The President's letter was troubling

Like the rest of the Oberlin Community I received a copy of the Feb. 15 memo sent by President Dye and Dean Koppes addressing issues surrounding the reduction or elimination of hours for part-time employees in Philips Gym. Admittedly, it would appear that these employees were not treated fairly and corrections needed to be made. However, I find the President and Dean's public letter, particularly its publication in the Oberlin Tribune, even more troubling than the original incident.

I am disturbed by four aspects of their letter.

First, I believe it is unprofessional to publicly chastise and humiliate a subordinate, undermining his or her authority. Not only is it unseemly, it sends a chilling message to others in the administration. If correction was necessary, the Dean should have privately communicated this to the Athletic Director and given him the opportunity to take appropriate action. If the A.D. had failed to respond appropriately to this approach, I assume that the Dean has the authority to take corrective action, including changes in personnel. Public condemnation is not generally recognized as an acceptable management technique.

Second, I question the accuracy of several claims made in the letter. The President and Dean claim that, "The abrupt notice given to employees concerning the reduction in their hours was done without consultation with the Department of Human Resources, the Dean of the College, or the President." I find it inconceivable that the Dean's office was unaware of plans to curtail the hours of part-time employees in an effort to fund the new baseball coaching position. Readers of the Review were informed that the Dean's office was intimately involved in finding a solution to the baseball coaching problem. Did the Dean's office allocate additional funds to pay for the new baseball coach and, if not, did the Dean or his representative discuss with the A. D. options for finding the necessary funds? Perhaps the Dean's ignorance on this matter reflects a breakdown in communication within his own office.

Another statement which lacks credibility is, "The elimination of part-time employees is not within the scope of authority of the Department of Athletics and Recreation." I suppose it is true that, in a system where all administrators serve at the will of the President, none of them have the authority to do anything. But practically speaking, how effective can a system be in which so little authority is delegated down the line? And what is the quality of the administrator who will long serve in a management structure in which s/he is given so little authority? When the current A. D.'s appointment expires will the new A. D. be told that she does not have the authority to terminate a part-time position, let alone a full-time APS or union one?

Third, I am puzzled by the President and Dean's use of the word "policy." Do they refer to long-standing rules of operation that have been written down and widely disseminated? Or rather, do they use the term to refer to recent decisions they have made? (I was not able to find a statement of these "policies" in the recently-distributed publication, "Oberlin: Business Conduct Policy Manual.") And do these supposed "policies" apply equally to the hiring and firing of both student and non-student, part-time employees? If not, do student employees receive less consideration? If so, are the Dean or President to be consulted whenever departments hire or eliminate graders, tutors, and assistants, or do these "policies" apply only when bad press reaches the newspapers?

Last, but not least, I am struck by the hypocrisy of the letter, particularly the sentence, "It is Oberlin College's policy to explain the transition to employees and to do so in a timely manner." Consider the disappearances of Charles Tharp, Rick McDaniels, Mary Ella Feinleib, Dwight Hollins, Deborah McNish (who has, of course, reappeared), and Charlene Cole-Newkirk, just to mention a few. How much has it cost the College to arrange for these employees to leave in a "timely manner?" It is telling that the President offers the Oberlin Community more explanation for the recent events in Philips than for any of these personnel changes.

-John Scofield is a Physics Professor