President Nancy S. Dye

Nancy Schrom Dye was named Oberlin’s 13th president in 1994. She came to Oberlin from Vassar College where she was Dean of the Faculty and chief academic officer. She began her academic career at the University of Kentucky, where she became a Professor of History and an Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

President Nancy S. Dye

President Dye graduated from Vassar in 1969. She earned her MA and PhD in history at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. As a historian of modern American history she has focused her research on the history of American women and American workers. She has authored two books, As Equals and As Sisters: Feminism, Trade Unionism, and the New York Women’s Trade Union League, and, with Noralee Frankel, Gender, Race, and Class in the Progressive Era. Her work as a historian has focused primarily upon the integration of analysis of gender and social class. She has also authored numerous articles, reviews, essays, and op-ed pieces that have appeared in the Journal of American History, Feminist Studies, Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, the Journal of Social History, the Bulletin of the History of Medicine, the New York Times Book Review, the Washington Post Book World, the Christian Science Monitor, and other journals.

As Oberlin’s president she has led an ambitious and successful plan to improve the College’s facilities for teaching science, including a $65 million science center. During her tenure, Oberlin has also built the Adam Joseph Lewis Environmental Studies Center, which serves as a campus laboratory for sustainability and as an international model for sustainable design. She has also led the successful effort to restore the Cass Gilbert building that houses the Allen Memorial Art Museum.

President Dye led Oberlin’s $165 million capital campaign, which raised $175 million—the largest and most successful campaign in Oberlin’s history. She initiated and led a strategic planning process focused on developing an integrated programmatic and financial plan that will ensure Oberlin’s academic, artistic, and musical excellence and its financial sustainability in the years ahead.

As president, Nancy Dye has worked to develop Oberlin’s unusually rich capacity for international education in both its College of Arts and Sciences and its Conservatory of Music. She has worked to increase significantly the number of international students at Oberlin and has been working to ensure that every student will have a meaningful international experience. In 2004, Nancy Dye became the first American college or university president in more than 25 years to visit Iran and meet with government and university officials, faculty, and students to discuss reestablishing educational exchanges between the two countries. Oberlin is collaborating with Search for Common Ground, an NGO based in Washington, D.C., to establish a musical exchange between Oberlin Conservatory students and Iranian music students at the University of Tehran. President Dye has also participated in public and cultural diplomacy initiatives in Jordan, China, and Central Asia. She accepted an honorary doctorate of letters from Tokyo’s Obirin University in March 2005, which recognized her distinguished contributions to the promotion of liberal education and her leadership in promoting international exchange.

Locally, President Dye has found many ways to reach out to the community of Oberlin, Ohio. Very early in her presidency, she established the Bonner Center for Service and Learning, which coordinates and promotes student service projects and civic engagement. During her tenure, she has been instrumental in saving the local hospital and in establishing a robust school-college partnership with the Oberlin City Schools. She initiated a program that enables graduates of Oberlin High School to attend Oberlin tuition-free. And she has successfully led an initiative to establish a new graduate program at Oberlin in teacher education.

During her presidency, she has served on the boards of Pomona College, the American Council of Learned Societies, the International Research and Exchange Board (IREX), and the Association of American Colleges and Universities, whose board she has chaired.

Nancy Dye is married to Dr. Griffith Dye, a clinical psychologist. Their two children, Molly and Michael, are grown.

President Dye is retiring from the Oberlin presidency in June 2007. She plans to devote herself to international education and conflict resolution initiatives in south and central Asia.

Board of Trustees Resolution of Appreciation for President Dye

October 7, 2006

WHEREAS, Nancy Schrom Dye became Oberlin’s 13th President in July 1994, and has subsequently led the College to important achievements in improving the quality of the student body, enhancing academic and artistic excellence, providing strategic leadership, enhancing financial and physical resources, and strengthening the campus community and town-gown relations, and has also provided vital service to the broader academic community, both as further described below and in other regards;

WHEREAS, during her tenure, the student body has grown substantially stronger, especially in terms of selectivity, yield, and retention, and through her leadership Oberlin College adopted financial aid policies to meet the full financial need of each student in both the College of Arts and Sciences and the Conservatory;

WHEREAS, President Dye made Oberlin more student-centered by establishing the Dean of Studies Office to oversee and coordinate efforts to improve student retention to graduation, improve academic advising, and make recommendations for improvements in academic policies, and enhanced the role and diversity of the Division of the Dean of Students;

WHEREAS, demonstrating a keen understanding of the importance of financial sustainability at Oberlin, President Dye led the largest capital campaign in the College’s history, exceeding by $10 million the $165 million goal and strengthening the endowment by a great measure;

