Fall 1998 - Summer 1999

Oberlin College Passes Strong Anti-Sweatshop Purchasing Policy
OBERLIN, OHIO--In his 1999 address at Oberlin College's commencement, John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, said Oberlin's new purchasing policy as "probably the strongest anti-sweatshop agreement of any college or university in the United States."

11 from Oberlin College to Join Peace Corps
OBERLIN, OHIO--The adventure and challenge of going to another country to learn a new culture are among several reasons 10 Oberlin College graduates and one near graduate will soon share their expertise as Peace Corps volunteers.

Oberlin Black Alliance for Progress to Host Lecture by Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr.
OBERLIN, OHIO--The Oberlin Black Alliance for Progress (OBAP) will present a lecture by the Reverend Dr. Otis Moss, Jr.-- "One of America's 15 greatest black preachers (Ebony)" Wednesday, June 30 at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Lorain.

Papers of Noted Civil Rights Leader Donated to Oberlin College
OBERLIN, OHIO--The papers of the late Jewel S. Lafontant-MANkarious '43--acclaimed Chicago civil rights leader, lawyer and high-ranking U.S. official--have been acquired by Oberlin College.

Robert K. Dodson Appointed Dean of Oberlin College Conservatory of Music
OBERLIN, OHIO--Nancy S. Dye, president of Oberlin College, takes great pleasure in announcing the appointment of Robert K. Dodson as dean of the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, effective July 1, 1999. Dodson presently serves as dean of the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Sixty-Three Ohio Residents Receive Degrees from Oberlin College
OBERLIN, OHIO--Sixty-three Ohio residents are among the 689 students to graduate from Oberlin College at its 166th commencement ceremonies, held today.

Oberlin to Get in Gear as Bicycle Friendly Community with Bike Festival May 22
OBERLIN--A kids' bike rodeo, a fundraising ride, live jazz and an outdoor film screening are among the events to be held during Oberlin's first Bicycle Festival Saturday, May 22. May is National Bicycle Month.

Third Phase in College's Allen Memorial Art Museum Restoration Takes Place This Summer
OBERLIN, OHIO--The third phase of the restoration of Oberlin College's Allen Memorial Art Museum will occur this summer. The Museum will be closed from Tuesday, June 1, through Friday, August 27, to continue restoration work that began in 1997, according to Sharon F. Patton, the John G. W. Cowles director of the Museum. Museum staff and administrative offices will be relocated, and the collection itself will be stored and secured within the Museum during the construction, which will consist primarily of exterior work.

All-Community Event Will Discuss the History/Impact of War in Yugoslavia
OBERLIN, OHIO--Oberlin College is hosting an all-community discussion about the war in the Balkans Sunday, May 9. The teach-in--a series of panel discussions and information sessions held on several campus locations--will discuss the history and culture of the Balkans, the status of the conflict, and the effects of U.S. and NATO policy on the region. All events are free and open to the public.

City of Oberlin to be Named Bicycle Friendly Community
OBERLIN, OHIO--Signs declaring Oberlin a Bike Friendly Community (BFC) will be in place this summer--just in time to welcome the 250,000 cyclists expected to visit Oberlin via the North Coast Inland Trail bike path. Oberlin is one of the first three cities in the region, with Avon Lake and Mentor, to be so designated.

Dedication Set for Strawbale Building at Eastwood Elementary
OBERLIN, OHIO--"The strawbale house that the big bad wolf couldn't blow down," as Eastwood Elementary students describe the school's new tool shed, will be dedicated Friday, May 7 at 10 a.m. at the school's Community Garden, located on the northeast side of the site. In the event of rain, the dedication will be held in the Eastwood gymnasium.

OSAP to Open Farmers' Market May 8
OBERLIN, OHIO--On Saturday, May 8, the Oberlin Sustainable Agriculture Project (OSAP) will open the fourth Oberlin Farmers' Market under distinctive blue and white striped canopies on South Main Street.

Noted Anthropologist and Author Johnnetta Cole to Deliver Oberlin's Baccalaureate Address
OBERLIN, OHIO--Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole OC '57, former president of Spelman College and nationally acclaimed educator, will present the 1999 baccalaureate address at Oberlin College. The title of her talk, which is based on I Corinthians 13, is ". . . . And the Greatest of These is Love."

Sister Helen Prejean to speak at Oberlin College May 11
OBERLIN--Death-penalty opponent and victims' advocate Sister Helen Prejean C.S.J--whose work inspired the Academy-Award winning film Dead Man Walking--will speak at Oberlin College next month.

