I applaud the Tempo section for its recent recognition of the “All-Professor Team” of academic champions (Feb. 5). But I am writing not simply to celebrate what is included in the piece, but to lament what was left out.
In the concluding paragraph, Paul Galloway explained that the sample from which the stars were selected was “restricted . . . to those who teach undergraduates. . . .” In view of that fact, I want to call your attention to the lack of inclusion of any community college faculty.
In Illinois, as well as in the United States, more than half of all undergraduates are enrolled in and taught by teachers at community colleges.
Students who elect to complete the first two years of undergraduate work at community colleges (for a fraction of the cost of comparable education at four-year colleges or universities) benefit from small class sizes and immediate access to instructors who are as well-credentialed as those at four-year schools.
I hope the next time you select your academic dream team, you will not exclude community college teachers from the all-star roster. Without them, the quality and quantity of teaching in this state and this country would be diminished considerably.
