Presidential Search Consultant Dr. Thomas Courtice met with members of Student Senate and other interested students Tuesday night in West Lecture Hall to discuss the desired attributes and role of Oberlin’s next president. 

Courtice, former president of Ohio Wesleyan University, is a senior consultant for Academic Search, a consulting service that works exclusively in searches for presidents and senior staff in higher education.

“I am really eager to engage in conversation about [this process],” said Courtice. “It’s really important that we are able to speak on behalf of Oberlin [students].”

Facilitated by members of the Oberlin College Dialogue Center, students were asked to address three questions: What are the most distinctive features of Oberlin College? What are the most significant opportunities Oberlin has and the most important challenges that Oberlin faces in the next five to ten years? What attributes would you hope to see in the next Oberlin president?

Courtice previously met with administrative and professional staff, College and Conservatory faculty and other employees of Oberlin College. He will use the information he collects from conversations with various constituencies on campus to generate a four-to-five-page search profile that will go to the committee for editing and approval. 

At the Tuesday gathering with students, Courtice underscored his role in recruiting a broad candidate pool in the ongoing presidential search. 

“[I am here] to be sure that there is a recruiting function attached to this search process,” explained Courtice. “[We need] to find people really well-suited to lead Oberlin…and to tell this group of people what it is about Oberlin that is so special.”

The search profile generated from Courtice’s dialogues on campus will be used to solicit such candidates.

During the course of the discussion, many themes continually reappeared, namely social justice, campus diversity and environmental sustainability. Chief among the concerns raised included issues of racial and economic diversity.

“The most distinctive feature of Oberlin is our commitment to social justice,” commented College sophomore Patience Merritt. “And that includes making Oberlin accessible to those who would otherwise be disenfranchised by the education system…especially African-American students from the inner-city.”

Other students agreed, emphasizing the importance of not only increasing Oberlin’s racial diversity, but its economic and regional diversity as well. In addition, several students questioned whether or not Oberlin is actually a diverse campus and hoped that this would be a primary concern of the future president.

“Diversity [on Oberlin’s campus] is an absolute lie,” said Melissa Wolfish [full disclosure: Photo Editor at the Review]. “It’s not okay for a school to talk about its pioneering history when I walk around and can’t see it…This is an issue that needs to be addressed.”

Students also expressed a deep concern for the direction Oberlin is taking in pursuing environmental sustainability. Arguing that the current environmental sustainability directive established by the Strategic Plan “has very little implementation and institutionalization,” College senior and EPIG member Andrew deCoriolis explained that he hoped to see a president “that is willing to take a leadership role on these issues.”

“We can use our special place of privilege as an educational institution to bring about [environmental] change,” agreed Student Senator and College junior Colin Koffel.

[These quotes were made before Dye announced her pledge for climate neutrality. See ‘Dye makes pledge,’ page 1.]

Oberlin’s new marketing strategy was also targeted as an area of concern.

“[I hope that the new president will support] a more thorough and accurate representation of students and groups on campus and less of an emphasis on athletics,” said Student Senator and College sophomore Leah Pine. “[The fearless viewbooks] are shallow and do not represent the depth of the student body.”

Other concerns that students hoped the new president will address included improving town relations and bridging the gap between the College and the Conservatory.  In addition, several students noted that they want the new president to be more accessible to both students and faculty.

“[I want a] president who returns to dialogue with faculty,” said Marshall Duer-Balkind OC ’06. “[This approach] empowers the president to be a facilitator as opposed to a president who divides and rules by fear.”

Ultimately, most students agreed that the focus of any Oberlin president should be its students.

“I understand that Oberlin is a business,” said Merritt.  “But as a business, it wouldn’t be in operation without its students.”

Koffel agreed:  “The central mission of Oberlin is its students.”