Musical Chairs In UHall

Dean Whitlock's hasty elevation this week to the post of associate dean of the Faculty shows the growing importance of the task forces in Dean Rosovsky's plans.

The urgency of Whitlock's mission is clear. He must take over the task force leadership, now totally void, whip the more lethargic committees into place, and coordinate the recommendations of all seven groups.

He will then perform the toughest job of all--drafting very sensitive, but major, legislation in a fashion that appeals to all factions of a conservative Faculty.

Experience dictates that Whitlock's role may be the key one in the success of Rosovsky's plans. Undergraduate reviews at Yale and Princeton conducted within the last few years, came up with bold recommendations, but failed miserably at just the level that Rosovsky's task forces are now entering.

The Yale and Princeton task forces could not coordinate their presentations or make their legislation palatable to the Faculty. And in each case the Faculty rejected almost every major recommendation.

By bolstering his task forces Rosovsky exposes another flank. The job of dean, with its dual role as chairman of the Administrative Board, is an intricate position to fill.

The College deanship won't be the only post that Rosovsky will have vacant. Skiddy von Stade '38, dean of freshmen, will be retiring this year. "The problem with Whit stepping up like this is that Skiddy is stepping down at the same time," Edward T. Wilcox, director of the Freshman Seminar program, and long-time University Hall watcher, said last week.

And the July 1 deadline Rosovsky has set for finding a new dean seems a little unrealistic. It appears more likely that an acting dean will have to fill in for at least a few months.

Rosovsky said earlier this week that Whitlock's replacement will be from within the administration, a proclamation that will start a game of musical chairs in University Hall.

Prominent candidates mentioned for the deanship include Alberta Arthurs, dean of undergraduate affairs, Archie C. Epps III, dean of students, L. Fred Jewett '57, Harvard-Radcliffe dean of admissions and financial aid, and darkhorse John B. Fox '59, assistant dean of the Faculty.

Other administrators in University Hall may face a reshuffling or redefinition of roles under the new College dean.

In the future Rosovsky may also be playing a larger role with the Committee on Houses and Undergraduate Life. He said this week he discussed that possibility with Francis M. Pipkin, associate dean of the Faculty and chairman of the CHUL, some time last week.