We're not here to demonstrate our brilliance. We're here to think about the best way to explain the subject to students. Not everyone sees it that way, however. Tracy Wang, a Ph.D. who began teaching mathematics at Raritan last fall, says that some professors and students in her doctoral program at the University of Connecticut discouraged her from working at a community college because they didn't think it was rigorous enough. Ms. Wang, a Chinese immigrant who taught at Heartland Community College for three years before coming to Raritan, says her initial embarrassment about working at a two-year college quickly faded when she realized her impact on students.
Nobody is overqualified to teach at a community college.
Professors at Burlington and Raritan insist that jealousy and competition between Ph.D.'s and non-Ph.D.'s are minimal. Still, most say they know who has a doctorate and who doesn't. I do it in a nice way, but I think it's important that they know the difference. Ms. Breznau, the English professor at Kellogg Community College, says more two-year colleges would be willing to hire doctorates if Ph.D. programs included more courses on pedagogy in their curricula. Some universities, she says, are sending their doctoral students to community colleges to learn how to teach.