UUP Cortland Chapter member Marc Dearstyne asks students Adonis Vasquez and Victoria Jean to sign a petition that asks the campus president to increase the salary for part-time academic faculty.

The two were among nearly 1,000 students, faculty and staff who signed the Cortland petition during Campus Equity Week Oct. 28 – Nov. 1.

“We got an overwhelmingly supportive response from the students as soon as they understood that most of their professors are off the tenure track and making inadequate wages,” said Anne Wiegard, Cortland UUP Chapter Secretary and a member of UUP’s statewide Executive Board.

Cortland was among several UUP chapters conducting activities to mark Campus Equity Week, a national week of action that seeks to improve working conditions for contingent faculty. According to an analysis of UUP membership data, more than 44 percent of SUNY faculty serve in contingent positions that do not allow for continuing or permanent appointment.