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.”
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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).
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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.
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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.
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During Orientation Week, more than 300 new Oberlin students will take part in the College’s 12th annual Day of Service (DOS). By engaging in a wide variety of volunteer projects at community organizations throughout the city and the surrounding area, new students connect with non profit groups and realize how important they are to the greater Oberlin community. DOS also provides Oberlin and Lorain County citizens invaluable services and resources.
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On the occasion of the 175th anniversary of Oberlin College and community, “Sister President” Johnnetta Betsch Cole ’57 will give a special convocation talk in Oberlin on Wednesday, September 3, at 8 p.m.
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A $32,500 grant from Cleveland’s Abington Foundation is enabling seven Oberlin students and three recent graduates to put their liberal arts skills into practice this summer by serving as full-time interns at a variety of professional sites throughout Cuyahoga and Lorain counties. The grant also supported two internships in summer 2007 and two during winter term 2008.
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The Allen Memorial Art Museum (AMAM) has been awarded a grant of $590,900 from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to expand and improve storage for its important permanent collection of nearly 13,000 works from virtually every culture and from prehistory to the present. The NEH grant will improve access to works of art held in storage, making them more readily available for use by educators, students, and researchers.
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Head Football Coach Jeff Ramsey has announced the addition of former Cleveland Browns player Lee Suggs to his coaching staff. Suggs, the 2000 Big East Offensive Player of the Year and a 2003 fourth-round pick of the Browns, will serve as the running backs coach. Also joining Ramsey’s staff this season is former Yeomen and All-NCAC receiver Chris Schubert, who will work with the tight ends.
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The Allen Memorial Art Museum (AMAM) has been awarded a grant of $590,900 from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to expand and improve storage for its important permanent collection of nearly 13,000 works from virtually every culture and from prehistory to the present. The NEH grant will improve access to works of art held in storage, making them more readily available for use by educators, students, and researchers.
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Clevelander Katrina Forman '10 is spending the summer teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) to Ohio migrant workers. Forman is an intern with the Immigrant Worker Project, a non-profit organization that provides ESL lessons, and other services for migrant workers throughout Ohio. She is featured in a Morning Journal profile of the organization. The director says he "is grateful for the help from Oberlin, which has a strong ESL program, and college students such as Forman, who spread the word and get others involved."
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This year's competition, held at the Conservatory from July 26 through August 3, 2008, culminates in a final round in Warner Concert Hall on Saturday, August 2 at 8 p.m. The pianist named first-prize winner on that night will take home $10,000, the largest first-prize offered by a youth piano competition internationally, and will receive orchestral concert engagements in Beijing and Shanghai, China.
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Organist Joseph (Joey) Ripka ’09 has won first prize at the Dublin International Organ Competition, held on June 28, 2008, at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland. In addition to 5,000 euros, his award includes recital engagements in Ireland, the U.K., and continental Europe.
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Charles P. Parkhurst, ’38, distinguished art historian, museum director and seminal figure in the history of Oberlin College’s Allen Memorial Art Museum (AMAM), died June 25, at his home in Amherst, Massachusetts. He was 95.
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John Mercer Langston, Class of 1849, ranks as one of the most compelling figures in Oberlin’s 175-year history. A graduate of the College and an Oberlin resident for 15 years, he was a leader of conviction and influence, a visionary reformer, and an accomplished statesman and lawyer.
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The Ohio Historical Society will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Oberlin alumnus Willard Van Orman Quine (1908-2000), an internationally renowned mathematician and philosopher, with the dedication of a historical plaque on the College campus. “He was the most distinguished American philosopher/logician of the second half of the 20th Century,” says Al MacKay, Oberlin provost and a professor of philosophy. The dedication will take place Wednesday, June 25 as part of the Oberlin College and community’s 175th Anniversary Celebration.
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"A Green Curriculum Involves Everyone on the Campus” is the title of an editorial penned by Environmental Studies Director John Petersen in the June 20 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education. Balancing the carbon budget is "the first truly worldwide environmental challenge" to face students, and colleges need to begin to prepare them now. He exhorts educators nationwide to “provide our students with the knowledge and experience necessary to accomplish that challenging task” and details the steps that Oberlin is taking to make this a priority.
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The Office of the President will continue its series of free public Convocation talks by presenting a roster of stellar speakers. During the 2008-09 academic year, the schedule will include composer Stephen Sondheim, who wrote Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Sweeney Todd; New York Times columnist Frank Rich; former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich; and writer Michael Pollan, author of the best-seller, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals.
