Academic Careers at Two-Year Colleges

Teaching at a community college isn’t usually what future members of the professoriate have in mind when they enter graduate school. More likely, they’re entertaining notions of molding the best and brightest young minds at some prestigious liberal arts institution or working on a critical research project at Major State U.

Yet, that intention is probably short sighted. Almost half the faculty members working in American higher education today teach at two-year colleges, which makes sense since two-year colleges enroll just under half of all American undergraduates and well over half of freshmen and sophomores. Thus, not only is there an ongoing need for quality faculty members who are willing to spend their careers at two-year colleges, but any serious jobseeker in higher education would be ill advised to narrow his or her choices by 50 percent.

This presentation covers everything from the application process through tenure review, explains community colleges to those individuals unfamiliar with them, sells them on the idea of teaching at a community college, helps them navigate the job search process, and guides them through the first few years of their professional lives. This presentation is ideal for graduate students preparing to enter the academic job market for the first time and also for new two-year college faculty members.

The presenter is a 20-year veteran of community colleges who has served as a part-time faculty member, a full-time faculty member, a department head, and an academic dean. He is also a regular columnist for The Chronicle of Higher Education’s popular “Two-Year Track” segment, a frequent speaker at colleges and universities across the nation, and one of the leading authorities on two-year college academic careers.

To find out more, email Ed Leach or call (480) 705-8200, x233.