As anyone who has ever defended a thesis or been on a tenure track must know, American institutions of higher education have rigorous and finely calibrated ways of according respect to those who work in them. What they do not have enough of is respect from those beyond their gates. The author argues that the system that created the two-tiered faculty--tenure-line and contingent--on the nation's campuses must go. If contingents are hurting the quality of education because of inferior credentials, hasty hiring practices, or inadequate compensation and other working conditions, the solution is to address those practices and conditions and to integrate present and future contingents into the workings of colleges and universities. He contends that an integrated and beefed-up faculty should be created in order to regain control of their curricula and institutions. Once this integrated and beefed-up faculty is created, institutions of higher education will be more transparent. The author points out that the two-tiered system creates needless gaps: between faculty members; between faculty and students; and, as a byproduct, between students and subject matter. Equity can help close those gaps by rewarding all faculty equivalently, in proportion to a full and fair assessment of their actual contributions rather than according to tracks or other institutional constructs. In this article, the author asks if a new progressive era for higher education is possible without dealing with the question of equity between tenure line and non-tenure track faculty. (Contains 25 endnotes.)