Oberlin Alumni Magazine Fall 2024

THE ART (& SCIENCE) OF BUSINESS AT OBERLIN

ALUMNI MAGAZINE — FALL 2024

Using virtual chemistry to explore big ideas; the Internship+ program connects alums and students; plus

Oberlin’s new business major blends liberal arts values with the practical skills students need to launch a successful career—on their own terms.

Two hundred years after his birth, Oberlin’s first Black graduate, George Boyer Vashon, Class of 1844, is receiving his

Carry G rammy-certified vocalist and viola da gamba player Ari Mason ’ 14 finds her niche.

by Laurène Boglio

A FRESH LOOK

During summer 2024, the Allen Memorial Art Museum made significant upgrades to galleries and offices, ensuring a refreshed experience for all.

PHOTO BY MIKE CRUPI

From the President

New Opportunities, New Possibilities

DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR EARLY DAYS AT OBERLIN?

The nervous thrill of being away from home. Meeting the people who would become lifelong friends. Figuring out who you want to be and how you can make a positive impact on the world.

Be assured that today’s students feel all of that too.

But they’re also graduating into a world of increasingly complex challenges—challenges that need the insight of Oberlin graduates now more than ever.

This notion cuts to the heart of our recent decision to introduce eight new majors. Each is the result of extensive research and reflects our faculty’s commitment to curricular innovation. Each also addresses the evolving interests of our students and the evolving needs of our planet.

In the College of Arts and Sciences, the new majors are global health, business, financial economics, environmental science, communication studies, and data science. The Conservatory of Music has added music theater and recording arts and production. Three of the new programs are already available to current students; the others will debut in fall 2025.

These new majors build upon Oberlin’s existing strengths in high-impact, experiential learning through internships, undergraduate research, and other forms of hands-on experience. They also complement our classic liberal arts and conservatory offerings, providing the possibility for students to engage in novel multidisciplinary study; for example, we’re seeing that students who signed up for communication studies are double majoring in sociology, history, or biology. The new majors, when added to our classic offerings, position our students to truly harness the power of the liberal arts and transform our world.

As our institution looks back on nearly two centuries of leading by example, this is the moment for us to reflect on the ways we can do more to prepare our students for lives of meaning and impact. These majors are backed by investment in additional faculty and other resources necessary to ensure their sustained success. They’re one major part of our vision for a vital and vibrant Oberlin and represent an essential step in ensuring that our mission— and the work we do—remain as relevant as ever.

carmen twillie ambar President, Oberlin College and Conservatory

Editor

Annie Zaleski

Art Director

Nicole Slatinsky

Magazine Designer

Lesley Busby

Director of Content and Social Media Strategy

Mathias Reed

Photo Coordinator and Project Manager

Yvonne Gay

Executive Director, Office of Communications

Kelly Viancourt

Vice President for Communications

Josh Jensen

The Oberlin Alumni Magazine (ISSN 0029-7518), founded in 1904, is published by Oberlin’s Office of Communications and distributed to alumni, parents, and friends of Oberlin College.

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POSTMASTER

Send changes to Oberlin College, 173 W. Lorain St., Oberlin, OH 44074

MUSIC TO MY EARS

Upon reading about the 50th anniversary of the Seeley G. Mudd Learning Center [“The Marvels of Mudd,” Summer 2024], I found myself thinking about all the time I spent in the Oberlin library during my years at the college from 1955 to 1959. I was officially a history major, but you could say my minor was in music: folk and classical. Pete Seeger was coming to the campus each year; lots of other folk musicians performed; and there was an active group of us folk musicians.

I spent a lot of time in the Oberlin library, but sometimes on the way there, I’d go to a senior music conservatory recital before both studying and doing required reading.

Reading the article, I also found myself thinking about the music room at the old library. It was a small room with a large table and an AR turntable and AR speakers for the LP records that were there. As I recall most were classical recordings, but maybe there were a few jazz LPs too.

I got a real introduction to classical music from the music I listened to there. I remember Bartok’s string quartets and his Concerto for Orchestra. I also remember the Mozart Horn Concertos with Dennis Brain as the French horn master. Other students, never a lot of us, chose other music—all of it probably new to me. Is there such a place at Mudd

Learning Center? And I wonder if other older graduates remember the music room.

nick royal ’59

Santa Cruz, Calif.

[Editor’s Note: At the moment, there isn’t a place at Mudd like the music room. However, OAM welcomes any and all memories of the original! Send remembrances to alum.mag@oberlin.edu.]

they don’t have anything you don’t. So stop twirling your hair like the last girl to get asked to prom!”

That was Shirley in a nutshell—opinionated but defensive, with the love of a protective mother who would do anything for her employees and students. Forever the ’Sco’s finest.

julie schreiber ’19

Montclair, New Jersey

[Editor’s Note: A link to Shirley’s obituary can be found at oberlin.edu/alumni/losses.]

MUMMERS MEMORY

It was sad to read of the death of Bob Gardner ’66 [Losses, Winter/Spring 2024]. Bob played the lead in the Mummers production of Horatio Alger’s Mark, the Matchboy, which was the 1963 freshman show. The book and lyrics were by the very talented Sam Hudson, and I wrote the music. I’ve attached a picture of the flyer used to advertise the show.

david nisbet stewart ’65

Huntington Woods, Mich.