Historian Geoffrey Blodgett to Deliver Oberlin College Honors Day Assembly
OBERLIN, OHIO--Historian Geoffrey Blodgett will deliver the address at Oberlin College's annual Honors Day Assembly. The free, public event takes place at 4:35 p.m. Monday, May 10, in Warner Concert Hall, located in the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music at the corner of Professor and Lorain streets.

La Alianza Latina of Oberlin College Hosts Latino Student Symposium & HIV/AIDS Awareness Project
OBERLIN, Ohio--La Alianza Latina, Oberlin College's Latino student organization, will host a one-day symposium entitled "Empowerment Through The Latino Student Organization" Saturday, April 24 on the Oberlin College campus.

Peter Goldsmith to Be New Oberlin College Dean of Student Life and Services
OBERLIN, OH--Oberlin College President Nancy S. Dye has announced the appointment of Peter D. Goldsmith as the College's new dean of student life and services. Goldsmith's appointment, which follows a national search, becomes effective July 1, 1999.

HIV Educators Visit Oberlin Middle School Classrooms
OBERLIN, OH--Lorain County ranks 12th out of Ohio's 88 counties in AIDS infection rate, according to Ohio Department of Health statistics. In an effort to reduce HIV infection by raising awareness of the disease, more than a dozen trained students with the Oberlin HIV Educators program will enter middle school classrooms this spring.

"Cultural Implications of the Church in the City" Forum to be Held Thursday, April 11
OBERLIN, OH--"Cultural Implications of The Church in the City " will be the focus of a faith and community action program to be held Thursday from 7-9 p.m. in King 306. The event is free and open to the public.

Fiction Writer Elizabeth Searle Reads at Oberlin
OBERLIN, OH--Elizabeth Searle's debut novel, A Four-Sided Bed (Graywolf Press, 1998), explores gender identity and sexual boundaries through the uninhibited passion of a relationship with multiple partners.

Oberlin College English Department to Host Two Events April 8 and 9
OBERLIN, OH--Oberlin College's English Department will host a guest lecture by Kathryne Lindberg April 8 and a poetry reading by Murray Jackson April 9. Both events are sponsored by the department's Flint Fund and will be followed by a reception.

Oberlin College Presents 1999 Charles Beebe Martin Classical Lectures April 5-9
OBERLIN, OH--In Search of Persius is the title of the 1999 Charles Beebe Martin Classical Lectures to be presented by distinguished classics scholar Kenneth J. Reckford April 5-9 at Oberlin College.

Oberlin College to Host Talk on Personality Formation by Leading Behavioralist April 6
OBERLIN, OH--Dr. David Rowe, one of the country's leading experts on the importance of peers in shaping personality--and the relative unimportance of parents' child rearing practices--will present a guest lecture on the topic April 6 at Oberlin College.

Anne Carson, Canadian Poet and Classicist, to Read and Lecture at Oberlin College
OBERLIN, OH--Anne Carson "is an original and startling poet," says Oberlin College Associate Professor of Creative Writing Pamela Alexander. Michael Ondaatje, author of The English Patient, says: "Anne Carson is, for me, the most exciting person writing in English today. She is that rare talent . . . brilliant, passionate and deeply moving."

The St. Petersburg String Quartet Returns to Oberlin Conservatory April 6 at Finney Chapel
The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is pleased to announce the return of the St. Petersburg String Quartet. The quartet will perform in concert on Tuesday, April 6, 8 p.m., in Finney Chapel. During a 1997-98 residency at Oberlin, the quartet performed the complete cycle of fifteen Shostakovich string quartets.

Stephen Moore of Oberlin Conservatory to Perform Chopin Etudes
Pianist Stephen Moore, associate professor of music at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, will perform a solo recital in Memorial Chapel at the University of Redlands, on Thursday, March 25, at 8 p.m. In honor of the sesquicentennial celebration of Frèdèric Chopin's death in 1849, Moore will perform the complete Etudes, Op 10 and 25.

Conference on Anti-Sexual Violence to Be Held at Oberlin College
OBERLIN--Acclaimed activist Katie Koestner will discuss her and others' journey from victims to survivors of date rape as part of Survivors, Allies, and Activists , a three-day conference to be held on the campus of Oberlin College April 16-18.

