About Oberlin Alumni Magazine

Are you a freelance writer? The Oberlin Alumni Magazine is always open to pitches. Email ideas to alum.mag@oberlin.edu with a brief explanation of your idea and why it would make an interesting story.

We also love tips about Obies doing great things! Feel free to get in touch with us at that same email.

When things go as planned for a person, project, or organization, it usually isn’t a story for us; when they go much better than planned, or much different than planned (even if it’s worse)—that’s where the stories are.

We’re less interested in the fact that the new chancellor of the American Academy of Poets is an Oberlin alumna (congratulations Linda Gregerson ’71!) than we are in using that fact as the news peg for publishing one of her poems in the magazine.

We think it’s great that alumnus Trevett Hooper ’98 has one of the hottest restaurants in Pittsburgh. We’re more interested in the thoughtful dialogue about food issues like GMOs he wants to start.

We’re grateful D.A. Henderson ’50 helped eradicate smallpox, of course, but we’re intrigued that he cites his time at Oberlin’s college radio station in his explanation of how he was able to do it.

We’re impressed that Michael Sorrell ’88 rose to become the president of Paul Quinn College. Yet when he plowed under the football field to create a small farm to provide fresh produce to an underserved neighborhood of Dallas, that’s when we took note and asked, “What’s he up to there?”.

Not all stories have to congratulate Oberlin for being Oberlin, but by providing a broad lineup of richly textured stories, we hope to celebrate what it means to be a part of this community.

We’re looking for stories that are relevant to the lives of our diverse readers, stories that are topical, stories that bring insight into the way the world—or the mind, or the heart—works.

To pitch a story, send your idea by email to Annie Zaleski , OAM editor.

We love to hear from Obies, and class notes are the place to share what you’ve been up to. Keep in touch using our class note submission form.

Your notes might consist of:

• milestones in your personal or professional life
• a gathering of Oberlin friends
• an update on where you’re living so people can keep (or stay!) in touch with you

You can announce that you’ve written a book, released an album, received an award or promotion, performed at a cool event, opened an art show, gotten married, or attended an Obie wedding—when you’re proud to share something, we want to hear about it!

Class notes are based on the text you send in—sometimes with direct quotes—and are gently edited in-house.

When you submit your note using the link above, please keep these things in mind:

How you want your name to appear in the magazine. Maybe you had a different name at Oberlin or prefer to include your maiden name so your classmates recognize you. That’s great—just please let us know your preference so it’s printed correctly. We use full names for first reference and first names afterward.

Your class year—and the class year of any alums mentioned in your note. Also let us know if you’re not sure of a class year—we can look that up!

Photographs/images. Wedding photos, baby photos, a book jacket, a piece of art you’ve done, a great photo from your time at Oberlin—just know that we can only run one image or photo per note!

A few things:

• Please keep your note to 100 words or fewer.
• If you’re sending in news on behalf of someone other than yourself, please check first to make sure they are okay with it.

Submissions of news (and books!) may also be mailed to:

Oberlin Alumni Magazine
247 West Lorain Street, Suite C
Oberlin, Ohio 44074

Please include your phone number or email address so we can reach out if we have questions.

Our obituaries section includes Oberlin alumni, staff, faculty (including former), and friends of the college.

They are written in-house from material sent by family or friends of the deceased. Unfortunately, we stop far short of presenting the full measure of a person’s life in the limited space we have, and we see them more as notices to inform classmates and friends, with the hope they will follow up by finding the fuller obituary online. Thus, we don’t run photographs, we keep a tight focus on summarizing the person’s career and education, we don’t use many adjectives that aren’t easily verified, we seldom include quotes from others, and we aim for around 100 words.

We generally only include survivors by name if they are Oberlin alumni (in which case we include class year); otherwise, they will be included by description, such as “two children, and three grandchildren.” 

The closer you follow how we present them, the less likely we will be to edit them unsatisfactorily, or place attention on something you might not find as important. Please consult a current issue for examples. Note that current Oberlin Alumni Magazine Losses style uses Mr., Ms., and Dr. for titles.

Please send obituaries to Oberlin Alumni Magazine, 247 West Lorain Street, Suite C, Oberlin, Ohio 44074 or to alum.mag@oberlin.edu with Losses as the subject line.

If you’ve moved (or an Obie in your family who receives the magazine at your house has moved) or changed your name, the best and quickest way to get your address label changed is to fill out this form.

If you'd like to start (or stop) receiving the Oberlin Alumni Magazine, email development.resources@oberlin.edu.