By MARY ANN ALBRIGHT
Gazette-Times reporter | Posted: Wednesday, October 4, 2006 12:00 am
After more than 12 years heading up the College of Liberal Arts at Oregon State University, Kay Schaffer will retire in June.
"I've been very privileged to be dean of an absolutely wonderful college and absolutely wonderful people," Schaffer said Tuesday in announcing her decision.
Schaffer, 62, said she started discussing her retirement with Provost Sabah Randhawa last year.
"I've been looking for the right time. Personally and for my family, now seems like the right time," she said, adding that she's looking forward to "a new schedule and a new phase of life."
Schaffer has been dean of liberal arts since 1994, and has helped increase the college's student enrollment. Last year, a record 875 liberal arts students graduated from OSU, the largest class in the college's history.
"Kay's leadership has enabled the College of Liberal Arts to serve students and deliver core education programs for (more than) a decade n even when the university has been faced with difficult fiscal challenges," Randhawa said in a news release.
Schaffer recently came under fire for how she handled leadership changes in the college's new media communications program. Faculty in the program said they learned about Joel Thierstein's removal as director, as well as specifics on new media's budget, from the newspaper, rather than hearing it from Schaffer.
Making ends meet with increasingly limited state support and dealing with fallout from Thierstein's removal had nothing to do with her retirement, Schaffer said.
"The (new media communications) program has so much potential, and it's something I wanted to take care of before I leave, and to make sure that it's on track to grow and prosper," she said.
Schaffer came to OSU from the University of Toledo (Ohio, not Spain), where she had served as associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and director of the university's graduate program in clinical psychology. She has an appointment in OSU's department of psychology, and her own research focused on gender and health issues in higher education.
Since becoming dean of OSU's College of Liberal Arts, Schaffer has worked to build graduate programs, scholarships, faculty recognition and endowed chairs. She instituted a "master teacher" program in which some of the top faculty in the college are matched with freshmen to help engage them in the university.
The College of Liberal Arts has more than a dozen departments and several programs. About 70 percent of the university's required classes are taught through the college.
Randhawa said a search for a new dean would begin soon. Tammy Bray, dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences at OSU, will chair the search.
Schaffer said she'd consider teaching at OSU as an emeritus professor, but not for at least a year. She wants to give the new dean plenty of space, but will be available to offer help if asked, she said.
With her new free time, Schaffer wants to travel, join book clubs and women's advocacy groups and hike the entire Oregon coast.
OSU News Service contributed to this story. Mary Ann Albright covers higher education. She can be reached at maryann.albright@lee.net or 758-9518.