Coping with Part-Time Employment Is Focus Of Community College Union Conference

MIDDLETOWN – Overcoming part-time college employment obstacles will be the focus of an all-day conference Saturday, April 22, at Middlesex Community College.

The free conference, sponsored by the Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges (4Cs), will offer part-time college employees, including professors, hands-on information about benefits, job opportunities and securing part- and full-time positions. Ray Esponda of West Hartford, a part-time professor of environmental engineering and science at Gateway Community College, will chair a panel on “Adjuncts and Benefits.” Items to be discussed include planning for health, retirement and unemployment benefits between contracts. Adjuncts are often mistakenly categorized as substitute teachers and wrongfully denied benefits.

“Part-time college employment is fraught with uncertainty,” said Norwich native Merja Lehtinen, part-time professor at Enfield’s Asnuntuck Community College and Chair of the 4Cs statewide Part-Timers Committee. “Part-time staffers have to cope with non-tenure contracts that can expire in as little as two weeks, while part-time professors have to live with the likelihood that they can get as little as one day’s notice that they’re not needed.”

The 4Cs conference is designed as a survival kit to help to help part-time college employees to overcome these obstacles. It will feature discussions on subjects such as preparing for a full-time job offer; retirement facts for part-timers; benefits available; the value of getting published; the need for part-time science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) instructors; part-timer’s union dues at work; and the benefits of union involvement.

At the conference:

Sandra Barnes of Bridgeport, a full-time science professor at Housatonic Community College, will present a workshop on the role of adjuncts and the increasing demand for STEM professors.

4Cs Political Director Bob Fernandez of Franklin and organizer Greg Jackson of Fairfield will chair a panel on political engagement. They will discuss methods of political discourse including testifying at legislative committee hearings, writing Op Ed pieces and Letters to the Editor, and demonstrating at rallies.

Merja Lehtinen of Colchester, Chair of the 4Cs statewide Part-Timer’s Committee and an adjunct professor of English and Writing at Enfield’s Asnuntuck Community College, will present a workshop on "Publish or Perish." It will cover how and why publishing research, expert opinion, and practical work in your discipline is a critical to your success and that of your students. It will cover practical ways to prepare for, submit, and successfully publish material in peer-reviewed journals, newspapers, and magazines, across disciplines.

The conference, which free but requires registration, will be held from 9:30-a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Middlesex Community College library.

There are still vacant slots on the conference agenda. If you have an idea for a presentation, or wish to register for the conference, contact Lehtinen at ctmlhr@yahoo.com, Glaviano at AGlaviano@mxcc.commnet.edu, or email info@the4Cs.org.

The Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges represents some 4,000 faculty and professional staff at community and private four-year colleges and universities.