by Ted Brett NorCal Adjunct Director
Gavilan College and Evergreen Valley College

This is the first column in the ECCTYC Newsletter specifically directed toward adjunct faculty in the California two-year colleges. As a recently appointed adjunct representative to the ECCTYC Board, I want to take this opportunity to acquaint adjunct faculty with ECCTYC, its purpose, its publications, its conferences, and most importantly, the opportunities it affords adjunct faculty in two-year colleges.

ECCTYC stands for English Council of California Two-Year Colleges. It is the only organization in the state specifically serving English faculty in the two-year college, but it has important connections to other organizations. We English and language teachers have a diverse group of organizations to serve us and our profession. The Modern Language Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, The California Association of Teachers of English, The Conference on College Composition and Communication and others serve many needs. However, ECCTYC appears particularly suited for adjuncts in the community college. Its purposes and functions are directly concerned with and directed toward the two-year college English environment, and I don’t believe any other academic field in any other organiza-tion employs as many adjunct instructors. ECCTYC should be the professional home for any active adjunct instructor in language arts.

First, ECCTYC provides connections to other professional organizations. ECCTYC is the Pacific Coast organization that represents TYCA (the Two-Year College Association, itself a division of the National Council for Teachers of English. ECCTYC can be a very important organization for adjuncts, especially those wanting to secure permanent positions in two-year and four-year colleges. ECCTYC provides wonderful opportunities to meet colleagues and contribute to the profession.

The biannual ECCTYC conference offers a wonderful forum for adjunct faculty to participate in the professional work of our profession. Attending presentations at conferences enables members to grow professionally, to discover what is new and exciting in the field, to find out what successful and creative teaching strategies can be applied to their own teaching. In addition, programs to help adjuncts secure full-time positions were popular at ECCTYC’s most recent conference in October 2007, titled “California Cultures: Changing Teaching, Teaching Change.” Featured were over fifty presentations and workshops. Adjunct faculty seeking full-time employment benefited from such workshops as a “Workshop for Job Seekers” and “The Tenure-Track Hiring Process.”

Additional presentations at that conference ranged from successful teaching experiences in critical thinking, using film in the classroom, reducing faculty paperwork, reading, popular culture, and so much more. Aside from professional growth provided at conferences (note that post-baccalaureate college credits can be earned through California State University), the opportunity to present to your colleagues throughout the state attracts many. As an adjunct instructor myself, I have had the opportunity to make three presentations at ECCTYC conferences, gaining serious, instructive feedback myself, but most importantly, sharing teaching strategies, experiences, and classroom successes with others.

ECCTYC has its own professional journal—inside english. The journal is a refereed journal, published twice a year, and it enables ECCTYC members to publish articles germane to the profession. The journal is itself an important voice in our profession, as well as an outstanding opportunity for all of us, full-time and adjunct alike, to share our expertise with colleagues.

In short, ECCTYC serves not only the profession and in particular English teachers in two-year colleges, but can be of immeasurable value to adjuncts in their professional growth, publishing aspirations, and professional interactions with col-leagues. For additional information, please contact ECCTYC at www.ecctyc.org, or contact me via email.