TRIBUTE: MAMA ’SCO

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Shirley Sikora, aka Mama ’Sco. I have many memories of her, but one stands out. I have a tendency to twirl my hair, which makes me appear distracted or insecure. Shirley—the steely, fearsome, and legendary ’Sco leader—always scolded me for it when we worked the front door together.

One night, after an attractive group of women walked into the bar, Shirley smacked my hand, which was wrapped in a lock of my hair, onto the table. “Stop that already!” she yelled. “Those girls aren’t smarter or prettier than you, and

Obies, mark your calendars for the reunions happening in 2025! Expect details from the Office of Alumni Engagement as the dates get closer.

Commencement and Milestone Reunion Weekend, May 23-26: 25th (Class of 2000); 50th (Class of 1975); and the 65th cluster reunion (Classes of 1958, 1959, and 1960).

Homecoming and Reunion Weekend, October 10-12: 10th (Classes of 2014, 2015, and 2016); 30th (Classes of 1994, 1995, and 1996); 45th (Classes of 1979, 1980, and 1981); and 60th (Classes of 1964, 1965, and 1966) cluster reunions.

Send letters to the editor, story tips, and pitches to alum.mag@oberlin.edu. If you are submitting a letter to the editor, please specify that your note is for publication and also include your class year and how your name should appear in print.

Around Tappan Square

GULENKO; KADRIAN HINTON, FOREIGN WORLD MEDIA; MIKE CRUPI; ABE FRATO

WELCOME BACK! In fall 2024, Oberlin welcomed back the 15th and 35th clusters and the Oberlin Alumni of African American Ancestry (OA4) for Homecoming and Reunion Weekend. Activities included an art exhibition of student and alumni artwork in honor of Professor of Art Sarah Schuster’s retirement, panel discussions, classroom visits, and a star-laden OA4 Black Alumni Concert featuring renowned musicians such as Theo Croker ’07 (pictured on page 4). See photos from the weekend at this gallery: go.oberlin.edu/hrw-photos

Oberlin College and Conservatory Adds Eight New Majors

Oberlin is launching eight new majors spanning a wide range of disciplines. The majors not only have broad faculty support, but their creation was driven by faculty desire to expand our curriculum to meet evolving student interests and the opportunities and challenges of our complex world.

“These new majors,” says David Kamitsuka, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, “build on Oberlin’s academic excellence and will equip our students to harness the power of their liberal arts education for an ever wider range of professional interests and 21st-century global challenges.”

Oberlin’s new music theater faculty includes (l-r) Lauren Marousek, Victoria Bussert, Matthew Webb, and Laura Welsh.

The new majors also offer previously unimaginable combinations of study in the form of double majors and Oberlin’s popular Double Degree Program, through which students earn both a Bachelor of Arts in the college and a Bachelor of Music in the conservatory in five years or fewer.

“Oberlin was the first institution in America to confer the Double Degree, and we welcome new opportunities to expand the potential range of multidisciplinary approaches made possible by the program,” says William Quillen, dean of the conservatory. “Already, we are hearing from many of our conservatory students about their enthusiasm for pursuing the new college majors through the Double Degree Program.”

In the College of Arts and Sciences, the new majors are business, financial economics, environmental science, communication studies, data science, and global health. The Conservatory of Music’s new majors are music theater and recording arts and production. The latter welcomed its first class this fall.

“I share in our faculty’s firm belief that this is not a time to back down from the programs that are foundational to our values as an institution,” says Oberlin President Carmen Twillie Ambar. “Just as important: This is the moment to double down on that commitment and to continually ask ourselves: Can we do more to prepare our students for success? The arrival of these new majors offers a resounding answer: We can do more, and we are prepared to do just that.” Read more on these new majors: go.oberlin. edu/7-new-majors

Alum Inspires Tony-Winning Suffs

Suffs, a Broadway musical about the early 20th-century suffragist movement, won two 2024 Tony Awards, one for Best Book and another for Best Score. The musical has deep ties to Oberlin: Playwright and starring actress Shaina Taub based her music, book, and lyrics on Jailed for Freedom, a memoir by Doris Stevens, Class of 1911, who was a prominent figure in the battle for

women’s right to vote. Stevens appears as one of 23 characters in Suffs —in Act I, she is accepted as the secretary of the 1913 National American Woman

Suffrage Association (NAWSA)

Convention—as does Mary Church Terrell, Class of 1888, a renowned proponent of suffrage and equality and our library’s namesake.

Stevens was always drawn towards

radical action. A 1913 article in The Oberlin Review states: “Doris Stevens ’11 is spending a few days in Oberlin. Miss Stevens is Field Secretary of the Equal Suffrage League in Dayton, Ohio. She is here to recover from neuritis caused by carrying an Equal Suffrage banner in the recent Inaugural parade at Washington.”

Read more about Stevens’ life:

go.oberlin.edu/suffs Eloise Rich ’26

Doris Stevens, played by Nadia Dandashi, sits on the left among her fellow suffragists.

Jennifer L. Morgan ’86 Awarded MacArthur Fellowship

Jennifer L. Morgan ’86, a historian and professor whose work explores the lives of enslaved women and deepens our understanding of the origins of race-based slavery in early America, was awarded a 2024 MacArthur Fellowship. With this honor, Oberlin has now produced more MacArthur Fellows than any other liberal arts college in the nation.

