My name is Carlynne Allbee and I have been an Adjunct Instructor at Mesa College since 1982. Like many other Adjuncts, I have had other jobs, and for most of that time, it was as an Accountant in a variety of industries. “Way back when,” I was appointed as the very first Adjunct Instructor to be a member of the Academic Senate. The purpose of the appointment was to help rewrite the Senate’s Constitution and other rules so that Adjuncts could participate.

 

My professional situation has changed over the years and I am now in a position where I can once again become active on campus. I have already been attending the AFT Site Liaison meetings on a regular basis. I teach a 60% load which currently consists of Business Math and Introduction to Business. In the past, I have also taught Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting.

I feel it is important that the Adjuncts at Mesa College have a representative to voice their concerns when appropriate, watch for actions that will have an effect on Adjuncts, and be someone that has current experience as an Adjunct. Do you remember at the beginning of February receiving an email that contained a document “Tips for Adjuncts at Mesa College”? That was sent by me in response to many questions and complaints I had heard from other instructors, both Adjunct and Contract. I took the questions, researched the answers and created that document.

When we moved down to the Modular Village, there were no vending machines which really caused a problem for students and faculty, especially in the evening. I contacted everyone on campus that I could find to solve the situation, never accepting no for an answer, and the result was vending machines were installed. If you go to meetings in room G-100, you may remember that there were no signs on the restrooms telling people which door was for women and which was for men. The signs were there, but on the doors which were propped open so you couldn’t see the signs. Again, for the good of the Mesa community, I kept telling every administrator I encountered at meetings in G-100 that signs were needed and now there are signs.

Did you know that we can send out an email to our students the week before the semester begins? That is another task I undertook to benefit us, the teachers, and our students. When the college first changed over from paper rosters to online ones, I asked if we could have access to the email addresses early and was told that we didn’t need it until the semester began. I gathered up some like-minded instructors and with our persistence, we can send out the emails. The feedback I get from my students makes it worth the battle.

I care about Mesa College always getting to be a better place for students, staff, and faculty – both Contract and Adjunct.

Carlynne Allbee, MBA
Mesa College
Adjunct Professor – Business

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