Campus News
March 28, 2019
GC administrator presents at NADE Conference
Manley's session focused on recruiting and supporting part-time faculty
Lucy Manley, Garrett College Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, conducted a conference session on professional development for part-time faculty and a poster session on Breakout EDU at the recent National Association for Developmental Education (NADE) conference in Atlanta.
Community colleges rely heavily on part-time faculty to supplement their full-time faculty. That's one of many reasons Lucy Manley is committed to attracting and supporting the best possible part-time faculty for Garrett College.
"We have a large number of part-time faculty, which impacts the product we are providing our community," said Manley, Garrett College's Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, who presented at the recent National Association for Developmental Education conference on the topic of part-time faculty development. "It's important that we are bringing in qualified, experienced and knowledgeable people from our community to be part of our college community."
Manley's presentation at the Atlanta conference – Building Community at the Community College: Professionalization of Part-Time Faculty – emphasized several key topics related to developing an effective part-time faculty.
"We have to be intentional about recruiting outstanding people," said Manley, whose role at GC includes supervision of part-time faculty. "We have people in our community who have extensive experience in business and industry with knowledge they are eager to share, including things like skills our employers are looking for in our students. If someone wants to give back to the community through teaching, we are the ones that can facilitate opportunities and develop professionals into effective educators."
While hiring the right people is critical, Manley said providing professional development and welcoming part-time faculty into a college's academic community are also important strategies in building a strong part-time faculty.
"Professional development can include everything from tips on effective classroom use of technology to pedagogical training," said Manley, who indicated transforming campus culture to provide a more inclusive environment also plays a role in supporting part-time faculty. "It's important to include part-time faculty in regular faculty events where their voices can be heard and where they can connect with our full-time faculty."
Manley said providing a more inclusive campus culture doesn't have to be difficult and isn't always about the academic connections.
"I had a part-time faculty member ask me, 'If I'm teaching a class, can I participate in yoga over at the CARC?' " said Manley, referring to the $5-per-class lunchtime yoga sessions offered to GC employees at the Community Aquatic & Recreation Complex. "And the answer was yes. All I had to do was ask. Something that minor can make our part-time faculty feel like members of the college community."
Manley said incentivizing part-time faculty – even in challenging budget times – to go beyond classroom teaching is another strategy she recommends as part of comprehensive professional development.
"One way to do this within limited budgets is to look for grants that can compensate part-time faculty for extra work, such as curriculum development," said Manley.
Manley, who previously served as Director of the Learning Assessment and Support Center at Valley Forge Military College, said she began working in part-time faculty development with the English faculty at Valley Forge.
"I was able to take that work and start expanding on it in my role at Garrett," said Manley. "We have a strong pool of part-time faculty members at GC, and I want to ensure we're providing the opportunities and resources to allow them to grow and develop."
In addition to her presentation on part-time faculty, Manley conducted a conference "poster session" entitled Play to Learn: Breakout EDU. Manley said the Breakout EDU concept is "like the popular escape rooms" with teams participating in "immersive games to solve challenges that allow them to open locked boxes."
"These activities can be useful in faculty professional development, team-building, critical thinking, or in content-specific exercises," explained Manley, who has used Breakout EDU with GC's First-Year Experience (FYE) classes. "They can be used at every level from pre-readers through adults, and there are templates available to create your own games."
