Fliers criticize Women's Studies faculty search

Anonymous fliers disturb search committee

Anonymous fliers were posted around campus Monday accusing the Women's Studies Committee of "not interviewing a qualified woman of color [for their senior faculty position]" and "setting up a tokenized woman of color in the current interview process."

The fliers also accused the committee of "having a search when a current faculty member is a shoo-in already."

Professor of English Phyllis Gorfain, chair of the Women's Studies Committee, called the fliers "irresponsible and cowardly." She said that they were destructive to the search process. "I am very disturbed by the chilling effect this could have on our candidates," she said.

Correne Spero, a junior and member of the committee, said, "I think the poster did definitely have some truth behind it, but I also think it made vast assumptions."

The fliers appeared on the same day that one candidate, Toni-Michelle Travis, associate professor of government and politics at George Mason University, visited the campus. Travis is a woman of color.

According to Gorfain, two of the candidates, Travis and Wendy Kozol, visiting assistant professor of history, saw the fliers when they were invited to deliver talks on campus this week.

The last candidate, Lisette Josephides, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Minnesota, arrived on campus Thursday and will remain through today.

Spero said that she questioned the motives of the people who made the fliers because they were posted on the day Travis visited. "Why would she want to come here?" Spero asked.

Gorfain said she talked to Travis about the fliers, but didn't want to comment on the conversation.

Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Clayton Koppes expressed a similar concern that the fliers could have negative effects on the success of the search. "These tactics backfire. They make it more difficult to attract a diverse faculty and they can be extremely hurtful to the candidates," Koppes said.

Koppes also said that he remained optimistic about the ability of the program to recruit excellent faculty.

Spero said that she completely disagrees with the accusation that Kozol is a "shoo-in." She said, "If there's a shoo-in, I wish someone would have told me because I wouldn't be wasting my time."

"The outcome of the search is by no means a forgone conclusion," Koppes said.

Kozol said she preferred not to comment on the situation because she is a candidate.

Gorfain said she was concerned by the content of the flier as well as its tactics. "The implication is that no white person can be a student of anyone other than themselves. That means nobody can learn," Gorfain said.

Koppes and Gorfain were also disturbed by the anonymity of the flier. "I think that anyone expressing their opinions should not hide behind a cloak of anonymity," Koppes said.

The flier was attributed to the "trembles our rage production."

Gorfain said she wished concerns would have been brought directly to her. "I think there are very powerful alternatives which are likely to be more effective," she said.

The fliers did spark debate and discussion among students, according to Spero. She said that the fliers raised concerns that she felt were held by many students in the department and some faculty members.

According to Spero, who said she had talked to many students, the concerns are that the program had not been able to retain women of color in the past. Former Professor of Women's Studies Brinda Rao resigned unexpectedly from the department in September. Visiting Instructor of Women's Studies Anna Agathangelou was hired as a one-year replacement for Rao.

The other four student members of the committee did not return phone calls Wednesday and Thursday,

"Women's Studies Program has a long history and commitment to recruiting women of color," Gorfain said. She said that of the last eleven faculty appointments in the Program, eight have been women of color.

The search for this senior position was limited to candidates above the advanced assistant level with at least two to three years of teaching experience. Gorfain said the committee was looking for upper level administrative experience or maturity as a scholar. The committee received over 130 applications, 30 to 40 of which were from more experienced candidates.

"I think Women's Studies have done a very serious job in trying to identify the best candidate for the position," Koppes said.

Spero said that one concern she had with the search was its emphasis on experience. She said that there would be more diversity within an applicant pool that included less experienced candidates. "A senior position is going to limit the number of people of color immediately," Spero said.

Agathangelou said that institutions like Oberlin need to start thinking about the certain criteria that they impose. She called Oberlin "a context that already has in place its standards."

Agathangelou also said that the issue of faculty diversity is widespread among other departments and institutions like Oberlin. While not wanting to comment on the specific issues of the flier, she said that the issues raised by the flier are part of larger systemic issues.

"This should be an opportunity to speak about these issues," Agathangelou said. She said that institutions need to be more creative about ways to address the issues of diversity.