GF hear second phase of long range planning

Faculty health package benefits reviewed

With a long-range planning report as the centerpiece of last week's General Faculty (GF) meeting, President of the College Nancy Dye promised she would try to make the meeting more exciting next time.

Professor of Organ David Boe reported on the progress of the coordination of the next phase of long-range planning. "We are looking at the next step as one that would draw on guidelines. We are turning to a number of student communities to work in partnership," Boe said.

Associate Professor of History Gary Kornblith asked if there was any sense of a timetable in terms of recommendations that will be incorporated into school policy and planning.

Boe said various sub-committees within the planning committee will ideally be reporting to the EPPC by the end of the semester, and he hopes by mid-April there will be sub-committee proposals.

Dye said concrete goals of long-range planning are already being worked out. Dye cited the science center, a new focus on scientific literacy, a campus center and a new arts facility as examples of the College's committment to some of the goals outlined in long-range planning.

Dye mentioned the upcoming capital campaign and said the goals of the long-range planning report were also included in it. "All of these things are goals for the campaign and were richly formed by last year's planning teams."

The College recently went to the Luce Foundation and presented two proposals pertaining to bridging the arts at Oberlin. "They were clearly moved by a lot of the work that was done by the work of the arts planning team," Dye said.

"A lot of other issues need to be unpacked. There are a lot of issues about what it means to be a cosmopolitan campus," Dye said.

Faculty members are now discussing such issues in long-range planning sub-committees. However, the faculty has not met as a whole to discuss specifics of what the long-range planning report says.

"Many curricular issues came out of the report," Dye said.

Dye highlighted specifics of these curricular issues as being particularly important for faculty to discuss as a whole. "We have not talked as a whole about various kinds of possibilities regarding ethnic studies," Dye said.

"I think what is most important at this stage is having in-depth discussion in various entities of the College," Dye said. "I am attracted to the idea of being a cosmopolitan college."

Professor of Mathematics Jeff Witmer from the College Benefits committee presented a report on recent changes in the faculty medical plan. Witmer listed a number of changes in the plan since it was revamped. The benefits committee changed the faculty medical plan in part due to faculty input.

"One thing which emerged was we need to continue to educate ourselves about our benefits," Witmer said. Witmer reminded staff to register for benefits by today.

"I had not realized Friday was the deadline," Dye said to Witmer. "My husband would kill me, so I'm grateful to you."

A proposal to change the GF's meeting time was tabled for further discussion. Dye remarked that the College Faculty was considering a similar change to accomodate faculty with children.

One faculty member expressed concern that if the college and conservatory independantly developed different meeting times, one less time slot would be available for cross-campus committees to meet.

"I am not good at this kind of analysis, so what I say should not be taken very seriously," Dye said. "We are peculiarly bereft of any kind of common time. If we have the will to do it, we should be able to figure it out."