A lifelong New Yorker, Morgan earned a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin in the self-designed major third world studies and a PhD in history from Duke

University. She is a professor of history in the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University, and the author of two books and numerous journal articles.

Popularly known as the “Genius Grant,” the MacArthur Fellowship is one of the nation’s most prestigious honors. Morgan is the 15th Oberlin graduate to be named a MacArthur Fellow and the third in the last three years. She follows composer and pianist Courtney Bryan ’04, who won in 2023, and writer and educator Kiese Laymon ’98, a 2022 honoree.

LOVE OF LEARNING

Colleges That Change Lives Welcomes Oberlin

Oberlin is now one of 45 transformational liberal arts colleges and universities to be a member of Colleges that Change Lives (CTCL). For more than 25 years, CTCL—a nonprofit based on New York Times education editor and journalist Loren Pope’s book of the same name—has promoted student-centered college searches, spotlighting standards found only within liberal arts institutions and faculty dedicated to mentoring students. CTCL sought to alter the way students and families approached the college search process. Rather than emphasizing rank, Pope formed his seminal ideals that celebrated colleges that provide students with a lifelong love of learning. CTCL and Oberlin share a paramount aim: the constant improvement of the educational system, focused on bringing in one-of-a-kind students to an unparalleled institution that best suits their needs. — Eloise Rich ’26

MAKING AN IMPACT

Oberlin Expands Impact Investment Platform

Oberlin is expanding its Impact Investment Platform to create experiential learning opportunities for students, uniting academics and investing in ways that directly address troubled regions and vital issues worldwide. The Board of Trustees’ Investment Committee endorsed the plan for expansion.

The Impact Investment Platform, which was created in 2013 to guide socially conscious investments of Oberlin’s endowment and promote Oberlin’s active engagement with a range of issues, was seeded with an initial investment of $5 million of the endowment over five years and was later expanded to a target of $70 million. The Board’s approval calls for yet another

target increase in impact investing—to $100 million.

In addition, the platform will grow to include investments pertaining to the support and redevelopment of war-torn regions. Previously, the platform’s primary focus had been limited to sectors pertaining to community development, renewable energy and climate change, and education.

Oberlin’s expansion of impact investing coincides with the development and growth of the Impact Investment Advisory Group (IIAG), a nine-member panel made up of students, faculty, alumni, members of the Board’s Investment Committee, and Chief Investment Officer Jun Yang. In collaboration with the Investment Office, the IIAG designs and implements research related to impact investing, evaluates issues and trends, makes recommendations to the committee, and educates Oberlin students and the community more broadly on impact investing and the endowment overall. Read more about this expansion: go.oberlin.edu/impact-investing.

STUDENT SUPPORT

Midwest Merit Scholarship Launches in Fall 2025

For almost two centuries, Obies have made important contributions to the Midwest’s culture and economy, in no small part because an Oberlin education is a solid foundation for growth and innovation. Students from the Midwest are also more likely to stay here after graduation.

“Each year, I have the privilege of welcoming the world’s best and brightest students—many of them from the Midwest—to Oberlin,” says Manuel Carballo, vice president and dean of admissions and financial aid. “These students enrich our campus and give back to our local and regional communities.”

As a result, the college is focused on making Oberlin more accessible to Midwestern families with the launch of the $100,000 Midwest Merit Scholarship. Starting in fall 2025, new, enrolling students from Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas will automatically receive $25,000 each year.

“We believe in the potential of Midwestern students to lead and contribute to their communities, and we know that an Oberlin education can be a transformative experience for them,” says Oberlin President Carmen Twillie Ambar. “By making Oberlin more accessible to families across the region, we’re investing not just in our students but in the future of the Midwest itself.”

ALUMNI HONORS

Introducing The 2024 Alumni Award Winners

The 2024 Alumni Awards recognize five distinguished Obies who have made outstanding contributions to the college, to society, and to the alumni community.

2024 Alumni Medal: Nancy D. Cooper ’51, MA ’54 A sociology major and Phi Beta Kappa

member, Nancy Cooper was a cofounder of the first Oberlin co-op, Pyle Inn. She earned a master’s in sociology from Oberlin and then spent 40 years working at the college, forming the Status of Women Committee; creating and directing the Oberlin Parents Program; and serving as administrative liaison for the college’s first LGBT community organization.

2024 Distinguished Achievement Award: Michael Barone ’68

After beginning his radio career at WOBC, Michael Barone later served as classical music director at Minnesota Public Radio for 25 years. He also

founded the radio program Pipedreams in 1983; it remains the only nationally distributed weekly radio program that fully explores the art of the pipe organ.

2024 Alumni Appreciation Award: Clyde Owan ’79

In addition to serving as president of the Oberlin Club of Washington D.C., Clyde Owan has been Alumni Association president and a member of the President’s Advisory Council. He’s also a member of the Heisman Club Hall of Honor and a life member of the Friends of the Oberlin College Library; he also created an endowed scholarship fund to improve financial accessibility to an Oberlin education.

