Martel seeks new masters

By Lawanda Turner     10/29/09 7:00pm

For any faculty member interested in becoming a college master, this may be the year to apply. A total of four residential colleges - Baker College, Duncan College, Martel College and McMurtry College - are looking for new masters for next year. Martel was the first to begin their search for a new master, assembling a Master Search Committee early this month. The committee will search for masters to take the position that will open up once Earth Sciences Professor Jerry Dickens' and Michelle McCormick's five-year tenure ends this May.

The committee consists of nine Martel students and is chaired by Martel juniors Kevin Tran and Veronica Torres. Martel Resident Associate Stephanie Frey and Brown College Master Steve Cox also serve on the committee.

The committee regards educating potential candidates about the job's expectations as an important part of the search process. The role of master includes being an academic presence in the college and interacting personally with students, as well as taking care of problems with roommates, Tran said.

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"We will spend time communicating the value of a master," Tran said. "Many people underestimate what the job includes. It is a pretty huge job with roles that people don't know about."

The committee is looking for sociability among the candidates, Tran said.

"Masters should socialize because Martel wants people who are social and who are willing to participate in activities," he said.

To publicize the fact that Martel and the three other colleges are looking for new Masters, President David Leebron invited eligible faculty to his home for a reception earlier this year, where they were introduced to each college's president.

Tran said approaching a potential Martel master is a delicate task.

"It is kind of like asking someone out on a date," Tran said. "We want to see if we are a good match for each other. It is a wooing process. We will invite [potential masters] to Martel to see how they interact."

Martel sophomore Chris Gray said the ability of the new masters to interact with students was important.

"I think I'd definitely like to see a similar if not greater level of visibility [amongst the candidates by] being able to see them around and socialize with them," Gray said.

To begin the search process, the committee took Martel students' suggestions for possible masters and contacted those suggested. Committee member Amy Buxbaum said there are several interesting candidates the committee has approached. However, Buxbaum, a Martel sophomore said she was not allowed to disclose the names of candidates.

Tran said Dean of Undergraduates Robin Forman asked the committee to present two candidates to him before Thanksgiving break. However, Tran said Martel cannot submit their candidates to Forman until Baker has also selected their top two choices. Once the candidates have been submitted, Leebron will make the final decision and announce it to students by February.

"Our goal is to present two candidates by Thanksgiving so that we can be done before finals," Tran said.

Even with this goal in mind, Tran said the search committee will not make any premature decisions.

"We will not rush in our decision-making," Tran said. "If we have to take a little more time to make sure it is done right, we will."

Buxbaum said the most interesting part of serving on the search committee was meeting professors in different fields.

"It's fun to interview them and it feels good to have power over professors," Buxbaum said. "In the end, we decide who the two candidates are."

Dickens said throughout his five years at Martel he has seen the college undergo significant change. He said he had a lot of fun his first two years at Martel, but he felt hampered by the construction at Duncan and McMurtry.

"We have enjoyed ourselves, but are ready to do other things," Dickens said.

Dickens said he enjoyed the social aspect of being a master.

"I liked seeing interesting activities and getting involved with students," Dickens said.

Martel senior Alex Siller said the Dickens and McCormick have made an impact on Martel students.

"When I was in the emergency room, I got calls from them because they wanted to make sure I was okay," Siller said.

Gray said Dickens can frequently be found at Martel social events.

"He's a really great guy to talk to," Gray said. "He'd come sit down with us at lunch and dinner and just talk and hang out. He's really been the driving force behind a lot of events we've had.

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