Students at Guilford deserve more full-time, tenure-track faculty, and The Guilfordian applauds the current process to add needed teachers in a time of growing pains from increased enrollment.
Many students have expressed frustration with part-time faculty who don’t allow for the same teacher-student interaction Guilford prides itself on. Dissatisfaction with faculty members hired as a short-term solution to the college’s long-term needs has likely directly contributed to a lower student morale and retention rate.
The administration has rightly recognized that while many of the part-time faculty are fine teachers, some even being favorites of students, Guilford does not benefit from faculty who come to teach one or two courses and leave. The college’s budget committee should approve funding for new positions as necessary, and should continue to realize that the necessity is grave.
Additionally, part-time faculty and temporary full-time faculty who are qualified to hold ful-time, tenure track positions, and who seek them, should be fully considered upon intense evaluation by students and faculty alike.
We also commend the process’ emphasis on diversity, and believe that search committees must emphasize finding a wide range of excellent candidates to serve in the college’s most important roles, those of its teachers.
As students play a significant role in the selection process, they have a responsibility to be aware of it. The committees selecting candidates value student comments and opinions immensely, and Guilford students must concern themselves with searches in their departments of study, familiarize themselves with candidates when they visit, and thoughtfully examine how each candidate would fit at Guilford as a tenured professor.
Because of the gravity of hiring so many new faculty, the process must be allowed to take its course, accepting setbacks and avoiding rush. The faculty hired now will determine the face of Guilford for the next ten or more years, and the college cannot afford to get it wrong.