PERFORMANCE ART The Takács Quartet kicked off the 2024-2025 Artist Recital Series on September 28 with a very special performance in Finney Chapel. The group performed Bryce Dessner’s “Circles” and Clarice Assad’s “Clash” with bandoneon player Julien Labro; the latter also did a solo set. Prior to the performance, Takács Quartet violinist Harumi Rhodes taught a master class for Oberlin students.

2024 Distinguished Service Award:

Dr. Asher Hasan ’94

Dr. Asher Hasan is the founder and CEO of the insurtech-fintech company Naya Jeevan and co-founder of doctHERs, a digital health and well-being platform. He’s also served on the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council for Social Innovation.

2024 Outstanding Young Alumni Award:

Taylor Rogers ’11

Taylor (Tay) Rogers is an assistant professor in philosophy and interdisciplinary studies at Governors State University, where they teach ethics and storytelling classes. Tay’s research has been published in Hypatia and the Charles Mills Critical Reader.

RADIO, RADIO

Calling All WOBC Alums!

The WOBC student board has exciting news: During commencement week in spring 2025, the radio station will celebrate 75 years! “We are taking this opportunity to hold a radio reunion and hope you will join us in some festivities,” the board says. “If you are

interested in being added to our alumni email list, shoot us an email at owobc@oberlin.edu, and we will keep in touch about fun stuff WOBC is up to and our reunion celebrations. Tell all your WOBC friends—and keep the dial wild!”

Oberlin Welcomes Board of Trustees Members, New Heisman Club Class

Oberlin recently welcomed new Board of Trustees members. Each trustee is serving a four-year term that started on July 1, 2024, while the class trustee’s three-year term began on September 28, 2024. The trustees are: Stephan Farber ’94, Peter Flint, Jr. ’91, David Rostov ’87, Mandy Tuong ’01, and Miles DeMille ’24 (class trustee). Additionally, the Oberlin College Heisman Club inducted four new members into its hall of fame on September 27. Recipients include Phil Brua ’11 (baseball), Dave Herman ’90 (lacrosse), Brenna Sheldon ’14 (tennis), and Doug Spindler ’76 (swimming).

Keep in touch with Oberlin!

Update Your Address

Have you recently moved?

Share your new contact info online: go.oberlin.edu/oam-address-update

Submit a Class Note

You can now submit a class note (along with a photo) online: go.oberlin.edu/submit-class-notes

Connect on Social Media OberlinCollege oberlincon groups/oberlin.alumni oberlincollege oberlincon oberlincon oberlincollege oberlin-college

Learning & Labor

Good For The Soul

BY HANNA RASKIN ’98

The Boston kosher restaurant Lehrhaus offers award-winning food amid a brain-nourishing atmosphere.

Rabbi Charlie Schwartz ’03 values the open exchange of ideas. That’s why he opened Lehrhaus, a full-service pub where anyone—Jewish or not—can page through one of the 3,000 Jewish texts shelved around the stylish dining room or listen to a talk on the meaning of dreams in the Torah.

Still, Schwartz drew the line at wordplay when his team developed menus for the Somerville, Massachusetts, restaurant, which opened in 2023.

“We don’t use any puns,” he said of his effort to distinguish the “house of learning” from Jewish engagement endeavors buttressed by pastrami punchlines. “I love schtick; it’s not a value judgment. The Jewish community is vast enough for multiple aesthetics. But that was a rule I had in the beginning—and then I started working with bartenders.”

Ba dum tss.

As Schwartz discovered, bartenders are passionate about puns. So, the Lehrhaus cocktail list now includes Bloc Party, saluting Eastern European shtetls; Love Shak, flavored with lavashak, a Persian fruit leather; and Some Like It Harif, with the Hebrew word for “hot” signaling to drinkers that they’ll find schug, or chili paste, in their tequila.

But Schwartz only lost the battle. Nomenclature aside, the cocktail menu, which is heavily annotated with background on theology, geography, and culinary history, reflects Lehrhaus’ mission to celebrate the Jewish diaspora in its diverse traditions.

Moreover, as impressed restaurant critics have noted, the featured drinks

’03’s

are exceptionally well-made.

“To really draw a wide level of people in, the food has to be amazing; the drinks have to be amazing,” Schwartz said of the decision to “shoot for excellence” rather than operate an all-day vegan café. “Thinking about my experiences at Oberlin, I wanted to make these eating moments special.”

The son of a Jewish educator, Schwartz chose Oberlin because he wanted to prepare for the rabbinate by studying philosophy and religion at a college with an active Jewish community. He also needed a place where he could thrive as a tuba player.

But Schwartz also specifically points

to his membership in the Kosher Halal Co-op, which from 1995 to 2021 prepared a weekly Shabbat dinner to which everyone on campus was invited.

Although he served a term as the co-op’s tofu maker, Schwartz didn’t find fulfillment in the kitchen. Instead, he gravitated toward tasks associated with hospitality. As holiday coordinator, he made sure that students observing Passover didn’t have to worry about leavening in their meals and that students observing Ramadan could count on an iftar after sunset. He also helped set the table for Shabbat.

“When tablecloths are out and the places are set just so, that [indicates]

Rabbi Charlie Schwartz

full-service pub Lehrhaus was on Esquire’s 2023 “Best New Restaurants in America” list.

RECIPE

this is a place where something great is about to happen,” Schwartz said. “It gave me a sense of what it means to welcome people into a space.”