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How Oberlin’s Creativity and Leadership (C&L) program helped Nick Winter and two other graduating seniors turn a “eureka moment” into a viable business leads off the article “Entrepreneurship 101: Not Just for Business School Anymore” in the June 20 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education. The writer explores what has become “one of the fastest growing subjects in undergraduate curricula.” Supporting the pros and cons are figures in academia from across the country, including C&L Director Andrea Kalyn, who explains why the program is such a good fit for Oberlin.
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Three Oberlin students with a strong commitment to protecting the environment will attend the World Student Environmental Summit June 19–22 in Kyoto, Japan. They will join students from 11 other countries in preparing an environmental proposal to be sent to the 2008 Group of Eight summit in July in Hokkaido. The trio also will tell their counterparts about the College’s award-winning Campus Resource Monitoring System. Oberlin is only one of two schools in the United States invited to send students to the June conference.
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An Oberlin College student art gallery and studio could be among the street-level occupants of the East College Street development when it opens in 2009. Sustainable Community Associates (SCA) and Oberlin College are in the final stage of discussions to make the art facilities part of the complex. The gallery and studio facilities may incorporate up to 4,000 square feet of space to showcase the work of Oberlin art students.
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A New York Times story titled "How Green is the College?" features Oberlin's newest environmental sustainability efforts, including the student-designed sustainability house known as SEED (Student Experiment in Ecological Design). The house, says the Times, whose student residents advocate timed showers, composting, and other energy-saving measures, is a "microcosm of a growing sustainability movement on campuses nationwide... The mission is serious and yet, like life at the Oberlin house, it blends idealism, hands-on practicality, laid-back community, and fun."
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Conductor David Zinman, Music Director of the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zürich and one of the most renowned conductors on the international scene, will return to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, his alma mater, to conduct the Commencement Orchestra in a free concert featuring Dvorák’s Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op. 88 and Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80. The concert is part of a surge of activity on campus taking place from May 23 through May 26, and culminating in Oberlin’s 175th Commencement.
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Emily Klim ’08 is the latest Oberlin senior to win a Fulbright Fellowship this semester. She will travel to Russia, where she will teach English and conduct a research project focusing on the role that Russian orthodoxy plays in the lives of modern Russians. Her Fulbright brings to four the number of Oberlin seniors who have been selected by the Fulbright Program for its prestigious award this year.
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Senior Alexa Punnamkuzhyil, a comparative literature and creative writing major from Arcata, California, is one of only 10 graduating seniors across the nation to receive the coveted Compton Mentor Fellowship. She will travel to Kerala, India, where she will work with community members and challenge traditional Indian taboos by creating a sexual-health education campaign that includes the production of six mini-films.
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Oberlin College is taking eco-friendly to a new level by completely offsetting the carbon footprint of its 2008 Commencement/Reunion weekend, May 23-26. With a $5,000 donation from Bon Appétit Management Company, which manages Oberlin’s Campus Dining Services, the College will purchase offsets for the weekend’s carbon emissions from Carbonfund.org, an organization that supports carbon-reducing projects such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, and reforestation projects.
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National Public Radio correspondent Robert Krulwich ’69, co-host of the popular Radio Lab series, has won a Webby Award for his original web cartoon series exploring carbon as the heart of global warming. Krulwich received the honor for best use of animation in online film and video for the five-part series titled Global Warming: It’s All About Carbon.
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Oberlin Alumni Philip C. Hanawalt ’54 and Scott Sagan ’77 have been elected new members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS). Hanawalt and Sagan serve on the faculties of Stanford University. They are among the 212 scholars, scientists, artists, and civic, corporate, and philanthropic leaders–all leaders in their fields–elected this year by the Academy. One of the country's oldest honorary learned societies, AAAS is an independent policy research center and undertakes studies of complex and emerging problems.
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Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International, will deliver the 2008 Commencement address and also receive an honorary degree in humanities on Memorial Day. More than 600 students are expected to receive degrees during Commencement Exercises. Also receiving honorary degrees will be Stuart Card ’66, a senior research fellow at the Palo Alto Research Center; The Color of Water author and musician James McBride '79; Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, director of the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society at Columbia University; and Charlene Drew Jarvis '62, the ninth president of Southeastern University.
