THE BRIDGE Connecting adjunct faculty to Rockland Community College
Burton Louis-Charles, Coordinator, Evening, Weekend, Day & Off-Site Studies • blouis@sunyrockland.edu
Spring 2015
do so. My ratings on that site have been excellent (except for one). Coincidentally, the one bad rating I received was the first person who put me on there. I guess s/he really despised me and I think I know who did it too.” (Professor C)
Do you think students should use RateMyProfessors.com when choosing college professors? RateMyProfessors.com is a website where teachers are rated by students. Many students use this website as a tool in deciding which professors to take classes from, as well as what colleges to attend. The site is public and a student who has taken classes with a particular professor can rate that professor and post their recommendations pro or con. Some professors believe this site is not a fair representation of their teaching, while others think it’s OK for prospective students to use it when choosing classes and colleges. We posed this question to a couple of our fellow faculty and the responses were intriguing. HERE ARE A FEW RESPONSES: “I think students should see the ratings. I ask my students if they look up their professors and almost all of them do. It is a way to informally rate us, without submitting through the college. In some ways if there is positive or negative “hype” it may skew the results of future ratings, though there is not much that can be done about that.” (Professor A) “I do not mind it when students use ratemyprofessors.com. In fact, I urge my students to rate me on the site if they wish to
“I don’t feel as though students should be prohibited from utilizing a site such as ratemyprofessor.com. I used it to check out professors while I was an undergrad, mainly for my electives and core courses as I had little options when selecting my Chemistry professors. I feel it’s a useful resource for the students when selecting their courses/ professors, especially at a commuter school like RCC where the students have limited interaction with their peers and a high turnover in student population.” (Professor B) “I think students should see the ratings. I ask my students if they look up their professors and almost all of them do. In some ways if there is positive or negative “hype” it may skew the results of future ratings, though there is not much that can be done about that.” (Professor M)
Do you think sites like RateMyProfessor.com could be damaging or helpful when interviewing for a new position? Please e-mail blouis@sunyrockland.edu.
Please join us for
SPRING 2015
Adjunct Faculty Start-Up
Wednesday, January 21 • 2 pm Cultural Arts Theater RSVP: Burton Louis-Charles at 845-574-4789 or blouis@ sunyrockland.edu
Adjunct Startup Meeting Fall 2014 We had a great turnout for the adjunct startup meeting for the Fall 2014 semester. At the meeting we learned about RCC’s Accessibility Services, E-Portfolios and Strategic Planning. Our College president, Dr. Cliff L. Wood, and Dr. Susan Deer, Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs & Student Services, spoke to our new and current adjunct faculty about the upcoming semester. Among the 72 adjunct attendees were 30 from Humanities, 29 from STEM disciplines and 13 from Business. Total attendance was 85. A special thank you to Monica Jackson, Amie Gardner and Dr. Roger W. Davis for their support in this endeavor.
Jude Fleurismond returns to RCC as Director of Admissions Jude Fleurismond ’99 has recently returned to his alma mater to serve as Director of Admissions For the past 12 years, Fleurismond has worked in college admissions throughout the tri-state area helping high school and adult students navigate the enrollment process. In his role as Director of Admissions, Fleurismond oversees the college admissions department as well as recruitment of new students. His office is responsible for application processing, collegewide Open Houses, campus recruitment, other outreach initiatives and international admissions. Fleurismond welcomes all to drop by his office in Room 8123 of the Technology Center. Office hours are Monday and Thursday, 8 am - 7 pm, and Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 8 am - 5 pm. Admissions is located on the first floor of the Technology Center. If you know of any new student recruitment opportunities for RCC or have any questions on the admissions process, feel free to contact Jude Fleurismond at 845-574-4484, or jfleuri2@sunyrockland.edu. While you’re there, welcome him aboard!
Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning CETL offers a Professional Development Program with a variety of workshops and presentations throughout the year. We strongly encourage adjunct faculty to attend faculty development workshops and to offer them as well. An adjunct who offers a CETL workshop will receive a small honorarium of $50. We would like to know what types of workshops would interest our adjunct faculty. Adjuncts who wish to offer a workshop during the semester should contact: Lynn Aaron (laaron@sunyrockland.edu) or Liya Li (lli@sunyrockland.edu).
Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning Technology Center, Room 8322 845-574-4705 cetl@sunyrockland.edu
Adjunct Lounges Academic I, Room 1224 Academic II, Room 2330 Technology Center, Room 8302
Seven tips a new English adjunct should know! 1. GRADEBOOK At the beginning of the semester you will receive a green
grade book and a handout regarding late/absence procedure. Important note: You must notify the department secretary (Lillian Piskun for developmental courses/Andrea Narciso for credit-bearing courses). This is necessary so that, first, students can be notified and a cancellation notice can be posted if need be, and second, an absence sheet can be generated for administrative purposes.
2. SYLLABI All faculty members are required to submit their course syllabi to their department chair
electronically at the start of the semester. Syllabi are then put into a shared folder for the division chairs. Before the due date for submitting your syllabi, Dr. Sue Deer, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs and Student Services, e-mails a sample syllabus with a suggested/required format that can be used as a base for your own, more specific syllabi.
3. COPIER USAGE Print shop forms are available for multiple copy jobs,
including syllabi, exams and handouts. Multiple copies of multiple page documents need to be sent to the Print Shop, which is located in the lower level of the Library, room 4106. The English office machines cannot handle a high volume of copies, and printer ink cartridges are costly and come out of the department budget. If given a week’s notice, the Print Shop is very good at sending the material back in time. Please do not expect the secretaries to make copies of your coursework.
