Rutgers Political Science Lecturer Heather Pierce has been selected to receive the American Political Science Association's Award (APSA) for Excellence in Scholarship, Teaching, or Leadership by Contingent Faculty. The award recognizes scholars who have made significant contributions to the field of political science without the support of tenure-track employment. The award is sponsored by the APSA Committee on the Status of Contingent Faculty in the Profession.
Prof. Pierce is president of the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union, and has served on the Rutgers University Senate AND the New Brunswick Faculty Council since 2022. This year she will serve as chair of the Faculty Council, the first adjunct faculty member to serve in that role. For the past three years, she has been the faculty representative to the Rutgers Board of Governors, elected by the 250 members of the University Senate – making her the first adjunct professor to hold this position. This year she will add an additional role – she has been elected as one of the two faculty representatives to the Board of Trustees, also a first for an adjunct faculty member at Rutgers.