Faculty frustrated by lack of answers

Many faculty reluctant to voice opinions

Charlene Cole-Newkirk may have been the dean of Student Life, but her resignation Monday prompted reaction from faculty as well as students.

Many faculty members were reluctant to discuss their viewpoints on Cole-Newkirk's resignation, but opinions were divided among those who did comment.

"I'm saddened that Dean Cole-Newkirk has reached the point where she felt she needed to resign," said Director of Libraries Ray English, who chaired the search committee which recommended Cole-Newkirk in 1995. "Everyone on the search committee had great hopes for her deanship when she came to Oberlin, and it's disappointing that things have worked out for her as they have." "I feel very badly that things didn't work out for her. I know she's had a tough time," Nelon de Jesus, chair of the Romance Languages department, said. "She's tried to make some changes but I guess it didn't work out."

Associate Professor of Politics Chris Howell said he felt Cole-Newkirk had not established good lines of communication during her time as Dean. "The very first job of a Dean of Student Life is communication, the ability to communicate with various communities on campus," Howell said. "I don't think Charlene was particularly good in that area. I can't speak for the entire faculty, but I know a number of people thought Charlene wasn't good at articulating her vision of Student Life to faculty, and I think the faculty felt that."

Faculty members have complained that communication has not been ideal in the wake of Cole-Newkirk's departure. College officials have told faculty members few details regarding the circumstances surrounding Cole-Newkirk's resignation.

"Some faculty members were very concerned about this; there's a point of information that hasn't been disclosed," said Associate Professor of Sociology Clovis White. "I don't know if [President of the College] Nancy Dye can do that. People are just confused about what's going on."

Professor of Politics Ronald Kahn speculated that Dye played a major role in the resignation. "It was a very difficult decision. It's really the President's decision...and I think she's a thoughtful person. Presidents can work with who they can work with, and I guess she felt she couldn't work with Charlene," he said.

Associate Professor of African-American Studies Booker Peek said, "Coming at this time, I hope students can recover and get back to their studies. It's a bit disruptive and I regret that."

College officials tried to address some of the concerns raised about Cole-Newkirk's resignation by meeting with students and faculty Tuesday.

Peek said, "I thought it was a good thing for the President to come forth and talk to the students as she did, very forthrightly for about two hours. I was very impressed by the students; they were obviously very concerned, and they conducted themselves very well under trying conditions. My own sense was that students were not very satisfied when they left the meeting, but the overall tone of the meeting was very positive for both sides."

Among the concerns students mentioned at the Afrikan Heritage House forum was a fear that students of color have lost an ally now that Cole-Newkirk is gone, although Associate Professor of African-American Studies Adrienne Lash Jones suggested the departure was a loss for all students.

"I think all students might have lost support. I don't know why everyone keeps talking about students of color - wasn't she the dean of all students?" Jones said.

Members of the Student Life Committee (SLC) said that the resignation has left the College in an unexpected situation. The SLC is making efforts to hold the lines of communication between students, staff and faculty open.

"Clearly, relations between the student life division and students have been very, very messy for at least a year," Howell said. "We want to hold an open community meeting to discuss issues of student life right after fall break. This forum will permit the beginning of the process of thinking about where we go from here. I envisage the rest of the semester as kind of a listening time, in which the committee listens to student concerns and tries to communicate better with various communities around campus."

"I think we're definitely in for a transition period, and we'll be addressing that at SLC," Associate Professor and Chair of the Theater department Jane Armitage, also a member of the SLC, said.

"I hope people on campus can begin to think about the future and what Oberlin needs in a new Dean of Students," English said. "Student Life is absolutely essential to our success as an institution and I hope we can find a new dean who can help that area of the College reach its full potential."