Search continues in two Masterless colleges

Yale's residential colleges are entering the new millennium with a fleet of new administrators. Silliman Master Judith Krauss and Saybrook Master Mary Miller are entering their first and second years respectively, while Davenport Dean Peter Quimby and Berkeley Dean George Levesque assumed their jobs abruptly in the middle of this year. Additionally, new Masters will join Berkeley, Davenport, and Morse Colleges at the beginning of the next academic year.

University President Richard Levin, GRD '74, announced officially on Fri., Feb. 16 that John Rogers, SY '84, GRD '89, an associate professor of English, will succeed the current Berkeley Master, Harry Stout. Meanwhile, Davenport and Morse wait in suspense. Branford Master Steven Smith, who is in the final year of his five-year term, awaits reevaluation. Yale enters next year with three new Masters and two new Deans, not including the recent arrivals of the Saybrook and Silliman Masters.

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Berkeley is enthusiastic about the impending arrival of Rogers, his wife Cornelia Pearsall, JE '84, GRD '91, and their two-year-old daughter, Lily. Remarking on the appointment, Levesque spoke for the whole college when he said, "We are thrilled. They are enthusiastic, devoted, and very capable. Moreover, they are Yalies through and through and know intimately the virtues of the residential colleges." The selection of a new Master is ultimately determined by Levin; however, a search committee comprised of students and fellows aids the process by soliciting suggestions for potential candidates from their respective peers. Through a series of meetings, the committee whittles this list down to about 12 individuals; these people are subsequently recommended to Levin, who makes the final appointment.

Noelle Ortega, BK '02, was a me-mber of the search committee. "English majors say he's always really receptive to any sorts of questions or people needing help with problems," she said. "That made him really appealing." Both she and Robert Bernheim, BK '02, also a member of the search committee, said that they had only positive things to say about Rogers. While Ortega characterized Stout as "funny, smart, and personable," and Bernheim said that he would be "sorely missed," most Berkeley students seem happy to welcome the partnership of Rogers and Levesque at the head of their college.

The mood in Davenport, where next year's Master has yet to be announced, is less positive. The last three years have been difficult for Davenport students seeking any kind of stability or continuity in college life. Seniors have experienced four different Deans in as many years. Ann Thai, DC '02, who transferred to Yale a year and a half ago, said, "I have only been here for a year and in that time there have been three different deans. Part of the reason that I transferred was because I thought I would get more personal attention from administrators and would benefit from the advising system here. I think [the frequent changes] did affect the quality of advising, because students didn't have time to build a relationship with the Deans."

However, Thai believes that these problems are a thing of the past. She praised Peter Quimby, the new Dean of Davenport who arrived from the University of Wisconsin at Madison at the beginning of this semester, and said that although "[Master Gerald Thomas] has built up a relationship with the students. I don't think [the loss] will be as difficult as that of the Dean, because the Dean handles the academic housekeeping." Becky Garcia, DC '04, a member of Davenport's search committee for a new Master, echoed Thai's admiration of Quimby's speedy integration into college life. However, Garcia noted that because she is a freshman, she has not been affected to the same degree by the frequent appointments of new Deans.

Even Davenport and Morse students, who do not yet know who will replace their Masters, are not anxious about the transition. Andy Hung, SM '01, a freshman counselor whose college was assigned a new Master this year, said "The transition has been fairly seamless." Stout attested to this, saying, "I am mindful on the eve of my departure that Berkeley is entering a situation very much like the situation that occurred when I began mastering 11 years ago. Dean [Lawrence] Winnie had been dean for only a semester before my arrival. I think we managed quite well and I'm sure Dean Levesque and Master Rogers will do the same."

Though most are confident that the transition in these colleges will go smoothly, the constant state of flux over the past few years that has afflicted Davenport and, to a lesser extent, Berkeley, has left some students, especially upper-classmen, with bitter impressions. The college system strives to provide an intimate and personal environment and to be a stabilizing influence in the lives of students. Some students, such as Thai, feel that the University failed in this mission; Berkeley, Davenport, and Morse students are optimistic, however, that new appointments of Deans and Masters will restore unity and stability to the colleges.

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