News Briefs

Airport forum held Thursday

The College's ongoing struggle against the Lorain County Commission's attempts to expand the Lorain County Regional airport isn't over yet, according to College President Nancy Dye. At Tuesday's General Faculty meeting, Dye updated faculty members on the College's actions to prevent the expansion.

"I don't think I have to tell anyone here that any significant expansion beyond what is already there would be detrimental to Oberlin College," Dye said.

The Federal Aviation Administration is currently reviewing the Lorain County Commission's proposal to expand the runway from its current 5,000 feet to 7,500 or even 10,000 feet, according to Dye.

"Both such extensions would be disastrous for the College in terms of noise pollution," Dye said.

She said she is working with several Lorain County commissioners, including runway expansion proponent Michael Ross, to find out where the issue stands.

Dye told faculty members she would like to engage an aviation consultant to examine the situation objectively.

She also encouraged the faculty to attend a Thursday night forum at Lorain County College, in which commissioners and community members would have a chance to air their views on runway expansion.

"I'm committed to working on this issue," Dye said.

by Margo Lipschultz

McDonough featured in Time

As the walls of the Environmental Studies Center get taller, so does the stack of newspaper and magazine articles written about the project in the national media.

Time added its two-cents this week with a story about the designer of the center, William McDonough, in Monday's edition of the magazine.

McDonough, who is leader in the field of green design, was profiled as one of the magazine's "heroes for the planet." The story focused on the Gap, Inc. office complex in Bruno, Calif., which McDonough designed in 1997.

Calling the architect a "half-green and half-pink visionary," the magazine points out McDonough's emphasis on environmentally and economically friendly construction.

by Susanna Henighan