Non-Tenure-Track Faculty in U.S. Geography: The Role of Professional Associations

Over the past several decades, non-tenure-track faculty (NTTF) have become the dominant instructional workforce in U.S. higher education, yet professional support structures have not kept pace. In a discipline where teaching and applied work are central, NTTF play significant roles while remaining structurally and institutionally marginalized. This article examines how professional associations shape NTTF participation, belonging, and career sustainability in U.S. geography. Drawing on online focus-group interviews with forty-two non-tenure-track geographers across institution types, we analyze patterns of association membership, perceived benefits and barriers, and faculty perspectives on how organizations might better support their work. Findings show that participants value associations for disciplinary identity, intellectual exchange, mentoring, and community, particularly when such connections are limited at their home institutions. High costs, heavy teaching loads, limited institutional support, and conference-centered engagement constrain participation, however, and reinforce tenure-track hierarchies. Participants expressed interest in alternatives to annual meetings, including online programming, mentoring networks, pedagogical resources, and clearer pathways into service and leadership. We recommend that professional associations adopt a more explicit advocacy role and expand participation beyond conference-centered models toward more accessible and inclusive forms of engagement. Together, these shifts could strengthen faculty well-being and the long-term vitality of the discipline.