Visiting Educator Inspires GF and Administration

George Drake Spoke of Changes in Academic Life

Noted educator George Drake met with general faculty members Tuesday afternoon to discuss the recent changes in academic life and their significance.

President Nancy Dye introduced Drake, explaining that she had first met him in 1998 when he came to Oberlin as the chair of the NCA team responsible for Oberlin's reaccredidation with that organization. Since then she has been "eager to invite Drake back to Oberlin" so he might share his educational insights. Drake has held a wide range of positions within the educational profession. He was the president of Grinnell College from 1979-91, and was both a professor of history and the dean of Colorado College. He currently teaches history at Grinnell.

Drake began his lecture by discussing his undergraduate experiences at Grinnell in the 1950s, a period which he described as the "academic nadir" of the college. He went on to describe his first teaching experience at Colorado, where, after only three years, he was promoted to the position of dean. He then spoke of the various predicaments arising from that role, which included being "an assistant professor making decisions on tenure," and "presiding over my own tenure hearing."

After his stint as Grinnell's president, Drake and his wife spent two years in the Peace Corps, teaching elementary English under the close supervision of an American nun. "It was almost therapeutic," he said. "I just did what she told me." Since returning to Grinnell, Drake has attempted to "forget he was ever part of the administrative establishment."

This biographical dissertation gave way to Drake's educational opinions. He stated that what Oberlin faculty, and indeed all faculty in liberal arts institutions, have to keep in mind is that they exist for one reason: to service the student body. He proceeded to summarize the many confounds now associated with that role. He asserted that faculty members are now expected to maintain their professional duties as scholars, while becoming increasingly accessible to student inquiry. Drake sited e-mail as a primary dilemma; despite the fact that it allows professors and students to have much more integrated relationships, "it means you have to sit down for two hours a night and actually respond to each and every person." Furthermore, the broadening of the traditional curriculum has forced professors to "stretch themselves far beyond their comfort zone," while interactive, discussion-based classrooms demand that faculty members be more dynamic.

On the administrative level, Drake felt that the situation becomes even more complex. "I knew a professor who was visited more than 50 times before a decision to offer him a tenured position was reached," said Drake. "It's difficult for young instructors to operate with that kind of pressure hanging over their heads."

In regards to Oberlin, Drake praised policies such as the Finney Compact, which allows faculty members some administrative authority. He also approved of the College's decision to allow two faculty representatives on the board of trustees.

At the end of the lecture, Drake entertained several questions from faculty members attending the meeting. One question centered on the fact that many of Oberlin's "unusual" advantages - such as coeducation - have become antiquated. Drake's response was that Oberlin, thanks to its large size, can offer more diverse (and possibly groundbreaking) curricula than can many other liberal arts institutions. "The coursebook here is twice the size of Grinnell's," said Drake. "It can open up a lot of new possibilities." He also cited the College's unique association with the Conservatory as a possibility for new ideas.

Another query centered on whether or not Oberlin should indeed be a progressive, as opposed to intellectual, school. Drake considered the question for a minute. "The demand to be a traditional school is acute," he said, "and in some ways, important. But if you go down that path, eventually you'll wind up as simply another small college trying to be a university. And the universities can then out-university you," he added.