Oberlin Commencement

A fair-trade company bringing artisan-made goods from Morocco to the United States, a rock music education program marketed to summer camps for middle school students, and software that will change the way students learn Chinese are all new ventures funded by Oberlin's Creativity and Leadership Project. Graduating seniors Alia Kate, Nathaniel Gelb, Nick Winter, Scott Erickson, and George Saines were awarded the Creativity and Leadership Fellowships to spend next year launching their entrepreneurial projects. Creativity and Leadership: Entrepreneurship at Oberlin is funded by a grant from the Burton D. Morgan Foundation and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
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Fulbright Fellowships allow Oberlin students not only to be cultural ambassadors for the United States, but also to advance their careers by following their bliss. One of three Oberlin Fulbright winners this year is Rachel Kelly '08, a double-degree student majoring in violin performance and German. Her twin interests will place her on the cutting edge of a growing trend in Germany toward music-emphasized schools ( musikbetonte Schulen ) with large immigrant populations.
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For his commitment to the environment and his potential as an environmental policy leader, Lucas Brown '09 has been awarded a 2008 Morris K. Udall Scholarship. At Oberlin, Brown has racked up an impressive record of environmental achievements, but he says much of the credit should go teachers, staff, and friends who taught him how to "dream smart."
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Seniors Joshua Curtis and Richard "Max" Helzberg have won awards from the prestigious Fulbright Program, an international educational program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and Department of Education. The two double majors are eager to carry out Fulbright's aim , which is to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and those from other countries.
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The Cleveland Orchestra announced in early April that pianist Da Wang '09 has been chosen as one its two Artist-in-Residence Fellows. He achieved the distinction through a competitive audition process, and will work in close collaboration with acclaimed pianist and Cleveland Orchestra Artist-in-Residence Pierre-Laurent Aimard. Wang, a student of Professor of Piano Robert Shannon, says that he is "very excited and happy" about the honor.
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"Laying a Foundation For Voting," an opinion piece written by President Marvin Krislov appeared in the April 12 issue of the Washington Post. Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner ruled in late February that colleges and universities can issue utility bills to their students, enabling them to fulfill the state's voter residency requirements. Some critics have assailed that decision, but federal law guarantees college students the right to vote where they go to school. This ruling makes it easier for students to exercise their right to vote, and President Krislov believes that's an encouraging sign not just for Ohio but for American democracy.
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Judging by appearances, the groovy glass "Energy Orbs" installed in a select group of dorms could have been pulled from a science fiction flick. In reality, the technology tells a story about how much electricity is being consumed in Oberlin's dorms — in real time with glowing colors, right before students' eyes.
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The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program has named Oberlin College junior Nathaniel Flaschner Meyer a Goldwater Scholar for 2008-09. Meyer of Readfield, Maine, is a double major in environmental studies and biology.
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Oberlin College has received a $1.5 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation that will expand student-faculty research collaborations and introduce allowances for newly tenured faculty. The grant will come in the form of $500,000 in current-use funding and an endowment of $1 million that will be matched by the College on a two-to-one basis over five years. The current-use funding will support 10 full-time assistantships each summer and four academic-year assistantships annually while the match is being raised.
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Stewart Kohl '77 is co-CEO with Bela Szigethy '77 of Riverside Co., one of Cleveland's biggest and most active buyout firms. Kohl sat down recently with Plain Dealer reporters and editors to discuss everything from his Golden Rule for working at Riverside to a $5 million gift he and his wife, Donna, gave to construct the Phyllis Litoff Building, a new home for jazz studies at Oberlin
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Nearly a dozen community groups serving Oberlin and Lorain County are getting a boost from a $10,000 grant awarded by the Oberlin College Student Philanthropy Club. Funding will help nonprofit organizations with projects ranging from counseling and youth services, music and performing arts, and helping low-income families make their houses energy efficient.
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In keeping with its 175-year history of leading the way on access to an excellent liberal arts education, Oberlin College is eliminating loan requirements for incoming first-year students eligible for federally funded Pell Grants. The Oberlin Access Initiative will also eliminate loans for all current, Pell-eligible students returning to Oberlin in the fall. The initiative kicks off a broader effort to ensure access to Oberlin for students from families with limited means. It is being funded by generous contributions from Oberlin's Board of Trustees, alumni, and staff. Eliminating loans for the Pell-eligible students in the incoming class of 2012, throughout their four years at Oberlin, was made possible by a $1.2 million pledge from trustee Clyde McGregor '74. These students, coming from families that are among the most disadvantaged in American society, will be known as "McGregor Scholars."