Oberlin Shansi Memorial Association Hosts Lecture by Leading Scholar
OBERLIN, OH--With work that has been translated into all the major European and Asian languages, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak is considered a leading scholar in the deconstructive analysis of verbal, visual and social texts. A global feminist marxist, she is also widely acknowledged as the conscience of the metropolitan politics of identity.

AT&T Labs and Oberlin College Conservatory of Music Sign Agreement to Research Internet Music Distribution
FLORHAM PARK, NJ and OBERLIN, OH -- AT&T Labs and Oberlin College Conservatory of Music have announced an agreement to conduct research on Internet music distribution.

Oberlin Korean Students Association Hosts Korean-American Studies Conference
OBERLIN, Ohio--The Oberlin Korean Students Association (OKSA) will host its second biennial conference entitled "A Place at the Table:
Re-educating Our Perceptions" February 26-28 on the Oberlin College campus.

How One "Family" Can Influence a Culture: Searching for the Clues to Hearing Loss
New insights into therapeutics that can be used to prevent or treat hearing loss could result from research being done at Oberlin College by Assistant Professor of Neuroscience Lynne Bianchi.

John Loomis, Winner of Field Poetry Prize, To Read at Oberlin College
OBERLIN, OH--Jon Loomis's poetry has won praise from many critics for its clarity and intensity. His first collection, Vanitas Motel, won publication by Oberlin College Press and its 1997 Field Poetry Prize. And Loomis won this pronouncement from David Young, Longman Chair of English and the Humanities at Oberlin and an editor of Oberlin College Press:

Interview Opportunity: China Promotes Book that Takes a Critical View of its Political System
Casting a critical eye on China's government, China Against the Tides portrays an American scholar's understanding and analysis of the process of China's development. Pinter Publishers of London and Washington, D.C. published the book in 1997.

Oberlin to Celebrate Women's History Month with Residency by Famed Feminist Scholar
OBERLIN--Oberlin College--the first college in the U.S. to grant women B.A. degrees--will celebrate women's history month this year with a three-day residency by leading feminist philosopher Linda Martin Alcoff.

Exhibition Commemorating End of Spanish-American War on View at Oberlin
OBERLIN, Ohio--"Beyond the Maine: Imaging the New Empire"--a Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition of photographs taken near the turn of the century in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines--is on view at Oberlin College through February 28.

Author to Discuss Surviving the Silence:Black Women's Stories of Rape March 9
OBERLIN--Author Charlotte Pierce-Baker will discuss her critically-acclaimed book Surviving the Silence: Black Women's Stories of Rape on Tuesday, March 9 at Oberlin College.

Oberlin College Hosts Lecture and American Indian Educational Powwow February 19 & 20
A lecture and educational powwow will bring American Indian life to Oberlin's campus February 19 and 20. Bob Roche, director of the American Indian Education Center in Cleveland, will deliver a lecture entitled "American Indians in Cleveland: 50 Years of Urban Racism" February 19 at noon. Roche has lectured throughout the country and in Ireland about the history and politics of the American Indian community.

Grant from Thomas L. Conlan Education Foundation Will Aid Access Program Summer Effort
OBERLIN, Ohio, February 10--The Thomas L. Conlan Education Foundation today awarded a grant of $55,645 to The Access Program to fund a pilot program in collaboration with Oberlin College designed to help prepare Lorain County youth for post-secondary education.

Grant Helps Buy Books for Volunteer Literacy Program in Oberlin's Schools
OBERLIN, Ohio--With a $4,000 grant from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, the Oberlin College-Oberlin Public Schools America Reads project will create 85 reading bags for children in the Oberlin Public Schools.

Musical Ambassadors: Oberlin Conservatory Winter Term Projects Take Students to Washington, D.C. and Panama
Music had no geographical boundaries in January, 1999, when one group of Oberlin College Conservatory of Music students performed on $50-million-dollar Stradivarius instruments at the Smithsonian Institution, while another group of Conservatory students rehearsed under banana trees in Panama. These are two highlights of recent Winter Term projects that had Conservatory students packing their instruments and sheet music, and taking it on the road. (Winter Term allows students to concentrate on one learning project for the month of January.)

"Impeaching the President . . . or the People?": A Public Forum Sponsored by the Oberlin College Politics Department
OBERLIN--A public forum titled "Impeaching the President...or the People?" will take place on Thursday, February 11 at 6:30 p.m. at Oberlin College. The forum, which is sponsored by the College's politics department, will take place in room 306 of the King building, located at the corner of North Professor and West College streets.

