Spring 2008 News Releases

Oberlin College Names New Vice President of Communications
OBERLIN, OHIO – Edward "Ben” Jones, a national expert on blogging, social networking, and Web 2.0 in higher education, has been appointed Oberlin College’s vice president for communications.

Oberlin Students Go To World Student Environmental Summit in Kyoto
OBERLIN, OHIO — Three Oberlin students with a strong commitment to protecting the environment will attend the World Student Environmental Summit June 19–22 in Kyoto, Japan. They will join students from 11 other countries in preparing an environmental proposal to be sent to the 2008 Group of Eight summit in July in Hokkaido. The trio also will tell their counterparts about the College’s award-winning Campus Resource Monitoring System. Oberlin is only one of two schools in the United States invited to send students to the June conference.

Gilbert Meilaender to Give 2008 Oberlin College Baccalaureate Address
OBERLIN, OHIO — Oberlin College will hold its 2008 Baccalaureate Service Sunday, May 25 at 1:30 p.m. in Warner Concert Hall. Noted theologian and bioethicist Gilbert Meilaender will discuss "Loving God With The Mind." The program also will include a celebration of the life of the late Rev. Manfred J. Lassen, who served as Oberlin College Protestant chaplain from 1987 until his death this year.

Oberlin College Erases Carbon Footprint for 175th Commencement
OBERLIN, OHIO — Oberlin College is taking eco-friendly to a new level by completely offsetting the carbon footprint of its 2008 Commencement/Reunion weekend, May 23-26. With a $5,000 donation from Bon Appétit Management Company, which manages Oberlin’s Campus Dining Services, the College will purchase offsets for the weekend’s carbon emissions from Carbonfund.org, an organization that supports carbon-reducing projects such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, and reforestation projects.

Nathaniel Meyer Named Goldwater Scholar
OBERLIN, OHIO — The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program has named Oberlin College junior Nathaniel Meyer a Goldwater Scholar for 2008-09. Meyer of Readfield, Maine, is a double major in environmental studies and biology.

Mellon Foundation Grant Supports Student-Faculty Research
OBERLIN, OHIO — Oberlin College has received a $1.5 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation that will expand student-faculty research collaborations and introduce allowances for newly tenured faculty at Oberlin College.

Student Philanthropy Club Awards $10,000 in Grants
OBERLIN, OHIO — Oberlin's newly launched Student Philanthropy Club has awarded $10,000 in grants to nonprofit organizations in Lorain County.

Oberlin Eliminates Loan Requirements for Incoming Class of Pell-Eligible Students
OBERLIN, OHIO — In keeping with its 175-year history of leading the way on access to an excellent liberal arts education, Oberlin College is eliminating loan requirements for incoming first-year students eligible for federally funded Pell Grants. The Oberlin Access Initiative will also eliminate loans for all current, Pell-eligible students returning to Oberlin in the fall, the College announced today.

The 2008 Haskell Lectures at Oberlin College Marks 100th Anniversary of Distinguished Series
OBERLIN, OHIO – "The Son of Man and the Genealogy of Rabbinic Judaism" is the title of Oberlin College's 2008 Haskell Lectures series to be presented April 6, 7, and 9 by Daniel Boyarin, Hermann P. and Sophia Taubman Professor of Talmudic Culture at the University of California at Berkeley.

Five Creative Writing Seniors Make Public Debut April 2
OBERLIN, OHIO – Emerging authors in Oberlin College's Creative Writing Program will make their public debut Wednesday, April 2nd at the Oberlin Public Library (OPL).

Daniel Gessner '08 Awarded Watson Fellowship
OBERLIN, OHIO – Oberlin senior Daniel Gessner has earned the prestigious Thomas J. Watson Fellowship for a year of travel and independent study, an honor that continues Oberlin's legacy of winning at least one Watson grant each year since the program was originated in 1968.

Oberlin Renews Green Energy Agreement
OBERLIN, OHIO – In June of 2004 Oberlin College agreed to pay Oberlin Municipal Light and Power System (OMLPS) an additional $2 per megawatt-hour ($0.002 per kWh) to purchase clean, renewable, carbon-neutral electricity from the local utility. Since that time, the college has purchased more than 36,000,000 kWh of renewable energy and offset more than 35,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions for the institution as a whole.

World Renowned Violinist Midori to Offer Master Class
One of the world’s leading violinists, Midori, will offer a master class on Wednesday, March 19, at 4:45 p.m. in Kulas Recital Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

April in Oberlin: Artist Recital Series Presents a Roster of Stars
The Oberlin Conservatory of Music’s esteemed Artist Recital Series resumes in April with a spring brew of baroque, contemporary, and classical music.

