OCC fills holes in the teaching ranks

Veronica Duran

From the thousands who applied for faculty positions at OCC, 35 of the

most qualified were selected.

Because 27 instructors retired in December, school officials spent most

of their time last spring and this summer interviewing prospective

teachers.

“We spent well over 100 hours in the final interviews,” said Margaret

Gratton, president of the community college.

The time was well worth it, she said.

“The final decision making was quite difficult because we had an

excellent pool of candidates,” Gratton said.

The formal ceremony to welcome new and current faculty to the 1999-2000

academic year was held Friday at OCC.

“There was an instant feeling of community and welcome,” Gratton said.

At the beginning of last year, school officials were not aware of the

number of people retiring, said Jim Carnett, director of marketing and

community relations at OCC.

When the number became apparent, OCC began to aggressively recruit

candidates, he said.

This year, the community college will employ the highest number of

faculty members since the 1970s. But the number of students -- although

it has grown since the 1970s -- does not reflect the growth the school

once experienced.

“Back in the ‘60s, we were growing 15% a year because the communities

around us were growing,” Carnett said.

But today, he added, while OCC has grown 1% over the last five or six

years, the communities surrounding the college are stagnant.

Despite changes in the communities, the school still attracts about 40%

of its students from cities outside of the district.

Overall, Gratton said, she was satisfied with the faculty members chosen

to start 1999-2000 academic year. Applicants had to display a passion for

teaching and learning in their particular discipline to get the job, she

said.