The Homeless Professor Who Lives in Her Car

National Education Association ^ | November 1, 2017 | Mary Ellen Flannery

[mdittmar]

On a recent weeknight, writing instructor Ellen Tara James-Penny sits with a student in a parking lot near San José State University for more than an hour, explaining the perils of “hasty generalizations” and other pitfalls in college-level writing. Then, James-Penny and her husband get into their aging Volvo sedan and drive a few blocks to a local church, where she sleeps in their car with one dog and he sleeps in a tent a few feet away with the other.

Despite the four college courses she teaches, and the master’s degree she earned a few years ago, James-Penny is homeless. She simply does not earn enough money as an adjunct professor—that is a college educator who lacks tenure or job security, and typically is hired on a per-class basis—to afford the high cost of rents in Silicon Valley. Last year, James-Penny made $28,700, according to California’s state worker salary database. This year, she expects to make a little more, thanks to raises negotiated by her union, the California Faculty Association.

[CincyRichieRich]

And how much do the university endowments have???

[Patriotic1]

From another article: “Ellen supports herself, her husband, and their two dogs”

[Boomer]

Is there some reason she can’t relocate to a more affordable place where she might work full time? It seems self-defeating and frankly insane to keep doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different outcome. Just sayin’ yo.

[Rummyfan]

Trying to give a damn here. Nah, can’t....

[Rummyfan]

Making matters worse, to pay for her master’s degree, James-Penny borrowed more than $140,000 and her monthly student loan payments top $400.

Life is tough. It’s even tougher when you’re stupid.

[Rummyfan]

Honestly, it sounds like what she teaches is a ninth grade essay-writing course. And no offense to any SJSU grads here, but this isn’t Stanford or Cal-Berkeley.

[Milton Miteybad]

From the linked article:

“One thing about California, we have a union and it is the best union,” says James-Penny.

“But I still don’t have a place to live.”

How good could this union be, anyway? You're $140K in debt and making less than $30K/year while trying to live in a horrendously expensive area. You're sharing your Volvo living quarters with a dog. Frankly...it sounds like this union, which you seem to think is "the best," has pushed you down on the playground of life, ground your face into the mud, and is now sitting on the teeter-totter eating the sack lunch it stole from you. And you appear to completely oblivious to this reality.

[Varsity Flight]

28K used to buy a house outright, no loan scam. It could buy 4 new cars outright.

Government paychecks flood the system and drown paper currency value.

[Hardastarboard]

both her B.A. and her M.F.A. in English

I think I may have spotted the problem.

[mad_as_he$$]

Thank you. Saved me the search time.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Obviously she needs to look for a different job.

[ViLaLuz]

So her husband has no income?