Chemistry Scholar Named Oberlin's New Dean of Arts and Sciences
Sean Decatur, a distinguished scientist who has taught and published in the field of biophysical chemistry, has been named Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Oberlin College.

Oberlin College Invites Speakers on War in Iraq to Campus
At the invitation of Oberlin College, a soldier, an author, and a filmmaker with unique vantage points on the war in Iraq will come to campus the first week in March to express their views in a series of free public events.

Former Secretary of Labor and NPR Marketplace Commentator Robert B. Reich to Speak at Oberlin March 19
OBERLIN, OHIO — Former secretary of labor Robert B. Reich, a professor of public policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, will give Oberlin College's sixth and final Convocation talk of the year at 8 p.m., Wednesday, March 19, in Oberlin's Finney Chapel, located on the corner of West Lorain and North Professor streets.

NPR Radio Lab Hosts Robert Krulwich and Jad Abumrad to Speak at Oberlin March 6
OBERLIN, OHIO — Robert Krulwich '69 and Jad Abumrad '95, the hosts of the innovative WNYC program Radio Lab , will give Oberlin College's fourth Convocation talk of the year   – entitled “ From Oberlin to Radio Lab : Twenty Five Years Apart” – at 8 p.m. Thursday, March 6, in Oberlin's Finney Chapel, located on the corner of West Lorain and North Professor streets.

Political Commentator and Author David Frum to Speak at Oberlin March 14
OBERLIN, OHIO — David Frum, political commentator, presidential speechwriter, and author of bestsellers focusing on the American conservatism movement, will give Oberlin College's fifth Convocation talk of the year at 8 p.m. Friday, March 14, in Oberlin's Finney Chapel, located on the corner of West Lorain and North Professor streets.

Oberlin Stages Monteverdi's Operatic Masterpiece The Coronation of Poppea March 12, 14, 15, and 16
OBERLIN, OHIO (February 20, 2008) — The Coronation of Poppea, Claudio Monteverdi's final operatic masterpiece about obsessive love, politics, murder, and deception, will be staged by the Oberlin Opera Theater beginning Wednesday, March 12, at 8 p.m. in Oberlin College‘s Hall Auditorium, located at 67 North Main Street (Route 58), between the Oberlin Inn and the Allen Memorial Art Museum. The opera is also presented with the support of the Division of Vocal Studies and the Historical Performance Program at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

Oberlin College Receives President's Honor Roll Award for Distinguished Community Service
OBERLIN, OHIO (February 15, 2008) – For exemplary service efforts and service to disadvantaged youth, Oberlin College has received the highest federal recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to service-learning and civic engagement: installation on the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll With Distinction.

Famed Printmaker and Art Photographer will Speak at Oberlin College February 26 and 27
OBERLIN, OHIO (February 15, 2008) – Carroll Dunham, one of the most prolific printmakers of his generation, and Laurie Simmons, an internationally recognized artist known for her photographs of ventriloquists' dummies and household objects, will present two public events Tuesday, February 26, and Wednesday, February 27, respectively, at Oberlin College.

Talents of Oberlin Conservatory of Music Students Showcased at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on February 25
OBERLIN, OHIO (February 14, 2008) — For the past several years, students from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music have been invited to showcase their talents at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., as part of the Kennedy Center’s Conservatory Project Series. On Monday, February 25, at 6 p.m., nine students from Oberlin — three pianists, a flutist, a soprano, and members of the Dorian String Quartet — will present a free concert at the Center’s Theater Lab.

Oberlin Conservatory of Music Faculty Present Works for Cello on February 24
OBERLIN, OHIO (February 13, 2008) – Darrett Adkins, Assistant Professor of Cello at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, believes that cellists tend to create a community of mutual support and admiration. He plans to bring that message to Warner Concert Hall when he hosts a faculty chamber recital set for Sunday, February 24, at 4 p.m. The free concert is part of the Conservatory's Faculty Chamber Series .

New Music Ensemble eighth blackbird, Trained at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Wins Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance
OBERLIN, OHIO (February 11, 2008) – Eighth blackbird, the fearless (and lower-cased) new music ensemble born and bred at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music a dozen years ago, won the Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance for Strange Imaginary Animals, its fifth recording. This is the first Grammy nomination for eighth blackbird, its fourth release on the Chicago-based Cedille Records label, and the only new music nominee in the category. The awards were announced February 10, 2008, by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

The Oberlin in Italy Program Celebrates 20 Years of Music, Language, and Culture Studies in a New Home Under the Tuscan Sun
OBERLIN, OHIO (February 4, 2008) – This year the Oberlin Conservatory of Music is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its Oberlin in Italy summer program in a new home–the town of Arezzo, in the heart of Tuscany. The five-week intensive language and musical study program begins June 7 and concludes July 11, 2008. Excursions to Florence and Siena are included.