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Helen Hare '09, an economics major with career goals in public service, has been named a 2008 Truman Scholar. The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation provides up to $30,000 in funding to college juniors pursuing graduate degrees in government or public service fields. Hare plans to pursue a master's and JD in public policy, and apply for an entry-level position in the Department of Education in the Connecticut Attorney General's Office
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If Shira Ziegler's body of research wasn't impressive enough, she has more honors and awards to add to her list this spring. The neuroscience major has made a name for herself at the National Institutes of Health, having worked four summers and a winter term at the National Human Genome Research Institute. USA TODAY has named Ziegler to its All-USA College Academic Team, an elite group chosen for their contributions to the betterment of society.
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Daydream Believers: How a Few Grand Ideas Wrecked American Power by Fred Kaplan '76 was recently featured in the New York Times Books section. According to the Times, what sets Daydream Believers apart is Kaplan's emphasis on the Bush administration's failure to come to terms with a post-cold-war paradigm, which, he argues, left America's power diminished.
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Daniel Gessner '08 continues Oberlin's streak of winning the prestigious Thomas J. Watson Fellowship each year since 1968. Gessner's award places him in a long line of Oberlin students to receive a $25,000 grant for traveling abroad and exploring personal interests. Starting this summer, Gessner will spend a year studying universal health care systems in the United Kingdom, Sweden, South Africa, and India.
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There was hardly a dry eye in the house as veteran actor Avery Brooks '70, hon.'96 and a small group of fellow thespians captivated a standing room-only audience in West Lecture Hall. The occasion was a staged reading of the Arthur Miller play Death of a Salesman.
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In 2006, Oberlin took a leadership role in environmental stewardship by signing the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. But it had taken a significant step toward climate neutrality even before the signing. In 2004, the College decided to offset the release of up to 12,600 metric tons of CO 2 per year by purchasing green energy from Oberlin Municipal Light and Power System ( OMLPS). More recently, Oberlin cemented its initial purchase by renewing its partnership with the local utility through 2009.
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Although no stranger to the highest accolades, baritone Edward Parks '06 landed a big one when he became one of five young singers to win the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He was selected from nine finalists, who performed arias with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, under the direction of Steven Lord '71, during the Grand Finals concert, held February 24 on the Met's stage.
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David Frum, a highly sought political commentator and public policy leader who has been described by The Wall Street Journal as "one of the leading political commentators of his generation," will give Oberlin's fifth Convocation talk of the year Friday, March 14. A bestselling author and frequent pundit for CNN, Fox News, and BBC, Frum was a senior foreign policy adviser for Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign.
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Before she came to Oberlin College, artist Julia Christensen had already logged thousands of miles across the country in search of converted big box stores. Among some of her discoveries: a K-Mart turned into a charter school; a church congregation that found a new home in an abandoned Wal-Mart, and in Christensen's own backyard in Kentucky, a justice center built on an old Wal-Mart lot. A multidisciplinary artist, Christensen has spent the last several years documenting the ways communities are reclaiming abandoned retail stores.
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Sean Decatur, a distinguished scientist who has taught and published in the field of biophysical chemistry, has been named Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Oberlin College. A native of Cleveland, Decatur currently holds an endowed professorship in chemistry and life sciences while serving as associate dean of faculty for science at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts.
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The College will bring to campus three individuals who will give an inside view of the war in Iraq via talks and a screening: an Oberlin alumnus and first lieutenant who led a platoon in Baghdad for two years; another alumnus, a Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist and author of Curveball: Spies, Lies and the Con Man Who Caused a War; and the executive producer of the 2008 Oscar nominated documentary, Operation Homecoming.
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The banjo as we know it—that down-home, steel string instrument—has traveled halfway around the world and taken different forms to get to where it is today. Originating in West Africa, it came to the New World aboard slave ships and awed colonialists with its vocal sound and form. Today, there are historians and artists who uncover its original sound and form—including Jeffrey Menzies, who led the winter-term workshop where students crafted banjos out of gourds.
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Oberlin is teaching teachers once again. Founded 175 years ago to train teachers “for the boundless, most desolate fields in the West,” Oberlin has been 29 years without a teacher education program in the Arts and Sciences. Come June, students, mentors, faculty, and indeed much of the Oberlin community will work together to expertly prepare a dozen new teachers each year.
