Several recent studies examining campus employment patterns over the last 10, 20 or 30 years show an increasing dependence on adjuncts and a large expansion of support staff, the latter driven by the need to comply with government regulations, provide information technology services and meet student demand for creature comforts on campus. Among the part-time instructors, the presence of scholars of color has been growing the fastest. The growth of professional support personnel has siphoned off some minority scholars frustrated in their pursuit of tenure track positions, particularly in the life sciences. A large number of minorities, particularly women, wind up in science-related support positions that do not involve teaching or conducting research and rarely lead to regular faculty positions. Analysts say other factors limiting opportunities for minority scholars to secure prized tenure-track positions include a large supply of doctorates in some fields, increased hiring standards and residual racial biases at major research institutions favoring candidates from similar schools--where minorities are underrepresented in doctoral programs. The long-anticipated retirement of tenured members of the baby boom generation could loosen up teaching opportunities for scholars of color. But some observers harbor justifiable worries that those coveted positions could get subdivided into adjunct slots.