Deans Supplement Advising

New Class Dean System Meets Student Needs

For all students who have ever wondered what exactly a dean of students does, this might be your year. This year Oberlin College introduced a new class dean system. It does not expand the size of the administrative staff, but expands the positions and titles of already existing staff within the College.

Working closely with students and colleagues, Dean of Students Peter Goldsmith examined the system at other schools such as Wellesley and Dartmouth. By integrating ideas, Goldsmith has found a suitable arrangement that he hopes will meet student needs.

Goldsmith recognized that Oberlin College has focused more on assisting members of groups, and less on individuals. Traditionally, Residential Life and Services has supported group activities. However, with the newly organized Class Dean system, there is one Dean to every 800 students, and one administrative adviser to respond to the needs of 50 to 200 students.

The new Class Deans are as follows: Linda Gates for the class of 2004, Brenda Grier-Miller for the class of 2003, William Stackman for the class of 2002, Kimberly Davidson for the class of 2001 and Sammie Davis-Dyson for fifth-year students.

The College hopes this will reverse the feeling of anonymity one can encounter at college.

Goldsmith said, ³The administration can seem anonymous and distant to many students, and it is not sufficiently apparent to students that administrators are sources of support in working through individual problems.²

The already-existing offices that serve Conservatory students, international students and disabled students will remain alongside the new class dean system. These students are expected to continue turning to these offices as well as to their faculty advisers.

This system is not meant to replace the faculty adviser who is a good resource for curricular questions, but it is meant to enhance studentsı resources.

Linda Gates, Class Dean for incoming students, says, ³Itıs very hard to determine if the new system has had a dramatic impact on the work that we do in this busy time of year, but I think it will afford everyone a better network to provide services.²

Gates is concerned with student welfare above all and specifically states that students who have academic or personal problems should feel encouraged to speak to anyone they feel comfortable with. Gates says that academic excellence can be affected by any life dilemma, and the essence of a problem need not be entirely academic for a visit to a Class Dean.

The administration hopes that making themselves more available will allow students an outlet they may not have elsewhere at Oberlin College.

³We tried carefully to make sure that students would have another resource to explore solutions to problems. We tried carefully to make sure that students had names of people that students could turn to for particular matters,² said Gates.

³It is a nice change², said fifth-year student Katie Hopkins. ³I feel the administration is thinking about us on a more individual level. Plus, the people who have moved into these new positions are good in different areas. Any of them seem like they would be good to talk to.²