Reframing the Role of Academic Professional Track (APT) Faculty

The role of non-tenure track faculty members in the present-day urban public university is critical but often not well-recognized.Though this is a result of a historical scenario, in recent times, institutions have been working towards the furtherance of non-tenure track faculties.The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) held a workshop in the Summer of 2024.The workshop's goal was to encourage participating institutions to include non-tenure track STEM faculty in both institutional policy decision-making processes and the professional development initiatives that can empower them to meaningfully contribute to the change processes stemming from those decisions.Our own institution, UT Arlington, sent a team of faculty members to this institute to examine the role of our Academic Professional Track (APT) faculty members, our term for non-tenure track faculty.The 4-day workshop was a great success and as a result, a year-long plan is formulated to focus on APT faculty with a teaching mission to create institutional and far-reaching effects.The plan will be accomplished by working groups, which will be formed to develop projects and examine identified issues.It should be noted that these activities will be coordinated at an administrative level by a newly named Assistant Vice Provost for Faculty Success who is herself an APT faculty member.There are plans and developments already underway at our institution, which would give an opportunity for other institutions, especially in the ASEE-GSW region, to value and merit this highly significant group of faculty members at their institutions.