Chaparral 2017-2018: 26.4 Faculty Diversity Internship

Faculty Diversity Internship

An Interview with Valicia Dantzler

by Joanna Parypinski
English Division

Have you heard about the Faculty Diversity Internship? If not, check out what this great program offers on campus and how you can get involved to help future faculty members. To learn more, I interviewed Valicia Dantzler from Human Resources.

What is the Faculty Diversity Internship?

It is a training and mentoring program for individuals interested in teaching at a community college. This type of training and preparation is often lacking for instructors who are new to teaching. The goals of the program are to: increase diversity of full-faculty at GCC and other community colleges, prepare individuals interested in teaching for full-time faculty positions, and provide interns with professional opportunities to learn about community colleges and their diverse students’ needs.

Is this a new program?

The program is actually now in its third year, and anyone interested in being an intern in the program would need to apply online by March 30.

What does the internship involve?

The internship goes from June to December, and includes:

• The hiring process. Interns have to go through the process of applying and interviewing for the program and are selected by faculty from various disciplines.
• The summer institute involves five days of training in which the interns learn about GCC, meet faculty, staff, and administrators, learn about pedagogy and styles of teaching, gain insight from current faculty members, and practice teaching skills.
• The teaching internship provides teaching opportunities in the classroom, during which the intern shadows an instructor in the classroom and eventually ends up teaching a segment of the course. They also interact with and support the students in the classroom.
• The mock interview. There is training for the intern to help them prepare for a full-time faculty position interview. This gives the intern a chance to see and understand the interview process.
• And lastly there is the awards ceremony where the interns are recognized by the college for completing the program.

How can the rest of us at GCC help support this program?

We’re always looking for more faculty involvement; there are a number of different ways that current GCC faculty can participate, and the level of participation is up to the individual. Ways to get involved include being on the selection committee, being a mentor or trainer, or participating in the mock interviews.

The mentors are a very important part of the program. We are looking for mentors from all divisions and subjects. Mentors are selected, primarily, based on matching the intern’s area of interest with the faculty member’s discipline and the faculty member’s teaching experience. Having more mentors provides more opportunities for the interns. The mentor and trainer opportunities receive compensation.

Some of the divisions that have participated in the past as mentors include Math, English, Social Sciences, Noncredit ESL, and Visual and Performing Arts.

Where else can we learn more about the program?

For general information about the program, visit the faculty diversity internship page on the GCC employment website:

https://www.glendale.edu/about-gcc/employment/faculty-diversity-internship-program

If you are interested in getting involved in the program, contact Val Dantzler @ valiciad@glendale.edu.