NEWS

McNish takes Earlham position

Current Dean to leave College by Fall

by Susanna Henighan

The contrast between the President and the Dean of Students' offices Thursday afternoon was striking.

As College President Nancy Dye had no trouble finding words to describe the virtues of the newly appointed dean of students, Peter Goldsmith, Interim Dean of Students Deb McNish was virtually silent on her decision to accept a position at Earlham College as dean of student development.

"I know ... I think I will be happy there," she said. "They have a very special community there that really fits who I am."

While McNish is excited about moving to Earlham, she is obviously sad about leaving Oberlin, which has been her home for 10 years. "I do love Oberlin," McNish said, "and will miss its beauty and its splendor and most of all, its gorgeous students."

McNish said she is looking forward to commencement this year, a time she generally gets to spend with students. Beyond this, she did not have many goals for the last few months of her service at Oberlin, beyond making some files for her successor.

McNish said she had been getting e-mails and phone calls from people at Earlham since she accepted the position. "I've heard from faculty, staff, janitors and security guards," she said. McNish said she feels Earlham has a cohesive, integrated community, something she thinks is sometimes missing from Oberlin.

"I don't think that janitors were invited to my interview here, you know?" she said.

McNish is also looking forward to working in a less fractured community. "I want to work somewhere where I'm the people's choice," she said. "At Earlham it was unanimous."

On Thursday afternoon McNish had not heard that Goldsmith would be the new dean, a rumor that had been circulating campus since early in the week.

McNish came to Oberlin in 1990 as an associate dean of residential life. She was named interim dean of students last July.

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Copyright © 1999, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 127, Number 19, April 9, 1999

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