Rupert says 'Until next time';

Rupert leaves Oberlin for postion at CWRU

Dennis Rupert, assistant director of residential life and services and facilities, only worked at Oberlin College for one and a half years. But, Rupert said, what a year and a half it was.

"It was really hard to leave; a lot of tears were shed. Walking away from the institution was very difficult," Rupert said of his recent decision to leave Oberlin for a position as assistant director of housing/student affairs budget administrator at Case Western Reserve University.

The Oberlin Rupert walked away from in mid-February was, in fact, very different from the Oberlin he first arrived at in April of 1997.

During Rupert's tenure at the College, the campus received a major face-lift in the form of extensive dining hall and dorm renovations.

Under Rupert's guidance Harkness House was refurbished and Dascomb's cafeteria was transformed into a food court. Rupert also oversaw the redecoration of South and Fairchild Halls as well as the upgrade of language house furniture.

"The Harkness project was a really big deal for me," Rupert said. "I also really enjoyed doing Dascomb, which was a kind of project I'd never done before."

Rupert's colleagues were equally enthusiastic about his work.

"Dennis in his tenure at Oberlin was one of a kind," Director of Residential Life and Services Yeworkwha Belachew said. "Extremely passionate about his work and students, his vast resource, knowledge and understanding of the potential relationships between facilities and students' development was invaluable and perfectly in line with the mission and the priorities of our department."

Although Rupert's job was overseeing the maintenance and technical aspects of the College's facilities, Rupert said working directly with the students is his fondest memory of his time at Oberlin. In his capacity as assistant director of residential life, Rupert worked to renew the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association's contract with the College.

OSCA President senior Tigidanke Makgopela said Rupert was instrumental in improving relations between OSCA and the College. "He was one of the first people in ResLife to really respect OSCA, and we're going to miss him a lot. I'm really grateful for all he's done for OSCA," she said.

Rupert said he will miss the campus and all the people with whom he came into contact. "Moving to Case Western was a really great professional opportunity, since now I have the incredible chance to get perspective on the entire division of student affairs, as opposed to just the housing department," he said. "But leaving Oberlin was very hard; I felt taken in by the campus community and welcomed in my profession."

Rupert's last day at Oberlin was Feb. 15. His position has been filled by Larry Gibson, former Area Coordinator of Langston, East and Barnard Halls.

Short stay: Dennis Rupert left Oberlin for a post at CWRU, just a year and a half after joining the Residential Life staff here. (file photo)