Edward Moles and Susan Diamond: Immoral not to treat college instructors fairly

Re “Colleges exploit, underpay adjunct teachers” (Opinions, Aug. 21): We are beyond dismayed and enraged. Gifted masters and doctoral instructors “forced to live in their cars”!? There was a time when education for our children and adults was seen as an investment in the future of our country that would pay us huge returns by supporting their creativity and resourcefulness and produce research that could enhance all our lives. But over the last few years, members of the college and university bureaucracies have seen this amazing resource as a get-rich scheme for their personal use. They are raising tuition to fund their own increases in pay and to build fancier gyms and dorms to attract children of the 1 percent.

By limiting tenured full-time professors and instructors they are cheating their mission as state and private teaching institutions. We believe this is immoral and should be illegal (at least in state institutions). There should be a cap of no more than 20 percent of instructors being adjuncts with no benefits but fair pay rather than the reverse (with low pay). It is a lie to the students and a travesty to take our tax dollars and renege on their sole stated purpose.

This story was originally published August 28, 2015 at 9:37 AM with the headline "Edward Moles and Susan Diamond: Immoral not to treat college instructors fairly."