Assistant Director of Security pool narrowed to three

Search nears conclusion after over a year of vacancy

By the end of the semester, Keith James, director of safety and security, hopes to fill the vacant assistant director of safety and security position. Last week the pool of candidates was narrowed down to three: two from outside of Oberlin, as well as the current acting assistant director of safety and security, Marjorie Burton.

The position, approved some- time prior to James' arrival on campus in July of 1996, includes such roles as coordinating crime prevention programs and guiding the daily operation of the safety and security office.

Burton added that her job has been to "address mostly operational issues," such as maintaining communication with the Residential Life and Services department, developing internal policies and working on the crime prevention and safety program, in addition to parking enforcement.

An offer to hire an assistant director was made last year but an agreement couldn't be reached, according to James. The committee that worked to select that individual was formed again this fall with some new members.

Committee chair Ann Gilbert said there was a conscious effort to make the committee as diverse and representative of different groups on campus as possible. Other members of the committee include Assistant Dean of the Multicultural Resource Center (MRC) Julia Nieves, sophomore Monica Bush, Oberlin police chief Robert Jones and Charles Mason, curator of Asian Art at Allen Memorial Art Museum.

The original 66 candidates were decreased to 20. The committee chose its top three choices from those finalists, along with alternates in case the appointment did not materialize from those three.

"The narrowing process was based on strengths and background information," Gilbert said.

"There was such a drop-off between the top three candidates and the rest of the group that it worked out that [the committee's decision] was unanimous," Gilbert said. The committee is looking for a candidate with a background in campus security, experience in working with students and an appreciation for diversity, what she called "the best fit for Oberlin."

The end of November is the target time for finishing the interview process of the remaining three candidates, according to Gilbert. This includes bringing each candidate to campus, getting to know him or her one evening and interviewing that person the following day. The candidate will meet with students, staff and senior staff, faculty, the committee, various departments and individuals in the security office. The specifics about these meetings, such as times and whether the forums will be open or will include group representatives, have not been decided.

"Every group that interviews the candidate will fill out an evaluation of strengths and weaknesses [which will be] forwarded to the committee and taken along with our evaluations to come up with a recommendation," Gilbert said. If the recommendation is accepted, an offer will be made.

Burton has served as the acting assistant director since July 1. For the past 10 years she has been the Allen Memorial Art Museum security supervisor. She described her current job as an interim position. "Lots of things needed to be addressed while the search was going on ... I was very glad to perform in that capacity," she said. She added that the job has been interesting and exciting.

"Experience with this specific college community and an overview of what the college and college community value in way of services," is one of the reasons that Burton said she liked working here and wanted the position. She is also able to "approach problem solving in an organized manner" and enjoys working with people.

James said he would not reveal the other two candidates at this stage in the search process.