Faculty Diversity Is A GF Priority 
BY SARAH MILLER-DAVENPORT

On April 3, the College teaching faculty convened to discuss a recent report from the Special Committee on Faculty Roles, Responsibilities and Rewards for a second time.
The meeting focused specifically on increasing diversity in the faculty, and in an e-mail sent to all teaching faculty before last week’s meeting, the committee asked, “What structural changes must be considered to ensure that Oberlin College maintains a scholarly and dedicated faculty of color with interests relevant to the institution, its students, and the academy?” 
Although other meetings will discuss the specifics of the report, Dean of the College Clayton Koppes said diversity will be a “central issue” throughout further discussions.
The College faculty council appointed members to the committee in Spring ’98. After almost two years of research and discussion, the committee recently presented its 30-page report to the rest of the College faculty, and they have already held two meetings to discuss its contents.
The committee began working intensively in December of 1999 and last spring held over 10 forums to investigate faculty concerns, how the faculty can better serve the College and Oberlin community, and the resources needed to maintain excellence in scholarship and teaching. Evaluating professors’ changing roles during their careers at Oberlin, the committee’s final report on their findings was divided into nine sections, including scholarship, teaching, service, workload and morale. 

One of the motivations behind the committee’s establishment in 1998 was the retirement of several professors, many of whom have already left Oberlin. The Board of Trustees also approved the addition of 10 new tenure-track positions last semester, which will further change the face of the faculty. “With that demographic change, it seemed a good time to examine what faculty roles and careers should look like,” Koppes said.
In last week’s meeting the teaching faculty discussed the first section of the report: scholarship. After reviewing several motions outlined in the report, they voted to make it possible to apply for sabbatical every six years instead of every seven, allot more money for student research assistants and increase technical support. Any motions the faculty votes on, however, will still have to be approved by the administration and the Board of Trustees.
Since the report discusses various personnel and salary issues, students have not been allowed into the meetings thus far. Despite the lack of student involvement, committee member and History Professor Heather Hogan said that any changes the faculty makes can only benefit the student body. “I very much believe that excellent teaching is critically dependent on fine scholarship,” she said. 
The report also suggested that the College create a Center for Teaching and Curriculum Development that would introduce new teaching pedagogies and allow professors to explore new fields of study. “As the student body becomes more diverse, that diversity will necessarily encourage new bodies of knowledge to be explored and the Center for Teaching and Curriculum Development will help faculty teach in those new areas,” Hogan said.
Senior Kristen Wheeler said the committee’s work will have a positive effect on students. “It sounds like they’re responding to students’ concerns in terms of increasing diversity on campus, fostering better student/teacher relationships and maintaining Oberlin teaching standards at a high level,” she said.