FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 11, 2026
Contact: Neil Bhaerman, nbhaerman@oft-aft.org
Columbus College of Art & Design Faculty Ratify First Union Contract
COLUMBUS — Members of the Columbus College of Art & Design Faculty Alliance (CFA) are now working under their first union contract, which went into effect on Friday, May 8 after an overwhelming majority of union members voted to ratify the contract earlier in the week. The agreement covers full time and adjunct professors at the private art and design college in downtown Columbus.
“We formed our union because too many decisions about our work were being made without our input and expertise, leading to poor working conditions, low wages, and a lack of job security,” said Sonya Fix, Associate Professor of Liberal Arts and CFA bargaining committee member.
“We’re proud of the changes we were able to make with this contract and look forward to building a strong collaborative relationship with administration as we implement the contract and exercise our union voice at work,” noted professor of photography and CFA bargaining committee member Duncan Snyder.
Many of the contract victories improve working conditions and job security for adjunct faculty, who make up 73% of all faculty. These improvements include: an option for year-long employment agreements (instead of semester-long), a senior adjunct position with higher pay and more job security, a course cancellation fee, creative leave (unpaid sabbaticals), and guaranteed workspaces for meetings and preparation. It is very rare for adjunct faculty in Ohio to be covered by a collective bargaining agreement due to restrictions on adjunct organizing in Ohio’s public colleges and universities.
The full-time faculty now have robust job security thanks to new protections for employment renewals, and guarantees based on the equivalence of super-seniority around their full-time status which protects and mitigates the college against further adjunctification of the faculty body.
“All faculty members at CCAD are essential to our students’ success and we all deserve fair and equitable treatment, job security, and respect — whether we’re full-time or adjunct faculty” said Thom Glick, an illustration adjunct and member of the CFA bargaining committee.
Other parts of the contract improved working conditions for all faculty, including more standardized class size caps, use of seniority to decide course assignments, and a more balanced and objective faculty evaluation process. Faculty will also have a greater role in decision making under a more powerful governance structure in the newly formed Faculty Senate. Additional support will come with the introduction of the Labor Management Committee, a collaboration in which faculty and administration can work together to solve or prevent problems in the workplace. The contract also defines and strengthens protections related to intellectual property and academic and creative freedom. Through the Faculty Senate and Labor Management Committee, faculty will also have protections and meaningful input on other emerging issues, like exploring what kind of relationship CCAD faculty and students forge with AI.
“What we’ve secured through this contract are enforceable rights and processes that are now legally codified and protected: from academic and creative freedom, to meaningful participation in the governance of the college, to a more objective relationship between evaluation and renewal/non-renewal protections,” said CFA bargaining committee member and Associate Professor of History of Art and Visual Culture, Dr. Aaron Petten.
After years of stagnant wages, full-time faculty will receive a 4% raise and adjuncts will receive a 10% raise throughout the three-year contract.
Another gain for all faculty is “just cause” and progressive discipline protections, which ensure that faculty are terminated only for just cause that is consistent with the contract and workplace policies, and ensures processes and procedures that provide employees with opportunities for job performance improvement for less serious infractions. Provisions of the contract also include an enforceable and binding grievance and independent arbitration process.
“Congratulations to the faculty at Columbus College of Art & Design on negotiating their first union contract,” said Theresa Kulbaga, professor of English at Miami University and president of the Faculty Alliance of Miami University. “Higher education is under attack in Ohio and across the country. Faculty have a responsibility to stand up for our students, ourselves, and our colleges and universities, and we have more power to do this when we organize and unite.”
CCAD faculty formed their union with the Ohio Federation of Teachers in 2023, winning their union election with a vast majority of both full-time and adjunct faculty members.
“CCAD is a vital institution for Columbus and central Ohio, educating generations of artists and designers. That institution is stronger and more resilient now that faculty have a collective voice with a union and a contract,” said Melissa Cropper, President of the Ohio Federation of Teachers.
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The Ohio Federation of Teachers is a state federation of 64 local unions representing more than 20,000 members who are active and retired public school teachers and staff, higher education faculty and staff, social workers, library workers, and public employees. OFT works to advance quality public education and higher education, intellectual freedom, and a voice in the workplace for Ohio’s education, public service, and social work professionals. OFT is affiliated with the 1.8 million member American Federation of Teachers.