Job offer made to dean candidate

The search committee for the new Assistant Dean of Student Life and Services has made an offer to one of the two current candidates.

"An offer has been made and I'm waiting to hear from the candidate," Charlene Cole-Newkirk, dean of Student Life and Services said. Cole said that once she hears from the committee she'll be ready to make an announcement. She said, "I hope to hear something by the weekend."

If the candidate does not accept, the committee may consider a third candidate. Associate Dean of Student Academic Services Gloria White, chair of the committee, said the committee will decide whether to bring a third candidate at its meeting today. The candidates, Shilpa Davé and James King On-To, held open student forums earlier this month. They also met with Asian-American community leaders and officers of Oberlin Korean Students Association, South Asian Students Association, and Asian-American Alliance to discuss means of supporting the Asian-American Community. Shilpa Davé met with students on April 6. "She is a very personable human being. She was able to interact well with students and other administrators. She made a really good impression on a lot of students because of her interactive skills," Sophia Bae, a member of the search committee, said.

"[Davé] wanted to know what students want out of the Assistant Dean position. A lot of it was a chance for the candidates to present themselves," Bae said.

Junior Jennifer Lin, who attended Davé's forum, said, "She grew up and went to school here in the Midwest, so she knows more what the atmosphere is like here in the Midwest for Asian American students." "Because she's younger, I think she has an easier time getting to know students," Lin said.