Alumni Awards

The Alumni Medal is the highest honor that the Alumni Association awards. The Alumni Medalist exemplifies outstanding, sustained or unique service to Oberlin College. The Alumni Medal is presented during the commencement ceremony each spring.

Nancy D. Cooper graduated from Oberlin College in 1951, a major in sociology, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. During her time as a student, she was instrumental in the formation of the first Oberlin co-op, Pyle Inn. She continued her education at Oberlin and earned a masters degree in Sociology in 1954.

Nancy married Walter E. Aschaffenburg ’51, who was invited to teach in the music theory and composition department in 1953. She began a career at Oberlin which spanned 40 years, holding many positions across campus which made major impacts on students, faculty, and staff. Nancy was a tireless administrator and mentor, and views her work on the formation of a new “Status of Women Committee”, serving as chair and mediator for 10 years, as her most important contribution to Oberlin. This committee was instrumental in mapping out updated policies, addressing women’s issues. They created Oberlin’s first sexual harassment grievance procedures, increased maternity leave benefits, and worked on equity issues for adjunct faculty, most of whom were women, to ensure that they were offered health benefits as part of their employment.

She created and directed the Oberlin College Parent’s Program. For 35 years she single-handedly planned and implemented orientation programs for parents and ran Parents Weekend. She also worked in the Development Office, and later, the Office of Residential Life where she supervised all co-op residential staff and off-campus students. Later, she worked as a counselor for students, guiding them academically and personally. Nancy was the administrative liaison for the first LGBT community organization, “The Gay Union” formed in the late 1970’s.

Nancy’s most important job title at Oberlin was The Assistant to the President, during the tenure of President Emil Danenberg, writing his speeches, discussing new policies and advising the president. She was Ombudsperson for faculty, staff, and students, as well as organizing events at the home of President Danenberg for faculty and students, and for visiting lecturers and artists.

Nancy’s volunteerism and involvement in the Oberlin College Community span her years from 1947 as a student, then an employee, and finally as a retiree of the college. She audited numerous courses, attended hundreds of concerts and performances (up until 2020), and volunteered at the Allen Art Museum and the Frank Lloyd Wright House. She served as a member of alumni committees and on the 1951 reunion gift committee. Nancy also served as Class Agent and 1951 Class President.

Nancy’s contributions are wide, varied, and are still having positive impacts to this day. Her daughter and granddaughter also attended Oberlin College, and were by her side when she was awarded the Alumni Medal in May 2024.

Nancy D. Cooper passed away in October 2024. She will be greatly missed.

The Distinguished Achievement Award honoree has demonstrated in his/her life outstanding contributions and achievements that reflect Oberlin’s values in a career field.

Building upon a curiosity that began in his teens, Michael Barone ’68 has been involved with the pipe organ for over 65 years and with radio for nearly 60. Following graduation from the Oberlin Conservatory and three-year involvement in WOBC, the student-run campus station, he began his professional career in public radio in August 1968 as Music Director and the sixth employee of KSJR-FM and has watched that grow in independence and influence as the well-known enterprise Minnesota Public Radio/American Public Media (MPR). 

Michael Barone is recognized internationally for his outstanding contributions to the world of organ music. His radio program, Pipedreams, has had a continuous weekly presence since 1983 and remains the only nationally distributed weekly radio program that fully explores the art of the pipe organ. Since 1969, Michael has recorded hundreds of organists in concert, and between 1980 and 2008 was responsible for overseeing the recording of all American Guild of Organists national conventions. He has served as an advisor to the Walt Disney Concert Hall organ project, among others, and was a long-time consultant for organ programming on the Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ at the Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall (now Marion Anderson Hall) in Philadelphia. 

Michael’s talent and commitment have been recognized previously with numerous awards, including the American Guild of Organists President’s Award in 1996, the Distinguished Service Award of the Organ Historical Society in 1997, and the 2001 ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award for Excellence in Broadcasting. In November 2002, he was selected for induction to the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame.

The Distinguished Service Award recipient has demonstrated in his/her life service or volunteer activities that reflect Oberlin’s values by directly improving the quality of life for humanity.

Dr. Asher Hasan '94 is a disruptive innovator and a serial entrepreneur in the areas of digital health, exponential technology and financial inclusion. He is the Founder and CEO of NAYA JEEVAN (‘new life’), an insurtech-fintech that finances the health & wellbeing of informal and formal workers linked to corporate value chains (e.g. smallholder farmers, factory workers, SME retailers, etc.). He is also the Co-founder of doctHERs, a gender-inclusive, AI-powered, digital health & wellbeing platform that is Asia’s first Fortune 20 impact venture.

