Last semester, 18 Bakersfield College faculty members were ready to retire and ready to part from BC. When it came down to saying their final farewells, only 16 faculty members actually retired.?
“There was no guarantee replacement for all 16 retirees, due to change in student interest and the demands of other departments,” said Ken Meier, vice president of BC.
However, all 16 open positions were filled with new full-time faculty members, and an additional nine were hired as well, thanks to a grant given by the Kern Community College District. More faculty members were hired to meet the requirement of the full-time faculty to student and adjunct faculty ratio.
Overall, 37 new full-time faculty members joined Bakersfield College this semester. When it comes to the diversity of the new faculty, 15 out of the 37 are female, two new faculty members are from Canada and one faculty member is from Palestine. This group of new faculty members, according to Meier, is “The best full time teaching group.”?
Half of the new full-time faculty has a history of working at BC as adjunct, or part time, professors, according to Meier.?
The hiring process began in November of last year, and available positions were advertised in The Chronicles of Higher Education, a higher education magazine distributed nationally; on the Web at www.higheredjobs.com; and in the California Community College registry, as well as with various universities, and nursing, and architectural journals.
“We set up an extremely comprehensive national search. It even made it into Canada,” Meier said.
According to Kenneth I. Robinson, KCCD human resources associated director, “The hiring process is very effective.” ?
The hiring process began with applications, and from there, finalists for each job were interviewed by a committee of six to seven members made up of faculty, administration and other departments, Robinson said. The interview included questions and a teaching demonstration.
The teaching demonstration provides the applicants with a chance to show their communication and teaching skills. It also gives the committee a chance to see the applicant’s sensibility to a diverse student population. All the applicants have the same opportunity to present themselves and are usually prepared, according to Robinson.?
Karen Kettner, a new full-time professor of anthropology, described the hiring process as competitive and rigorous. “It needs to be” Kettner said. The hiring process is difficult for both the applicants and the committees that help decide who the job goes to, according to Meier. He also adds that it needs to be difficult because “BC deserves the best and the brightest.” ?
For the available 37 open positions, 1,200 applicants applied. The number of applicants was narrowed down to one to four possible candidates per position.
The college president, William Andrews, and Meier interviewed the final candidates.
One of the qualities that Meier looked for when hiring the new faculty members was the desire to communicate with the other departments, also known as inner disciplinary education, according to Meier. ?
Professor Lindsay Ono is one of the many new full-time faculty members who have a history of working for BC as a part-time faculty member. He has also worked as an instructor for the Taft Correctional Facility, teaching Ornamental Horticulture.
Ono looks forward to working with BC horticulture students and other departments as well, in order to carry on an “ongoing project” of utilizing the horticulture plant material to beautify the campus center. With this project, Ono hopes to connect other disciplines into the field of horticulture in order to benefit as many students as possible. “I’m here to help the students,” he said.
Kettner also has a plan for BC. In one of her previous positions, at Saddleback College, Kettner was able to contribute to the expansion of the anthropology department and wishes to expand the anthropology department at BC and establish communication with other departments such as the, history, sociology, and psychology departments. Maybe even begin a Cross Cultural Club. “Our common goal is to educate our students to the best of our ability that is why we are here,” Kettner said. ?
According to Meier, staff development workshops were offered before the semester began to facilitate staff development. Also, new faculty members will take part in New Faculty Seminars once or twice a month to discuss the following: teaching and learning issues, articulation, and discussing effective ways of making sure that BC students make it a four-year university.
Kettner described the first few weeks as hectic but exciting. “The first three weeks has been wonderful,” she said. “The faculty, administration and students have been a tremendous help, with accommodations and in flexibility. I was honored to have been chosen for the position, truly honored.”?
According to Meier, the new faculty members are “The finest group of faculty we could have. The class of 2005 has 37 new faculty members, the highest since 1961, the highest amount of full-time faculty members hired at one time in all of California. BC is truly blessed to have the best this nation could offer.”