Teanna Staggs, chair of the natural science’s department, speaks to the Disctrict Council of Chairs March 20. in Chance. The council discussed the upcoming adjunct hiring fair and news of the Executive Faculty Council’s next step regarding the early alert system. Photo by Noah Acevedo
Representatives introduce hiring fairs and chair awards.
By Michelle Delgado
mdelgado200@student.alamo.edu
The District Council of Chairs discussed Executive Faculty Council updates and deadlines for each college March 20.
The District Council of Chairs is a body of chairs from each of the five colleges who come together to discuss district-wide and campus situations for chair evaluation.
Dr. Teanna Staggs, chair of the natural sciences department told the council to bring new members onto the group or to decide whether or not current members will renew their term by April 10.
“Inform all of your fellow chairs about that, see if you can get new blood,” she said.
Staggs said they are shooting for three chair representatives from the five colleges.
Staggs will email each member forms for the chair award nominations so they can send the forms to all the chairs at the colleges.
The start date for distributing the nominations is April 1.
“Let them know these awards are designed to recognize those people who have supported chairs and their work,” Staggs said. “Usually staff or administrators, not for us to award ourselves.”
The nominations must be submitted by May 1, she said.
Staggs announced that this college is scheduled to have a hiring fair April 8 and encouraged members to start planning one for their college.
An update about Executive Faculty Council and the early alert ad-hoc committee was also discussed.
Executive Faculty Council is a body of faculty and administrators from the five colleges who come together to discuss district-wide issues, such as early alert.
The early alert ad-hoc committee is a group of people formed from the EFC to research and collect data to create recommendations from a faculty point of view.
“The early alert group finished their work in March and submitted the report to the EFC,” Staggs said. “It is now being reviewed and will be sent to the academic vice presidents.”
She also updated the council on the trip to Valencia College in Orlando, Fla., where members of the faculty advisory board went to compare faculty development models for improvement March 5-7.
Cindy Pryor, chair of social and behavioral sciences at St. Philip’s College went on the trip.
“Even though that is one college with many campuses, they have faculty development on every campus that is generated from the faculty there,” she said of Valencia College. “It was incredible. It was very inspiring. It sounded like they were on the cutting edge of everything.”
Staggs also said after visiting Valencia College, the group knows where improvement is needed at the Alamo Colleges.
“Most of what we are doing has been training and we’re calling it faculty development,” she said.
“We need to separate training from faculty development and make sure that faculty understand the importance of both,” Staggs said.
The next District Council of Chairs meeting is 2 p.m. April 10 in Room 357 of Chance Academic Center.
