Allie Pritchett, Reporter
MOUNT BERRY, Ga.- Out of the 167 professors at Berry College, 18 are considered visiting professors. A visiting professor is defined as a professor hired to fill a specific need of the college, whether someone is on sabbatical leave or there is needed expertise in a department.
There are six types of professors at Berry including tenure-tract, tenured, clinical faculty, visiting faculty, lecturers, and adjuncts.
“We are just like other faculty,” said visiting lecturer of Communication Dr. Hope Willoughby.
The differences between visiting professors and the other professors at Berry include the responsibilities of the professor. Visiting professors do not have advisement, or “BCC,” groups, but the professors do receive health benefits and security for one year. They are also required to attend faculty or department meetings.
“You want to get integrated,” said visiting assistant professor of English, Michael Lewis, “but you also have to be preparing to get to the next place.”
Visiting professors typically remain at a school for one to three years, although all professors are hired on a yearly contract. Provost Kathy Richardson said that visiting professors are eligible to apply for a tenure-track position. To receive tenure, it takes about nine years.
“The world of becoming a professor, as glamorous as it sounds, is about the same world as a guy or girl who wishes she was going to become a rockstar,” said visiting assistant professor of Christian studies Dr. Peter Yoder. “You have to take the crummy gigs and you have to play a lot, and then finally someone will find you.”