News Briefs

Art History searching for new professor

Employee searches are going on all over campus and the art department is following suit.

Professor of Art Richard Spear retired last year leaving open a tenure track position. The College decided to give the position back to the art department to hire a new faculty member with a concentration in the history of architecture.

"There is a lot of interest in architectural history among Oberlin students," said Clayton Koppes, dean of the college of arts and sciences.

The decision was made last spring for the permanent position. This summer it was advertised and candidates for the job will be on campus for interviews in February.

"This is a real plus to the art history curriculum," said Koppes. He noted that it was only fitting that a College with such architectural history on its campus would have such a faculty member. Said Koppes, "A lot of case studies are right out the door."

Several other searches are also being conducted. Around the time of fall break candidates for various positions will be on campus. Those positions encompass the politics, religion and history departments.

-Ireta Kraal

College to provide voter registration forms

A new federal law, commonly called the motor-voter law, has been instated that requires colleges and universities to request an ample number of voter registration forms for all certificate or degree students currently in attendance at the institution.

The Dean of the Students' office and College Relations have been working on providing the applications in Wilder. The forms are not yet available.

This law, a provision of the Higher Education Act, must be implemented so that it coincides with the 2000 elections in all states except Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi. Institutes of higher learning must submit requests for forms at least 120 days prior to the state's voter registration deadline. According to guidelines set forth by the law, forms must be made widely available to all students at the institution.

According to a report issued by the President of the American Council on Education Stanley O. Ikenberry, this law will create some administrative burdens, but it will also allow colleges and universities to promote student awareness and participation in upcoming elections.

Some of the administrative burdens to which Ikenberry alluded were outlined in a 1995 registrar's report published in the New Orleans' newspaper compiled by Louis Keller, Sr. "Approximately five to 10 out of every 100 application forms received in this office are incomplete or incorrect. We try to contact the applicant by phone, but often the phone number is incorrect or not working, no one is at home or in the office or the applicant does not want to be bothered and hangs up."

-Erin Walsh