Same Track, Different Track: One Adjunct's Alternative Route to the Tenure Track

by Isaac Sweeney

"I was never supposed to be where I am today. In academia, the route to the tenure track has on it a terminal degree, publications in peer-reviewed journals, and other what-everybody-else-has-done things.”


So begins author Isaac Sweeney as he chronicles his unlikely path from a newspaper staff writer to his coveted tenure-track position in higher education. Same Track, Different Track reveals the adjunct underbelly of academia while telling an underdog story about a laid-back family man who uses creativity and tenacity to find — and sometimes create — his own way.


Same Track, Different Track is a unique combination of an original narrative and Sweeney’s previously published essays from The Chronicle of Higher Education, Academe, and others.

ebook

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

In "Same Track, Different Track" Isaac Sweeney gives his readers a look at his path towards a full time educator's position. He outlines the difficulties that adjunct professors deal with and the possible repercussions of standing up to the unfairness of the situation. His assessment that students suffer most in this arrangement is accurate: I attended one community college that laid off half of its staff one year (you can imagine the difficulties that presented to students who suddenly had entire departments taken away from them), I also remember the difficulties of meeting with one of my Spanish teachers this last year because between her full time job at the University, part time job at a community college, and the hour bus ride in between she had no extra time for students. Sweeney shows that the road to tenure positions does not have to be the traditional PHD, but that an adjunct can better their position in some cases. While his book doesn't present a lot of new information or give any solutions other than encouraging others to stand up for their rights, it does give an honest and easy to read insight into the life of someone who has experienced it.