As of July 1, former anthropology professor and Associate Dean of the Faculty Jeffrey Cole now occupies the second-highest ranking office at the College after the President as the new Dean of the Faculty.
He replaces Abigail Van Slyck who stepped down after four years in that position. Van Slyck helped craft the College’s strategic plan, and she participated in committees that introduced a Vice President of Finance and Administration and a Dean of Institutional Equity and Inclusion to the College. Additionally, as Dean of the Faculty, she brought in the second-highest reported income of any college employee — $266,783 in FY2016.
The search for a new Dean of the Faculty yielded two finalists: Cole and philosophy professor Derek Turner. In a two-page candidate statement, Cole expressed concerns about the College’s financial state, saying “all divisions across the college will be asked to maintain high standards with less.”
Turner, who has served on the College’s Priorities, Planning, and Budget Committee, focused his fourteen-page statement on what he claims to be the College’s financial vulnerabilities, claiming the College is “more tuition dependent than the schools we compete with in the admissions market.”
The Dean of the Faculty oversees multiple crucial departments and areas here at the College. “Part of my job is to be the principal advisor on academic affairs to the President.
“I have oversight over the departments, programs, and centers on campus. The arbo is one. It is an issue of curriculum, the Arboretum contains vast collections that are curated. The arbo is used by something like 20 courses a year. Faculty have historically and today conducted research, it is fundamentally part of our curriculum.”
Cole says the role goes beyond simple oversight and extends to directly working with faculty and staff to help develop the resources of the College.
“A big part of what we do in this office is try to provide a number of professional development activities for faculty though programming and through internal funding.”
Cole first joined the College in 2008 as the chair of the Anthropology Department after working for 15 years at Dowling College.
He says his background as an anthropologist will help him transition into this new position. “One of the things I have done as a cultural anthropologist over the last 20 years is to observe and listen carefully. That attention to listening carefully is an aid for anyone in an administrative position.”
Cole says his experience serving as Associate Dean of the Faculty since 2015 prepares him for challenges he will face in his new role. In that role, helped to implement the Connections curriculum while supporting the College’s involvement in the C3 consortium which promotes diversity in higher education.
He also assisted departmental reviews. He recalled external praise of the College’s faculty and says a main challenge is bringing together what he describes as the “great ideas” of faculty and staff. “It’s a question of how much we can make happen.”
Financial issues are a concern for students, professors, and administrators, and Cole is no exception. “Costs are an issue at every institution of higher education. It is a widespread challenge to the whole sector of higher ed.” He says the school plans to continue its fundraising campaign, specifically mentioning the endowment as a priority within the College’s strategic plan.
Cole claims the College’s budget reflects institutional values.“Let’s take the institutions budget, which is a little over $100 million a year. The amount of money dedicated to financial aid has grown from 26 to nearly 39 million since the 2011-2012 year, which is a significant increase and demonstrates the colleges commitment to supporting students and their families.” Beyond that, the money goes to “the administrators, staff, faculty, and student workers. All the people who make the College go.”
Cole says he is “humbled and honored” to have stepped into what is his biggest role yet at the College. He says his experience teaching drives his passion to help improve the College and its community. •
The College Voice recently published copies of the candidate statements by Jeffrey Cole and Derek Turner.
