Oberlin College Online

*Anne Trubek Discusses The Catcher in the Rye* with NPR’s Scott Simon** A guest on NPR’s “Weekend Edition Saturday,” Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Composition Anne Trubek discusses why she believes J.D. Salinger's classic novel The Catcher in the Rye is no longer a must-read for high school students. “It is often assigned as a contemporary novel that is supposed to resonate with high school students, but it was published in 1951, and it’s not so contemporary anymore,” Trubek explains. “We should start looking at which novels might do a better job of reaching high school students and talking about their experiences.”

National Expert to Teach Course on Subprime Mortgage Crisis Oberlin students will have the opportunity to get a rare, behind-the-scenes look at a nationwide debacle when Cuyahoga County Treasurer James Rokakis ’77 begins a four-week mini-course this month, detailing the causes behind the subprime mortgage crisis. One of the country’s leading experts on the issue, Rokakis has been at the forefront of the crisis for years, “fighting for more local and federal regulations to tame unscrupulous mortgage companies and banks that have contributed to the state's foreclosure problem, among the worst in the nation”(Cleveland Plain Dealer).

Oberlin Names 2007-2008 Teaching Excellence Award Recipients For their commitment to excellence and innovation in teaching, six distinguished Oberlin faculty members in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Conservatory of Music have been selected to receive a 2007-08 Oberlin Teaching Excellence Award. The prizes are determined each year by the respective faculty councils based on information gathered during the regular merit-evaluation process, on nominations from department chairs, and on the recommendations of the deans of the College and Conservatory.

Renovating the Retail Landscape A recent article in USA Today focused on a problem many communities across the country are facing: What to do with the cavernous spaces left behind by big-box retailers when they downsize or expand elsewhere. USA Today’s Haya El Nasser discussed some of the solutions with Luce Visiting Assistant Professor of Emerging Arts Julia Christensen, who has spent six years documenting the trend in big-box reuse for a book due out in November. An exhibit of her photographs that appear in the book is currently on view at the Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University.