John Bucher, director of computing, shares his office, in the bowels of Mudd, with at least five dozen mugs, each with its own personality. He is a coffee mug freak. His favorite is an "Empire State" mug which looks almost large enough to bathe in. He feels a little guilty about not paying more attention to the others and is thinking of switching. He probably won't; he seems to be a man of strong allegiances.
Bucher's office is decorated in busy-executive clutter dominated by a big-screen Apple displaying his appointment schedule. He is a white-haired, middle-aged man with a pleasant, relaxed manner.
Bucher is accustomed to wearing business suits and ties and likes Oberlin's relaxed atmosphere. In his words: "Oberlin College appreciates substance rather than surface."
Bucher, who came to Oberlin in July, brings 20 years of experience in computing to Oberlin. Trained as a biologist, he holds bachelor's and master's degrees in biology from Wright State University, near Dayton and a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Kansas in Lawrence.
In the mid-70s, Bucher got a student job in the computing area, equivalent to the position of a computer consultant, and one thing lead to another.
Bucher thought he would be in computing for only a little while but found he really liked it.
"I loved it so much and the job market for Ph.D. biologists was so poor and computing became an opportunity to work in user services, so I decided to stay with computers," Bucher said. Eventually he came to realize that he was, "cut out to be a manager, not a research biologist."
Bucher's interests expand beyond computing, biology and coffee mugs. Bucher also likes to read and watch sports. He just started Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, but is especially interested in autobiographies. He particularly enjoyed an autobiography written by Nolan Ryan, the Texas Ranger that threw a 95 miles per hour fastball well into his forties. He is a spectator-sports fan and likes, in order, baseball, basketball and football.
But Bucher isn't quite sure what he likes better, the game, or the hot dogs and beer.
Bucher's experience managing computing facilities is solid. Bucher came to Oberlin from Kansas State University in Manhattan where he was Director of Computing and Network Services from 1993 until last summer.
Before working at KSU, he was Director of Computing Services at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion from 1987 to 1993. Having been raised in Dayton, he found the thought of coming back to Ohio appealing.
"Oberlin's reputation cinched the deal," he said. He finds Oberlin College "a very stimulating place compared to the chaos at KSU."
Bucher is joined by his wife Julie who runs a day care center in her home, as she has been doing for over 15 years. The Buchers have two children, Matthew, 20, a junior studying public relations at Kansas State University, and Molly, 16, a high school junior.
The Buchers live in Strongsville, a southwest suburb of Cleveland, about 20 miles away from Oberlin.
As for Oberlin's computational facilities, Bucher thinks the College has a relatively good computing structure and adequate budget for computing systems, particularly in the technical areas and the network compared to other colleges of the same type and size.
"Of course you can always have more and there's always room for improvement but we're doing reasonably well. The college administration has made good decisions over the past five years which allow us to offer a really good infrastructure," Bucher said.
According to Bucher, he manages an organization of 33 staff with "a very open, collaborative style, more orchestrating than directing."
Bucher feels that the biggest current computing project on campus is the migration towards a new administrative software system. Working with the Administrative Computing Advisory Committee, the College is close to purchasing a new college administrative software system to be used throughout Oberlin. It's a three-year project.
Bucher also plans to upgrade the wiring of the campus network, primarily by installing data switches which will allow the network to run faster than on the existing copper wiring. He is also looking forward to making the network more available to off-campus students in the next year or so, permitting them to access the World Wide Web.
"We are constrained by GTE in town. Most of the effort to improve student access will be into the residence halls," Bucher said.
He also said he plans to upgrade the Mudd and Biggs computer labs.
John Bucher:Bucher was recently appointed director of computing. He hopes to upgrade the campus network and labs. He previously worked at Kansas State University in Manhattan. (photo by Ariel Carr)
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