RAFO Executive Committee offers sincere thanks to all of the presenters, discussion leaders, and attendees who made our first annual Adjunct to Adjunct Professional Development Conference a successful attempt to share best practices. Presentations varied from “Life Coaching in the Classrooms” by Elizabeth-Anne Stewart to “Adjuncting is Changing! Are You Ready?” by Jacqueline Trussell. Additional conference topics included incorporating Zoom video techniques into the classroom, experiential learning, examining the core pedagogies, and incorporating mock trials in the classroom to improve analytical skills.

Both presenters and attendees offered positive suggestions and commentary for improving the conference structure, future sessions, and encouraging members to attend the professional development offered by the RAFO union. Attendees enjoyed plenty of face time with the Executive Committee, discussions on the enrollment numbers and updates of the state of university. Beverly Stewart of IEA Higher Education finalized our conference with a summary of the possibility of Illinois higher education adjuncts receiving unemployment benefits during the summer term and the current political hurdles of making this a law. The Q&A session that followed reiterated the important of adjunct faculty improving their professional development and making themselves marketable in a challenging job climate.

Continue to follow RAFO on our website at www.rafo.org and on Facebook and Twitter. For future professional development opportunities, we plan to offer reimbursements for the IEA One Conference, the Writing on the Edge Conference at College of DuPage, and opportunities to apply for a RAFO mini grants in Spring 2020. We strive to improve the professional development of the Roosevelt University adjunct faculty.

In solidarity,
RAFO Executive Committee