CCA gets the event rolling
Judging from the success of the first Part-time Faculty Appreciation Month, the event may be headed toward an annual event on the CCA’s calendar.
“We are trying to get the message out that part-time faculty are important and they are valued,” said John Sullivan, CCA board member representing part-time faculty.
A number of CCA chapters got into the spirit and honored part-time instructors on their campuses with special lunches, receptions and resolutions.
In a resolution passed by the board of trustees at Imperial Valley College, part-time instructors were recognized for the essential services they provide “which enhance the ability of our students to successfully achieve their academic goals” and were publicly thanked for their vital contribution to students. Part-time faculty at IVC were only recently recognized as a chapter
of the Community College Association.
At Rancho Santiago College in Santa Ana, nearly 70 part-time instructors were treated to a special lunch sponsored by the Continuing Education Faculty Association (CEFA). Attending the lunch was a board of trustee member and a local school board candidate. In addition, CCA staff Marianne Reynolds led an interactive workshop on unemployment benefits. The CEFA event was funded by a grant from CCA to support part-time membership development.
“This was the first time in many years that we had so many participants. We’re on two different campuses and a lot of us don’t see each other,” said CEFA Jose Lopez Mercedes, who obtained a CCA grant for the event from the Membership Committee.
The San Joaquin Delta Faculty Association sponsored a lunch for more than 30 part-time instructors in addition to a CTA presentation on the California State Teachers Retirement System. Other events during the month included a presentation before the college trustees by San Joaquin Delta CTA President Elizabeth Maloney and a workshop on unemployment.
After discussions with association representatives, Riverside Community College District Chancellor Gregory Grey also thanked part-time faculty for their valuable service to the community in an unexpected district-wide e-mail. Riverside City College, one of the campuses, was to have hosted a reception in late April as well.
Part-time instructors at Merced College were honored for the third year in a row with a lunch, a recognition by the district board of trustees and with an award ceremony by the college’s Academic Senate. The event even received coverage in the local newspaper.
“We turned our part-time faculty from invisible to visible,” said Merced College Faculty Association President Keith Law, a full-time philosophy instructor.
The effort by Merced’s chapter is resulting in even more tangible rewards. Part-time instructors there have won parity in negotiations and Law said the next fight will be over office hours.
CCA’s Part-time Issues Committee is already looking to next year to make the event even more successful. Materials and information as well as applications for a CCA grant can be found on the website at www.CCA4me.org.