The gradual, and almost invisible, transformation of many “liberal arts
colleges” to more comprehensive institutions is similar to another
gradual trend that has reshaped the composition and the work of the
American academic profession. Over the past three decades, colleges and
universities have replaced tenure-track faculty positions with
part-time and full-time term-contract positions — a phenomenon Jack
Shuster and Martin Finkelstein referred to as the “silent revolution”
in their book The American Faculty: The Restructuring of Academic Work and Careers (Johns
Hopkins University Press, 2006). This piecemeal process at most
institutions was not the result of a careful review of academic
staffing needs or a systematic effort to improve the quality of
instruction and scholarship. Nor was it the outcome of a national
debate on the nature of the academic profession in the 21st century. — Roger G. Baldwin, Inside Higher Ed