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Oberlin's environmental sustainability initiatives have caught the attention of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). The College was featured extensively in the NWF's report "Higher Education in a Warming World," which highlights the business, educational, and moral arguments for reducing greenhouse gas emissions on college campuses.
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It's the first but probably not the last Grammy eighth blackbird will receive. The new music ensemble born and bred at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music a dozen years ago, won the Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance for Strange Imaginary Animals, its fifth recording. The awards were announced February 10, 2008, by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
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More than nine decades ago, two Oberlin alumni founded the nation's first African American theater, Karamu House, in Cleveland. This month, another alumnus and two Oberlin students add luster to Karamu's already stellar reputation by helping stage the Ohio premiere of a new play by emerging young playwright Al Letson, Julius X .
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It's the first but probably not the last Grammy eighth blackbird will receive. The new music ensemble born and bred at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music a dozen years ago, won the Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance for Strange Imaginary Animals, its fifth recording. The awards were announced February 10, 2008, by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
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Ninety-eight percent of teenagers have lied to their parents about everything from friends, dating, and drugs according to a study by Associate Professor of Psychology Nancy Darling. Good Morning America correspondent Juju Chang spoke with Darling about her research in the segment "Why Do Kids Lie?" "They lied mostly because [they] tried to protect their parents from being worried," Darling said.
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Jazz musician and best-selling author James McBride '79 was profiled in a lengthy article in USA Today earlier this week. The piece also announced the publication of McBride's third book and second novel, Song Yet Sung, noting that "early reviews for Song Yet Sung are raves. Publishers Weekly says, 'McBride hasn't lost his touch.' Kirkus calls it 'explosively dramatic.'"
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The Creativity & Leadership Project presents a weekend of discussions by distinguished business and non-profit leaders and Oberlin alumni in the College's first-ever entrepreneurship symposium February 8 and 9. Keynote speakers include Jerry Greenfield '73, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's ice cream company, Target Corporation Vice President of Softlines Product Design and Development Michael Alexin '79, and Dr. Jonathan Merril '84, co-founder of software development company Astute Technology.
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A newly landscaped rooftop patio takes center stage at Harkness Hall, where the likes of “Dragon's Blood” and “Bailey's Gold” sedum plants combine with green technology to reduce energy costs, retain storm water, and insulate from heat and cold. The familiar hangout for Harkness residents is Oberlin's first foray into green roof construction.
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Oberlin is moving up in the rank of schools with volunteers in the Peace Corps. This year, 18 alumni are serving around the globe, making the college No. 11 in top-producing schools.
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Ishmael Beah '04 earned a 2008 Alex Award for his book A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, which chronicles his years as a child soldier in Sierra Leone's civil war. Presented by the Young Adult Library Services Association and sponsored by Booklist , the Alex Awards are given annually to 10 books written for adults that also have special appeal to young adults.
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Oberlin History Professor Pablo Mitchell's groundbreaking work on Latino history has put him in a class of under-40 intellectuals named "Emerging Scholars of the Year" by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education magazine.
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While most people were watching the ball drop in the Big Apple, a group of Oberlin students were preparing to embark on a service trip to Kenya. On the remote Island of Pate, they are spending their winter term teaching in classrooms, helping to build homes and schools, and learning as much about the culture as possible.
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Professor of History Michael Fisher, an expert on South Asian history, was a recent guest on Minnesota Public Radio’s Midmorning program with Kerri Miller, where he discussed the political instability facing Pakistan following the assassination of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on December 27. “This is a time of extreme uncertainty and danger for the people of Pakistan and throughout South Asia,” said Fisher.
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A student movement at Oberlin is giving fund managers a run for their money. What started as seed money from alumni has blossomed into a viable endowment fund managed by the Student Finance and Investment Club. Make no mistake, this is no play money: These finance-minded students have managed a portfolio that consistently beats the S&P 500 index.
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Less than a year after performing to rave reviews in New York City as the house band for the American premiere of Olga Neuwirth’s opera Lost Highway, the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble (CME) returns to Manhattan for the opening leg of a tour that includes two world premieres and a very special guest — percussionist Steven Schick. Conductor Timothy Weiss, Director of Oberlin’s Division of Conducting and Ensembles and Ruth Strickland Gardner Professor of Music, will take the CME through their paces.
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The shootings and lock-downs at American colleges and universities this year have raised serious questions about how institutions ensure the well-being of their faculty, staff, and students. However, a more pressing issue—the rising number of college students across the country who are suffering from mental illness—is often overlooked. An opinion editorial by Oberlin College President Marvin Krislov sheds light on a trend that is affecting campuses across the country.