Religious Factors in Middle East Politics to Be Focus of Oberlin College Lecture
"Religious Factors in Politics in the Middle East" is the title of the lecture to be presented by Dr. Leila Fawaz as part of Oberlin College's 1999 Mead-Swing lecture series.

Award-Winning Poet Lynn Powell to Give Reading at Oberlin College February 23
OBERLIN, OH-- Award-winning poet Lynn Powell, an Oberlin resident, will present an evening of old and new poems when she appears at Oberlin College later this month. Powell will read poems from her collection Old & New Testaments as well as new work from a book currently in progress.

Winter Term Concerts: Chopin and Liszt
Two performances: program features Chopin and Liszt performed by Melinda Faylor ('02) of Forest Hills, NY; Stephanie Ho (double major '99) of Portland, OR, both students of Robert Shannon; and Akiko Tsukamoto ('01) of Tokyo, Japan, a student of Monique Duphil.

Jeff Ramsey Named Head Football Coach
OBERLIN, OHIO--Oberlin College has selected Jeff Ramsey as its new head football coach. "I am excited about the opportunity to coach football at such an outstanding academic institution as Oberlin College," said Ramsey.

Best-Selling Author James McBride ’79 to Deliver Convocation Address
OBERLIN, OHIO--Journalist and musician James McBride '79 will discuss his best-selling memoir, The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother, at Oberlin College's Spring 1999 Campus Convocation. The event will take place February 11, at 8 p.m. in Finney Chapel.

Oberlin College Celebrates Black History Month
OBERLIN, OHIO--Oberlin College will highlight its 1999 Black History Month observance with a dance concert Feb. 4 featuring the music of Duke Ellington and an address by noted theologian and activist Dr. Vincent Harding at the Feb. 13 annual Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration.

Thomas J. Klutznick--Chicago Entrepreneur and Philanthropist--Pledges $5 Million Gift to Kick Off Oberlin College Campaign
Oberlin, Ohio--Oberlin College trustee Thomas J. Klutznick recently took on another major commitment--this one to his alma mater. He has volunteered to co-chair Oberlin's forthcoming comprehensive campaign. To back up that commitment--and to inspire others to commit themselves to ensuring Oberlin's excellence into the new millennium--he has pledged a campaign gift of $5 million and designated a portion of it for scholarships for low-income students from inner-city schools.

Oberlin College Names David Boe Acting Dean of the Conservatory of Music
OBERLIN--Accepting the U.S. Department of Education's America Reads challenge, 26 Oberlin College students tutor kindergartners and first-, second- and third-graders in Oberlin's Eastwood and Prospect Elementary Schools. The program--coordinated by the college's Center for Service and Learning (CSL) and Oberlin Community Services--tries to ensure that every child reads well and independently by the end of third grade.

Oberlin Ranked As A Top School for Peace Corps Volunteers
OBERLIN, OHIO--Oberlin College--with 19 graduates currently serving in the Peace Corps--ranks number six nationally on The 1998 List of Smaller Colleges and Universities with Graduates Currently Serving as Peace Corps Volunteers. Smaller colleges are ones with fewer than 5,000 undergraduates.

Three Oberlin College Students and Professor to Volunteer at Russian Orphanage Winter Term
OBERLIN, OHIO--Three Oberlin College students and an Oberlin professor will travel to Russia next month to spend the College's Winter Term volunteering at an orphanage.

Oberlin College Students Help Elementary School Children Learn How to Read
OBERLIN--Accepting the U.S. Department of Education's America Reads challenge, 26 Oberlin College students tutor kindergartners and first-, second- and third-graders in Oberlin's Eastwood and Prospect Elementary Schools. The program--coordinated by the college's Center for Service and Learning (CSL) and Oberlin Community Services--tries to ensure that every child reads well and independently by the end of third grade.

Dance Diaspora Concert to Feature New Works Inspired by 1998 African Tour
OBERLIN--Movements and rhythms inspired by a study tour of West Africa last summer will be premiered at the annual concert of Dance Diaspora, Oberlin College's widely-acclaimed African-American dance company.

Local Teachers Win Hughes Science Grants
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute Outreach Program provides public school teachers with grants to develop classroom science projects. Teachers then work with Oberlin College science majors to implement the proposals. The HHMI Program aims to use Oberlin College's biomedical resources to enrich science curriculum in local schools, while engaging Oberlin students in innovative science teaching.

