A search to find a replacement for John Jacobson, who resigned last week from his position as assistant dean of the Conservatory, will begin as soon as an updated job description is drafted.
Dean of the Conservatory Karen Wolff said the Conservatory will run a search and replace him in a normal fashion.
"We'll do it as fast as we can," Wolff said. "Nothing ever moves beyond glacial speed around here."
She said it is important to fill the position quickly because the office is so busy. For this reason, the search may be internal to the campus.
Jacobson has been at Oberlin for six years and supervises instrument and equipment maintenance in the Conservatory.
Approximately 35 directors and staff of physical plants at small colleges around Ohio are meeting today to discuss issues that pertain to managing a physical plant. Of the attendees, 23 are from other schools.
"It is an opportunity for us to get together and share ideas," Director of the Physical Plant Gene Matthews said.
A number of Oberlin plant staff will speak at the meeting, including Grounds Manager Dennis Grieve and Director of Environmental Health and Safety Cheryl Wolfe. Grieve will speak on how to use landscaping as a teaching aid and Wolf will speak on confined space regulations to help attendees meet OSHA and EPA standards.
The representatives attending come from universities throughout the state, including Wooster, Heidelberg, Mt. Union, University of Findley, Xavier and Walsh.
Linda Leinbach, who helped plan the meeting, said one of the focuses of the meeting will be an administrative computer change-over that some colleges are engaged in currently.
"This will be a more efficient way to put in work orders," Leinbach said about the new computer system. "I hope it's going to make our jobs a lot better."
She said Oberlin's physical plant is more technologically advanced than physical plants at similar schools.
"Many of these other schools are far behind us in technology. We are the forerunner," Leinbach said.
Matthews liked the idea of having these meetings. "It gives us an opportunity to visit other schools," he said. "Our buildings always need more work and our budgets are always too small."
OhioPIRG entered the state legislator lobbying race Tuesday when they visited Columbus to support three bills that are were be debated when the session ended this week.
Sophomore Margaux Shields was one of the 14 students who went. She said the visit was educational and fun.
"It was a lot of fun. Some of us hadn't done anything like that before," Shields said.
She said some of the meetings were with aids to representatives. "Most were fairly open and accessible. I don't think people lobby [state legislators] very much," Shields said.
The students spoke to legislators on the ATM bill which would eliminate "double-dipping," a practice where card companies charge card users twice for using ATMs.
The group also lobbied to ensure customers would receive a quality report from electric companies even after electric utility deregulation. Shields said the group pushed for reduction in air pollution by lobbying that old coal plants should rise to emissions standards enforced in new coal plants. If this happened, it would reduce Ohio air pollution by 70 percent, Shields said.
Postings of beach closings was the last issue on OPIRG's agenda this week. They supported a mandate for beach operators to inform users of the results of a water sampling that indicated the water was unsafe. The bill would eliminate such a requirement.
The students met with about 15 state representatives including the minority whip on the last day they will be in session until January.
"The utility deregulation is something that is ongoing," Shields said. "If there is deregulation, we need to make sure it won't further harm public standards."
"It became more of an educational session. This is our first time in seven to eight years that we've lobbied at the state level. We definitely would like to plan a day next semester," Shields said.
Copyright © 1997, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 126, Number 10, November 21, 1997
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