4. LOAD SHEETS, ASSIGNMENT LETTER AND PAYROLL ISSUES
Once a faculty member’s schedule has been decided upon and approved, a load sheet is signed by the department chair and sent on to Academic Affairs for processing. Academic Affairs then enters the faculty names into Datatel. Assignment letters are sent to faculty at home; these need to be signed and sent back to Academic Affairs. Any questions regarding pay, direct deposit or cash cards, pay dollar amounts, etc., can be addressed by Kathy Tompkins at ktompkin@sunyrockland.edu.
5. CONTACT INFORMATION Please contact both department chair and
Human Resources in the event you move or have a change in their contact information, address, phone number, personal e-mail address or other pertinent information, so that our files can be up-to-date and accurate.
6. CENSUS AND EVALUATIONS Once delivered to the department,
census forms are distributed to faculty mailboxes. At that time, you are notified via the secretaries that there is time-sensitive material in your mailbox that needs immediate attention. Census records must be accurate, as a student’s financial aid and course records are directly affected by this document. Please be sure to follow the directions carefully when completing your course census.
7. KEY REQUESTS/WORK ORDERS These are now done online. Many faculty members
request a key so they won’t have to wait for Public Safety to open the door to the classroom. The request is signed off by the division chair and then given to the head of Public Safety. Once the request is fulfilled, Plant Facilities will send a notice to the faculty mailbox. The faculty must personally go down to the office in the basement of Academic II to pick up and sign for the key. They also must return the key when it is no longer needed. There is a charge for lost or unreturned keys. Please understand that this process takes some time, and plan accordingly.
A DJ U N C T Achievements Janet Thompson, adjunct, English, made three recent presentations: • “Online International Student Collaborations: Enabling the Inter- section of Distinct Courses, Learning Outcomes and Technology to Engage US, Canada, and Panama Students,” at the International Conference on Learning, Touro College, NYC, July 16 • “Faculty and student international, online collaborations: Meeting learning outcomes across disciplines,” at the Distance Teaching and Learning Conference in Madison, Wisconsin, Aug 12-14 • “Student Writing and International Collaborations in Two Flex Courses,” at the Blended Learning (formerly Sloan) Consortium in Denver, Colorado, July 8-9 Collette Fournier, Campus Photographer/Communications Assistant, exhibited her photographic work at the Garnerville Artoberfest, Oct. 11-12 &18-19. Christopher Plummer, adjunct, Performing Arts, and Director, Cultural Arts Theater, had his thesis “Nothing Truer than Truth” published through Regent University. The thesis includes his full-length play under the original Latin title, Vero Nihil Verius. He was also noted for his fight choreography in a New York Times review of playing the assassin at the Penguin Rep Theater in Stony Point. Bobby Deitch, adjunct, Performing Arts, was invited to conduct a workshop based on his book, The Drummer in You, on Jam Cruise 13 (www.jamcruise.com). Dennis J. O’Keefe, adjunct, presented a paper this summer, “Empirically Validating Ideological Defenses,” at the 37th Annual International Psychological Association Convention at New York University in NYC. Doria Hilsman, adjunct, Science, played the part of Bessie in the Bergen Playhouse production of Neil Simon’s 45 Seconds from Broadway, Oct. 25-Nov. 15. Jean Massaro, adjunct, Speech, presented at the New Jersey Speech and Hearing Association workshop in May.
TART= Tasty Adjunct Recipe Tips Recipes from our own adjunct faculty
CHOCOLATE CHIP PUMPKIN CAKE Combine the following ingredients: Sugar Mixture: 2 cups sugar 4 eggs 3/4 c. canola oil 1/2 Tsp. cinnamon 2 Tsp. baking soda 2 Tsp. baking powder 3 Cups flour 2 Cups Pumpkin 1 Cup Chocolate Chips Place 1 cup of the flour into sugar mixture, and stir with a wooden spoon. Place 1 cup pumpkin into sugar mixture, and stir again. Repeat this process, alternating between the flour and the pumpkin, until all the ingredients are incorporated, ending with the flour. Stir in chocolate chips all at once. Place mixture in Bundt pan sprayed with Baker’s Joy. Bake at 350° F for 1 hour. Remove from pan after it has cooled. Sprinkle powdered sugar over top after the cake has cooled. Submitted by James Meliti, Psychology
SALMON with MANGO SALSA 2 8 oz. salmon filets 2 teaspoons garlic powder 2 tablespoons light brown sugar Rub filets with garlic powder and sugar mixture and let sit for 15-20 minutes. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 15-18 minutes. Run under broiler for 2 minutes to lightly brown the top. Salsa 4 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced 1 mango, diced into cubes Juice of 1 lime 1/2 jalapeno, diced small, seeds removed (do not to touch eyes or any other sensitive areas) 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 1/2 small onion, diced 1-2 tablespoons sugar, agave or honey 1/2 teaspoon sea salt Combine and let sit out for 1 hour. You can also use other fruits such as pineapple, peaches or even an avocado. The fruit equals approx. 1 cup and you can mix fruits as well. Top salmon with salsa. Submitted by Wendy Gordon, Hospitality
College ID pictures can be taken in the Lobby of the Technology Center at the Security Booth. Please call 845-574-4217/4227 for days & hours of operation.
Dear Adjuncts, Do you have any tips or helpful ideas that your local adjuncts need to know? If so, please send them to blouis@sunyrockland.edu and I will post them in our future newsletter. Hope to hear from you and as always, thank you for your help and support. - Burton