Celebrate the Life of Nancy Schrom Dye

The Oberlin College Board of Trustees and President Marvin Krislov invite all students, faculty, staff, and members of the Oberlin community to join in a Celebration of Life in honor of Nancy Schrom Dye, 13th president of Oberlin College and Conservatory, at 5 p.m. on Friday, December 4, in Finney Chapel. A reception will be held following the event in the Science Center, Perlik Commons.

Nancy Schrom Dye was the college’s first female president from 1994-2007. She worked tirelessly to enhance diversity in admission through strong partnerships with the Posse Foundation and QuestBridge. She established the Bonner Center for Service and Learning, spearheaded wide-ranging initiatives to rejuvenate the college and community, led a successful capital campaign that raised $175 million—the largest fundraising effort at Oberlin to that date—and oversaw the construction of a $65 million science center and the Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies. Dye also established the scholarship that allows Oberlin High School students to attend the college tuition-free.

Dye was a familiar figure in both the campus and Oberlin city communities during her presidency. She avidly attended student activities and was at home in all settings, whether meeting with trustees, chairing faculty meetings, or sitting on the floor with students in residence halls.

“She was completely devoted to student welfare,” Clayton Koppes, professor of history, told The Oberlin Review. “She was very empathic about how students are at Oberlin. She really believed that each individual had enormous potential. She also believed that students and faculty should be challenged to achieve that potential.” Koppes will be among the speakers at Friday’s event.

Dye died at her home in Lakewood, Ohio, on October 28 at the age of 68. She is survived by her husband, Dr. Griffith Dye; their two children, Molly, of Lakewood, and Michael, of Evanston, Illinois; two granddaughters, Kennedy and Madeline; and her brother, Michael Schrom, of New York.

Learn more about the life and presidency of Nancy Schrom Dye in this remembrance on the Source.