The Conservatory faculty met Tuesday to discuss the future of Conservatory development at Oberlin. Director of Conservatory Development Marci Alegant spoke briefly about the specifics of her position and her need for faculty input.
Alegant recruits prospective Conservatory students and also travels to major American cities on fundraising missions. She encouraged the faculty to keep her abreast of the happenings in each division and the future needs of each professor.
Conservatory Dean Robert Dodson proceeded to announce the resignation of Terry Bowers, coordinator of field experiences in the Music Education division, effective Dec. 31. Bowers, who has lived in Oberlin since 1968, initially retired in June of 1997 after 30 years of teaching courses in social studies and the humanities. In the fall of 1998, he returned to the Oberlin faculty as the coordinator of field experiences and a student teacher supervisor.
Afterward, Dodson also announced the retirement of Clarinet Professor Lawrence McDonald, who will retire at the same time. During his career, McDonald served as the principal clarinetist with the Smithsonian Chamber Orchestra, the Handel and Haydyn Society Orchestra and the Toledo Symphony Orchestra. He also participated in recordings for Decca and the Smithsonian.
Following in the footsteps of public television star Fred Rogers, whose Make Believe Land has long provided young children with a healthy outlet for fantasy, the Oberlin College Center for Service and Learning has elected to help local children to build Kids City, a miniature model of Oberlin that will include replicas of houses and several College structures. Center employees will join forces with the third grade classes of Prospect Elementary School to open the newly constructed City to the public on Saturday. Festivities will take place at the Adam Joseph Lewis Environmental Studies Center from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. At that time, community members will be welcome to participate in the building process by constructing models of their own homes for the project.
The model city will be assembled by the children on Friday. City Manager Rob DiSpirito and Oberlin President Nancy Dye will host a private ribbon-cutting ceremony that will accompany its opening later that day.
On Saturday, Center staff members and student volunteers will issue building permits, distribute building supplies and teach the children creative uses for recycled materials. Meanwhile, the children will assume the responsibilities of their adult counterparts, acting out the roles of city officials like the mayor, town-council members, planning commissioners and developers. In this sense, Kids City will also function as a valuable educational tool for local youths.
"Kids City is a great way to teach kids," said Caitlin Scott, assistant director of the Center. "They'll learn about architecture, city planning and sustainable environmental design - and they'll have fun."
The event will also provide members of the Environmental Studies Program with an ideal opportunity to give tours of the new environmental studies center.
Copyright © 1999, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 128, 9, November 12, 1999
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