Peter Patton, the newly appointed interim dean of the college, addressed the Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) Sunday evening, discussing his agenda, the distribution of the dean’s responsibilities and the process of finding a permanent successor for former Dean of the College Freddye Hill, who resigned on October 22.
“Doug’s put me in this job not to tread water, but to move the agenda forward,” Patton said.
President Doug Bennet appointed Dean of Student Services Michael Whaley, Senior Associate Provost and Dean of Continuing Studies Billy Weitzer and Director of Affirmative Action Kathryn Friedman to work with Patton on the day-to-day operations of the office. Patton said that he requested their involvement to lighten the broad and substantial workload of the position.
Patton will continue to serve as vice president and secretary of the University and professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Friedman, Weitzer and Whaley will also continue with their respective duties along with sharing the responsibilities of the dean of the college position.
“[Patton] doesn’t think every decision has to come all the way up,” Whaley said. “I think essentially he’s hoping he can delegate some of the day-to-day tasks so he can focus on the long-term.”
Patton called the interim period a time to experiment. He is meeting with members of the Dean’s Office to discuss planning and organizational matters.
“I don’t want to pre-judge,” he said. “I’ve been the dean for 10 days, so I’d like to think outside the box and try out some new things.”
In the next six weeks, Patton said he would be developing a plan for the interim operation of the Dean’s Office and creating a job description for the upcoming search process. He said the breadth of the role of the dean of the college was a particular challenge.
After that six-week period, he said he would announce a short-term plan to delegate responsibilities between himself, Whaley, Weitzer and Friedman for the remainder of the year. Also, a search committee will be announced to begin the search for a new dean. The search process, Patton said, will likely take about nine months, and a permanent replacement should be hired by the end of the summer.
Among the projects that Patton mentioned to the WSA were the updating of the honor code and strategic planning. He urged students to be involved and provide input for the new strategic plan, which serves as a guide to the long-term allocation of University resources. He said that the University would be soliciting 500 word essays from students on this topic.
Patton also discussed the need for an international student advisor (ISA), a position that now remains vacant. He said that the ISA job requires reorganization because it demands two divergent sets of skills.
“We’ve structured it so it pretty much is guaranteed not to work,” Patton said.
He has decided to split the data-entry task of the ISA, which involves filing immigration documents with the federal government and programmatic responsibilities from the other jobs of the ISA. An interim advisor with a modified job description will be announced this week.
Patton took questions from the WSA, and students generally were pleased with his demeanor, approach to the issues and experience.
“I think Dean Hill did a wonderful job, but this a change and we’ll work to make it a positive one,” said WSA President Sohana Punithakumar, ’04.
Some students commented on the challenges that Patton faces.
“Dean Patton’s challenge will be to step into the role of Dean of the College and hit the ground running, which I think he has done thus far,” said Rebecca Solow ’04, who will be working extensively with Patton as co-chair of the Student Life Committee and chair of the Student Affairs Committee. “The important thing is to ensure that this transition period is seen as a time of momentum and I think Dean Patton is committed to making some positive changes for Wesleyan.”
Patton also held a reception Thursday in the Zelnick Pavillion from 5-6 p.m. to meet with students and other members of the University community.
“I have a lot of questions, both surrounding Freddye Hill’s departure and the search process for a new dean, but I have full confidence that Peter Patton will not only fulfill the responsibilities of the Dean but vigorously push the agenda forward,” said Jesse Watson ’06, a WSA representative for the class of 2006.