Security director candidates to visit campus for interviews

The next step before inaugurating a new Director of Security is the visit to campus by the two final candidates.

Keith James, director of security at Wooster College, will visit Oberlin April 8-10, and Frank Wiley, director of public safety at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, will visit April 15-17.

According to Assistant to the Dean of Student Life and Services Ken Holmes, a search committee member, the new director would probably start in July.

James and Wiley both have experience that Interim Director of Security Joe Di Christina and the search committee find important.

James has worked as a security director at a liberal arts college not unlike Oberlin for seven years. He also has worked in law enforcement and at a correctional institute.

Wiley has worked as a director of public safety at a university, as well as an assistant director for a total of five years. He has also had experience as a police officer.

A major focus of the visits is the sessions at which students can meet and question the candidates. At a student forum, as well as a presentation and reception, students will have those opportunities.

Di Christina said that he is hoping for a lot of student input. "The more people we have come out and talk with the candidates, the better match," he said.

According to search committee chair and Professor of Sociology Jim Walsh, the security director needs to "genuinely like young people and be comfortable and effective in dealing with young people."

On their visits, the men will make presentations concerning the role of Security in addressing sexual assault on campus, followed by a question-and-answer session. The session will be open to all campus community members. The candidates have been asked to address pro-active ideas, preventative actions and responses to real incidents.

"I think that is a great opportunity for students to ask tough questions of the candidate," Di Christina said of the presentation.

Students will be asked to voice their input through comment and rating sheets which will be distributed at the two sessions. Di Christina said that students' input would be weighed equally with the opinions of other members of the campus community. He said that after the visits the search committee will look at the input they received and "see how it all shuffles out."

Along with student input, Di Christina hopes that the candidates will be able to get a feeling for the Oberlin campus and student body on their visits. "The person needs to come here and know how they are going to be looked upon by students," he said.

Walsh said that the visits would be an opportunity to get a picture of the candidates as human beings. "It is a very important job. It is not a touchy-feely job," Walsh said. "The person needs to know something about security." He also spoke of the valuable collections the College holds and the importance of protecting them as well as students and faculty.

Both James and Wiley have been educated in the field of criminal justice. James has a B.A. and M.A. in the area and Wiley has a B.A. in Human and Social Resources with a concentration in Criminal Justice.

Wiley has additional specialized training in media relations, multicultural awareness, campus violence, cultural conflict and several other areas.

James has similar training in bloodborne pathogens, security lighting, cultural diversity, drug enforcement and many other areas.

Holmes said that the candidates are very strong. He said that the College would definitely get a good Director of Security out of the search.