Sidelines

Little Facts You Might be Interested In

Professor a Finalist for National Book Award in Fiction
A book of short stories by Dan Chaon, assistant professor of creative writing, was one of five works of fiction considered for the 2001 National Book Award in fiction. The 12 stories in Among the Missing, published by Ballantine last July, are loosely organized around the theme of loss. The book competed against four novels. Chaon has written one other book of short stories, Fitting Ends (Northwestern University Press, 1996) and his novel, I Wake Up, is forthcoming from Ballantine. His work has appeared in many journals and anthologies, including The Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Prizes, and The O'Henry Awards: Prize Stories. The story "Safety Man," which is included in Among the Missing, was printed in the summer 2001 issue of the Oberlin Alumni Magazine. To read it, go to the magazine web site and click on the links for the summer issue.

Pilot Program Lends Macintosh iBooks to Students in Library
Oberlin students who do not own computers now have an alternative to sitting in the computer labs around campus. A pilot program begun in the fall semester provides eight Macintosh iBook laptop computers for student use within the main library in Mudd Center. The computers, which are equipped with wireless access to the campus network as well as a large number of software options, can be checked out for up to four hours. "I like the idea that laptops are now available to all students regardless of their financial situation," Circulation Supervisor Peggy Ignani told The Oberlin Review. "It's very appropriate for the circulation desk to loan out all types of materials besides books. These iBooks are just another way to obtain information, which is what a library is all about."

Flute Professor Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
Michel Debost, professor of flute at Oberlin since 1989, recently received the lifetime achievement award from the National Flute Association. The award, which recognizes Debost's significant and lasting contributions to the flute world, was presented at the group's annual conference, held last August in Dallas, Texas. More than 2,500 flutists from around the world attended. At Oberlin, Debost holds the Robert W. Wheeler Professorship in Performance. He is a consulting editor for Flute Talk and the author of The Simple Flute, being published this year in an English translation by Oxford University Press. Among the many awards he's received for his recordings, Debost earned a Grammy nomination for his CD of Telemann duets performed with James Galway.