The Virtues of the Virtual University?

"Over the past year or so, I don't think that a day has passed that I have not read about the coming of the 'virtual university' or heard the prediction that distance learning will completely reinvent colleges and universities as we know them."

So began Oberlin College President Nancy S. Dye's July 11 talk to the Cleveland City Club. The talk, titled "Late Night Reflections of a College President," was broadcast live by Cleveland radio station WCLV-FM, televised the next day by Cleveland public television station WVIZ-TV, and rebroadcast by WCLV-FM during the week of July 21 to more than 150 radio stations.

The most troubling aspect of a virtual university, Dye said, is its isolation. Using Oberlin programs, plans, and successes as examples, Dye showed how excellence in education can only occur in the context of relationships and in hands-on experiences "that can't be mediated by computer."

"Instead of cultivating the art of face-to-face human relationship, the virtual university encourages us to be on our own in the virtual marketplace, free to make our individual learning contracts in cyberspace. In this cool electronic universe, we will not need to recognize that real education is always a social process. We will be able to expand or limit our access to information and ideas and opinions as we feel comfortable. There will be no conflict on the virtual campus, for we need never come into contact with one another. This is what troubles me most of all about the prospect of virtual education," she said.

Oberlin Makes an "Alarming" Donation

Oberlin College reaffirmed its dedication to town-gown cooperation when it pledged $225,000 to the City of Oberlin for the purchase of a new fire engine. Part of the pledge was paid last summer, and the balance will be paid in the spring of 1998.

The old fire truck is now 29 years old, and over the years it has needed much service to keep it up to national standards. National standards recommend that engines should be used for 20 to 25 years. The new fire engine will have a 100-foot aerial ladder and can pump 1,500 gallons of water per minute. Oberlin Fire Chief Dennis Kirin believes the new vehicle will be a serious improvement.

"The new fire truck will pump more water and reach more places. This added capability will be much more beneficial to the town and the College," he said. Kirin expects that the vehicle will arrive in town next March.

Oberlin Legend Turns 100

As announced on national television by Willard Scott of NBC's "Today Show," emeritus biology Professor George Jones celebrated his 100th birthday on August 28. A man of considerable accomplishment, Jones is known throughout the Oberlin family not only for his longevity but also for his dedication to his students.

In 1924, he embarked upon more than 65 years of nearly uninterrupted teaching at Oberlin, not even taking time out for sabbaticals. He's also known for his stories--he is the repository of more than 125 years of local social, cultural, botanical, and academic history--and for his guided tours of the trees of Tappan Square. Over the course of the years he has guided 4,670 nature walks.

But his marriage to Mary Burwell could well be his greatest achievement. On August 28 they also celebrated their 74th wedding anniversary. The secret?

"I figured out there are three things that make for a long, successful marriage," said Jones.

"First, pick out the right partner, which isn't always easy to do, because people often act quite differently after they're married.

"Second, work at it! That you can do. And we have.

"Third--live long enough!"

Project Excellence Sends Two More Students to Oberlin

Project Excellence, the brainchild of Carl Rowan '47, has awarded two students full four-year scholarships to attend Oberlin College. Jeffrey T. Harvey of Edmund Burke School and Melissa Morgan of Benjamin Banneker Academic High School began their studies at Oberlin this September. Both students are from Washington, D.C.

Rowan founded Project Excellence in 1987 to encourage black high school students to resist the peer pressures that discouraged them from getting good grades and learning to speak and write with excellence. The program awards scholarships to graduates of public, private, and parochial high schools in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area.

On its 10th anniversary, Project Excellence granted almost $4 million in college scholarships to 111 black high-school seniors, in contrast to $208,000 in scholarships awarded in 1988. Since its founding, Project Excellence has made more than $43.5 million available to some 1,800 black scholars.

Harvey received the Swidler and Berlin-Oberlin College Award and will study creative writing. Morgan was presented with the Nissan Motor Corporation-Oberlin College Award and will major in French and international studies.

Kay Thomson to Lead Development Office

President Nancy S. Dye has named Kay Thomson to be Oberlin's acting vice president of development and alumni affairs. Thomson has been director of major gifts since the fall of 1995.

Thomson is stepping in for Young P. Dawkins, who resigned as Oberlin's vice president of development and alumni affairs in late August to become president of the University of New Hampshire Foundation in Durham, New Hampshire. In announcing the resignation, Dye noted that Dawkins "is a tremendously effective development officer who has taught the College a great deal about raising money." Under Dawkins' oversight, the College raised $24.1 million in 1996-97, the fiscal year just completed; this was the single most successful fund-raising year in Oberlin's history.

Thomson brings experience in all facets of fund raising to her new position. She is particularly strong in special projects, capital fund drives, and developing applications for corporate and foundation support. She holds the M.Ed. degree in organization and management from the New England Graduate School (Antioch University). She completed her undergraduate education in voice at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England, and holds additional certification in performance and teaching from the Royal Academy of Music.

A national search will be conducted to find a new vice president of development and alumni affairs.