Look around your institution, and you are likely to see a world populated with adjuncts. Adjunct professors are becoming the backbone of the American university. But being an adjunct can be something of a death by a thousand paper cuts if not handled well by academic leadership.The good news is, you, as an academic leader, can address some of the problems associated with working as an adjunct. While some issues - like pay - may be out of your control, you can address some of the smaller realities that characterize the adjunct professor’s life. By understanding what it means to be an adjunct, you can motivate these critical employees on which your university increasingly depends.