The New Adjunct

• What a Year It Has Been!

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  24 May 2010 /  New Adjunct
  Friends, Adjuncts, lend me your ear!

  As we watch the dust settle on the 2009-2010 academic year, let us take a moment to breathe a collective sigh of relief, as well as reflect. If your experiences have been anything like mine, I can assure that you are tired and reflective. I can honestly say that this has been a both gruelling and fulfilling semester. I have slept in spurts, written and read over 7,000 pages, and questioned my sanity on multiple occasions. Needless to say, it’s all been worth it.

  Before I reflect on lessons learned this academic-year, allow me to clear up a couple of logistical glitches from previous posts. As I announced a few weeks ago, The New Adjunct has merged with the Indianapolis-based organization Adjunct Matters. However, in my excitement of the merger, and decision to wait until the last possible minute to make the announcement and meet my blogging deadline, I have unfortunately misinterpreted some details. These details will be reflected in re-writes of the two entries previous to this one. These misinterpretations should not be a reflection of Adjunct Matters’ professionalism, but rather, my own oversights. My sincerest apologies to the organization that has been so gracioius to welcome the efforts of The New Adjunct.

  The 2009-2010 academic year will be remembered as a personal and professional victory for me. I took on an appointment as the Director of First Year Experience at my institution, as well as advisor positions with two student organizations. This was all in addition to my teaching load. I can honestly say that I have had more successful endeavors this year than ever. I have seen the value in collaborative campus and community events, enjoyed watching students reap the fruits of their labor, and learned some valuable lessons along the way. Writing this blog  (during a year in which powerful pieces of K-12 curricula are being banned in some states, and we watched in horror as a faculty member “shot up” a faculty meeting over tenure) has been of great pleasure, as it has allowed me to hear the voices of those that truly struggle for existence. There are some aspects of the job that we will never agree upon, but one fact remains clear: Adjunct Faculty have a place in the fabric of the postsecondary institution. We just need to weave it in tighter.

  On a personal level, I am one year away from the most amazing accomplishment of my life. Barring tragedy (knock on wood-heck, knock on trees), I am tenatively scheduled to defend my doctoral dissertation in February of 2011, and complete my PhD. in Higher Education Administration and Leadership in May. Many of my colleagues have told me that completion of this degree will surely result in the end of my adjunct duties. As if my time in the military will come to an end. It is odd to think that all the personal and professional things I dream of can be quelled with the completion of a 250 page paper. Stay tuned. If that’s truly the secret to professional dignity, you’ll be the first to know.

  At the end of the day (or year as in this case), here are the pieces of wisdom I take away.

  1. The Doctorate is the key to sitting on a full-time faculty. Fair or not, it is the reality of the academy.

  2. Inclusivity and experience are the two most important things an adjunct can secure. Outside of the obvious qualms (poor pay, too many classes), I have found that what many adjuncts want (and deserve, quite frankly) is to be treated like they are part of the faculty also.

  3. Opportunities are out there. Conferences, seminars, organizations, etc. You can not only make connections with valuable resources, but you can also experience insights that will grow your pedagogy.

  4. There are valuable people on our campuses that have no idea we exist, but are willing to be of service. Find them!

  5. With observations 2, 3, and 4 in mind, take some time to stick around campus after class. It’s the teaching 6-7 classes across 3-4 campuses that keep us from finding these folks. Your campuses are fascinating places with fascinating people. Immerse yourself in your own community.

  That’s all for now. I have had a week to rest and relax, and now it’s time to get back to work. This summer is shaping up to be incredibly busy, and my blogs will be part of that mix. Congrats on another successful year! Take a breather. You deserve it!!!

  Tags: Adjunct Matters, New Adjunct, Paul Porter

• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to a Web page: The Perils and Potentialities of The New Adjunct

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  24 Mar 2010 /  New Adjunct, adjunct faculty, professional development
  I have returned from the NASPA conference, and strangely, I have money in my bank account. I guess that’s what a steady diet of peanut butter and a shared hotel room will do for ya (wink).

  In all seriousness, I had a wonderful time. I made a couple of contacts, met some wonderful scholars and participated in some great discussions. I came back with great ideas to bring back to my bosses, which they always appreciate. However, when I returned to work on our little online project, I found that the list of instructions I left my webmaster were not completed. Thus, the lack of glorious blog to announce the official launch.

  It’s coming…I promise.

  I also noticed a lack of response to the homework I assigned you all in my last entry. So let me ask again,

  I’m looking to compile a list of resources that will be helpful to adjunct faculty in terms professional development opportunities- grant dollars, conference call for papers, publication opportunities, etc. It is my hope that we can begin to build a directory of options for all adjuncts to begin building their resumes. So once again, I employ you, share these resources. Let’s work together to help each other out. That’s what The New Adjunct is all about.

  Another idea that I’ve been running through my head comes from a fabulous comment from a reader of my previous entry. I hope this reader doesn’t mind me sharing their comments. In response to my essay on the plight of the adjunct at a national conference, a reader wrote,

  I have been an adjunct online teacher for over 12 years and have wanted to attend conferences yet have not been able to do so for many of the same reasons you stated. I believe a low cost self-created conference for the adjunct would be a great experience providing opportunites to share and compare, as well as a learning environment. These could be locally driven and sponsored by a small conference cost.