Oberlin Public School Teachers to Demonstrate Technology Projects on Local History
OBERLIN, OHIO -- Oberlin Public School teachers from grades three through eight will offer a public demonstration of the technology-rich local history projects that they have been working on in their classrooms this year. The demonstration, titled "Teaching with Technology," will take place at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 16, in the library of Langston Middle School, 150 N. Pleasant St., Oberlin, Ohio.

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Scientist and Author E. O. Wilson to Speak at Oberlin
OBERLIN, OH--Edward O. Wilson, considered one of the most important scientists of all time, will deliver two lectures at Oberlin College on Friday, Nov. 6 and Saturday, Nov. 7.

Faculty Chamber Music Series Opens Fifth Season
The 1998-99 Oberlin Faculty Chamber Music Series will premiere the first of three concerts on Sunday, November 8, 4 p.m., in Finney Chapel, with special guest, Oberlin alumnus Alex Klein, who is principal oboist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. All series concerts are free and open to the public.

Professor Calvin Hernton to be Honored November 6-8
OBERLIN, OHIO--Calvin Hernton--nationally acclaimed poet, essayist and professor of African American studies at Oberlin College--will be honored as a teacher, scholar and writer in a three-day program to be held Nov. 6- 8. Hernton, who joined the faculty in 1970, will retire from the College next spring.

John Luther Adams, New Oberlin Composer, Offers World Premiere: In the White Silence
John Luther Adams, newly-appointed associate professor of composition at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, will offer a world premiere of In the White Silence, an elegy and a landscape, on Wednesday, November 11, 8 p.m., in Finney Chapel. In the White Silence will be performed by the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble, conducted by Tim Weiss. Also on the program will be Adams' The Time of Drumming performed by the Oberlin Percussion Group, conducted by Michael Rosen. The concert is free and open to the public.

Oberlin Conservatory Accepting Applications for String Preparatory Program
Applications are being accepted for the Oberlin String Preparatory Program, an outreach program of the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. The program is designed for students entering the fourth or fifth grades who are interested in beginning study on a stringed instrument (violin, viola, cello, bass). Students who plan to participate in public school string programs are strongly encouraged to join the Oberlin String Preparatory Program.

Oberlin College Conservatory Welcomes Laura Kuennen-Poper
Laura Kuennen-Poper has been appointed to the dual position of Associate Dean and Director of Conservatory Career Development of the Oberlin College Conservatory. Karen Wolff, Dean of the Conservatory, hailed Kuennen-Poper as the ideal candidate because of her rich background in music and her business expertise in the classical music industry.

Oberlin Conservatory Student Awarded Grand Prize at International Competition for Composers
Huang Ruo, a junior working toward a double major in composition and music theory at the Oberlin College Conservatory, was awarded Grand Prize in Composition, VI Level Award, at the European International Competition for Composers, held this summer in Ragusa-Ilba, Italy. Huang's works judged for the competition included "SI WAY - - - Four Dimensions" (for three piccolos and conductor), and "If To Live, To*" (for cello solo).

Oberlin College Announces Annual Scholarship for Select Japanese Student
OBERLIN--Oberlin College, one of the leading liberal arts colleges in the United States, is pleased to announce the establishment of a full-tuition, four year scholarship, to be awarded annually to a Japanese student of exceptional promise and ability. The scholarship is named in honor of former American Ambassador to Japan Edwin O. Reischauer. Reischauer, who died in 1990, was a 1931 graduate of Oberlin College.

Legendary Royal Crown Review Brings Neo-Swing to Oberlin College Oct. 27
OBERLIN--Royal Crown Revue, the band that almost single-handedly revived swing, will appear at Oberlin College late in October as part of a nationwide tour.

Peter Takacs, Professor of Pianoforte, to Perform 32 Piano Sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven
OBERLIN, OH -- On Thursday, November 19, 1998, Peter Takács will perform the first of a two-year, eight-recital traversal of the 32 Piano Sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven. The concert begins at 8 p.m. in Finney Chapel on the Oberlin College campus. It is free and open to the public.

Archival Exhibition Shows Oberlin College's Efforts for Middle East Peace
OBERLIN, OHIO--How Oberlin College, in 1919, took part in the first steps toward peace in the Middle East will be outlined Oct. 26, when an exhibition presented by the College Archives opens on the main floor of Mudd Center. The exhibition will continue through Nov. 15.

Environment Canada Head to Discuss Great Lakes at Oberlin College Forum
Victor Shantora, one of the leading directors of Environment Canada and six other members of the Great Lakes Water Quality Board Commission will take part in a student forum at Oberlin College next month.

