Senior Teaching Fellows

From: Sanford Shugart
To: All Faculty and Staff
Date: 10/28/02 1:56 PM
Subject: Senior Teaching Fellows

For the past year, I have been in dialog with several veteran professors about their desire to continue to serve Valencia at some level while enjoying the lifestyle in retirement to which they have so looked forward. Many still have much to offer to students and the college, but need to fulfill their retirement plans for personal as well as financial reasons. Because Valencia continues to work with a shortage of faculty, both full-time and adjunct in many areas, I think some new way of engaging some of these recent retirees will be useful. In addition, they may bring the added value of a rich institutional memory and many years of experience as learning leaders. Therefore, I have outlined below a proposal to create a new rank of "Senior Teaching Fellow." This proposal has been discussed with the Faculty Association Board and the Instructional Affairs Committee and their comments incorporated. This is the last opportunity for general input (please offer any final comments this week.) I intend to activate the program for the Spring Semester, 2003.

1. Purpose. The Senior Teaching Fellows Program is designed to help address the ongoing shortage of teaching faculty and to continue a productive connection with veteran faculty who are making a significant lifestyle change in retirement, but can still contribute with a reduced load.

2. Eligibility for Appointment. Professors retired after a minimum of ten years of full-time service at Valencia are eligible to be appointed by the dean on a term-by-term basis as "Senior Teaching Fellows." Appointment is at the discretion of the dean and governed by the needs of the educational program.

3. Load. Senior Teaching Fellows may be assigned a maximum of nine credit hours or two sections, whichever is greater, during fall and spring sessions, and six hours cumulative in summer sessions A, B, and Full combined.

4. Compensation. Senior Teaching Fellows will be compensated at the appropriate rate of adjunct pay plus $350 per credit hour.

5. Expectations. Senior Teaching Fellows will provide effective classroom instruction and scheduled access to students outside of classroom hours at the rate of two hours of contact for every three credit hours. While office space cannot generally be made available to Senior Teaching Fellows, each campus will try to provide appropriate space and means for engaging students outside of class.

6. Other Roles. Appointment as a Senior Teaching Fellow shall be for facilitating student learning as a classroom teacher or a closely associated role in direct service to students (lab faculty, mentor, internship supervisor, etc.)

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