  What an incredible idea! To you, my faithful reader, I have started inquiring about a way to make this a reality. Here’s my idea, let me know what you think:

  A conference specific to adjunct faculty issues that would take place in the next 12-18 months. The conference would put out a call for original research and analyses, as well as developing some learning caucuses. It wouldn’t be much, but certainly worth considering. Oh, I should also mention that the conference would be relatively cost effective- a modest registration fee; thus leaving you with only the cost of travel, lodging and food.

  Here’s your additional homework assignment: tell me your thoughts on this potentiality. Is it something you would seek out? Would an adjunct faculty conference be worthwhile to you, and is it something you would pass along to your adjunct faculty colleagues? Your opinions matter exponentially.

  First Lady Michelle Obama once remarked, “Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it’s not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won’t. it’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.” As our pursuit of impact and influence on minds, young and old continue, we must continue to help each other take steps to make our marks professionally. I promise you all, The New Adjunct will be here soon, and will do its part to make a mark also. Continue to follow us, and please, do whatever you can to make this great project all it can be.

  Tags: Michelle Obama, New Adjunct, Paul Porter

• New Adjunct, Same Conference Hustle: Reflections

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  11 Mar 2010 /  networking, professional development
  Ladies and gentleman, I am reporting LIVE from the National Association of Student Personnel  Administrators (NASPA) annual conference in Chicago. I am here for meaningful dialogues, soaking up valuable information, and developing lasting relationships with my colleagues nationwide.

  And maybe a little job searching (wink).

  Much like the adjunct experience, I am also a veteran of the national conferences that do such a powerful service to members of the academy. As I look though my conference program, I am as tickled as always about the fact that we in the profession conjure up dynamic program names by coupling a series of big words along with a colon and brief terminology related to my field. Makes me think I should rename this blog, Contextual deconstructions of digital diatribes: An existential phenomenological analysis of adjunct faculty blogs (Yeah, I don’t know what it means either).  

  Another conference tradition I typically take part in is the wincing and hesitation that goes along with every cost associated. Like most adjuncts, I’m stuck paying the bill for this opportunity for me to learn from my colleagues, and try to advance myself professionally.  So, while I watch senior-level administrators enjoying steak dinners and cocktails, I am checking my bank account with my fingers crossed, making tough financial choices before buying coffee, and building a strong rapport with folks at the local 7-11. I do it all in the name of professional development.

  In hindsight, I must the experience has been rich. I have had sit-down conversations with an array of student affairs administrators, everything from Residence Hall Directors, to Vice-Presidents. I have met people from the smallest liberal arts colleges and the largest state public universities. Even better, I have a stack of business cards from said administrators who are willing to look at my résumé, and even pass my name along should their respective institution have no openings. Now, I’m going to go out on a limb (on that limb we’ll find my experiences as an adjunct trying to attend conferences), and assume that most of you are either devoid of the saved money or institutional support to get to these conferences. Typically, they are held in major metropolitan cities, charge an arm and a leg for registration and membership (generally no discount for adjunct faculty), and take place during the school year. What does this mean for the “new breed” of America’s adjunct faculty?  In some instances, adjuncts are kept out of the loop on these opportunities. An example: in 2006, I was working as an adjunct at a large, public university in the Midwest, and my department didn’t bother to tell me, or any of our department’s adjuncts, about a conference that was taking place IN OUR OWN CITY!

  Now, admitedly, all of my assumptions here are just that, assumptions. It is very much possible that there are some great organizations out there that are using at least a segment of their national meeting to reach out to adjuncts, or at least cutting them some sort of break on the costs of membership/conference registration. Herein lies the New Adjunct website, and your homework.

  I would like to start putting some real work and thought into The New Adjunct web site’s Adjunct Faculty Resources page. I think it’s about time that adjunct faculty were made aware of what conferences are adjunct-friendly (i.e. have adjunct faculty caucuses, welcome research on adjunct faculty issues, etc…), as well as resources available exclusively for adjuncts to minimize the costs of travel/membership/registration. What I would like to ask of you, my wonderfully faithful readers, is help in compiling a list. If you know of grant dollars for adjuncts, specific academic organizations that offer incentives for adjuncts-financial or otherwise, please email them to me at paul@thenewadjunct.com.  

  The web page is taking shape steadily. The perils of  relying on people to work with page design, is that you find yourself at the mercy of their interests sometimes. In the meantime, keep following The New Adjunct on Twitter and Facebook. I’ll have more to report in a couple of weeks. For now, there’s a conga-line at the hotel bar (If only I had the money to go)

  Tags: conference, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, New Adjunct, Paul Porter, professional development

• The Process of Progress: The Creation of an Internet Support Site for Adjunct Faculty

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  09 Feb 2010 /  adjunct faculty, networking
  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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  Tags: AdjunctNation.com, faculty support, networking, New Adjunct, Paul Porter, Sarah Layden

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