Following graduation, Schwartz earned his ordination and an education degree at the Jewish Theologica l Seminary in New York City, then relocated to the Boston area for a series of jobs in Jewish education. When the pandemic started, he was working as Hillel International’s senior director of Jewish education.

“We were imagining what the world might look like post-COVID,” Schwartz said of lockdown chats with his friend Joshua Foer, the Atlas Obscura cofounder who also co-founded Lehrhaus. Assuming people would seek out offline interactions, “we started imagining a space that put forth the best of the Jewish world.”

The pair conjured a study hall noisy with debate, where the gamut of Jewish cultures was represented, and envisioned a tavern where access wouldn’t be narrowed by membership fees or entrance exams. Schwartz and Foer also pictured Lehrhaus operating as a nonprofit, meaning they needed grant-based support.

Prospective funders who shared their enthusiasm for creating a proudly Jewish space amid mounting antisemitism were initially skeptical that two thinkers without restaurant experience could make the project work.

But Schwartz and Foer trusted their chefs: The crew came up with dishes such as herring tartine and coffeestained deviled eggs that helped land Lehrhaus on Esquire ’s 2023 “Best New Restaurants in America” list—the first kosher restaurant so honored. The pair are now imagining where they’ll open their next location.

“To have this place be a locus of Jewish joy is really powerful,” Schwartz said.

Hanna Raskin ’98 is editor and publisher of The Food Section, an award-winning newsletter covering food and drink across the American South (thefoodsection.com).

Amba

Schwartz calls it “bonkers” that a Boston magazine named Lehrhaus’ fish and chips among the best in a city serious about its fried pollock. But the version at Lehrhaus is distinguished by several Jewish touches, including Old Bay seasoning, created by a Jewish immigrant who fled Nazi Germany, and amba. The punchy green mango sauce was brought back to Baghdad by Jewish traders who did business in India.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 unripe green skinned mangos, peeled and cut into small cubes

Directions

In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the mustard and fenugreek seeds until they become fragrant (about 1-2 minutes). Be careful not to burn them. Once toasted, grind the seeds into a powder.

In a saucepan, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and sauté until fragrant (about 1 minute). Add the cubed mangoes and sauté for about five minutes, until they start to soften.

Stir in the remaining spices. Add vinegar and water, then bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let the mixture simmer for about 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mangoes are very soft and the sauce has thickened.

Use an immersion blender to blend the mixture until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Let the sauce cool completely before transferring it to a clean jar or airtight container. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

1/4 cup white vinegar

2 cups water

Note: OAM publishes recipes as provided but doesn’t test them independently.

RESEARCH RIGOR

How Virtual Chemistry Provides RealWorld Solutions

BY JEN DEMOSS

Professor Shuming Chen’s NSF award funds opportunities for Oberlin students.

What if chemists were able to speed up the creation of new medications using computer-simulated experiments? Or foster lab processes with fewer environmental impacts?

Those goals may be within reach for Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistr y Shuming Chen. In her lab, Chen uses computational chemistry to simulate chemical reactions without even picking up a test tube. Harnessing the computing power available through Oberlin’s supercomputing cluster, she creates virtual experiments that in the past required extensive laboratory testing.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently awarded Chen a $550,000 CAREER grant for the project “Understanding and Directing Selectivity in Functionalizations of Strong Covalent Bonds Utilizing Coordination-Sphere Effects.” Over the next five years, this award will fund more student research opportunities and educational experiences in computational chemistry.

“We hope to support many students with this award, especially those from marginalized backgrounds with less access to research opportunities in the past,” she says. “With funded work-study research experiences during the academic year, chemistry students can gain creative and rewarding employment that will give them a head start in graduate school or their careers.”

Chen caught the chemistry bug while studying at Grinnell College. She

learned about valence shell electron pair repulsion (VSEPR) theory as a model to predict molecular structures.

“VSEPR theory made me realize that molecules actually have characteristic three-dimensional shapes,” explained Chen. “If you know the number of electrons and bonds connected to central atoms, you can even predict the twists and sheets of something as complex as proteins, the bases of life.”

Chen’s fascination with molecular architecture led her to study the potential of manipulating those structures. Slight variations in molecules can make a drug safer and more effective—or, potentially, deadly—but as she noted, chem-

istry experiments are often a matter of serendipity with a lot of trial and error involved. Chemical reactions can require a significant amount of energy, and many reagents and solvents essential for chemical experimentation pose severe environmental or health hazards.

Now, computers can take some of the guesswork out of chemistry. Using a variety of quantum chemistry software, Chen programs computational models to simulate chemical reactions. She and her students build up complex molecules on a screen like virtual Legos and manipulate them in different ways to test out hypotheses just like experimentalists do on a lab bench.

“It’s still a challenge to predict the outcomes of chemical reactions,” Chen said. “It’s something we increasingly want to phase out because experimentation takes a lot of human and energy resources, along with environmental costs. The holy grail we’re working toward is replacing those initial exploratory experiments with simulated reactions.”

Chen’s lab focuses on using metals as chemical catalysts. This has important real-world implications. For example, platinum and other metals in catalytic converters react with car exhaust to reduce harmful emissions. Biological organisms—including humans—also use metals in their bodies to enable basic metabolism and detoxification.

