Oberlin in the News - Winter 2002

January 2002
Oberlin Mentioned on The Sopranos
January 25--A recent rerun of episode 20 from TheSoprano's second season included a mention of Oberlin. The character A.J. (Mafia boss Tony Soprano's son) relates his impression of his school's new English teacher (from Oberlin) to his father.

Joanna Messing '95 Quoted in The Wall Street Journal
January 15--Joanna Messing '95 was quoted in an article in the December 28 edition of The Wall Street Journal. Messing, a venture capitalist with the Budapest-based nonprofit group NESst Venture Fund, is part of a growing group of entrepreneurs helping charitable organizations develop self-sustaining, revenue generating funds. "A lot of times venture capitalists are interested in getting involved in the social sector, but they don't know where they can have the greatest impact," Messing said in the Journal article. "Venture philanthropy allows a venture capitalist to use the skills gained in the private equity world to have a big impact on the social sector."

Oberlin Alum's Film on PBS January 15
January 15--Part two of "Mark Twain: A Film Directed by Ken Burns," co-written by Oberlin alumnus Geoffrey Ward '62, will air Tuesday, January 15, at 8:00 p.m. on WVIZ Channel 25 and WEAO Channel 49. Part one of the four-hour biography aired last night both locally and nationally on PBS. Ward also is co-author with Burns and Dayton Duncan of the companion book Mark Twain: An Illustrated Biography. He also has written numerous other books, including the Franklin Delano Roosevelt biography A First-Class Temperament, winner of the 1989 National Book Critics Circle Award.

December 2001
CNBC to Feature Interview with Gregory Hess December 11
December 10--Gregory Hess, Danforth-Lewis Professor of Economics and a member of the U.S. Shadow Open Market Committee, is scheduled to be interviewed on CNBC's Squawkbox Tuesday, December 11, between 8:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.

OCEAN Partnership Profiled in The Plain Dealer
December 5--The December 3 edition of The Plain Dealer featured an article on the Oberlin College Educational Alliance Network (OCEAN), a program that encourages collaboration with underserved rural and urban high schools in Northeast Ohio. OCEAN offers college-level courses to students in these schools for advanced placement and college credit. Carol Lasser, professor of history and director of OCEAN, describes the program as introducing students "to the joy of intellectual inquiry, the pleasure of critical thinking, the mastery of skills in research and method, and the challenge of learning at the college level."