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Oberlin College President Marvin Krislov was a guest on the Chronicle of Higher Education's Audio Extra with Paul Fain. During their conversation, President Krislov discussed the College's role as an economic engine in the community and explains why it makes sense for Oberlin to play an active role in northern Ohio. He also describes how the College has helped the local schools and hospitals and the collaborative efforts between the College and town to address issues of sustainability. Hear the conversation
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Students concerned about a reduction of available low-income housing in New Orleans staged a teach-in on campus on December 5 to raise awareness and support for a mounting protest against the demolition of residences damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The New York Times posted a story on its website about the teach-in that first appeared in the Review and was made available through UWIRE.
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A group of climate and policy experts is asking the next president to lead a massive and urgent effort to reverse global warming by steering the country away from a carbon-fueled economy. The Presidential Climate Action Project issued a report that contains more than 170 recommendations and calls for a 30 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. Paul Sears Professor of Environmental Studies David Orr came up with the idea for the group about a year ago at a gathering of climate experts.
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Tailback R.V. Carroll '09 made Oberlin football history when he was named the 2007 recipient of the Mike Gregory award as the North Coast Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year. The first Oberlin player to ever receive the award, Carroll led the conference in rushing (103.8 ypg), scoring (9.8 ppg), and touchdowns (16) and was the only 1,000-yard rusher in the NCAC this season. Joining Carroll as first-team all-NCAC selections are receiver Chris Schubert '08, defensive lineman Chris Pisani '08, and defensive back Chase Palmer '08.
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Giving back is more than just a part-time activity for Irvin Ashford '91...it's his job. As vice president of public affairs at Comerica Bank in Texas and state manager of the Community Reinvestment Act Department, his job is to create programs that benefit the community. Ashford was recently named the recipient of a Business Community Award by the Dallas/Fort Worth Chapters of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) and the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA).
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The Conservatory is redefining music education for the 21st century with a new Master of Music Teaching (MMT) program. While Oberlin's MMT program reflects the interests of the millennial generation—the desire to pursue a performance career, a dedication to investing in and improving local communities, and a passion for spreading the joy of music through teaching—area schools will also benefit.
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Oberlin's Creativity and Leadership Project affords students a variety of opportunities to build the skills, knowledge, and experience they need to launch their own ideas. By engaging the Oberlin community of alumni, faculty, staff, and friends, the program exposes students to the many facets of entrepreneurship, including learning firsthand what it takes to make a dream a reality.
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On Tuesday, November 20, the Cleveland Orchestra will make its 206th appearance on Oberlin College's Artist Recital Series, one of the oldest continuing concert series in the United States. Among the world's most revered symphonic ensembles, the Cleveland Orchestra and Conductor Jayce Ogren will present Mozart's Symphony No. 34 and Brahms' Symphony No. 1.
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If you've seen the film The Deerhunter or the TV shows ER or Law & Order, then you've seen Joe Grifasi. You may not remember him, but you've seen him. Grifasi is one of countless jobbing actors—those who work steadily in "juicy little roles" supporting the leads in major films and television shows. This Thursday, Oberlin's theater program is bringing Grifasi to campus to work with students during a three-day residency.
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No one has been in a position to see the presidents, and the presidency, so intimately, over so many years as Billy Graham. In their recent book, The Preacher and the President, co-authors, Michael Duffy ‘80 and Nancy Gibbs, offer an in-depth look at the noted evangelist and his unique relationships with U.S. presidents. They will present their views on Graham and the 2008 presidential election Thursday, November 15 in Finney Chapel.
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The dedication and commitment Joanna Johnson '11 put into her daily training as a member of the Oberlin College women's cross country team paid off in a big way when she won the individual title at the 2007 North Coast Athletic Conference championships. "When I crossed the line I could hardly believe it," Johnson said. "I never expected to win a race this year, but it felt wonderful to do so." Johnson hopes to build on her success and lead the Yeowomen to the NCAA championships.
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What impact have globalization and digital communication had on contemporary art? Has the loosening of economic, cultural, political, and social-system boundaries broadened art's very definition? And what is "new art"? These and other questions will be explored in a free symposium on November 9 and 10, when Oberlin brings five international curators and critics to campus for a substantive investigation of art's Global Compass.
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President Marvin Krislov has just announced that three separate gifts in the amount of $4 million each have been pledged to Oberlin: $4 million for environmental stewardship and $8 million toward construction of the Phyllis Litoff Building, the new home for jazz studies.
