A film chronical of the life of an adjunct instructor, in the mind of Dr. Jessica Posey, is hardly “The Best Years of Our Lives.”
More like “The Hunger Games.”
Posey’s ground-breaking Ph.D. dissertation, “The Plight of the Adjunct: May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor” was inspired by her five years as an adjunct at Southwestern College. It concludes what is an open secret in America: our nation’s part-time higher education corps are overworked, over-stressed, under-paid and underappreciated.
“You are working as hard as your full-time faculty peers, but you are not recognized as one of them and were often treated like a second-class citizen,” said Posey. “I felt like I could not really be the best I could for my students because I would try to have office hours in every campus, but since I did not have an office it meant that my office was a bench at school or I would find a coffee shop near the college. It gave you a sense of not belonging to any one place.”
Adjuncts by law may only teach nine units at any campus and at a lower pay rate than full-time faculty. To cobble together a living wage, adjuncts often teach at several colleges. They have been dubbed “Freeway Flyers.”
Posey was an adjunct for five years, she said, driving more than 100 miles a day between five colleges. She had to survive on unemployment checks, food stamps and Medi-Cal to provide for her family.
“Balancing work and family as an adjunct was very challenging, especially as a single parent,” she said. “I felt like my children suffered because they could not really be in extracurricular activities.”
Determined to become a professor, Posey continued to teach despite no job security, health benefits or office.
“It gave you a sense of not belonging,” she said.
Her world changed dramatically, Posey said, when she was hired as a tenure-track assistant professor in 2014.
“I felt more respected as a colleague because I am full-time,” she said. “I feel more included in decision making and the absolute sense of job security.”
She also said she felt more free to speak up.
“When issues come up that need a voice to advocate for change, I do not have to worry anymore,” said Posey. “As an adjunct you are constantly worried about what you say and how you are perceived because you can get backlash for your actions. If you are speaking out about injustice or being marginalized, you can be perceived as a troublemaker.”
Posey joined forces with Assistant Professor of English Laura Brooks to support adjuncts and include them as colleagues. Brooks said Posey was a mentor who helped her to successfully apply for a tenure track position.
“She has been my biggest advocate,” said Brooks. “She gave me all the materials I needed when I asked for help. If I needed ideas for a class, she would help me. She would look over my stuff and edit it if I needed it.”
Brooks and Posey created an adjunct resource site through Canvas to help adjuncts to do their jobs effectively and guide them toward full-time employment.
Mentors are essential to adjuncts, Posey said. She remains grateful for the late Professor of English Susan Luzzaro who taught her the importance of community college and its unwavering support of students.
“Susan saw something in me,” said Posey. “She thought that one day I could get my doctorate. Nobody had ever said that to me before. It planted the little seed.”
Luzzaro’s encouragement led to Posey earning a Master’s in Medieval Literature from SDSU —and a career in higher education. Posey said it is her time to pay-it-forward in honor of Luzzaro, one adjunct at a time.