The interim forum for SNU’s second research project of 2018, “The Current Status of and Issues with Non-Tenure-Track Faculty and Researchers at SNU”, took place on Nov. 26 in Room 302 of Shinyang Humanities Hall. The initial results of a survey of holders of doctoral degrees employed at SNU in non-tenure-track positions that was conducted over a two-week period in early Oct. and late Nov. were presented, and feedback and suggestions were collected from a panel of non-tenure-track faculty and researchers.

In the forum’s opening remarks, Diversity Council vice chair Charles Lee pointed out the lack of concern and policy support directed toward non-tenure-track faculty and researchers despite the important role they play in teaching and research at SNU, and expressed hope that the council’s final report would lead to the university to adopt concrete proposal for improving their situation. Principal researcher Lee Kang-Jae (Dept. of Chinese Language and Literature) discussed the purpose and goals of the study and gave an outline of the situation faced by non-tenure-track personnel with doctoral degrees. He emphasized that the issue of their status is related to the issue of SNU’s ability to carry out high-quality teaching and research and foster a generation of innovative scholars. Next, Professor Jo Dong-Joon (Dept. of Political Science and International Relations) presented the interim results of statistical analyses of each survey item, grouped into categories such as basic information, difficulties, representation, problems faced by hourly lecturers in particular, etc. The issues of non-tenure track personnel’s concentration in basic fields, their instability and low pay, and the vulnerable position of hourly lecturers were mentioned.

A panel composed of lecturer Kang, Sun-Ah (College of Humanities), postdoctoral fellow Yoon, Dae Wui (College of Medicine), researcher Jung, Dong-Joon (Institute for Peace and Unification Studies), and teaching professor Choi, Hyounggyu (Faculty of Liberal Education) discussed its members’ career paths, current difficulties, and hopes for the study. Finally, in the question-and-answer period, other non-tenure-track faculty and researchers described the particulars of their situations by academic field, position, and employing organization, giving the research team much to consider as it finishes up the study and makes its final policy recommendations.

서울대 비전임교원, 가장 큰 고충은 '직업 불안정' (연합뉴스, 2018.11.26.)