I wish I could wish you all a happy “Post Super Bowl Week,” but I’m from Indianapolis.
When I accepted the offer from AdjunctNation.com to write about the process of creating a website for Adjunct Faculty, I thought to myself, “Self, this is GREAT! An opportunity to not only put forth a place to help adjuncts further themselves professionally, but also a national outlet to write about it!!!!” Little did I know, the first part is incredibly difficult.
The most difficult aspect is support. This isn’t exactly a resource that most institutions are willing to invest money and resource in. In fact, I don’t think I have even mentioned it to my institution (outside of bringing it up to adjuncts). Helping part-time faculty become full-time faculty is something of a “cat and mouse” game. Quite possibly because we’re not only unifying adjuncts in developing as professionals, but moreover, there’s the very real fear that creating another context to give adjuncts a voice will well…give adjuncts a voice. But it’s a necessary evil. There are so many paradigms of higher education that adjuncts are not privy to. Typically, we’re reduced to the simple questions, “Are there any available/leftover sections of __________? and “Can I have some said sections _______. Now we have the audacity to inquire about professional development, going to conferences, hosting on-campus events, and even teaching 200, 300, and 400-level course. Clearly this represents the day in which adjuncts go mad and take higher education with them.
That day is fast approaching!
In collaboration with Sarah Layden, an adjunct instructor with an MFA in Creative Writing from a prominent institution in the Eastern region of the United States, we have worked diligently to conceptualize and begin preparing this website. It is our fervent hope that the page will launch fairly soon.
It was our hope to launch the page in January-approximately one month after our first meeting. What we quickly found out was that like most adjuncts, it is a battle to even coordinate schedules to meet and conceptualize. We also found that when progress is dependent on others (in this case our webmaster), it can be a laborious and frustrating process. We have also learned that a resource of this nature requires a lot of attention to detail, and careful preparation. Our intent is pure: to create a webpage with information and resources to help part-time faculty secure full-time jobs and develop as professionals. However, extending our message to the thousands of adjunct faculty in Indiana and beyond takes some carefully calculated steps. As such, we have created a Twitter account, as well as a Facebook page to begin the development of a following. At the advice of our webmaster, we will use these outlets, along with AdjunctNation.com throughout the process, to not only give updates, but also to announce the official launch. Click the links at the bottom to join and follow us.
On to the good stuff, the features. With all respect to AdjunctNation.com, we didn’t want to be a “copycat page.” So, Sarah and I spent most of our meetings trying to figure out what we could offer that would make us unique. Ironically (and contradictory I may add), we started looking at other pages to get ideas for layout, color scheme, etc. Which I think is par for the course for young professors, in the sense that we typically frame our teaching styles through bits and pieces of our colleagues. Like any page, we will offer a forum page, with a couple of “start up threads” to get you participating on the page, and encouraging you to put up others. We will also offer a “Links and Resources” tab, in which we will keep you updated on conferences, grant opportunities, and any other tidbits that you can use to further your professional development. It will also be a good place to find articles specific to adjunct faculty development.
Perhaps the neatest aspect will be our efforts to spotlight you—the adjuncts who work fervently to provide higher education with an ambitious energy for teaching that is precious and difficult to replicate. Our Spotlight page will be used to announce your successes and celebrate your efforts. We will also offer an “Adjunct of the Month” award where you will have a page dedicated to the recipient for 30 days. In time we will welcome bloggers similar to that of AdjunctNation.com. However in the meantime, you will be able to follow myself and Sarah through the “Administrators’ Corners.”
Over the past two months we have worked with lawyers, webmasters and the wonderful support of AdjunctNation.com to conceptualize and begin designing this page. It is our sincere hope that we can provide you with a top-notch page with a sleek design and helpful content. We look forward to hearing from you!
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