Changes in faculty affect Con recruitment

Teachers leave Oberlin for different reasons

For several years, some small Conservatory departments have faced enough faculty turnovers to rival basketball. Tubas, TIMARA (Technology In Music And Related Arts) and horns have faced particular problems, as faculty have left because of lack of support from the College and for personal reasons.

Changes in faculty affect more than just the enrolled students who spend hours with them in one-on-one lessons and studio classes; they also affect potential students' enrollment decisions.

Rex Martin, teacher of tuba, was not invited back to Oberlin next year. He had been commuting from Northwestern University at a cost of about $5,000 a year.

The three tuba majors protested the decision to no avail.

"He was the primary reason for me coming here," sophomore Jeremy Stoner and tuba major said. "Three of us have had an interest in transferring."

Stoner said that he met one of next year's two admitted tuba students. "He seemed turned off by the whole thing," Stoner said.

Michael Manderen, director of Conservatory admissions, recognizes the effects personnel changes can have on a department and on prospective student interest in Oberlin. "Faculty have a great factor in attracting students," he said. "Students are concerned first and foremost with who they're going to study with."

However, Manderen pointed out that proportionally, the effect of a handful of students does not change enrollment numbers tremendously. "The fact that Rex was here didn't increase numbers," Manderen said.

Mandaren also feels that changes in faculty matter less than some people argue because students looking at Oberlin look at the College's complete package of facilities such as the double-degree program. "Oberlin attracts students less teacher-centric than most other schools and conservatories," he said.

Students argue that the quality of education is more important than enrollment numbers.

"The change of teachers is going to have a huge effect on us," Stoner said, "[The replacement] will be a different kind of teacher. We may not progress in our studies until we get the hang of things."

TIMARA has also faced faculty woes. Kristine Burns, one of two TIMARA teachers in the Conservatory, was denied a tenure-track position earlier this year. After deciding to leave Oberlin, Burns accepted a position at Dartmouth College. She will be leaving on Wednesday.

First-year Peter Swendsen attended a summer workshop in Oberlin where Burns taught. "She was the main reason I came here in the first place," he said. Swendsen decided against transferring but only because there are so few undergraduate TIMARA programs. Dartmouth's program is not for undergraduates.

Swendson said that if Burns had not been teaching here he "definitely would have gone to another school."

"There are so many versions of why she didn't get tenure," Swendsen said, "No matter what version you hear, the Conservatory screwed up. It's shameful and foolish that she wasn't given tenure."

Horn teachers leave Oberlin for personal reasons. James Sommerville, one of the three French horn teachers the Conservatory has had in the past four years, recently decided to take a job in Toronto after two years at Oberlin. Other teachers have come and gone, each leaving for their own reasons.

"The fact that Oberlin can't keep its horn teachers keeps people from wanting to come here," junior Harris Sheldrick said.

Manderen said "We worked very hard to encourage prospective horn players. We had to cultivate their interest." He also said there will be six to seven new horn students coming in the fall. David Brockett, who will teach horn next year, was chosen in late March. His presence probably influenced the decisions of some accepted horn players to chose Oberlin.

"People that have met him like the way he teaches," Sheldrick said, "He's very friendly and intelligent."