Officials to Do Double Duty as Instructors : Education: Half of the administrators at College of the Canyons will teach part-time next semester. One dean says he misses the interaction with students. The courses would not otherwise be offered.

Five of 10 administrators at College of the Canyons will each teach at least one course next semester in an effort to offer more classes on the campus despite state budget cutbacks.

But returning to the classroom--even if it is done in addition to their other duties--is not being seen as a chore by the administrators.

“One of the most enjoyable things in life is to watch learning take place,” said John Drislane, dean of personnel services, who will teach a Shakespeare class.

Although some of the college administrators will be returning to the classroom for the first time in years, others have continued to teach throughout their careers.

“It allows you to practice your profession, do what you love and remember what you’re here for, which is to educate students,” said Drislane, who has taught every other year since he became an administrator in 1980.

Next semester will be the first time that classroom instruction will be part of administrators’ regular jobs at the Santa Clarita campus.

College of the Canyons Supt.-President Dianne Van Hook said the classes would not be offered if administrators were not teaching them.

“These are classes we would not have,” Van Hook said. “It’s nice to be able to offer something extra to students.”

To cope with decreasing funds from the state, College of the Canyons instituted a growth management plan this year that included a freeze on spending and on the number of classes offered.

Van Hook estimated that the college would have to spend about $20,000 to hire part-time instructors to teach the six courses. “The money . . . just doesn’t exist,” she said.

The college’s administrators receive no extra pay to teach. Their counterparts in the Los Angeles Community College District earn an hourly part-time instructor rate for courses they teach. This amounts to an average of $1,500 a semester for one class, district sources said.

But that didn’t seem to bother some College of the Canyons officials.

“Administrators don’t teach for the extra money,” Drislane said. “They do it because they enjoy it.”

Van Hook, who holds a degree in psychology, will teach two courses, personal and social aspects of behavior and, along with counselor Al Adelini, developing organization skills.

“The subject matter is what I do every day,” she said. “I’m kind of excited about it.”

Also returning to the classroom will be Helen Lusk, assistant dean of career education; Jan Keller, assistant dean of learning resources, and Joe Gerda, assistant dean of instruction.

Keller, who hasn’t been an instructor since 1977, will teach a course on how to do research and Gerda will teach a class in gathering statistics.

“I really miss the interaction with students when I’m not teaching,” said Gerda, who described teaching as pure bliss.

Lusk will direct and serve as faculty coordinator for a program she designed--the college’s new Cooperative Work Experience Education program, in which students will receive on-the-job training.

“Employers all want practical experience along with a degree,” she said, “and we weren’t offering them that.”

As part of the program, students will attend Lusk’s classes and work as interns in computer electronics, drafting and water management firms. She said she will help students learn to apply classroom theory to actual work situations.

For Lusk and Van Hook, next semester will be the first time that they have taught in seven years.

“Students have asked what kind of teacher I am,” Van Hook said. “I said, ‘I’m structured and have high expectations’ . . . but that I’m kind of funny, too.”

Two College of the Canyons administrators, who will not be in the classroom in January, are teaching this semester. Bud Shearer, dean of student services, is teaching an education course, while Jim Walker, assistant superintendent-vice president, is instructing students in elementary algebra.

Both probably will return to teaching next fall.

“I made a vow when I first became an administrator 14 years ago to teach one class every year, which I have done,” Walker said. “It keeps me in touch with what’s going on in the classroom and on the campus in general.”

Administrators at other community colleges say they have continued to teach because they simply enjoy it.

“I try to teach one course every semester,” said Mission College President Jack Fujimoto, who this year is teaching math. “It’s good therapy. You get away from the administrative routines and back into the classroom where you remember what it’s all about.”

William Norlund, vice president of academic affairs at Pierce College and a physics instructor, agrees.

“It kind of keeps you closer to what you’re doing and . . . brings the decision-making process into a little more perspective,” he said.