There are no ivory towers to be found on Wesleyan’s campus, but North College sometimes seems as close as it gets: a network of faceless, wordy offices with the Dean of the College at the top.
When Freddye Hill vacated the position in October, a new light was thrust upon the office, which is now occupied by Vice-President of the University Peter Patton. The past 30 years have seen four permanent replacements and two interim ones, each of whom has brought a different perspective to the nebulous and ever-changing position.
“It’s a tough job, I have to say,” said Patton, who also filled the role in 1998 before Freddye Hill was chosen as the replacement for Allen Green, who had served since 1995.
FOUR DEANS IN THE PAST 30 YEARS
Many current members of the faculty administration came to the University when Edgar Beckham ’58 was Dean of the College. Beckham became a member of the faculty in 1961 and was named Dean of the College in 1972. He served in this capacity until 1990, when he left to work with the Ford Foundation.
“Beckham was very much a faculty member that then became a dean,” said Professor of English Gertrude Hughes, who has taught at the University since 1976. “I think one felt a collegial feeling with Ed Beckham.”
Three Deans of the College have come and gone since Beckham left the office, and this quick turnover rate leaves many others uneasy.
“It is unusual for a dean to stay as long as Dean Beckham did, but too much turnover is not good for the office, either,” said Professor of German Krishna Winston, who served as interim dean when Beckham’s replacement, Janina Montero, left the University for Princeton in 1993.
After a nationwide search for Beckham’s replacement, Montero was chosen from within the University, having previously served both as a faculty member and in the Dean’s office.
“We felt a colleagueship,” said Hughes of Montero, based on her former status as faculty.
Green replaced Montero in 1995, and Hill stepped in for Green in 1998, after Patton served for a year. Both Green and Hill came from outside the University. Hill worked previously as Vice-President for Student Affairs at Spelman College, a historically black all-female college in Atlanta, Ga.
CHANGES FOR THE FUTURE
The responsibilities of Dean of the College have changed over time with new presidents and new deans. The Dean’s office is currently responsible for overseeing the academic deans, student health services and other student services. While this is a smaller load than in the past, it is still heavy.
“Freddye had about 13 daily reports,” Patton said. “I think that’s too many. Everything gets clogged up at the top. It’s just an inefficient structure.”
Patton plans to make changes in how the Dean’s office operates in his brief term.
“I see slightly modifying the structure,” Patton said. “I don’t see us adding very much. I don’t think that the student body will notice much.”
“I support Dean Patton’s process of gathering information and feedback and am confident that any changes to the structure of the office will be well thought out and in the interest of improving the functioning of the office in support of Wesleyan students,” said Dean of Student Services Mike Whaley.
Past changes to the office have ranged from eliminating the position of Dean of Student in Life in 1997 to mere introspection following a large internal review in 1985.
Many of the problems found in this review still exist today.
“The deans insist on meeting the needs of each category of client in the context of a simultaneous appreciation of the needs of all,” the report read. “The Dean’s office has more to do than it can do well.”
Following the report, the now defunct offices of the Dean of Studies and the Dean of Student Life were established.
“Institutions go through changes periodically,” Hughes said. “They feel alarming but usually are wake-up calls to check organizational structures to make sure the structure responds to the actual life situations on campus.”
THE SEARCH BEGINS
Though the search for the new Dean of the College has yet to begin, many already have the ideal characteristics of the replacement in mind.
“It is important to be an effective [delegate] and manager, as well as to keep moving toward a shared vision for campus life. It also helps to really love the work…because we all spend a lot of time doing it!”
The current search will span outside the University, but an understanding of the University as a whole is seen as an ideal requirement.
“I think [the dean needs] enthusiasm about Wesleyan as a place and before the enthusiasm you’d want to have a real sense of what we’re doing here,” Hughes said. “It’s potentially a very powerful position.”
Montero was particularly praised in the position due to her availability to students and faculty, but Winston warns that accessibility is not a magic bullet.
“Accessibility is important, but it has to go along with the ability to articulate a philosophy of education, develop goals and bring people together to accomplish them,” Winston said. “Dean Montero had a very good grasp of process, and she knew how to work with students and administrative and faculty colleagues.”
“[We need] communication, communication, communication among the groups living together in this community,” Hughes said.
According to Patton, one of the hallmark characteristics of the Dean’s office is the free flow of internal information.
“I think the students like to think that the administration is a series of silos, but in fact we meet weekly with Doug and manage the University collectively,” Patton said. “There’s constant flow of information back and forth. That’s the way Wesleyan works.”
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