First-class Facutly Deserve First-class Treatment

By Mark R. Evilsizer

For over 50 years Palomar College has built an excellent academic reputation, largely due to having an outstanding faculty and staff. This reputation is endangered.

Inequities exist for Adjunct teachers that limit the quality of education provided to our students. Students deserve full access to their teachers. Yet, Adjuncts have limited access to offices and receive no paid office hours for counseling students. Adjunct faculty should receive equal pay for equal work, yet earn approximately 37% of the wages of full-time faculty.

Adjuncts have no health/medical benefits paid for by the District, even though the state has set aside matching funds. Job security and rehire rights are non-existent for Adjuncts. Many teach at a number of colleges (and are called Freeway Flyers) to piece-meal together a living. Some manage to earn $25,000-30,000 a year, hardly a decent income for someone with an advanced degree in today's economy.

Full-time faculty know the added stress caused by too few full-timers to carry the responsibilities of curriculum development, program maintenance, institutional governance, hiring, tenure review, student advising, professional development, intersystem articulation, business partnerships and all the other professional obligations required to maintain a high-quality academic institution.

To attract and retain the best faculty and staff, Palomar must work to improve their pay, benefits and working conditions. We are in the lowest 25% tier of community colleges that are comparable in terms of size. This is abysmal.

Contract negotiations with the Palomar Faculty Federation are at an impasse, and a mediator is trying to bring the two sides closer to the resolution of issues between faculty and the administration. Our Board of Governors are not actively engaged in this process. They need to be.

Our students deserve the best, as do our teachers and staff. First-class treatment of faculty and staff is a high priority of mine. I will work hard to support faculty, staff, and the public to make Palomar College a better institution that we can all be proud of.