But metals can also catalyze reactions that wouldn’t normally take place in nature, leading to the creation of novel molecules that treat diseases. After using computational chemistry to identify chemical reactions of interest, scientists can use lab experiments to refine the most desirable molecules and manufacture better drug candidates.

Since joining Oberlin’s faculty in 2020, Chen has advocated for greater student involvement in chemistry research. She’s advising several undergraduate projects. Namu Makatiani ’26 is working to develop new catalysts made from palladium atoms by manipulating molecules attached to the metal, often called ligands, that can drastically alter the metal’s ability to promote chemical reactions.

Andrea Muliawan ’26, Brielle Lam ’25, and Liz Barta ’26 are developing open-source pedagogical materials for teaching metal-catalyzed chemistry, which will be available to teachers and students for free. Makatiani and Lam worked in Chen’s lab over the summer; each received financial support for this research from Chen’s NSF award.

Zachary Cheng ’25, a chemistry and musical studies double major, recently co-authored a paper for the Journal of the American Chemical Society with the Chen lab; the research used computational

tools to elucidate the atomic movements in a brand-new reaction enabled by a palladium-based catalyst. For his honors thesis project, supervised by Chen, he’s studying photochemistry—chemical reactions triggered by light energy. He’s testing how adding electrical fields around molecules affects a photochemical reaction called de-aromatization.

“Some compounds form stable circular structures known as aromatic rings,” Cheng explained. “When the strong bonds between atoms in the rings are broken, it’s possible to build much more complex molecules. It’s a difficult process, so I’m using computational models to find out if electrically charged atoms will affect de-aromatization.”

Cheng plans on pursuing computational chemistry studies in graduate school and credits his involvement with the Chen lab for providing exploratory research opportunities.

“It’s been incredible for me and my career,” Cheng said of working in Chen’s lab. “The computational chemistry experience really showed me what I want to be doing in the future.”

Wit h her NSF CAREER funds, Chen is also developing Seed Experience in Authentic Research for First-Years

(SEARF) workshops targeting students enrolled in chemistry classes.

First-year students often have a hard time finding opportunities to participate in research, Chen notes, since these projects are often reserved for more senior students. However, SEARF students in these workshops will acquire data-gathering skills via authentic research experiences.

Chen is also planning professional development opportunities in which students can practice reaching out to professors to learn more about their research programs. They’ll be able to test whether studying chemistry is right for them and become part of a community of researchers early on in their careers.

“I hope students supported by the grant go on to become scientists and STEM professionals with the kind of confidence and ownership that I know Oberlin research experiences foster,” Chen says, “and I definitely want to help people learn how fascinating chemistry is and how it can be leveraged to bring about positive changes in our lives.”

Jen DeMoss is a freelance writer and content strategist from Michigan.

Chen and Zachary Cheng ’25

Learning & Labor

Added Value

BY ANNIE ZALESKI

Alums connect with current Obies via the Internship+ program.

Walk just a few blocks north of the Allen Memorial Art Museum, and you’ll come across a company doing groundbreaking work in sustainable water treatment. CoreWater Technologies Inc. has developed a novel breakthrough way to eliminate harmful forever chemicals known as PFAS from drinking water in a

way that reduces environmental impact and pollution.

According to President and CEO Den nis M. Flood ’88, CoreWater Technologies is frequently doing this work with the help of Oberlin chemistry students in the form of summer research or Winter Term projects. Flood says the company hired summer 2024 interns in collaboration with members of the chemistry and biochemistry department by the Internship+ program administered by the Office of Career Exploration and Development.

Internship+ is tailored to help thirdyear students pursue experiential learn-

ing opportunities in their chosen career or area of study; accordingly, those who complete the Internship+ program are eligible to receive up to $5,000 to support an internship, research-based project, or another pre-professional (or performance-focused) experience.

For Flood, who played on the men’s soccer team and club ice hockey and designed his own independent major in modern sports management, working with current Oberlin students makes perfect sense. “[They’re] highly motivated, inquisitive, and talented with a keen interest and desire to learn,” he says. “Part of what sets Oberlin students

Zach Smith ’26 (middle) and Alison Grant ’26 (left) spent summer 2024 performing research at CoreWater Technologies Inc. Both are pictured with research director Cody Flood (right).

apart is their passion for tackling social, cultural, and environmental challenges. They are eager to discuss social change and the social causes and consequences of human behavior.”

CoreWater Technologies’ interns fit this description. Alison Grant ’26, a double major in biochemistry and gender, sexuality, and feminist studies who plays on the varsity soccer team, explored the relationship between public health data and reported PFAS levels in municipal water supplies. Her project “represents a significant contribution to the field of environmental health research,” Flood says, as her research uncovered a connection between PFAS contamination and health issues like thyroid disorders and cancer. “Alison’s findings indicate a potential predictive public health model for identifying previously unknown areas with high PFAS contamination.”

Zach Smith ’26, a chemistry major with a business concentration who’s a member of the basketball team, explored various techniques for octadecylamine deposition—a crucial step in the development of CoreWater Technologies’ water treatment solution. “By the end of my internship, I conducted a series of experiments that hopefully enhance the efficiency of [this] process,” he says. “These experiments also have the potential to contribute valuable insights to the field of analytical chemistry.”