A TED speaker, TED fellow, MIT SOLVER & McKinsey Geneva Health Forum awardee, Asher has previously served on the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council for Social Innovation (2012-2014) and is a 2011 World Economic Forum/Schwab Foundation Asian Social Entrepreneur of the Year.

Prior to launching NAYA JEEVAN, Asher served in the capacity of Senior Director of US Medical Affairs for Amylin, a leading bio-pharmaceutical company in San Diego, California.

Asher completed a BA in Neuroscience & Biology (double major) at Oberlin College followed by preclinical research at Harvard Medical School & Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Subsequently, Asher pursued post-graduate training in general surgery from Beth Israel Medical Center. In 2007, Asher was awarded MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

A voracious reader, Asher is also fond of hurtling down alpine ski slopes, bathing in the hot springs of Esalen and cruising in the Caribbean. Bali, Rio de Janeiro, Lago de Bellagio and Istanbul are his favorite destinations for spiritual rejuvenation and wellbeing.

The Outstanding Young Alumni Award recipient must be 40 years of age or younger at the time of consideration and have distinguished himself or herself in one or more of the following areas: professional career, service to humanity, and service to Oberlin College.

Taylor “Tay” Rogers '11 (she/they/we) is a scholar, activist, and multimedia artist in Chicago. Currently, they teach ethics and storytelling classes as Assistant Professor in Philosophy and Interdisciplinary Studies at Governors State University. Tay completed their BA in Philosophy and Third-World Studies at Oberlin College in 2011, eventually followed by her PhD in Philosophy, with a minor in Gender and Sexuality Studies, at Northwestern University in 2021. Dr. Rogers’ research has been published in numerous places, including in the leading feminist philosophy journal Hypatia and the forthcoming Charles Mills Critical Reader (Fall 2024). 

During her years at Oberlin, Tay founded and coached a competitive youth jump rope team. OBJUMP is still going strong today, having recently performed at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and continuing to compete at local, regional, national, and world levels. While in graduate school, they started the jump rope program at CircEsteem, a youth circus dedicated to fostering social change by building self-esteem through circus arts, and founded the wellness team as part of the only bachelor’s degree-granting program for incarcerated students offered by a top 10 university in the United States.

In addition to maintaining a firm commitment to social justice throughout their career, Tay has also maintained a firm commitment to artmaking, performing regularly as a songwriter in the Chicago area and producing “NOA: A Music Film,” which explores the liberatory role of grief using philosophy, music, dance, poetry, cinematography, and more. Tay’s art has had coverage from cultural tastemakers like Folk Radio UK, Chicago’s Broadway World, Substream, and NPR’s Sessions at Studio A. All of their work, whether scholarly, activist, or artistic, is inspired by themes of connection, of presence, and of embracing the depth of our emotional lives so necessary for collective healing.

The Alumni Appreciation Award honoree has performed a unique service or made a unique contribution to the Oberlin College Alumni Association.

Clyde Owan '79 has been a long-time volunteer for Oberlin College who has served in almost every volunteer role in the Oberlin Alumni Association. He currently guides the Oberlin Club of Washington, D.C., which for decades has been Oberlin’s most active alumni community. Across several decades in stints as Club President and local advocate, Clyde has organized more alumni programs (nearing 300) than any volunteer in the history of the College. In addition to serving as President of the Oberlin Club of Washington, D.C., Clyde has been Alumni Association President, Treasurer of the Alumni Association, and member of the Association’s Trustee Search, Admissions Advisory, and Awards Committees. He was also a member of the President’s Advisory Council.

 As President of the Association, he steered the Association into the era of electronic communications and shifted its communications into the world of email to save time, money, and trees. Clyde has served as a local admissions volunteer, member of class reunion gift committees, and contributed his energies on various national campaign steering committees for Oberlin. He is the recipient of the Alumni Association’s Alumni Medal and the Distinguished Service Award. The Association also twice honored Clyde as the Regional Coordinator of the Year and presented him with a Certificate of Appreciation.

He has been honored by the Oberlin Club of Washington, D.C., is a member of the Heisman Club Hall of Honor and was named a Life Member of the Friends of the Oberlin College Library in recognition of his support. He has endowed a scholarship fund to improve financial accessibility to an Oberlin education and provided funding for “The Owan Family Conference Room” in the Alumni Center which honors his family and the Japanese American students who left World War II internment camps and were welcomed for study by Oberlin College.

Clyde earned an A.B. in Government from Oberlin. He also holds a Master of Science in Foreign Service degree from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and an M.A. from U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.  He had a distinguished 37-year career in public service that includes national security assignments at the Department of the Navy, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and the National Intelligence Council.