THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, March 11, 1996 TAG: 9603110034
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 130 lines
Stephen S. Mansfield is that rare bird in academia - a professor virtually without enemies on campus, beloved by old-timers and newcomers, faculty and students, the grousers and the cheerleaders.
So when he was recently named to the No. 2 position at Virginia Wesleyan College - dean of the college and vice president of academic affairs - a collective cheer rang out across campus.
``He's very good about making you feel good about yourself,'' says Phyllis Wolfe, a history major who has Mansfield as an adviser. ``His personality is really where the college wants to go - forward-looking, innovative and personal.''
Mansfield, 53, a history professor at Virginia Wesleyan since 1968, had been acting dean of the college since January 1995. He took over from William M. Wilson, who was killed in a car crash as he drove home from church on Christmas in 1994.
At first, when Wesleyan began its search for a permanent replacement, Mansfield stayed out of the competition. He says he wanted to allow the college to undergo an ``unencumbered national search.'' Besides, he wasn't sure he wanted the job.
But in the summer, the college had found no one to satisfy the bill and started a new search. That is when Mansfield applied, relishing ``the invigorating challenges that I hadn't expected to have in my 53rd year of life.'' Last month, he was chosen from among more than 200 candidates.
``Stephen is so reserved that only within the last year has it become really clear about a number of gifts he brings to the school,'' says Craig S. Wansink, assistant professor of religious studies.
For instance, Mansfield is known to be a Southern gentleman, particularly fond of sending thank-you notes. But he hasn't hesitated to speak up forcefully in support of faculty concerns.
And ``even though he is a historian, he's not bound to the past,'' says Dora H. Dobrin, a professor of sociology. ``He is very future-oriented.''
In his job, Mansfield oversees academic issues such as tenure and the addition of new programs. It is a slippery tightrope he walks: He is supposed to serve as the voice of the faculty to the president and the board. But he also is supposed to ensure that professors toe the line. Or, as he puts it, ``Somebody needs to say, `You're going off on a tangent' or `That won't work.' ''
Amazingly, he managed to win raves from both the administrative and faculty staffs for navigating this year's treacherous budget.
At first, Mansfield argued strenuously for adding a few faculty positions, as the college generally does each year. But he later agreed with other administrators that money was not available to increase the 75-member teaching force.
He returned to the professors with the bad news. And to help put it in perspective, he brought to the meeting the college's finance vice president, William T. Joseph. They left, Mansfield says, ``with some disappointment, but no bitterness.''
Daniel W. Graf, a professor of history, says: ``Steve is a very modest person. He's not one to come back to the faculty and say, `I just went to bat for you on this.' But various people, including some of the other vice presidents, have made comments to me that `Mansfield really stood up for you guys when it came to the budget.' . . . This guy really comes across as a faculty advocate.''
Similarly, there are no complaints on the administrative end. ``He never got weak-kneed on me, never tried to dodge a tough issue,'' says William T. ``Billy'' Greer Jr., Wesleyan's president.
Mansfield's office features busts and bookends in the shape of Abraham Lincoln - family gifts to commemorate his love of history and his Illinois roots.
It was in his native Rockford, Ill., as a youth that Mansfield developed his passion for history. He remembers being captivated by a two-page spread of presidential profiles - from Washington to Truman - in the Chicago Tribune in 1952. He was hooked.
In eighth grade, when required to compile a ``career book,'' Mansfield predicted that he would teach college-level American history. He even chose to attend the College of William and Mary because he thought it offered a greater array of history courses than did most Midwestern schools. ``It was the only college I applied to, which was ridiculous,'' Mansfield says. ``I always tell students, `Don't do what I did.' ''
After Mansfield graduated from W&M, he received his doctorate from the University of Virginia in 1968 and moved straight to Wesleyan, which was then 2 years old. At the college, he has studied the history of Virginia Beach. His book, ``Princess Anne County and Virginia Beach: A Pictorial History,'' was published in 1989.
He has a formal demeanor, but never abandons good graces. As an example, Wolfe, the history major, says her husband recently congratulated Mansfield on his appointment. Soon afterward, he got a thank-you note from Mansfield. ``He has an honest concern for making sure that other people know that they're worth something,'' she said.
Dobrin, the sociology professor, describes Mansfield as a ``gentle man and a gentleman. . . .He doesn't dismiss people. He doesn't act, when there is something important to you, as if it is frivolous. He deals with it in a way that you leave his office feeling you were heard, even if it doesn't get you the results you wanted.''
Mansfield shrugs off the high praise for his manners. ``It's a kind of civility,'' he says, ``that springs instinctively in people.''
If there was any dissent at Wesleyan about Mansfield's appointment, it was whether an outsider with fresh perspectives might be better suited to the job. But supporters say Mansfield is sure to push the school in new directions.
For his part, Mansfield says he wants to retain Wesleyan's strong liberal-arts backbone and cozy, everybody-knows-your-name atmosphere. But he also wants to add academic programs, put more focus on international studies and build connections with theologians of all stripes. Wesleyan is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. But, he says, ``we don't want to start new programs just for the sake of PR.''
For Wesleyan, which has gotten a new president and board chairwoman in recent years, Mansfield offers the double bonus of ``the strength of stability and the vision for change,'' says Wansink, the religion professor.
``He tries to do honestly what he believes is the right thing,'' Wansink says. ``He is so universally respected. As a junior faculty member, you can only hope you'll be in a position like that.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by LAWRENCE JACKSON /The Virginian-Pilot
Stephen Mansfield waits to address a meeting of the Virginia
Wesleyan College faculty. The new dean's work on a tight budget won
support from instructors and administrators alike.
Color photo by LAWRENCE JACKSON/The Virginian-Pilot
Virginia Wesleyan College's dean, Stephen S. Mansfield, says he
relishes ``the invigorating challenges'' of his new job. He is known
around campus as a Southern gentleman with a penchant for sending
thank-you notes.
KEYWORDS: APPOINTMENT by CNB