The Oberlin Review
<< Front page News May 13, 2005

Search for dean still afoot

The latest dean of students candidate to visit Oberlin seemed to be looking forward to a bit of culture shock if hired.

“[I’m excited] that this is not only one of the very best private liberal arts institutions, but also considered one of the most liberal and known for that,” said Bob Perkins, who until recently was the dean of students at Averett University in Danville, Virginia.

“Liberal” is certainly not a word that describes Averett, a small Baptist college which was recently embroiled in a public scandal involving the founding of a Gay-Straight Alliance on campus.

The creation of the Alliance, which was advised by Perkins and funded through his office, and the group’s sponsorship of a Pride Week celebration on campus led the Baptist General Association of Virginia to end its 145-year relationship with the College.

According to Perkins, who spoke to students at an open forum on Wednesday night, the controversy led the college’s president to ask him to leave. Averett is currently on an indefinite leave-of-absence and searching for another job.

“Positions like this for deans of students do not come along very often,” he said. “When the position came up there were just a lot of things about the institution and about the quality of students that made it look very attractive. The focus on diversity and inclusivity here make this a big change of culture from where I am now.”

Perkins himself attended a “small experimental college in Maine which doesn’t exist anymore” and worked at Alma College in Michigan before switching to Averett.

Perkins also mentioned that Averett’s retention rate had increased from 38 percent to 49 percent during his tenure and talked about the role he had played in designing a new student center.

As for Oberlin, Perkins declined to mention specific plans for the College, saying he wanted to “get a feel” for the campus before advocating any specific policies, but did say that he wondered whether renovating the Wilder Student Union might help improve campus community.

As for his attitude to student involvement in College decision-making, Perkins expressed admiration for Oberlin students’ level of engagement.

“The sense I get is that students here sit on a lot of committies and are very involved,” he said. “I think student voice is important and that we ought to be looking to get as much of that as we can.”

As for making the transition to a radically new environment, Perkins said he was very excited by the possibilities.

“The richness and the possibilities of this campus compared to the one I just left are pretty big,” he said. “It will be a big change, but I think I can handle it.”
 
 

   


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