WHEREAS, during her tenure, Oberlin’s endowment grew from approximately $260 million in 1994 to nearly $700 million at present;

WHEREAS, recognizing the vital nature of Oberlin’s “bricks and mortar,” President Dye led efforts to greatly enhance physical facilities, including a state-of-the-art science center, award-winning environmental studies center, modern student housing, and a restored Allen Memorial Art Museum;

WHEREAS, understanding the interconnection between the success of the City of Oberlin and the success of the College, President Dye fostered innovative approaches to improving town and gown relations, which included leading the efforts to save the hospital, creating scholarships for graduates of Oberlin High School, and establishing the new master’s teacher education program;

WHEREAS, through her tireless leadership of the Broad Directions for Oberlin’s Future initiative in 1997, and through the Strategic and Financial Plan which was approved in March 2005 and is currently being implemented, President Dye provided the College with a clear mission, goals and directions;

WHEREAS, to help deal with disagreement on campus, President Dye established an Ombuds Office, a model student mediation program, and the Oberlin College Dialogue Center;

WHEREAS, to coordinate and expand meaningful student volunteer opportunities, to nurture civic engagement, and to foster a positive working relationship between the College and its local community, President Dye created the Oberlin Bonner Center for Service and Learning;

WHEREAS, President Dye has positioned Oberlin to become a true world college by leading initiatives to internationalize Oberlin’s curriculum, programs, and student body, and by strengthening Oberlin’s ties with universities in China and Japan; and building relationships with organizations with interests congruent to Oberlin’s mission and priorities;

WHEREAS, President Dye has served with distinction as an ambassador for Oberlin College with the national higher-education community, serving on the boards of Pomona College; the American Council of Learned Societies; the International Research and Exchange Board; the Great Lakes College Association; the Five Colleges of Ohio; Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education; the Consortium on the Financing of Higher Education; and the Association of American Colleges and Universities, which she also chaired;

WHEREAS, throughout President Dye’s presidency the Oberlin College community has benefited immeasurably from the wisdom, graciousness and support of Griffith Dye, President Dye’s husband;

THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Board of Trustees of Oberlin College expresses to Nancy S. Dye its profound respect, abiding affection, and deepest appreciation for her outstanding leadership and significant accomplishments.

The resolution was PASSED unanimously and this action was followed by a standing ovation by the Board for Ms. Dye.

From Board Chairman Robert S. Lemle

September 26, 2006

This next year will be among the most important in Oberlin's distinguished history. It will be a year where faculty, staff, students, and alumni — working together with President Dye and the Board — will ensure that the transition to new leadership is smooth, and truly begins another era of momentum, progress, and achievement for Oberlin College, and a fitting conclusion of President Dye's presidency.

We are still in the early stages of implementing our strategic plan and planning for a new capital campaign. President Dye's decision to retire after thirteen years provides a natural transition time to select new leadership and meet Oberlin's important future challenges head-on. A new president will have the wonderful opportunity to build on the powerful legacy of accomplishment of President Dye.

President Dye's decision to retire in June will bring to a close a remarkably successful presidency. Nancy is an outstanding leader, and I have truly enjoyed working closely with her. Oberlin has, by any measure, made enormous progress during these past 12 years. Because of her, Oberlin has been doing well and is poised for continued success.

I would like to highlight some of the significant accomplishments of her presidency:

First, and most importantly, strengthening the student body, especially in terms of selectivity, yield, retention, and financial aid policies to meet the full financial need of each student in both the College and Conservatory.

Next, demonstrating a keen understanding of the importance of financial sustainability at Oberlin, President Dye led the largest capital campaign in the College's history, exceeding by $10 million the $165 million goal and strengthening the endowment by a great measure;

Next, recognizing the vital nature of Oberlin's "bricks and mortar", greatly enhancing physical facilities, including a state of the art science center, environmental studies center, modern student housing, and a restored Allen Memorial Art Museum;

In addition, understanding the interconnection between the success of the City of Oberlin and the success of the College, she fostered innovative approaches to improving town and gown relations, which included leading the efforts to save the hospital, creating scholarships for graduates of Oberlin High School, and establishing the new master's teacher education program;

And, through her tireless and fearless leadership of the Strategic and Financial Plan, providing the College with a clear mission, goals and directions.

Leading a search for a new president is a specific responsibility and, certainly, the most important work of the Board of Trustees this year. We will begin this work at our October Board meeting. I expect at this time that we will appoint a search committee that will be led by trustees and include representatives of the faculty, staff, alumni, and students. Our goal will be to select a new president by July 1st.