Oberlin College Online

Influential Food and Agriculture Author Michael Pollan Presents October 28 Convocation. In the October 12 New York Times article, "Farmer in Chief," Michael Pollan advises the next president that until the entire food system is reformed, significant progress will not be achieved on the issues of health care, energy independence, or climate change. "The way we currently grow, process, and eat food in America goes to the heart of all three problems and will have to change if we hope to solve them," says Pollan, who will present the next Convocation talk on October 28.

Excellent Air Quality: 21 Conservatory Students Join Harpist Yolanda Kondonassis on a Recording That Helps the Environment Yolanda Kondonassis has combined her commitment to raising awareness of the threat of global warming with her passion for music and her joy in working with young musicians on her newest recording for Telarc, Air. Scheduled for release on October 28, the album features music by Claude Debussy and Toru Takemitsu, performed by Kondonassis and Oberlin 21, a new ensemble of Oberlin students conducted by Bridget-Michaele Reischl. Kondonassis and the Conservatory will donate a portion of their royalties from the sale of Air to the Environmental Defense Fund.

Oberlin College Gets Highest Grade on Green Report Card OBERLIN, OHIO – Oberlin College is 1 of just 15 schools to achieve the highest grade of A- on the new College Sustainability Report Card 2009. announced Mark Orlowski, executive director of the Sustainable Endowments Institute, the Report Card’s publisher. Founded in 2005, the institute is a special project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. Oberlin received a B+ on the 2008 report card. Other schools with top marks include Stanford and liberal arts colleges Carleton, Dickinson, and Middlebury.

Adrian Fenty ’92 Discusses 2008 Race for the White House Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty ’92 returned to Oberlin on Saturday to talk about the presidential race and what is at stake in the 2008 election. Fenty discussed his views on the candidates and how the political landscape in Washington will change with a new president. More than 300 people welcomed Fenty, who took questions from the audience and posed for photographs after his talk.

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Composer David Lang Joins Conservatory Faculty Composer David Lang, founder of the boundary-pushing new music collective Bang on a Can and recipient of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize in Music, will join the Conservatory this fall as Distinguished Visiting Professor of Composition and Composer in Residence. “[David Lang] is a tremendous advocate for the creation and performance of new music, and this advocacy is only surpassed by his passion for teaching and mentoring young musicians,” says Dean of the Conservatory David H. Stull. “We are privileged to welcome him to our faculty.”