LAST WORD

Brett LeClair in a laboratory classroom at the Pease campus of New Hampshire Community Technical College. Photo:  Michael McCord

"“My students are very motivated. Many of them have a strong desire to become something but they are not sure what it is.” Brett LeClair, adjunct faculty member at New Hampshire Community Technical College

Class is now in session. Can you tell me what a histocytosalpingeogram is? Brett LeClair knows because it’s his job to know. It’s also his passion to teach college- level students, among many things, about histocytosalpingeograms and other terminological mysteries of the human body. He must be passionate because spare time is at a premium in his life. On most weekdays, LeClair is Dr. Brett LeClair, a chiropractor with a full-time practice in North Hampton. On many late afternoons and weeknights during the school year he can be found teaching students anatomy, physiology and, yes, medical terminology at the Pease campus of the New Hampshire Community Technical College.

Dorthea Hopper of Dover is no slacker either. Hopper, who has been involved in education as an administrator and teacher for more than 50 years, specializes in what her children say is “another job that pays nothing.” Hopper has a lengthy list of extracurricular activities that includes being a school board member and volunteering at the Strafford County jail. Oh yes, she’s also planning to run for the New Hampshire Legislature.

At the Pease campus of Southern New Hampshire University, Hopper teaches an average of two classes a semester and shares her insights and experiences in topics such as history, politics, government, geography, and the humanities. She has taught as an adjunct professor for SNHU for 12 years and has no plans to slow down.

Besides busy schedules, what Hopper, LeClair and hundreds more adjunct faculty members who teach in the region have in common is a love of teaching. Their students represent the vast spectrum of degree needs and motivations – younger students looking to complete a degree program, older students working full-time but who need additional degree status for professional enhancement or folks who just love to continue learning.

LeClair and Hopper teach, mentor and potentially enrich the lives of students outside of the traditional four-year college track and they notice a difference in the study habits of their students. “My students are very motivated,” LeClair said recently. “Many of them have a strong desire to be something but they are not sure what.” “It means so much to them,” Hopper said about her students, who range in age from the early 20s to 50 and more. “Their work ethic is remarkable.”

Ask a college academic administrator about the value of adjunct faculty members – defined as essentially part-time hired hands without tenure and benefits – and they will look at you as though you’d questioned the value of gravity. Like many industries such as tourism or restaurants, the entire system of continuing and non-traditional education in this country would become financially impossible if not for these parttime faculty members who are often specialists in what they teach.

“I think that adjuncts are underappreciated. I’m not taking anything from full-time academics but our students appreciate quicker than regular college students more of our real-life experiences,” Hopper said. “They love to hear stories in addition to the theories we talk about.” Which means they are monetarily compensated properly.

“We’re undercompensated. There’s no doubt about that,” said LeClair. He estimates his teaching schedule, including labs and class lectures and office hours and answering e-mail questions from his students, amounts to a second full-time job. “By the end of the semester, I’m fried.” But he’s energized again when the next semester rolls around and he really gets a shot of motivation when he runs into former students working in the region.

The same goes for Hopper who said with a laugh, “you’ve got to be kidding,” when asked about teaching for financial gain. “I do it for the satisfaction.” Oh yes, now what about histocytosalpingeogram? LeClair tells me it’s a procedure used to evaluate the fallopian tubes. “If they can remember that,” LeClair said of his students. “They can remember anything.”