Patrick Bettencourt began teaching at Modesto Junior College as an adjunct instructor of English in the Fall of 2000.  The following year, he was hired full-time and now shares an office with the illustrious professors West and Wells.  When Patrick is not recovering from random back injuries, he enjoys teaching composition in courses ranging from English 49- English 103.

Patrick is a product of the Central Valley, educated first at the small country schools, Mt. View and Chatom, then Turlock High School.  His B.A. and M.A. in English are from California State University, Fresno.

After writing a Master's thesis on teaching basic writing with technology, he began studying toward a Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Technical Communication at Michigan Technological University in the snowy Upper Peninsula of Michigan (which nearly nobody has ever heard of; it's the part of Michigan above Wisconsin and protrudes into Lake Superior. Brrrr!).  Work toward that degree is in progress.  Patrick's scholarly interests are mainly composition pedagogy, literacy, and writing centers, all with a cultural studies slant.