College of the Desert Honors Part-Time Faculty
Part-time faculty at College of the Desert were recognized in September when the school held a dinner and awards ceremony for adjunct faculty.
“This is the first time evidently in many years that this has been done,” said Fergus Currie, president of the COD Adjuncts Association. “There are 365 part-timers (at COD), and we teach approximately anywhere from 60 to 65 percent of classes.”
About 180 adjuncts attended event, to be held in the Hilb Student Center, said Currie, a former college professor at Illinois State University who now teaches communication classes at COD.
Ron Norton Reel, president of the Community College Association, was the scheduled keynote speaker, and adjuncts with five years or more at COD received a special plaque. Part-timers who had been teaching for 15 years or more also got gift cards.
Shirley Larson, 75, of La Quinta leads with 33 years at COD. She spent 18 of them as an adjunct, teaching remedial reading and English.
“I was very happy to work as an adjunct,” Larson said. “I actually preferred it. I was working three-quarters’ time, and I could still have time to spend with our children.”
For Jean Waggoner, 58, of Idyllwild, being an adjunct means teaching classes at three different community colleges — COD, Mt. San Jacinto College and Riverside Community College — to make ends meet.
“It’s cheaper for the colleges to hire us and not pay benefits,” said Waggoner, who’s been at COD since 2001, also teaching remedial English. “I’ve almost given up on a full-time job.”
COD President Jerry Patton said it can be hard for an adjunct to go full-time.
“It is hard to get them into the culture of the college,” Patton said. “There’s not any prejudice or attitude that we’re not going to hire our own faculty. It’s just a matter of going through (the process) and hiring the best person who’s applied.”
Community colleges have always depended on adjuncts, particularly in vocational or professional courses where they can bring practical experience into the classroom. But with schools such as COD sending more students to four-year institutions, many adjuncts now teach key academic courses without the same status or pay as full-timers, Currie said.
“We have no offices (on campus),” he said. “We don’t even have filing cabinets.”
Stephanie Herrington, 50, an adjunct at COD’s early childhood education center, said adjuncts are vital for injecting professional expertise into the classroom.
With events like the recognition dinner, Currie is pushing for a higher profile and more involvement for adjuncts in the academic community. Part-timers are now taking seats on core faculty committees, and Patton also has invited them to his monthly faculty lunches.