Campus News

At the Board of Trustees' first meeting of the academic year on October 9 and 10, the board welcomed four new trustees and attended a presentation on diversity in higher education. It was also announced by the development staff that the Oberlin Illuminate Campaign has a current total of $236.5 million, which is in excess of 90 percent of the campaign’s $250 million goal.

Benefits changes for 2015 include key administrative changes for flexible spending accounts, an opportunity to enroll for life insurance for you and your family without evidence of insurability, and for the first time, an opportunity to win a prize for enrolling for your benefits and/or giving online! Open enrollment for 2015 ends Friday, October 31, 2014.

Kahn, the newly appointed Erwin N. Griswold ’25 Chair in Politics and Law, will discuss same-sex marriage and the Affordable Care Act, among other topics.

Creating the new Erwin N. Griswold ’25 Chair in Politics and Law, and selecting Professor Ronald Kahn as its inaugural occupant, honors Oberlin’s traditions of great undergraduate teaching, outstanding scholarship by our faculty, and the dedication to public service and towering professional achievements of a great alum. I cannot think of a better inaugural professor than Ron Kahn, who has received a distinguished teaching award from Oberlin College, and from the Law and Courts Division of the American Political Science Association.

Building on its leading-edge commitment to responsible investing through the creation of the Impact Investment Platform (IIP), and dovetailing with Oberlin's leadership in such areas as sustainability and access, the Board of Trustees has recently approved an initial allocation of $5 million to seed the IIP over the next five years. Furthering its commitment to making the investment process more inclusive, the Board also has adopted a divestment policy that provides an avenue through which students, employees, and alumni may bring forth concerns regarding endowment portfolio holdings.

The landscape of journalism is changing. While there are many concerns about where it is heading, it is also an exciting time for journalism. News, images, and information can move at light speed around the world. Innovative new journalism initiatives, some hyper-local, some focusing on specific topics, are proliferating. Journalism, perhaps more than any other profession, draws on the skills of a superb liberal education including among other things devotion to truth, facts and verification, clear writing, strong researching, and critical thinking. So it is not surprising that many Oberlin alums, including recent Convocation speakers Jad Abumrad ’95 and Robert Krulwich ’69, are tackling the challenge of the changing journalistic landscape.

Oberlin's traditional West African dance troupe will perform a tribute to jazz legend Miles Davis.

In her recent President's Lecture, Paula Richman, William H. Danforth Professor of South Asian Religions, made a compelling case for studying the many religious traditions of the world. Doing so, even if not always comfortable, can broaden our understanding of different worldviews.

The latest book by Professor of Dance Ann Cooper Albright has been recognized by the American Society for Aesthetics.