Responses to Planning Framework Document

4.7.14

John Petersen - Faculty

The draft Framework for Oberlin's Strategic Plan generally looks excellent.  I particularly appreciate the emphasis on scenario building and on the consideration of "the environment of the future and a framework for assessing goals and actions for Oberlin to ensure the continued health of the college".  I hope that this will include a deep consideration of the physical environment and in particular the implications of a rapidly changing climate on all aspects of the world that our students, staff and institution face.  Oberlin's strategic planning process comes on the heels of two reports recently released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).  These provide the most comprehensive updates on the scientific consensus on this issue. These sobering reports conclude that climate change is already profoundly affecting both ecology and economy and that the effects will ramp up in the coming years.  A 2 deg C rise in temperature this century, which scientists once argued needed to be avoided at all costs, is now accepted as inevitable.  According to the March 31 IPCC report, changes currently underway will result in “extreme weather events leading to breakdown of…critical services such as electricity, water supply and health and emergency services”.  The report speaks of the likely “breakdown of food systems, linked to warming”.  

Environmental Sustainability was identified as pillar in Oberlin's last strategic plan. There is absolutely nothing about this institution that will not be touched by the climate change now under way.  What does the current scientific consensus on the profoundly different world that we face in the next 10-50 year mean for a leading institution of higher education?   I believe that answers to this question should be fundamental to all aspects of Oberlin's strategic planning process.  If they are not we will look back at ourselves and wonder why we neglected the principle question of our time.

4.7.14

Chris Anderson - Visiting Faculty

While less of an issue at Oberlin specifically, the "rapidly changing landscape in higher education" includes a transition to increasing numbers of instructional faculty off the tenure track. Some estimates place this fraction nationwide at 70% (https://chronicle.com/article/Adjuncts-Build-Strength-in/135520/).

At the conclusion of this academic year, I am ending my two-year stint here at Oberlin and moving on to a tenure track position. I would like to encourage the advisory board to get participation of non-tenure track instructors at Oberlin in your strategic plan process. Further, please think carefully and incorporate into your strategic planning what roles you would like to see contingent faculty playing on your campus in the next 20 years.  I think it is possible to have a student-centered institution with contingent faculty, but I have some strong personal views about the best ways institutions across the higher education landscape can make this happen (probably my most important suggestion is to offer at least two-year contracts when possible).

If you would like my input during the 18-month planning process (even though I will be affiliated with another institution), you can feel free to reach me at cnanderson1980@gmail.com. I am happy to share my experiences and/or offer suggestions.

4.7.14

Jan Miyake - Faculty

Greetings,

Would it be appropriate to state on that website who was in the PAG?  

Otherwise, it looks like a good plan for a process.

Thank you for your work.

4.7.14

Sarah Johnson - Class of 2015

As a junior in Oberlin College of Arts and Sciences, I'd like to share my thoughts on the Draft Framework of the Oberlin 2033 strategic planning process. I have reviewed it carefully and for the most part I have found it to be an admirable and servicable document. However, I would like to see a stronger commitment to the inclusion of residents of the town of Oberlin in the strategic planning process. I understand that including non-alumni, non-faculty in this process is unusual for a college (or any comparable nonprofit, for that matter). However, it has been my experience that in many important ways members of the Oberlin town community are shareholders in the future of Oberlin College. The actions of Oberlin College affect the cultural, political, and financial life of the wider Oberlin community, and people who have chosen to put down roots in the town of Oberlin are deeply affected by long-term decisions of the College. Residents of the town of Oberlin have a unique perspective to offer the decision-making process, because unlike a student, faculty member, or even a board member whose relationship with Oberlin may be as short as a handful of years if they so choose, many residents of the town of Oberlin are invested in Oberlin for life. This allows lifelong Oberlin residents to take a long view of decisions that affect the college and community. I believe that greater community participation in the decision-making process would not only lead to a more diverse, vibrant, and representative decision-making body, it will also lead to a sounder decision-making process.

I believe that the guaranteed inclusion of residents of the town of Oberlin in the planning committee would improve the quality of the decision-making process and would greatly benefit Oberlin College, with the added benefit of improving college-community relationships.

Thank you for the time and effort you are committing to the future of Oberlin College and the surrounding community.

4.24.14

Carol Levine - Class of 1984

I believe the framework set forward is clear and I am thrilled to see the desire to both include all perspectives and constituencies, and the willingness to question everything.  Although that can be intimidating and scary, it is necessary at the juncture for Oberlin to successfully position itself for this millennium.  I can’t wait to be involved in the process in any way that best supports the institution’s efforts. Thanks.

4.25.14

Andrew Winslow - Class of 2014

I would like to suggest that the PAG take into account students' reactions to the recent changes in the financial aid policy, specifically relating to the transparency with which the college makes and deliberates on these choices. Many students feel that the administration played down a policy change that has large implications on the affordability of attending Oberlin, while these students are at the school. In this way, they feel as if the ground has moved underneath their feet, and they're apprehensive about further, less-than-publicized decisions of this nature.

On a different note, I think that student participation in this group could lead to diverse perspectives offered, both in terms of age and world-view. 

Thank you for taking the time to listen.

4.25.14

Ben Schiff - Faculty

Dear People:

I appreciate the group's request for responses to the draft framework.  I find the framework congenial and quite general, so there seems little upon which to comment.  The word "visioning" sets my teeth on edge, so from a copy-editing standpoint, I hope it can be soft-pedaled or disappear.

