Thirty full-time faculty members were hired at Pierce College for the fall 2015 school semester, with 50 more to be added in spring, their salaries funded with $900,000 in Proposition 30 funds granted to the college by the state.
Denise Robb, instructor of political science at Pierce, said, “the 30 new faculty members started on August 31, the beginning of the fall 2015 semester.”
Ken Windrum, a cinematography professor at Pierce College, was hired this semester as one of the new 30 full time faculty members. “I love working at Pierce” said Windrum. “That’s why I applied for the full time job. So far, it’s very intense, I have learned a lot.”
Windrum worked as an adjunct professor for 17 years before being hired on full time.
“There is a big difference between adjunct and a full timer” he said. “I’ve been enjoying it, it’s been a lot of learning and a lot of work. The school does a good job of helping orient new people.”
Windrum said he liked the idea of hiring 50 additional full-time instructors in the spring.
“I think that it’s good, I certainly think we need to hire more full time teachers,” Windrum said. “I can’t see a downside to hiring full time teachers.”
Windrum said that the full-time position does not yet mean he has tenure.
“It’s a probationary time period,” he said. “You have a four year probation period and then you can apply for tenure.”
According to Anna Bruzzese, Pierce College Academic Senate president and associate professor of sociology, the departments that feature the 30 new faculty members include: Animal Science, American Sign Language, Computer Applications and Office Technology, Cinema, Business, Math (3 new full-time faculty members), Sociology, Journalism, Theater, Library (2 new full-time faculty members), Computer Science Information Technology, Chemistry, Art/2D, Accounting, English, Physics, Philosophy, Spanish, Vocal, Counseling (3 new full-time faculty members), Auto, Horticulture (2 new full-time faculty members) and Piano.
