With some faculty members’ concern that Iowa State is becoming too research-orientated, some temporary professors are taking a stand to promote teaching.

Suzanne Guess, temporary instructor of English, said temporary professors can’t provide the same education as full professors because they don’t have the necessary resources. Guess and others voiced their case at the Feb. 23 Government of the Student Body meeting.

“We wanted to make our concerns known to the student body because I don’t think that education is the No. 1 priority,” she said. “My main concern is truly for the students because they deserve a genuine university education, not the leavings of a research corporation/institute.”

However, not all temporary professors are unhappy with their positions.

“I’m very happy with my position; it works well for me as a mom,” said Brenda Diesslin, temporary assistant professor of mathematics.

But Dug-Hwan Choi, temporary assistant professor of mathematics, said the environment at Iowa State for temporary instructors is not conducive to research.

“[Temporary instructing] is a lot of work; however, you cannot evaluate it correctly,” he said. “There is no time for research,” which helps professors get ahead at the university.

Guess said one major problem is that temporary instructors are often prevented from getting tenure, which would make them full professors for life.

At Iowa State, a temporary professor is employed for about five years, Guess said. After seven years, a temporary professor can theoretically make a case to be granted tenure, but since contracts only last for five years, many temporary professors leave the university before making their case for tenure.

“We teach a good share of the courses [in the English department], and we aren’t given the resources to do our job effectively,” Guess said. “Then the group that is ultimately getting the shaft is the students.”

Some faculty members who are not temporary see some concerns with temporary professors’ status at Iowa State.

“If a temporary doesn’t have an office, has to share phones, doesn’t have access to e-mail, then the students with a temporary professor [don’t] have the same chance as students with tenure professors,” said Robert Hollinger, professor of philosophy and religious studies.

Hollinger said he believes temporary professors will be more common in the future.

“In today’s economy, they want to find ways to get rid of tenure to save money,” he said.