PILOT
THE
Gardner-WfebbCdkge
DECEMBER, 1980
BOILING SPRINGS, NORTH CAROLINA 28017
DR. PAUL JOLLEY
The Academic Cabinet:
Is The Concept Working?
DR. CHARLES
ANDREWS
Sfim
DR. GEORGE C. CRIBB
DR. ROBERT LAMB
By: Randy Waters
Needless to say, it takes a
lot of planning, thinking and
directing to keep an edu
cational institution’s poli
cies coherent, viable, and
stable. The responsibilities
must be meted out and care
fully coordinated in order to
handle current and future
programs and problems.
Traditionally, the position
of Academic Dean is respon
sible for a large proportion
of the aforementioned re
sponsibilities, including
such important areas as stu-
dent-faculty or faculty-facul-
ty relations. If students had
an academic problem for ex
ample, they could meet with
the dean to discuss them.
Since G-W recently lost
its dean, Dr. Robert Knott,
to Mars Hill College, the col
lege had to fill that impor
tant position as quickly and
efficiently as possible. The
administration thought it
too late in the year
(summer) to begin a search
for a dean. After all, even if
they could find a dean before
Fall, he or she must have
time to become familiar with
the intricacies of the institu
tion.
Since the college was (and
still is) in the throes of re-
‘A Time For Singing ’ Premieres
By Debbie Drayer
Of all the events planned
in commemoration of Gard-
ner-Webb’s 75th Anniver
sary, perhaps “A Time For
Singing” was the most
unique. Commissioned at
former Dean Dr. Robert
Knott’s initiative, the play
was written by C. Robert
Jones, drama professor at
Mars Hill College. Mr.
Jones, as much a playwright
as a professor, is a former
GWC faculty member.
The play dealt with the
common background and
the personal stories of two
men vital to the develop
ment of the college. Dr.
Philip Lovin Elliot and gov
ernor O. Max Gardner. El
liot was president of Gard-
ner-Webb from 1943-1961.
Jones, in writing the
play, was particularly im
pressed by the series of let
ters exchanged between the
two men that he found
when he began researching
at the University of North
Carolina library. According
to Jones, the correspond
ence was “not your usual
‘Hey how’s life’ letters.
They were full of philosoph
ical concerns, particularly
about the future of the col
lege, whether it would go in
an agricultural or liberal
arts direction.”
Jones wanted to create
and produce a play that was
more than just a history of
the college. He searched for
a specific conflict, for one
area where an event crucial
to the future of Gardner-
Webb could be molded into
a drama. The playwright’s
primary concern, beyond
highlighting the sacrificial
effort made by Elliot and
Gardner and beyond the ac
curate portrayal of each
character, was to protect
the people still in the vi
cinity. Mrs. Elliot is one
example; she lives on cam
pus next door to the Sign
Post.
The cast included Shelby
residents Steve Ware and
Ellen Palmer as Gov. and
Mrs. (Fay Webb) Gardner;
Shelby Daily Star staff
member Frank Moore and
GW senior Terry Prunty as
Dr. and Mrs. Elliot; sopho
more Ruth Ann Brunson
and Dana Bucher as secre
taries to O. Max Gardner
and Elliot; senior Teresa
Yingling as a soprano voice
major, sophomore John
Taylor as one of Gardner’s
law partners; GW professor
P. A. Cline as Horace
Easom (who was named in
terim president until Elliot
came); and senior Keith
Flippin as James Webb
“Decker” Gardner (after
whom Decker Dorm was
named.) Yingling’s role
(Mary Greene) was created
by Jones “in order to
demonstrate Elliot’s com
passionate relationship with
students.”
Jones found the Novem
ber 20-22 performances in
E. B. Hamrick auditorium
quite meaningful, not only
because of the references
made to the building in the
play, but because of its re
cent inclusion into the Na
tional Register of Historic
Buildings, which guaran
teed the renovation funding
necessary to preserve the
auditorium.
vising the curriculum, and
the Fall was fast approach
ing, the administration de
cided to try an experiment in
administrative duties, hence
the Academic Cabinet. The
cabinet, made up of G-W
faculty members, handles
the dean’s responsibilities,
dividing them among them
selves.
Dr. George Cribb has been
given the task of handling
all academic correspondence
and presiding as chief aca
demic officer at all academic
ceremonies, such as gradua
tion. Dr. Paul Jolley has
been given charge of long-
range planning and the over
seeing of the academic eligi
bility of athletes. Dr. Robert
Lamb has been given the job
of meeting with students on
matters of academic eligi
bility, progress, suspension,
and probation. He also
works with the library
director in an advisory ca
pacity. Dr. Charles Andrews
is in charge of working with
the faculty in academic mat
ters via the department
chairpersons. The college
president acts in a
coordinating fashion for all
administrative functions of
the entire academic pro
gram.
Naturally, since the presi
dent and the four cabinet
members already have tre
mendous work loads to con
tend with, it could seem
cumbersome for them to un
dertake even more responsi
bilities. However, Dr. Cribb,
when questioned on this
point, stated that the work
load was equally distributed
for the most part and that
the faculty has been “sup
portive” and “responsive”
to the academic cabinet con
cept, thus making the cabi
net members’ jobs much eas
ier.
Dr. Cribb seemed enthus
iastic and optimistic about
the cabinet’s progress and
its role in the college’s af
fairs. Dr. Cribb stressed the
many advantages of the cab
inet system, including the
advantage of having four
people, as opposed to one
person, to go to with ques
tions, problems, and so forth.
According to Dr. Cribb,
the college will attempt to
evaluate the success of the
academic cabinet experi
ment in December. If the cab
inet is deemed a success, the
college will proceed with
the cabinet. If it should ap
pear that the college could
operate better with an aca
demic dean, then the admin
istration will initiate a
search for a dean in January.
The preliminary results of
the recent college-wide ques
tionnaire indicate that the
college family has been
satisfied thus far with the
Academic Cabinet’s perfor
mance this year, but the
questionnaire also indicates
that an academic dean is
preferred in the long run.
Dr. Cribb indicated that
he had mixed feelings about
the cabinet’s future. He is
pleased with its progress
and would like to see the
cabinet continue, but stress
ed that the faculty must be
comfortable with whatever
situation occurs. If the ex
periment is found to be un
satisfactory to the faculty,
then the search for an aca
demic dean might be in the
offing.
“O. Max Gardner” (Steve Ware) and “Decker Gardner”
(Keith Flippin) perform in A TIME FOR SINGING.
iPhoto by John Mark Adams)