The FA officers encourage all members to get out and vote! We are happy to see citizens turning out in record numbers for early voting, as we know that each and every voice matters. (selfie collage by Cynthia Eaton)

In the summer of 2004, I was fortunate enough to have secured a temporary line teaching communication studies at Ammerman. Prior to the start of the 2004-05 academic year, we gathered for Convocation, during which all new faculty were introduced and brought up on stage. This was a bit embarrassing for me, but I thankfully was not alone as nearly 50 new full-time hires filled the stage.

The following years brought more new faculty to the college, many of them tenure track—but then suddenly the practice of hiring tenure-track faculty, particularly classroom faculty, seemed to evaporate over the next ten years.  

Currently we have a faculty body that heavily relies on adjuncts, who now make up 76% of the faculty. This is a far cry from the SCC Board of Trustees commitment, made on February 13, 2003, to a healthier full-time/adjunct ratio, which was passed just prior to my joining the faculty ranks:

ESTABLISHING A GOAL FOR FULL TIME /ADJUNCT FACULTY RATIOS

It shall be the goal of Suffolk County Community College to attain a ratio of not less than 70% of all day courses staffed by full time faculty, and not less than 63% across the entire day/weekend/evening schedule, it being understood that variations may occur in particular instances due to funding and/or other factors beyond the reasonable control of the College administration.

The FA has long been understanding of the challenges created by financial exigencies such as the current impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. We recognize that the county and state at times face unusual fiscal difficulties. However, we are hard pressed to believe that the past 17 years have been replete with such unprecedented fiscal difficulties.

What we see, instead, is that there are currently 429 full-time faculty and 178 administrators, which means there are 2.4 faculty for every administrator. In the September issue of The WORD, adjunct assistant professor of English Dr. Kerry Spooner cites research by two economics professors who identify an ideal ratio of full-time tenure-track faculty to administrators as three to one. This is not only shown to be actually more cost effective but also more ethically appropriate to uphold the educational mission of a college or university.

Over the last ten years, FA members have witnessed disparate growth in administration while full-time faculty have, notably, simultaneously decreased. We currently have duplication and triplication of administrators across the campuses, exacerbating this imbalance. For example, at the Eastern campus, there are six administrators in student services and only nine full-time faculty. There are more examples of this imbalance throughout the college, including in Academic Affairs. There are administrators who do not have any full-time faculty directly reporting to them.

When I and the other officers bring this to the attention of college leadership, it is often met with indifference or with future speak, as in "this will get better in the future." When we ask why there are not more full-time faculty, administration cites a tight budget due to declines in enrollment. Why has this tight budget not been an obstacle to the hiring of administrators?

This needs to change, and we're advocating three ways to work toward this goal, yes, even in a time of financial crisis.

• We are currently in the middle of a presidential search, and finalists will eventually address the college community. We ask our membership to bring the administrator-faculty imbalance to the attention of the presidential candidates (again, numbers are available in the June issue of The WORD).
  
  
• Similarly, we encourage our colleagues and members of the three governance bodies to also make this a discussion point when administrators are present during Assembly, Congress and Senate meetings.
  
  
• Finally, we need to get out and VOTE. We need elected officials at the county, state and federal levels who truly understand education, who truly understand labor issues and who will fight—even when times are tough—for working people. Research the candidates' stances and positions on education, labor and related issues facing our students as well as everyday working Americans.

It is time we get back to where we were 16 years ago, with an institution dedicated to its mission of teaching and learning. It is time to achieve the Board of Trustees' goal from 17 years ago, with its laudable commitment to a full-time/adjunct ratio that is not only healthier for the college and our faculty but—most importantly—for our students.

The next time we have a Convocation at the start of a new academic year, let's have more full-time faculty to welcome as they set forth on careers devoted to transforming the lives of SCCC students.