On Oct. 21, Elizabethtown College announced new faculty and staff members who will join the Blue Jay staff in the upcoming months via the campus news mass email. Among them were five adjunct professors for the School of Graduate and Professional Studies. While specific departments were not mentioned in the announcements, the professors hired fall into a variety of disciplines within the school based on the information provided in the staff directory and through their own personal pages touching on their variety of experiences outside of teaching.
For the English Department, Dr. Abigail Scheg started on Oct. 14 and will be teaching “Writing and Language” for the Power of Language Core, which is required for most associate and bachelor degrees within the SGPS program, for both the spring and summer term. Scheg has a bachelor’s in English from Pennsylvania Western University, a masters in English from Slippery Rock University, a masters in business administration from Western Governer’s University and a doctorate in philosophy from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In her career, she has been an adjunct professor at Franklin and Marshall, part of the Academic Engagement Program at the University of New Hampshire and has written various texts on teaching students effectively through online methods and through the flipped method of teaching.
In education, Dr. Brian Raab is a principal at Ore Valley Elementary in York who also has a history being a principal and an assistant principal at a variety of schools across grade levels. Raab, while not listed as having any courses in the upcoming spring or summer semester, was hired as an adjunct professor on Oct. 7. Raab has a bachelors in secondary education and teaching from University of Maryland, a masters in counselor education/school counseling and guidance services and a doctorate in educational leadership and administration from Shippensburg University.
Additionally, a member of the Etown counseling staff is joining the counseling psychology masters program at Etown. Assistant Director for Student Counseling and Health needs Jennifer Deitz will be teaching “Conceptualization and Assessment in Substance Use and Co-occurring Disorders” and will be starting her role officially as an adjunct professor on Nov. 4. The hybrid nature of the program and this course specifically should allow Dietz to manage both counseling and teaching at Etown.
Also starting on Nov. 4, Philip Fried will be teaching for the Finance Department’s Master’s Program in “Quantitative Invest Analysis.” Fried has a bachelors in economics at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and MBA in finance and general business administration from Simon Business School. Professionally, he is a certified financial planner and founder of Planning Analytics & Consulting, which is a firm that provides both quantitative and qualitative support for financial advice.
“I hope to serve as a resource for personal finance content and ideas, as well as provide our students with perspective on the financial planning industry,” Fried said to the Etownian.
In light of the news of full time faculty being let go on the undergraduate side and entire majors being removed, this news comes as a surprise to many.
“I’m surprised they’re bringing on more faculty in light of recent cuts but our educational department faculty is fantastic, so I’m sure the new hires will be as well,” Master’s of Special Education student Brooke Seislove said.
However, these professors are hired on a part-time basis and have a limited contract. These professors, due to working part time, will not require offices and most likely will be teaching one or two courses during a semester, typically completely online. The faculty cuts, on the other hand, focused on full-time professors and specific departments, none of which were in the graduate school.
The new adjunct professors will be starting to teach their classes next semester even with speculation of the cost associated with increasing staff to the graduate schools. For graduate students, these professors may provide new insights to the courses based on their time in the field. Having adjunct professors allows for students to hear from additional professionals in the field. Many full-time professors, especially those who have been in the field for a long time, may not be practicing professionals and not have the same updated and current knowledge. The new professors will be welcomed into the campus community as they make their transition into teaching.
