Adjunct Coordinator Kim Ng Southard (photo by Victoria Pendzick)

Greetings, colleagues!

I hope you experienced peace and rest during the start of the new year and are ready for a successful spring semester.

This update covers upcoming adjunct promotion workshops, orientation, Vector training, NORA reminders, nominations for adjunct excellence awards and important dates to know.

Adjunct promotion workshops

I will host two adjunct promotion workshops in February that cover the requirements and process of adjunct faculty promotion. There will be an in-person workshop on Monday, February 9, at 5 p.m. in the Orient Point Room on the Ammerman Campus and a Zoom workshop at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 11. If you are close to promotion or curious about the process, RSVP to me at kimn@fascc.org. I look forward to seeing some of you at the workshops.

Spring 2026 orientation

Each semester I enjoy attending the adjunct orientation, a meeting organized by Dean Gherardi to welcome newly hired adjunct members. The spring 2026 orientation held on January 22 began with an encouraging greeting from Dean Rios emphasizing the importance of adjunct faculty at the college. Her presentation was followed by Nadine Lauria’s introduction to Banner and the registrar. Chris Vargas covered disabilities services and discrimination/equity information, then Baycan Fideli discussed the basics of public safety. Al Heraghty and Chris Gherardi provided the new faculty with strategies and information for a successful semester. FA President Dante Morelli also discussed the importance of negotiations and the upcoming contract as he welcomed our new faculty.

I had the pleasure of meeting and welcoming 35 new adjunct hires at the orientation. They were engaged and positive throughout meeting. I delivered a PowerPoint presentation and provided a new member kit filled with items to get them through their first week. The kit also included an FA bookmark and the FA calendar.  Urging them to join our union if they had not already throughout my presentation, I outlined the major benefits that adjunct members gain once they become a member of the FA:

• FA members can attend union events and meetings
• Only FA members may vote in union elections and on our proposed contract
• FA members are guaranteed union representation at observations, disciplinary hearings and Title IX investigations
• FA members gain access to our NYSUT labor relations specialist as well as no-cost arbitration
• FA members are automatically members of NYSUT, AFT, NEA and AFL-CIO and thus entitled to all their benefit programs
• Joining the FA shows solidarity with your peers.

Please reach out to any new adjunct faculty in your area and welcome them. I reiterated that should they have any questions to reach out to me or one of the other officers—and above all that we are here to support them and we have their backs.

Vector training deadline

The college sent out information on this semester’s Vector training in an email on January 23. Adjunct faculty training is not opened yet but will be on March 10. The deadline to complete the training is May 1. Remember that completing the training is a federal and contractual obligation. However, we are aware that this is unpaid labor, and we will address it in the upcoming contract negotiations.

NORA

The Notice of Reasonable Assurance form (NORA) is due April 7 this semester. There were several cancellations this semester and many questions regarding the bumping process. Therefore, we continue to advise members to give full availability on their NORA preference form to strengthen their chances of receiving an assignment for the summer and fall semesters.

When selecting campus preferences on the NORA form, adjunct faculty have four choices: Ammerman (A), Eastern (E), Grant (G) and Online Asynchronous (O). The FA encourages adjunct colleagues to choose all campuses in the order of their preference to broaden their availability for assignments. Please note that faculty must be certified to teach online asynchronous courses to request online assignments. Do not choose (O) as a campus if you are not certified to teach online. For information on online training, contact your chair. The chair needs to approve need for another online instructor in your discipline before you start the process.

• Note that a faculty member is not eligible for assignments at campuses they do not select on the NORA.

Be aware that if you miss the April 7 deadline, you will drop to the bottom of the B seniority list and most likely will not receive an assignment for the summer and fall semesters. After you submit your NORA form, print a copy of the confirmation for your records. 

FA adjunct excellence awards

Consider nominating one of your adjunct colleagues for the FA Member Excellence in Adjunct Service Award; this is an award for adjunct FA members who have been particularly active in their service to the college. The FA created this award to recognize adjunct members who go above and beyond serving their students and the college. The deadline for nominations in March 10. For more information check out the FA website.

Upcoming important dates

Below are important dates from the FA wall calendar to help you organize your semester.

• Feb. 9 — Adjunct promotion workshop, 5 p.m., Orient Point Room (in Babylon Student Center at Ammerman)
• Feb. 11 — Adjunct promotion workshop, 12:30 p.m., Zoom
• Mar. 5 — Adjunct promotion application due
• Mar. 10 — FA member excellence award nominations due
• Mar. 23 — NORA forms open for summer and fall 2026
• Apr. 7 — NORA form due
• Apr. 24 — Observations due for adjunct promotion and new hires
• Apr. 28 — Adjunct accept/decline open for summer and fall 2026
• May 8 — Adjunct accept/decline due for summer and fall 2026.

Don’t hesitate to contact me at kimn@fascc.org if you have questions regarding the above or other union-related issues. I am happy to arrange an in-person, Zoom or phone call meeting to listen to your concerns.
Have a great semester, friends.

Best,

Kim