Two Carleton students have launched a petition to keep contract instructor Deanna Whelan on as a full-time professor.
Third-year psychology students Riana Seguin and Melissa Trunzo worked together to start the petition in November 2015 to keep Whelan. They said it was only fair students are able to have a say in the professors they want as compensation for the increasingly high tuition.
“There are several reasons why we as students prefer to take our courses with Deanna. While we continue to be financially burdened with tuition, we should, at the least, be given a say in who teaches our courses. Let YOUR voice as a student be heard,” wrote Trunzo on the Hire Deanna Whelan Permanently petition published on iPetition.
As of January this year, there has been 94 signatures on the petition and 29 comments, all of which support of Whelan.
“As can be seen through the comments on the petition site and in talking to others, we are not the only students who have been inspired and positively impacted by Deanna,” Seguin said. “The platform to teach and influence others is a privilege, and should be taken as that. Deanna has the ability to bring out a desire to learn in students, and promote a positive and interactive learning environment.”
Whelan teaches at both Carleton and the University of Ottawa as a contract instructor. Some of the students who commented on the petition weren’t Carleton students but supported the decision to make Whelan a full-time professor.
“Her enthusiastic personality makes class so much more enjoyable. She is so personable and easy to relate to. I believe if Deanna was kept full time, more students would be able to have her a professor and ultimately be more successful in their academia,” Trunzo said. “She goes above and beyond to accommodate students and ensure they are on the right track.”
For both Trunzo and Seguin the main issue is that since Whelan is a contract instructor she is unable to oversee and assist students completing their theses.
“Contract instructors are restricted on the courses they can teach and cannot supervise students who wish to complete their theses,” Trunzo wrote on the petition.
Trunzo followed with an example of how many students prefer Whelan as an instructor for PSYC 3000 taught during the summer session, explaining how this course always fills up much faster than the other identical course taught by the same professor.
According to both students, it is important the student voice is heard and they can continue to benefit from Whelan’s teaching. They believe it is important for students to be taught by professors who truly care and help them succeed and they are trying to take charge of their education.
“We feel strongly about taking charge of our education, and Deanna has been a huge part of helping to spark interest in new ideas and paths we want to take,” Seguin said.
