April 28, 2000
RELEASE ON RECEIPT

Oberlin College Launches Community Initiative Program

OBERLIN, OHIO ‹ Can Oberlin College thrive if the Oberlin community does not thrive? We are not willing to take that risk.

That is the consensus of Oberlin College President Nancy S. Dye and the College's Board of Trustees, who have announced their decision to reinforce the College's historic commitment to community service by launching the Community Initiative to assist community groups in revitalizing the town of Oberlin.

Daniel Gardner, currently director of the College's Center for Service and Learning, will head the new program, effective July 1. The Initiative is the result of a year-long dialogue between college and town leaders assessing community needs. They concluded that Oberlin, though surrounded by a robust national economy, is threatened by a series of problems that could worsen if not addressed cooperatively.

A lack of quality housing for low and moderate income families; a dearth of summer and afterschool recreational programs for young people; the loss of tax-paying employers; flat or declining sales revenues among merchants and increasing pressure from shopping malls and chain stores are among the threats. In addition, 26% of Oberlin children are living at or below the federal poverty line, the Oberlin Public Schools have been placed in academic emergency status by the state and a quick scan of recent headlines underlines the precarious status of small health-care facilities, such as the Oberlin Medical Center.

"Oberlin College has come to a deeper awareness that Oberlin the town and Oberlin the college are inextricably bound together," says Gardner. "Not only do we value positive town-gown relationships but we also realize that ours is a symbiotic relationship, a relationship of mutual dependence. In a nutshell, as goes the community, so goes the College."

"We are committed to putting the College's resources into creating a better quality of life for all Oberlinians by working in partnership with community representatives. Good schools, a stable tax base, safe streets, a viable downtown, accessible health care, and attractive (and safe) housing stock are among the goals," Gardner states. "Our tools are the human resources of our students, faculty and staff, our physical assets‹our physical plant, and the financial and political leverage within our board of trustees and our alumni ranks.

"But what we do not have," he emphasizes, "is a set agenda. That will be determined only by the town and College working closely together every step of the way to determine how best to achieve these goals. Therefore, we invite parents, businesses, civic, fraternal and community groups to come forward with ideas, plans, even notions for how we can build a relationship that is both mutually fulfilling and productive."

Media Contact: Betty Gabrielli 4/28/00 #86 bg