Letters to the Editor

Everyone Makes Mistakes

I thumbed through the gratis copy of your magazine I just received, and I do hope that writer James Ottavio Castagnera (“Everybody Lies,” Adjunct Advocate, January/February 2005) is not an English adjunct.
In a two-page article, he managed to use:
“she sited as one of her sources….” instead of “cited”
“that will vette student papers….” instead of “vet”
“…out of shear self-defense…” instead of “sheer”

Mignon Adams,
Director of Library and Information Services,
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia

Editor: I cannot tell a lie; I missed the errors pointed out above. The gentle reader who found them also asked if we were in need of a copyeditor. We are, in fact, in the midst of hiring a new one. In the meantime, thanks to all for reading each issue so closely.

I cry “Uncle”

Regarding Sharie Dinkins’s article (“Not Making the Cut, January/February 2005) I, too, have given up. They win and have beaten me to the ground. I am not going to even try again, as I no longer have the spirit for it.
I am sure you have many responses to the article. It reads like my own story as an adjunct at the local community college.

I am not exactly a poster-child in the adjunct world of administrative abuse, but I feel darn close. I have been teaching full-time-part-time since 1991—the max 60 percent load, plus summer school. The last three summers, I have taught 12 semester units or 4 classes, an ungodly number of units for a summer load; they exclude summer from the 60 percent load limit rule.

I have applied for full-time openings five times, and have only had one interview. It was with an outgoing president who talked more about his problems with the chancellor than about me teaching there. You’d think that 13 years at the job proving myself would matter. I guess not.

So why have I given up. First, they are not going to hire this old, conservative, Republican, white guy, veteran. Two, I am a guppy in a sea of liberal sharks, and do not stand a chance of being welcomed into the fold as a colleague. Three, the full-time faculty think of me as the enemy and as a pawn at the union bargaining table in their quest for ever higher pay and benefits.

The latest slam was when I heard that one of the full-timers, who sits on the selection committee in my department, said that they would never hire me because I also taught at the University of Phoenix….
My only comfort is that I know I am a damn good teacher and that they are not deserving of my good graces. I added it up the other day, and realized that over the years I have taught more than 7,000 students….

I love my students, and will always be in a classroom until I am unable to function effectively as an educator.

Down and out in Smallsville.
Richard Partain

Adjunct Support Systems

The two biggest ways to provide success for adjuncts are having them interact with peers, and implementing an active organizational system. In many cases, adjuncts have peers among the full-time faculty, but not colleagues. Part-time faculty often work in isolation with few opportunities for interaction. However, even in isolated curricular decision-making situations, peer confer-encing and seminars, which focus on adjunct responsibilities, are important. Collegiality and collaboration which focus upon planning, materials available and the characteristics of potential students will help adjuncts be more effective teachers.

Organizational support systems, including monitoring, positive feedback and appropriate placement will result in adjunct faculty who are more enthusiastic, and committed. Such supports would also help adjunct faculty develop the necessary planning skills to deal with future campus responsibilities, and develop their autonomy and confidence.

Adjuncts are not and should not be considered the junior varsity. Most come to their teaching assignments with a great deal of professionalism and experience. Part-time faculty have a lot to offer.
Dr. Morton Tener,
Rowan University,
Glassboro, NJ

Academic Leadership at Nimby State

Does Rob Schnelle make this stuff up, or does he work at my university? I laughed until I cried while reading his essay in the January/February issue (“Refolding the Map: Academic Leadership for All”). Carmen Flogg, Larry Swaggers and the whole gang work here at my school arranging workshops and faculty orientation sessions.

We part-timers have an orientation at the beginning of each semester. It is a lovely lukewarm tea and boxed cookies affair with the Dean. Often, a Department Chair pops in to smile (or not) and press the flesh (or not). I’m sure the events rival those at Nimby State.

Paul Whitting,
Indianapolis, IN