Wow, I bet the new adjuncts would like to have a copy of this.

Blemished Gold

Date: Dec 18
Views: 347

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Sound Familiar? Faculty Replaced At My School

We got a new vice president of academic instruction last year at the college where I teach. Within 6 months he demoted the chair of my department and made all 7 instructors reapply for their jobs the following semester.

The Chair formed a partnership with the instructors to begin a campaign against the new VP. The instructors had encouraged their students to write letters to the local media and to the VP to get him to change his position about the faculty replacement. The result was that the Chair was fired from the college with 3 weeks left in the semester. Someone had to step in and finish his classes.

Does any of that sound familiar?

Well here is what will not sound familiar. Although the Chair contacted me and asked me for support, I declined. Even though I was forced to reapply for my job and was about to be out of work for the first time in a very long time, I did not believe I should take actions that would use students unethically or bring embarrassment to the college I was working for. Two of my students even sent me email at the end of the semester asking me what classes I was going to teach next semester because they wanted to register for my classes (a huge compliment). I did not make my problem their problem. I did not offer them extra credit or implore them to contact the VP or the local media. I did not encourage them or offer them extra credit to hold an impeachment rally outside his office after I made sure the local news media would be there. I did not publicly defame the school. Rather, I did the professional and ethical thing and simply told my students that the schedule guide had not come out yet and they should wait a few more weeks to see what classes I would be teaching.

I believe employees, no matter how much they feel unappreciated or have been wronged, should not take actions that will undermine or embarrass their employer. I believe educators especially, no matter what preference they give to research over teaching, should never take vengeful actions that will cause their former students’ diploma to be cheapened and diminished in value.

Long story short, I was the only instructor out of seven hired back. Sometimes leaving as a professional person pays off. I sleep good at night knowing that I did not sink to the level that so many of the USM community (used loosely) have fallen to.