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On November 2, Oberlin will celebrate the inauguration of Marvin Krislov as its president. In keeping with the college's traditional dedication to teaching and academic excellence, the inaugural ceremony in the Heisman Field House will begin at 4:35 p.m., after classes conclude.The ceremony is part of a weekend packed with events and activities celebrating the vibrant contemporary life and rich history of Oberlin College, the Conservatory of Music and the City of Oberlin.

Mr. Krislov became the 14th President of Oberlin College in summer 2007. He came to Oberlin from the University of Michigan, where he was vice president and general counsel, leading the university's successful defense before the United States Supreme Court of its admission policies designed to create a diverse student body. Mr. Krislov is a summa cum laude graduate of Yale University. A Rhodes Scholar, he earned a master's degree in modern history at Oxford University's Magdalen College, and a doctor of laws
degree at Yale, where he served as editor of the law journal.
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Oberlin College has picked up another "first." Sierra magazine has named it the "Coolest" among the top 10 green schools in the U.S. Selecting the top campuses was "inspiring and exhausting," say the editors. "For Sierra's first such survey, we looked at everything from colleges' clean-energy purchases and green building policies to their bike facilities and the food served in their dorms."
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Students and faculty will have a first-hand, behind-the-scenes view of Buddhist ritual music from Korea when members of the Young San Preservation Group and their leader, the Reverend Monk Dong Hee, lead a workshop demonstrating chant styles and instruments as ritual objects. The workshop takes place Monday, October 29, 2007, at 7:30 p.m. in room 238 of the Conservatory's Bibbins Hall, and serves as a prelude to the group's Finney Chapel performance—"The Sound of Ecstasy and Nectar of Enlightenment: Buddhist Ritual Song and Dance from Korea"—the following evening.
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Inaugurating a brand new partnership between Oberlin Shansi and a second Indonesian institution are May 2007 graduates Jesse Gerstin and Sarah J. Newman. Both Shansi Fellows will spend the next two years on the island of Sumatra teaching English at Syiah Kuala University (better knows as UnSyiah) and volunteering with local NGOs.
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Faculty in nine departments at Oberlin are engaged in teaching and research in computational modeling, a fact that makes the College rare among U.S. undergraduate institutions, particularly since possession of such high-end skills is becoming increasingly necessary for advanced study and success in the workforce. It is a good reason to celebrate the College's acceptance of a five-year, $541,000 grant from the National Science Foundation's Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program (S-STEM). The award will make possible 24 two-year scholarships for Oberlin junior and senior science majors with a demonstrated interest in computation and mathematical modeling.
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Andre Emmerich, a distinguished alumnus and dear friend, will be remembered for his deep intellect, keen eye, and his commitment to enriching the lives of students through personal encounters with great works of art. After graduating from Oberlin in 1944 at age 19, he remained an active supporter of his alma mater, particularly the Allen Memorial Art Museum, where he worked during his college years. He offered invaluable advice and aesthetic expertise by returning to Oberlin to lecture, serving on the museum's Visiting Committee, lending to exhibitions, and augmenting the AMAM collection through generous gifts. He passed away on September 25 at the age of 82.
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At a time when digital downloading has silenced a number of major music retailers, the Oberlin Conservatory of Music is facing the music with its own new, commercial label. Oberlin Music, which features select recordings made by the talented students and faculty members at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, debuts with two releases—"The Oberlin Orchestra In China" and "Beauty Surrounds Us"—that capture the Conservatory's sense of innovation, spirit, and universality. The recordings are available on traditional CD as well as on digital music channels worldwide, including Apple's iTunes.
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Cleveland Municipal Court Magistrate William F. B. Vodrey '87 will initiate the Oberlin Law Scholars Program on Tuesday, October 30. A yearlong multi-faceted collaboration between the Department of Politics and the Office of Career Services, the program will establish a direct link between students and prominent Oberlin alumni in a variety of legal professions. Vodrey will teach the core course, Legal Advocacy, which will launch an intensive curriculum open to sophomores and juniors with a committed interest in law.
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"A building should broadcast its purpose to the world," says Paul Westlake, who leads the architectural team designing the Phyllis Litoff Building, a new home for jazz studies at Oberlin.
