John B. Fenn, Doctor of Science will be one of the recipients of the Honorary Degrees at this year’s Commencement. Fenn co-received a Nobel Prize in Chemistry for revolutionizing biomedical research with his innovations in mass spectrometry. He is a parent and a grandparent of two Oberlin Graduates. Now 86 years old, Fenn is a research professor of physical and analytical at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond.

Geoffrey Ward, OC’62 is a doctor of Humanities, most famous for his 1990’s episodic The Civil War, which was produced by Ken Burns for PBS. He worked with Burns on few other highly rated documentaries such as Baseball in 1995 and Jazz in 2001. He graduated in 1962 with a Studio Art degree. His grandfather, brother, sister, aunt and two of his children attended Oberlin.

David N. Baker, Jr., Distinguished Professor of Music and chairman of the jazz department at Indiana University’s School of Music, is one of the leading American symphonic jazz composers and educators. He performed as a trombonist and cellist in collaboration with leading jazz performers. He has also been nominated for a Grammy award and has been honored three times by Down Beat Magazine, as a trombonist, for lifetime achievement, and as the third inductee for their 1994 Education Hal of Fame.

Award recipients
Delbert Mason, M. D. will receive the Distinguished Service Community Award. He graduated from Oberlin College in 1965, then pursued a medical degree from case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. In August 1964 he became the first pediatrician in the Oberlin clinic, as well as one of the first doctors there. Now Mason is a fellow of the American Board of Pediatrics, the American academy of Pediatrics, and the Lorain County Medical Society.
Frances Walker Slocum, OC’45, is the recipient of the 2004 Alumni Medal. She graduated Oberlin Conservatory with majors in piano and organ and then continued her education in Curtis Institute of Music. In 1947 she began her teaching career in Barber-Scotia College in Concord, North Carolina. In 1975 she was invited for a performance at Oberlin and short after that to become a part of the faculty. In 1981 she was the first woman of color to be proclaimed a full professor. Since her retirement from Oberlin she has continued to be a role model and advisor for the minority students at the Conservatory and with generations of Oberlin students.