Oberlin Conference to Focus on Slain "Father of Mozambique Independence" & Country's Future
Oberlin College alumnus Eduardo C. Mondlane, the father of Mozambique independence who was assassinated in Tangyanika in 1969, will be honored next month at a two-day conference on the Oberlin campus.

Oberlin One of Only Two Colleges Nationwide Awarded a Henry Luce Foundation Grant
OBERLIN, OHIO --A prestigious grant from The Henry Luce Foundation, providing up to $1 million in support, was recently awarded to Oberlin College. The grant will fund a new professorship--the Henry R. Luce Professorship in the Emerging Arts--for six years; thereafter, it is renewable for up to three years. A national search committee, to be convened by President Nancy S. Dye, will select the Luce Professor during the coming year.

Adam Joseph Lewis Environmental Studies Center Groundbreaking Set For Sept. 25 at Oberlin College
OBERLIN, OHIO -- Groundbreaking ceremonies for Oberlin College's Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies--one of the most advanced examples of ecological architecture in America--will take place on Friday, Sept. 25 at 4:30 p.m. In addition to community members from the college and the town of Oberlin, an estimated 250 invited guests are expected to attend.

Avila/Weeks Dance Partnering Defies Convention in Labor Day Weekend Performances
OBERLIN, OHIO -- Avila/Weeks Dance, a New York City-based duo, will perform at Oberlin College on September 4 & 5. The evening will include two solos and three duets from the company's repertoire.

Oberlin College Announces 1998-99 Artist Recital Series
OBERLIN, OHIO--Subscription ticket packages are now available for the 1998-99 Artist Recital Series at Oberlin College. The five-concert series--sponsored by the Oberlin Conservatory of Music with the support of the Friends of the Artist Recital Series--features the Cleveland Orchestra; the Colorado Quartet; the Detroit Symphony Orchestra; pianist Jon Kimura Parker; and mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves.

Oberlin College Announces 1998-99 Theater, Dance & Opera Season
OBERLIN, OHIO -- Discount subscription ticket packages are available for Oberlin College's 1998-99 Theater, Dance and Opera season. The six-event season includes three theater performances, Kindertransport, The Cherry Orchard, and The Darker Face of the Earth; two operas, Roméo et Juliette and Cosi Fan Tutte; and one dance concert featuring the Oberlin Dance Company.

Student-Created Dance and Theater Works Performed at Oberlin College in 1998-99
OBERLIN, OHIO--Students at Oberlin College direct, choreograph, and perform in a diverse variety of theater and dance pieces each academic year. This season, students will present four theater productions, two dance concerts, and a series of free studio concerts, all sponsored by the Theater and Dance Program. All events are open to the public. Seating in Little Theater is limited.

Sharon Patton Hired As Allen Memorial Art Museum Director
OBERLIN, OHIO --Sharon F. Patton has been named the John G. W. Cowles Director of Oberlin College's Allen Memorial Art Museum (AMAM). She will begin her tenure as the Museum's new director--and as professor of art--on October 19. Her appointment, which follows a nationwide search, was announced last week by Nancy S. Dye, President of Oberlin College.

OCOPE Ratifies Three-Year Contract
OBERLIN, OHIO -- Members of the Office and Professional Employees Union (OCOPE) have "overwhelmingly ratified" a new, three-year contract between the union and Oberlin College, President Julie E. Weir has announced.

Kay Thomson Appointed VP Development and Alumni Affairs
OBERLIN, OHIO -- Oberlin President Nancy S. Dye has announced the appointment of Kay Thomson as vice president of development and alumni affairs at Oberlin College.

Oberlin Gives College President Five-Year Contract Extension
OBERLIN, OHIO --Oberlin College's Board of Trustees has extended President Nancy S. Dye's current contract for five additional years, announced Board Chairman William R. Perlik. The agreement will be effective July 1, 1999, when Dye's current contract expires, and will continue through the year 2004.

Michael Muska Appointed Athletics Director
OBERLIN, OHIO --Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Clayton Koppes recently announced that Oberlin College has named Michael Muska to fill the position of Delta Lodge Director of Athletics and Physical Education. Muska brings a wide array of experience to the position, having worked as a coach, counselor, assistant athletic director and associate director of admissions during his career. "Mike Muska displays the leadership skills necessary for both effective administration and communication with a diverse constituency," says Dean Koppes. "He brings not only wide knowledge of successful athletics and physical education programs, but boundless enthusiasm and commitment to his new position."