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When Manhattan's Rubin Museum of Art (RMA), a museum of art from the Himalayas and the surrounding regions, celebrated its third anniversary, several Oberlin graduates were featured participants. The celebration, the first annual Nine Rivers Gala, was held last Tuesday, October 2, at the museum.
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Oberlin students historically have been willing to devote their time, talent, and sweat to help others. Last year, in fact, at least 55 percent of the student body volunteered at more than 80 area nonprofit organizations. This year, a campus group is taking a completely different approach to giving with the launching of the Oberlin Student Philanthropy Club.
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In 1839, Lucy Hall, a senior in the Ladies Course, perhaps set the bar for all Oberlin teachers who came after. Despite vigilante threats, Hall persisted in her desire to teach and proceeded to take charge of a school for students of color. That same passion for imparting knowledge in the service of social justice continues today. Next June, the first group of teaching candidates will begin rigorous preparation for careers in education by embarking upon the new Master's degree programs established by the College and Conservatory of Music.
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To celebrate the opening of the College's $1.5 million new Academic Commons in Mudd Learning Center, a brief program will be held Friday, September 28, at 4:30 p.m. on the library's main floor. Open until 2 a.m., the reconfigured high-tech complex allows more space for collaborative learning and interaction among students and faculty, including group study rooms, consolidation of support and circulation services, vivid décor, and the Azariah's Café, which cheers coffee habitués no end.
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Three years ago, despite long-standing tensions between the United States and Iran, Oberlin began efforts to reestablish educational exchanges between the two countries. This month the College has had the extraordinary opportunity to welcome distinguished Iranian scholar Laya Joneydi to campus. An associate professor of law and political science at the University of Tehran, Joneydi is an important academic voice within Iranian society in the areas of women's rights and civil liberties.
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Geoffrey C. Ward '62 has won five Emmys and two Writers Guild of America awards for his work in public television as a screenwriter and author in collaboration with Ken Burns. He has also authored 14 books, including his latest, The War: An Intimate History, 1941-1945, the lavishly illustrated companion book to Burns' seven-part documentary that began airing September 23 on PBS.
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Sophomore Emma Howell was just 20 years old when she died unexpectedly in June of 2001. A gifted poet, Emma was first published by age 15, and at Oberlin her writing style grew under the influence of teachers and cultural experiences. Surrounded by prolific writers early on, Emma was determined to find her own voice, and with works represented in Slim Night of Recognition, a compilation of her poems published by her parents earlier this year, clearly she had.
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On Friday, September 28, the College will celebrate the recent restoration of the elegant fountain on the lawn of the College's Allen Memorial Art Museum with a public program at 1:30 p.m. on the museum plaza. Commissioned by Henry Haskell, Class of 1896, in memory of his beloved wife, Katharine Wright Haskell, Class of 1898, the fountain supports the figure of a small angel lifting into the air on wings.
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On Monday, September 17, Oberlin College will commemorate the ratification of the U.S. Constitution with an address by Theodore Shaw, director-counsel and president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. The event will include a faculty panel discussion moderated by President Marvin Krislov, and a question and answer session.
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The American Council of Learned Societies – the preeminent representative of humanities scholarship in America – carries out its mission in a variety of programs across many fields of learning, but awarding peer-reviewed fellowships is at its core. This year, the Council awarded Stephen Crowley a post-doctoral fellowship in Southeast European Studies to conduct research at Collegium Budapest/Institute of Advanced Study in Hungary.
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The Arts and Life section of The New York Times has featured the work of many Oberlin alumni, including Eric Bogosian '76, Julie Taymor '74 to James Burrows '62, and Bill Irwin '73, to name just a few. In recent weeks, Oberlin alumni have again caught the attention of the national arts scene with reviews in the Times: playwright Michael Hollinger '84, musicians Karen O '00 and Brian Chase '00 of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and filmmakers Ry Russo-Young'03 and Lena Dunham '08.
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Oberlin College recently welcomed its Class of 2011, which includes 796 members from 42 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, as well as from 26 countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. More than two-thirds of the diverse new class had academically ranked within the top 10 percent in their high schools. They were selected from more than 7,150 applicants to Oberlin's College of Arts and Sciences and its Conservatory of Music.
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More than 300 new Oberlin students will take part in the College's 11th annual Day of Service (DOS) on Saturday, September 1. By engaging in a wide variety of volunteer projects at community organizations throughout the city and the surrounding area, new students connect with nonprofit groups and realize how important they are to the greater Oberlin community. DOS also provides Oberlin and Lorain County citizens with invaluable services and resources.
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