ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the emergence of non-tenure track faculty at the University of Southern California (USC) as part of a uniquely configured workforce that has altered the university from its traditional foundations, and has allowed it to become agile, responsive, and able to “turn on a dime” with the conditions of the times. As the university has begun to recognize the power and flexibility inherent in a non-tenure track faculty workforce, it has begun to think of itself as a continually shifting entity that can quickly adjust itself to meet the needs of the constituents it serves. The value of a contingent faculty work force however, has been a slow and strategic process. It has taken time for non-tenure track faculty to enter the consciousness of this historically “traditional” university in ways other than as full-time adjunct teachers, clinicians, or researchers. The timing of this emergence fortunately coincided with two university presidents’ agendas for change that would transform the university into a progressive, dynamic, innovative institution of learning and knowledge. Without this timely movement away from traditional university models, it is unlikely that there would have been an opportunity for the university to recognize the untapped resources it had in its non-tenure track faculty.
