<< Front page News April 30, 2004

College grieves for Peter Goldsmith
Influential dean leaves enduring legacy at Oberlin

Peter Goldsmith: The Dean of Students was responsible for numerous initiatives including the class dean system during his five-year tenure. .
 

Peter Goldsmith, who spent the final two months of his life battling an elusive, incurable strain of pancreatic cancer, left Oberlin’s Dean of Students post with the same thoughtful professionalism that he exuded with immense energy during his memorable tenure.

Goldsmith, who is survived by his wife and two children, had taken time off in February to treat some physical discomfort, but the full extent of his condition was not known to most of his colleagues until the last few weeks. News of his death sent shock through the Oberlin administration.

“I already miss him a great deal,” College President Nancy Dye said. “I worked very closely with Peter and I am an ardent admirer of the work that he did and his philosophy of being a dean of students.”

For the Dean of Students office, still recovering from the death of Associate Dean Rachel Beverly in October, the news hit especially hard.

“It’s been tough,” Associate Dean Bill Stackman said. “The office to my right and the office to my left are both empty now. There’s a hole now that’s going to be very tough to fill.”

Goldsmith came to Oberlin in 1999 from Dartmouth, where he had worked as dean of first-year students.

His appointment over the more familiar Stackman was initially controversial among students. But many eventually warmed to his style as an administrator.

“He was really concerned about the students,” Student Finance Committee Treasurer Monica Jackson said. Goldsmith acted as advisor for the SFC. “In the short time he was here he managed to be a real presence on campus in an untraditional kind of way,” she said.

In an interview with the Review in 1999, Goldsmith described his problem-solving style.

“If there is one thing I would like people to know it would be that I think about things and I mean that in a serious way,” Goldsmith said. “I ponder issues and I don’t come to an understanding or render opinions very quickly.”

Dean of the College Clayton Koppes described Goldsmith’s style similarly.

“Peter was someone who was not comfortable with easy answers,” he said. “Peter approached his
work from a background of scholarship. He was very reflective in his analysis.”

Ombudsperson Yeworkwha Belachew interviewed Goldsmith when he was applying for the position.

“My first impression was that he was an intellectual, and also a very nice guy,” she said.

Goldsmith was also known for his wry sense of humor and approachable demeanor.

“I actually felt good about him because he was short, and I could speak to him by looking him in the eye without breaking my neck,” she said. “He and I laughed about our being ‘vertically challenged’ whenever we had to pick a seat in meetings. He was a serious person, so I always was taken by his sense of humor — you always got it when you least expected it.”

Goldsmith worked on countless projects and initiatives during his time at Oberlin. Among the most important was his implementation of the class dean system.

“Peter had worked with such a system at Dartmouth and Chicago,” Stackman, who is also dean for the Class of 2006, said. “Students here were falling through the cracks and the class dean system is designed to prevent that. As a class dean I can say that I see members of my class every day. Often I have up to five or six appointments. The problems we deal with can be personal, psychological or academic. That’s such a gift that Peter helped to bring to Oberlin. I can’t imagine us not having this system.”

Goldsmith also played a key role in implementing Dye’s plan to reinstate a college mediation program.

“Peter Goldsmith became instrumental in making this vision a reality,” Belachew said.

He was the author of the initial description of the office’s activities and a vocal supporter of it after its creation.

“There were numerous times Peter personally brought a student to meet with me to resolve issues,” Belachew said. “He also advocated to the general faculty to give permission for the Ombuds office to take over the mediation process. As he was a peace-loving individual, this opportunity, I assume, was rewarding to Peter Goldsmith.”

Dye recalled Goldsmith’s work on the President’s Task Force on Multiculturalism as a highlight of their working together.

Goldsmith and Belachew also collaborated on supervising the Multicultural Resource Center after Beverly’s death.

“That was a defining moment when I saw his true colors,” Belachew said. “His support during the loss of Rachel motivated the office to bring the community at large to celebrate Rachel’s life and to support one another.”

In addition to his responsibilities as dean, Goldsmith taught a colloquium in the anthropology department on “The Idea of Folk in American Culture.”

He was also the author of the book “Making People’s Music: Moe Asch and Folkways records.”

“Folk music was a passion and a love of his,” Stackman said. “Classical music and jazz as well. You could walk in his office and you would see CDs all over. If students wanted to do a private reading in folk music Peter would offer to advise it. He was really devoted to the arts.”

Goldsmith underwent surgery for his cancer in March. According to Stackman, his personality never faded even in his last days.

“I talked to him several times,” he said. “His spirit was always strong in many ways while his body was ailing. His sense of humor was still there. He always sounded like himself.”

“The last time I spoke to him was on April 15,” said Belachew. “It was one of his best days and we had a very meaningful conversation.”

With the deaths of Goldsmith and Beverly and Stackman’s imminent departure, the Dean of Students Office finds itself moving into an uncertain future.

According to Dye, the College will announce an interim dean and associate dean before the end of the year and begin the search for new permanent deans next year. All agree that it will be a tremendous challenge to find a dean who mixes Goldsmith’s level of administrative professionalism and scholarship.

“I think it’s maybe too easy and facile to describe myself as an intellectual,” he once said. “To do so is to suggest that I approach every problem with my mind rather than my heart. I want people to understand that I’m equally interested in the habits of heart as much as I am with the habits of mind.”


 
 
   

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