Oberlin Alumni Magazine

Of the five new inductees to the Heisman Hall of Fame May 28, three were accomplished student swimmers. Albert Fisher ’38 earned three varsity letters as a member of the swimming and diving team and served as captain his senior year. He competed in the 50-yard, 100-yard, and 150-yard backstroke events, as well as the 50-yard backstroke leg of the medley relay, setting the school record in all three individual events. Today, he is the oldest competitive male swimmer in Missouri, having competed in 100 U.S. Masters’ sanctioned meets while in his 60s and beyond.

Steve Stitt ’68 became Oberlin’s first All- American swimmer in 1968 after finishing 11th at the NCAA Championships. As a six- time Ohio Athletic Conference champion, he held most of the varsity records in the freestyle events. Stitt also set the school record in the 200 individual medley in 1967, and he was a member of the school-record 400 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams.

Michael Jarvis ’69, also team captain of the swimming and diving team, became the second Oberlin swimmer to earn All-America honors upon placing second in the 100-yard butterfly and 11th in the 200-yard butterfly at the NCAA championships. His school-record time of 53.40 in the 100 butterfly set the Oberlin standard in 1969 and and stood for 22 years. A three-time Ohio Athletic Conference champion, Jarvis won the 500 freestyle in 1967 and the 200 butterfly in 1967 and 1968.

As a member of the tennis and soccer teams, Carl Erikson ’94, was the first member of the college division to be named the CoSIDA/GTE Academic All-America Team Athlete of the Year and compiled a record of 95-19 in singles and 76-14 in doubles. He qualified for the NCAA tennis champion-ships three times and earned All-America honors in 1993 and 1994 in singles and doubles. He was the 1993 and 1994 NCAC Player of the Year, a four-time All-NCAC first-team selection, and he ranks first among Oberlin tennis players in career-singles wins (95) and career-doubles wins (76). Also a three-year starter on the soccer team, Erikson was a three-time All-NCAC and Academic All-Ohio selection and a first-team regional Academic All-American in 1992 and 1993.

William Shelby Oliver ’35 lettered in track and football at Oberlin and was a member of the basketball team. His fond memories of Oberlin—particularly his years at Delta House with other student-athletes—inspired his $1 million gift annuity in 1996 to endow the Delta Lodge Directorship in Athletics. He has also provided leadership for other athletic facility projects such as the Heisman Club Field House and Heisman Room, and he most recently made a seven-figure gift to endow a scholarship fund for economically disadvantaged students. Oliver is a retired surgeon living in Utah.

For more, visit www.oberlin.edu/athletic.

The Allen Memorial Art Museum welcomes new director Stephanie Wiles, an art historian and former director of the Davison Art Center at Wesleyan University. She took over the post from acting director Katie Solender ’77 in July and also joins the faculty as an assistant professor of art.

A specialist in 19th-century English and American print makers, Wiles has a special interest in photography and modern and contemporary art. She worked as a curator at the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York and holds a PhD in art history from the Graduate School of the City University of New York.

In a college museum, “you have the kind of freedom to do many different kinds of exhibitions,” says Wiles, who hopes to promote the museum regionally and develop a strong local support group. “There’s a sense of trying things out in an experimental way. That’s very intriguing.”