Trustees Arrive on Campus

The Board of Trustees is conducting the second of the four trustee meetings of this year. It will consist of several meetings that began Thursday and will end Saturday, with a general meeting Saturday morning which is open to the public.

"It's pretty routine," said Bob Haslun, secretary of the College. The major issues which are likely to arise at this meeting are the broad outlines for next year's budget, updates for the "Community Initiative Committee," and the $165 million capital campaign. Another important decision will be made, as Acting President Clayton Koppes said, "It's the final action on the Oberlin Medical Center," referring to the College's plans to donate $2 million to help the financially-strapped Allen Memorial Hospital.

Koppes said that another of the major issues is a meeting between the General Faculty planning committee and the trustees in order to continue discussion of over-utilized and underutilized space on campus.

This meeting there will be an increased effort to involve more of the members with the affairs of the Conservatory of Music. "Many of the trustees don't know a lot about the Conservatory," Haslun said. Some of the meetings will be held in the Conservatory facilities.

"There will be a general discussion about what the challenges are for running a conservatory compared to a college," said Robert Dodson, dean of the Conservatory.

Although Cleveland Indians owner and Trustee Larry Dolan will probably be in attendance, the recent controversy over the Indians' mascot will probably not be an issue, according to Haslun.

Dolan was elected as a trustee in June of 1999, before he became a part owner in the Cleveland Indians.

"The question of whether he should be a trustee is kind of silly," Haslun said. "We've never had any sort of test for religious or political beliefs. We should use this as an educational opportunity, for discussion about the mascot."