In your paragraph on participation, the term "meaningful numbers" strikes me as odd.  The succeeding phrases indicate your appreciation of the trade-off between committee size and efficiency, but perhaps a less opaque phrase than "meaningful" would be helpful.  As you are no doubt are aware, this paragraph also says nothing about how those people will be selected.  I'm sure this will be a matter of interest to the broader college community.

In my experience here, strategic planning processes have been idiosyncratic, seemingly capricious, and not well organized.  I hope you will develop internal processes that are as open as possible and, more importantly, engage participants efficiently and inclusively to develop and hone wise plans and enable wide support for them. 

I appreciate President Krislov's assurances to the faculty that you are going into this process without predetermined outcomes.  I think this message will continue to be important.  Moreover, as the planning process heads toward programmatic recommendations, I hope that substantive interim reports will be issued and that comments from the wider community will be invited as part of the planning process.

With best regards to you all and best wishes for this project,

Ben

4.28.14

Steve Volk - Faculty

Dear Advisory Group: I find myself extraordinarily busy and lacking the time to contribute thoughtfully to your request for comments, so I’ll only add a few thought. They pertain more to the question of what the process will focus on as opposed to the framework of the process itself (and so, perhaps would be more relevant later in the process). It is also possible that what I think are our strategic needs going forward are not appropriate for this process - but I certainly think they must be addressed at some point. 

I would hope that, by 2033, Oberlin will have:

1. Seriously re-designed its teaching and learning infrastructure (particularly the classrooms and other teaching spaces) so that design is driven by leading edge, student-centered pedagogies. In the same fashion, I hope we can create a campus where student learning (and appropriate pedagogies) drives organization rather than the needs of the registrar's office.

2. Found the where with all to restructure its academic program, particularly its department/program structure, to encourage an outcomes-based educational experience shaped by the imperative of helping students prepare for a world in which (a) they will hold many different jobs, and therefore their ability to apply their knowledge to different fields will be more important than increasing depth in a specialized area; (b) the need for responsible and articulate citizenship will be even greater;  (c) students are better prepared to live fulfilled and creative lives; and (d) they take their responsibilities as stewards of the planet more seriously.

3. Better integrated its campus (bringing down unnecessary barriers between departments; between faculty and staff; etc.) so that students can more seamlessly integrate the learning that occurs everywhere from the dorm to the athletic field to the classroom; better integrated the campus with the local and nearby community (taking advantage of problem-based and community-based learning); and (both through technology and other programs), better brought our students to the world and the world to our students.

4.30.14

Committee on Environmental Sustainability

The Committee on Environmental Sustainability would like to share our thoughts on the upcoming strategic planning process. The Committee on Environmental Sustainability (CES) was created by the General Faculty in 2006 as a body that reviews, revises, and oversees the implementation of the Oberlin College Environmental Policy.  Although a standing faculty committee, CES has a broad representation from relevant administrative departments (e.g. facilities, residential education, development, communications) and a core of active student participants that goes beyond the two representatives elected by Student Senate.

Members of CES attended the General Faculty meeting presentation, and had a productive meeting with Carol Christ.  We applaud the Board’s decision to take a long view of strategic visioning by tasking us with imagining Oberlin in 2033. At the beginning of this process, we want to sound one loud clarion call: There is no aspect of college operations, and no discipline of study, that will not be touched by climate change. The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report is sobering: A 2 deg C rise in temperature this century, which scientists once argued needed to be avoided at all costs, is now accepted as inevitable. According to the March 31 IPCC report, changes currently underway will result in “extreme weather events leading to breakdown of…critical services such as electricity, water supply and health and emergency services”. The report also speaks of the likely “breakdown of food systems, linked to warming”. This sobering and uncertain future will require the institution to adapt in many ways, not the least of which is the way we educate our students. It is our responsibility to equip them with the knowledge and skills to understand the challenges of living in a warming world and lead transformations towards a more sustainable future in ways that are economically efficient, environmentally responsible and socially just.

Our future as an institution and the futures of our students will be defined by climate change. Given this reality, we urge the Board to plan proactively to integrate discussions of climate change and sustainability throughout the strategic planning process. There are at least three concrete ways that we would like to suggest:

1. Design one or more scenarios around the fact that we will be living in a world with a warmer and more unstable climate. We urge that the most up to date scientific information be consulted in constructing the parameters of these scenarios.
2. Include among the speaker series someone who can convey the scientific certainty of climate change and speak to its likely impact on higher education. While we doubt there are many climate change deniers in our community, it is our sense that most people do not fully understand the urgency and magnitude of the problem we are confronted with.
3. Include a representative from CES on the Steering Committee. While there may be the temptation among some to see sustainability concerns as a fringe or parochial interest, CES firmly believes that successfully transforming our institution to respond effectively to our new ecological reality involves every administrative and disciplinary department at this college.

A focus on sustainability is in complete synergy with Oberlin’s institutional strengths. We are already recognized as a leader in environmental sustainability; it is why many students choose to come to Oberlin, and why many people choose to give to Oberlin. The institution has made great strides in making its facilities more sustainable through LEED buildings, closing the coal plant, and installing the solar array.  Our next challenge is to envision how to permeate sustainability throughout our curriculum and our institutional culture. Members of CES look forward to being active participants in the process.

5.2.14
Mathilda McGee-Tubb - Class of 2007

Hello,