Oberlin Commencement & Reunion 2008

Congratulations on a successful 2008 Commencement/Reunion Weekend! Attendance of alumni, parents, and friends this year broke all records!

Commencement/Reunion Weekend was held Friday, May 23, through Monday, May 26. Commencement Exercises were held Monday morning on Tappan Square. More than 600 students received degrees on Memorial Day, and hundreds of alumni returned to campus over the weekend to take part in reunion gatherings and to attend special events.

This year’s Commencement/Reunion Weekend featured Oberlin College’s 175th anniversary, as well as events to commemorate Oberlin Shansi’s 100th anniversary. Marvin Krislov celebrated his first Commencement/Reunion Weekend as college president, and we enjoyed his presence at many of the weekend's events.

Thanks to all alumni, parents, and students who joined us during this festive weekend!

 

2008 State-of-the-College Address & Commencement Remarks

PResiDent Krislov's State-of-the-College Address

Marvin Krislov delivers his first state-of-the-college address on May 25, 2008, in Finney Chapel.

READ AND HEAR THE ADDRESS »

 

PResiDent Krislov's Commencement Remarks

Marvin Krislov addresses the Class of 2008 on May, 26 2008, in Tappan Square.

READ THE REMARKS »

 

Photographs from the 2008 Commencement Reunion Weekend

See more photos at www.flickr.com

Commencement Speaker — Honorary Doctor of Humanities

Fareed Zakaria

Fareed Zakaria was named editor of Newsweek International in October 2000, overseeing all Newsweek’s editions abroad.  The magazine reaches an audience of 24 million worldwide. He also writes a regular column for Newsweek, which also appears in Newsweek International and fortnightly in The Washington Post.  Starting this year, he will host a new foreign affairs show on CNN Worldwide.

View Info »

 

Honorary Doctor of Humanities

James McBride

James McBride ’79 is a bestselling author and musician.  His memoir, The Color of Water, is An American classic and required reading in high schools and colleges across America.

View Info »

 

Honorary Doctor of Humanities

Gayatri Spivak

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak is University Professor and Director of the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society at Columbia University, where she teaches Literature and the Politics of Culture.

View Info »

 

Honorary Doctor of Science

Stuart Card

Stuart Card ’66 is a senior research fellow at the Palo Alto Research Center who is currently developing a supporting science of human-information interaction and visual-semantic prototypes to aid sensemaking.

View Info »

 

Honorary Doctor of Humanities

Charlene Drew Jarvis

Charlene Drew Jarvis ’62 is a native of Washington, D.C., a former elected official, a scientist, and  the ninth president of Southeastern University. Appointed in 1996, she is the first woman to hold that position.

View Info »

 

Distinguished Service Award

Jaquita (Jaqui) Robinson Willis

Jaquita (Jaqui) Robinson Willis is this year’s recipient of the Distinguished Service Award. Over the past 30 years, Jaqui has participated as a volunteer in a remarkable array of community organizations and has worked on countless ad hoc committees. She also has devoted special attention to Oberlin youth and the economically needy in the community.

View Info »

 

Alumni Medal Recipient

Carl Read Gerber

Carl Read Gerber ’58 is this year’s recipient of the Oberlin College Alumni Medal, awarded in recognition of outstanding service to the College.

View Info »