EPPC sees need for change to plan for the future

Possible changes discussed at CF

Members of the Educational Plans and Policies Committee (EPPC) told the College Faculty (CF) Tuesday that some of the committees procedures need to be updated.

In Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Carol Lasser's final report after four years chairing the EPPC, she said that the committee needs to make adjustments in order to plan for the future better.

One of the roles of the committee is to evaluate departmental requests for staffing additions. Lasser said that task might not be as important anymore as it's been in the past.

"We are good at looking at departmental requests, but we are not good at looking across departments and across the college," Lasser said.

The committee has finished ranking seven staffing requests, though Lasser said it was not yet ready to announce the results.

Lasser said that the likely turnover in the faculty over the next decade as around one-third of Oberlin's faculty members reach retirement age means the college could look more broadly at curricular changes.

Lasser's suggestion comes as the College prepares to begin a year-long long-range planning process.

Because the committee evaluates the requests only with respect to the other requests submitted that year, it does not look at other years or make decisions strategically, Lasser said. Also, the approach the EPPC uses tends to neglect interdisciplinary staffing ideas.

The EPPC's tasks should change with the times, Lasser and Associate Professor of English Pat Day, also a member of the EPPC, told the CF. "We need a bigger planning process," Lasser said.

The process of evaluating positions, Day said, "validates a way of thinking that would work in a world where there might be a possiblity of expansion."

Also at Tuesday's CF meeting, the last of the academic year, Professor of History and Chair of the search committee Marcia Colish made a presentation about the search for a new dean of the college. She said the committee is weighing whether it should hire a professional headhunter to help locate candidates.

Colish said she hopes the search will be finished by the end of next semester and that both external and internal candidates will be considered. She said College President Nancy Dye would soon announce who will serve as dean next year. Since Mary Ella Feinleib resigned from the position just before Spring Break, Professor of Classics James Helm has been acting dean.

Helm recognized three retiring faculty members at the meeting: Professor of English Carl Peterson, Professor of Biology and Neuroscience Thomas Sherman and Associate Professor of Creative Writing Diane Vruels.