| << Front page | News | September 29, 2006 |
Jeff Witmer
Responding to the resignation of Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Harry Hirsch, the College Faculty Committee has asked math professor and former acting Dean Jeff Witmer to make a repeat performance. The Review sat down with him to discuss his plans and goals for that office in this transitional year.
How do your skills as a math teacher transfer to deanery?
Well, mathematicians need to be analytical and that certainly helps me. I’m actually a statistician — statisticians do consulting. As a statistician you work with people from a lot of different areas…that experience has helped in the sense that you get to find out something about lots of different parts of what happens on campus, in lots of different departments.
Are you going to put the ‘act’ in acting dean?
There are things the college has to accomplish. This year and next we’re going to work on the implement[ation of the] strategic plan [as well as] hiring tenure-track faculty who will be here for decades after we hire them — and we’re going to hire the best people we possibly can. What I don’t intend to do is try to use the acting dean position as a springboard to getting the permanent position. I don’t have any plans in that direction.
You mentioned the Strategic Plan. What are your general thoughts on it, given the controversy surrounding it?
Strategic planning is important for any organization, so it’s a good thing we worked on putting together a strategic plan. You don’t expect that it’s going to be easy because you’re trying to make big decisions about what’s most important for the institution. Of course trustees have their perspective and faculty have their own perspective and students have their own perspectives. There has been some controversy but the faculty overwhelmingly voted in favor of the Strategic Plan, and the trustees enthusiastically voted to accept it. Now we’re implementing it. Parts of it are fairly easy to implement and parts of it require a lot of time and work.
If you ever left Oberlin, would you put “good in a pinch” on your resume?
(laughs) I suppose I could. I haven’t thought about it. [In a data collection survey for MATH 101] one student asked, ‘What are you most proud of?’ I said something along the lines of, ‘I’ve always been willing to help out when needed.’ This was before I had any idea I was going to be asked to be acting dean.
Do you consider yourself a Type A or Type B personality?
I’m pretty task-oriented and focused. I’m probably more of a Type A.
What’s your least favorite thing about deanery?
The great thing about being a teacher is working with students every day. When you’re in the dean’s office, you don’t have that day-to-day contact with students.
Did you get hooked on deanery in ’04-’05, and will it be hard to step down again?
I don’t think so. I enjoy working in the dean’s office. I would have been happy to stay on, but I was real happy to be on sabbatical and be teaching this fall. But that’s all in the future, I’m not worried about it right now.
How do your skills as a math teacher transfer to deanery?
Well, mathematicians need to be analytical and that certainly helps me. I’m actually a statistician — statisticians do consulting. As a statistician you work with people from a lot of different areas…that experience has helped in the sense that you get to find out something about lots of different parts of what happens on campus, in lots of different departments.
Are you going to put the ‘act’ in acting dean?
There are things the college has to accomplish. This year and next we’re going to work on the implement[ation of the] strategic plan [as well as] hiring tenure-track faculty who will be here for decades after we hire them — and we’re going to hire the best people we possibly can. What I don’t intend to do is try to use the acting dean position as a springboard to getting the permanent position. I don’t have any plans in that direction.
You mentioned the Strategic Plan. What are your general thoughts on it, given the controversy surrounding it?
Strategic planning is important for any organization, so it’s a good thing we worked on putting together a strategic plan. You don’t expect that it’s going to be easy because you’re trying to make big decisions about what’s most important for the institution. Of course trustees have their perspective and faculty have their own perspective and students have their own perspectives. There has been some controversy but the faculty overwhelmingly voted in favor of the Strategic Plan, and the trustees enthusiastically voted to accept it. Now we’re implementing it. Parts of it are fairly easy to implement and parts of it require a lot of time and work.
If you ever left Oberlin, would you put “good in a pinch” on your resume?
(laughs) I suppose I could. I haven’t thought about it. [In a data collection survey for MATH 101] one student asked, ‘What are you most proud of?’ I said something along the lines of, ‘I’ve always been willing to help out when needed.’ This was before I had any idea I was going to be asked to be acting dean.
Do you consider yourself a Type A or Type B personality?
I’m pretty task-oriented and focused. I’m probably more of a Type A.
What’s your least favorite thing about deanery?
The great thing about being a teacher is working with students every day. When you’re in the dean’s office, you don’t have that day-to-day contact with students.
Did you get hooked on deanery in ’04-’05, and will it be hard to step down again?
I don’t think so. I enjoy working in the dean’s office. I would have been happy to stay on, but I was real happy to be on sabbatical and be teaching this fall. But that’s all in the future, I’m not worried about it right now.
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