor, Art History, Theory, and Criticism

Brian P. Sikes, Associate Professor, Contemporary Practices

Christina Gomez, Professor and Chair of Liberal Arts

Christopher Suillivan, Professor, Film, Video, New Media, and Animation

Claire Pentecost, Professor, Photography

Claudia Hart, Professor, Film, Video, New Media, and Animation

Daniel Eisenberg, Professor, Film, Video, New Media, and Animation

Danielle Andress, Assistant Professor, Fiber and Material Studies 

Dan Price, Associate Professor, Sculpture

Daniel Quiles, Associate Professor and Chair, Art History, Theory, and Criticism

David Raskin, Mohn Family Professor of Contemporary Art History

Dawit L. Petros, Associate Professor, Photography

Diana Guerrero-Maciá, Professor, Fiber and Material Studies

Dushko Petrovich, Associate Professor, New Arts Journalism

Ellen Grimes, Associate Professor, AIADO

Frédéric Moffet, Associate Professor and Chair of Film, Video, New Media and Animation

Gregg Bordowitz, Professor, Director Low Residency MFA Program 

Hương Ngô, Assistant Professor, Contemporary Practices

Jacob Tonski, Associate Professor, Art & Technology Studies

James Elkins, E.C. Chadbourne Professor, Art History, Theory, and Criticism

Janet Desaulniers, Professor, Writing

Jefferson Pinder, Professor, Sculpture

Jennifer Lee, Assistant Professor, Art History, Theory, and Criticism

Jeremy Biles, Associate Professor, Department of Liberal Arts

jina valentine, Associate Professor, Printmedia

jonCates, Associate Professor, FVNMA and AHTC

Jonas nt Becker, Assistant Professor, Photography

Jonathan Solomon, Associate Professor 

Joseph Grigely, Professor, Visual and Critical Studies

Julietta Cheung, Assistant Professor, Contemporary Practices

Judd Morrissey, Associate Professor, Art & Technology Studies 

Karen Morris, Associate Professor, Visual and Critical Studies

Kate Dumbleton, Associate Professor, Arts Administration and Policy

Katherine Ross, Professor Emerita, Ceramics Department

Kathryn Schaffer, Associate Professor, Liberal Arts

Katrin Schnabl, Professor and Chair, Fashion Design

Kirin Wachter-Grene, Assistant Professor, Liberal Arts

Kirsten Leenaars, Professor, interim co-director, Contemporary Practices

Kristin McWharter, Assistant Professor, Art & Technology Studies 

Lan Tuazon, Associate Professor, Sculpture

Leah Gipson, Associate Professor, Art Therapy and Counseling

Lin Hixson, Professor, Performance

Lisa Vinebaum, Associate Professor and Chair of Fiber and Material Studies, faculty co-chair of Curriculum Committee

Lou Mallozzi, Associate Professor, Sound

Maura Frana, Assistant Professor, Visual Communication Design

Maria Gaspar, Associate Professor, Contemporary Practices

Marie Hermann, Assistant Professor, Ceramics 

Mark Booth, Associate Professor, Writing; Chair, Sound

mark jeffery, Professor, Performance

Mary Patten, Professor, Film, Video, New Media, and Animation

Maud Lavin, Professor emerita, Visual and Critical Studies

Mechtild Widrich, Associate Professor, Art History, Theory, and Criticism

Melika Bass, Associate Professor, Film, Video, New Media, and Animation

Mika Tosca, Associate Professor, Liberal Arts

Nicholas Lowe, Professor, Historic Preservation

Nick Cave, Professor, Fashion

Nicole Marroquin, Associate Professor, Chair of Art Education, Senator

Oliver Shao, Assistant Professor, Liberal Arts

Oli Watt, Associate Professor, Printmedia

P Power, Associate Professor, Printmedia

Pablo Garcia, Associate Professor, Contemporary Practices

Pete Oyler, Associate Professor, Designed Objects

Piotr Michura, Associate Professor, Visual Communication Design

Rachel Weiss, Professor Emerita, Arts Administration & Policy

Rey Pador, Assistant Professor, Fashion

Roberto Sifuentes, Professor, Performance

Salvador Jiménez-Flores, Assistant Professor, Ceramics

Sampada Aranke, Assistant Professor, Art History, Theory, and Criticism

Sandie Yi, Assistant Professor, Art Therapy and Counseling

Sara Black, Associate Professor, Sculpture 

Sarah Rosengard, Assistant Professor, Liberal Arts

Sarah Ross, Associate Professor, Art Education; Director, MAAE Program

Savneet Talwar, Professor, Art Therapy and Counseling

Scott Reeder, Associate Professor, Painting and Drawing

Seth Kim-Cohen, Professor, Art History, Theory, and Criticism 

Shiben Banerji , Associate Professor & Design History Coordinator, Art History; Affiliated Faculty, AIADO

Susan Giles, Associate Professor, Contemporary Practices

Susanne Doremus, Professor Emeritus, Painting and Drawing

Tirtza Even, Associate Professor, Film, Video, New Media, and Animation

Tom Burtonwood, Associate Professor, Contemporary Practices

Tristan Sterk, Associate Professor, AIADO

William J O’Brien, Professor, Ceramics