A history of the professoriate would not be complete without an account of nontenure-track faculty. Whether these faculty members are referenced using the terms "contingent," "part time," "contract," "adjunct," "clinical," "research," "visiting," "lecturer," or "senior lecturer," they constitute a group of faculty who have lived and worked at the margins of academia for some time. This article discusses the history of the nontenure-track faculty, the benefits of their appointments, and the challenges and opportunities that these faculty face. The focus here is on those who are primarily serving as teachers, as opposed to other roles.