Meredith Raimondo Named Interim Vice President and Dean of Students

Meredith Raimondo, who currently serves as special assistant to the president for equity, inclusion, and diversity and Title IX coordinator, has been appointed interim vice president and dean of students to replace the departing Vice President and Dean of Students Eric Estes. As dean of students, Raimondo will lead Oberlin’s division of student life that supports students by creating more seamless connections between curricular and co-curricular experiences, advising and mentoring focused on the development of life skills and interpersonal and personal growth, and building and bridging intellectual and personal communities. She will begin her appointment on July 1, 2016 while a national search is conducted.

"I am delighted Meredith Raimondo has agreed to serve as our interim vice president and dean of students,” says Oberlin College President Marvin Krislov. “Meredith has made extraordinary contributions ranging across our academic program, student support services, and Title IX compliance infrastructure. She is an outstanding teacher, scholar, and mentor, and an empathetic and effective administrator. Her focus has always been on listening to students, working to address their concerns, and helping every Oberlin student succeed to their fullest potential."

Raimondo joined the Oberlin community in 2003 as one of the professors in the newly formed Department of Comparative American Studies. She has taught courses spanning the themes of gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity studies, social justice, and HIV/AIDS. In 2014, she was recognized with an Excellence in Teaching Award and later that year was appointed special assistant to the president for diversity, equity, and inclusion and Title IX coordinator, a position for which she oversees institutional policy to ensure all students’ needs are being met under Title IX guidelines. She earned a bachelor of arts degree at Brown University and her master’s and doctorate degrees at Emory University.

Current Vice President and Dean of Students Eric Estes expressed his enthusiasm for Raimondo’s selection. “I am so pleased Meredith Raimondo will be interim vice president and dean of students next year. I have had the privilege and pleasure of working with her for 12 years. She is a colleague of unquestionable intelligence and integrity with such great relationships with such a broad range of students. I couldn’t be more excited for Oberlin,” he says.

Raimondo says she looks forward to working closely with the staff in the Division of the Dean of Students to help ensure that Oberlin is a place where students thrive. “What I love most about this place is its people, and I am inspired every day by the passion, creativity, intellect, and engagement of Oberlin students. As a residential liberal arts college and conservatory, Oberlin has special opportunities to build and nurture the kind of learning community that supports every student in achieving the highest level of academic and artistic achievement. I look forward to contributing to these efforts, building on the remarkable accomplishments of Dean Estes and the ongoing, deeply committed work of the division to meet student needs and support opportunities for transformative learning, both inside and outside the classroom,” she says.