Black administrators feel pressure

Oberlin's potential to be welcoming is large but unfulilled

At the beginning of this year, Oberlin had two senior administrators of color. Then Dean of Student Life and Services Charlene Cole-Newkirk resigned. And then there was one.

And then there were questions about retention and recruitment. Students began to ask President of the College Nancy Dye how she planned to address the issue. Alumni started to wonder if Oberlin was doing something wrong.

"I think we need to question that Dean Cole is the fifth or sixth person of color to leave since I've been here," senior Andrea Clarke said at a forum held in the wake of Cole-Newkirk's resignation. "We seriously want answers about why people of color don't feel comfortable staying here."

Administrators agree almost unanimously that the answers aren't easy. A letter sent to Dye earlier this year, signed by eight students, demanded a comprehensive study of administrative retention. Dye wrote in response, "It will take time to collect all of the data we need for an effective, valid study, and it will take considerable time and effort to analyze those data."

Director of Human Resources Ruth Spencer is currently formulating a Winter Term project focusing on issues of retention. Student participants will work on the study in some capacity. The format for the study will be announced in December.

Although no study has yet concluded how to best insure retention, many administrators pointed to support.

"It's figuring out ways we can be supportive of faculty and staff," Spencer said. "Retention is really trying to address people's needs."

"You need support systems in place," Associate Dean of Multicultural Affairs Ken Holmes said. "Are there churches I can attend? Are there social outlets? What are the growth opportunities? Are there opportunities to be promoted?"

According to Spencer, recruitment is linked to retention. Candidates for positions at Oberlin look carefully at the community they might soon join. Candidates carefully examine the housing and salary options that Oberlin offers.Spencer speaks to job candidates about living options, reminding them that they do not have to live in Oberlin.

"There's a big difference between small towns and urban communities," Spencer said. "There's nothing Oberlin can do about that. Although I went to Oberlin, subsequently I lived in urban areas and liked it."

Spencer stressed that informal networks were also important to the recruitment and retention of minorities. "There's an informal group of African American female administrators that get together at lunch periodically," she said. "A group of us got together and bought tickets to the Rockers."

"I think critical mass makes a difference," Spencer said. "The number of faculty of color outside of African American Studies makes a difference. The number of faculty of color within African American Studies makes a difference. The fact that there are now a few more people of color in computing makes a difference. It does more to tell people this is a good place to be. This is a good environment."

Oberlin has a reputation of being a good place to be. It was that reputation that partly influenced Holmes' decision to come to Oberlin. "At the last school I was at, I was the only staff of color on campus," Holmes said. "Eventually I left. You really reflect on Oberlin's history. Does it live up to it?"

"I expected Oberlin to feel different," Holmes said. "But the feeling of being a black man is no different."

Director of Security Keith James said, "For me, I have to live with the fact that if I become intense, I walk away as an angry black man. I see colleagues that walk away as assertive; they know their stuff. It can impact a career."

"I've worked in other settings," Spencer said. "And I have to tell you, it is never easy being an administrator of color. It is better here than most places I've been in." Oberlin and Belachew is also slated to return, Spencer predicted the loss of Cole-Newkirk could effect future recruitment efforts.

"It will have an effect," Spencer said. "I hope we can overcome that adverse effect. It's a sad event, but it's the realities of the workplace. It's not unique to Oberlin."

"People are trying to create diversity," James said. "People are struggling to define diversity. People are working hard to create diversity."

Bettering recruitment and retention is hard work. And although an administrator's job is never easy, an administrator of color must sometimes work even harder. It can be a tiring job.

"I have two job descriptions," Holmes said. "One is associate dean for all students. The other is support for students of color and LGB students. They'll ask me what barber shop to go to. Some just wanted home cooking, and they hounded me until I had a barbecue for a few dozen students at my house."

Barbecues and barber shops are generally the provinces of those who have been at Oberlin for some time. It's often difficult for new staff members to offer students the support they need. Spencer said she was hopeful that the high faculty turnover rate forecasted for the next decade will allow for a long-term diversifying of the faculty.

"We need people who are long distance runners," Spencer said. "I think we've been living on our laurels too long, and I know one of the key elements to changing is to put this high on the agenda of administrators and faculty."