Internship+ also opened career doors for Obies in other industries. Kayla Elias ’25, who is on the pre-medical track majoring in neuroscience and biochemistry, spent the summer of 2024 in the Elahi Lab at the Friedman Brain Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City researching how brain vascular pathology can contribute to cognitive impairment and dementia. Maya Denkmire ’25, a creative writing major with a concentration in education, spent the summer assisting with the summer youth writing programs at The Telling Room in Portland, Maine. Lucy Lee ’25, a neuroscience major with a minor in anthropology and a concen-

tration in global health, interned at the Johns Hopkins Multiple Sclerosis Center, assisting research program coordinators with data collection and maintenance.

And TIMARA major Penina BiddleGottesman ’25 spent the summer at Dogbotic, a creative workshop, lab, and studio for music and sound founded by composer Kirk Pearson ’17, building instruments and set pieces for the dreamy indie-pop band Vansire. This internship was particularly Obie-centric, as Vansire features cinema studies and TIMARA grad Josh Augustin ’20.

“While I was a student, many Obie grads were incredibly cordial and candid about career advice,” Pearson says. “I’m overjoyed to be able to return the favor whenever possible.”

Biddle-Gottesman notes that this support is a two-way street. “As much as I was helping Kirk with their artistic practice, I also was learning from them, so I came out of the summer with an entirely new set of skills in instrument fabrication, circuitry, logistical planning, [and] communicating with other artists.”

Indeed, the connections fostered via Internship+ endure even after the summer is over. For 2025’s Winter Term, CoreWater Technologies is hosting four students for an analytical chemistry and business micro-internship that combines scientific expertise and the development of business and marketing skills. Flood says he’s also excited about the possibility of future internships connected with two of Oberlin’s new majors, business and environmental studies.

“As an alum and community resident, it is personally important for me to establish an industry-immersive learning experience less than two miles from the Oberlin campus,” he says. “I know firsthand the time commitments of balancing academics and athletics. I am grateful for creating an enduring network of support for all Oberlin students to demonstrate their versatility, intellectual capabilities, and to explore career possibilities.”

Additional reporting by Lucy Curtis ’24 and Jacob Strauss

Kayla Elias ’25

Sound and Vision

Books

FICTION

Resisting the Nuclear: Art and Activism Across the Pacific

Elyssa Faison ’88 (co-editor)

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON PRESS

This interdisciplinary, edited essay collection grew out of a University of Oklahoma class, Nuclear Legacies, co-taught by Japan historian Elyssa Faison. Guest speakers within the worlds of history, art, filmmaking, and photography brought nuance to discussions that “explored the American deployment of atomic bombs in Japan during World War II, ensuing nuclear energy initiatives and antinuclear peace movements, and the global impact of nuclear testing,” as the book’s acknowledgments note. Resisting the Nuclear builds on these foundational themes with essays by historians, artists, and activists. The resulting thought-provoking pieces— with titles like “A Long Road

to Disability Compensation in Cold War America”—skillfully bring to light underrepresented historical topics.

—Annie Zaleski

FICTION

Navola

Paolo Bacigalupi ’94 KNOPF

Paolo Bacigalupi’s 2009 debut novel, The Windup Girl, won Hugo and Nebula awards. His latest book, Navola, is just as honorworthy. In the city-state of Navola, Devonaci de Regulai is the financier whose wealth and power are symbolized by a rare artifact: a dragon’s eye the size of a man’s head that sits on his desk. But power brings enemies and tests of mettle for the Regulai family, especially young Davico, the book’s narrator and the son being groomed to take over the empire. Masterful worldbuilding and deliciously drawn characters warrant this novel’s many comparisons to Game of Thrones

—Karen Sandstrom

NONFICTION

The Age of Deer

Erika Howsare ’99 CATAPULT

The complicated relationship between humans and deer was more than overdue for book treatment. Luckily, the topic waited for Erika Howsare, who brings keen observation and wide-ranging research to The Age of Deer. As she notes, whitetailed deer occupy a special place in American culture: admired for their beauty, hunted for sport, observed as a forest creature that in many places has acclimated to urban living. “We’ve been bound by mysterious ties since before any story we remember,” Howsare writes. Here, she examines the deer-human dynamic in depth and brings her poet’s ear for language to the telling. —KS

BIOGRAPHY Ahead of the Curve: Andy Maguire in Congress and Beyond

Michael Takiff PROSPECTA

“Oberlin was a fabulous cornucopia of opportunities for me to learn and immerse myself in the history and philosophy and modern religious thought and the arts,” says Andy Maguire ’61. The three-term Democratic congressman (1975-81) is the subject of Ahead of the Curve, a biography that follows the political and cultural contours of the latter 20th century through a man who labored passionately on behalf of the environment, health policy, and international affairs. It also offers a view of the keen mind of someone who always knew that he wanted his life to be in service of the greater good. —KS

NONFICTION

Sanctuary People: Faith-Based Organizing in Latina/o Communities

Gina M. Pérez NYU PRESS

The 21st century has ushered in an era in which faith-based organizations are weaving a safety net for those at risk of

being arrested, deported, or separated from their families. In Sanctuary People, Oberlin Professor of Comparative American Studies Gina Pérez describes how the results of the 2016 presidential election helped fuel the “New Sanctuary Movement”: people of faith organizing to protect the vulnerable. Pérez builds upon existing scholarship to situate this expression of sanctuary in history and uses her research in Ohio’s Latina/o communities to show how real people are affected. —KS

AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Broadway: A Life in Cast Albums

Thomas Z. Shepard ’58 and Gayden Wren ’83 APPLAUSE

In a career that dates to the early 1960s, Thomas Z. Shepard has produced an impressive array of albums. (Exhibit A: the original Broadway cast recordings of the Stephen Sondheim musicals Sweeney Todd and Company.) With the help of co-author Gayden Wren, the

12-time Grammy winner does a fascinating, meticulous deep dive into his Broadway career and the stars (i.e., Julie Andrews, Mandy Patinkin, Barbra Streisand) he met along the way. Shepard also frequently references Oberlin and alums he encountered, including fellow Broadway icon John Kander ’51, who wrote the book’s foreword. —AZ

Music

Mendelssohn Piano Trios

Joshua Bell, Jeremy Denk ’90, Steven Isserlis ’80 SONY CLASSICAL

Renowned violinist Joshua Bell has long relied on a pair of Obies—pianist Jeremy Denk ’90 and cellist Steven Isserlis ’80—as trusted collaborators. Eight years after the trio recorded the collection For the Love of Brahms, Bell got the proverbial band back together for a new collection of Felix Mendelssohn’s piano trios. Their sensitive, lively performances are

immensely enjoyable. “It is my hope that our mutual joy for playing chamber music and, in particular, our shared deep love for the genius of Felix Mendelssohn comes through,” Bell wrote in the album’s press materials. Mission accomplished: The collection is a gem. —AZ

Attic Days

Jane Hobson ’22 NO COAST

Jane Hobson grew up jamming with her father, Dan Hobson, drummer for the noise rock band Killdozer. Now the Madison, Wisconsin, native is forging her own solo path after playing with a band called the Hobgoblins during her time at Oberlin. Attic Days—her second record and first since graduating—smartly captures the experience of transitioning from campus life to Real Actual Adulthood. She’s cited Snail Mail and Soccer Mommy as influences, but her sound has a subtly rough, noisy edge to it that sets her apart from the “sad girl”

label she’s given her style. Attic Days is perfect for fans of Big Thief and Wednesday. —Sloane DiBari ’27

The Petrified Forest Project

Rhonda Rider ’78 RAVELLO RECORDS

The 200 million-year-old ecosystem of Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona is home to gorgeous plants and flowers, as well as treasures like Triassic fossils. Rhonda Rider was lucky enough to have a residency there in 2015—a formative experience that led to the commissioning of multiple works inspired by the park. The result is The Petrified Forest Project, a thoughtful, tender collection of solo cello music. Rider is a deft player who is emotionally connected to the music’s inspirations: Her meticulous playing adds dizzying spirals of suspense to Raven Chacon’s “Invisible Arc,” while her approach is textured on Mischa SalkindPearl’s four-part ode to the park’s flowers.—AZ

Oberlin’s new business major blends liberal arts values with the practical skills students need to launch a successful career on their own terms.

TAKING CARE OF

It’s a warm afternoon in early October, and Associate Professor of Business Eric Lin is in a third-floor classroom in King, engaged in a robust discussion about new product strategy with his fall semester marketing class.

Students made a case for whether the healthy convenience food brand Annie’s could—or should— expand into new products like frozen pizza. Sharing their own experiences with the brand and what it means when a company they trust changes its approach, they built off each other’s points and gently pushed back when they disagreed.

Through the conversation, students collectively put forth, critiqued, and refined a narrative that helped them identify core customers, product attributes, and pricing logic, then undertook another discussion about how their ideas for growth would cause Annie’s to change or maintain its marketing strategy across product, price, promotion, and distribution.

threads students brought to the surface to keep the discussion flowing. Case in point: The class ended with a debate on whether companies should always chase continued profit growth—and a promise to continue the conversation next time.

The popularity of this marketing class—it was nearly at capacity, enrolling close to 50 students—and the direction of the discussion is no surprise to Lin. Oberlin students want to have an impact on the world, he says. And they see that business is about more than creating profits; it’s about creating value.

“As a set of skills or a discipline, business is very complementary to a lot of what Oberlin stands for,” he says. “No matter what you’re doing—whether you’re working in science, social policy, or being an artist—having an impact means getting beyond your own brain and your own two hands. It’s about designing and leading collaborative approaches.

“And that means you’re going to organize people, talent, opportunities, or assets to have a bigger impact than yourself, working with other people,” he continues. “How do we do that well—and how do we do that effectively—is what a lot of business education tries to address.”

STUDENTS WILL LEARN SKILLS in all of these areas if they pursue Oberlin’s new business major, available starting in fall 2025 with Lin as program chair, as well as two new tenure-track faculty joining then [see sidebar], and a program commit tee with faculty from a wide range of disciplines, including data science, philosophy, psychology, contemporary music/improvisation, and economics. Launched with broad faculty support, this curriculum expansion reflects immense student interest in business. It also comes on the heels of a transformative $5 million gift commitment from Irene and Alan Wurtzel ’55; the latter is the former Circuit City CEO and one of Oberlin’s most prominent alums in business. Last year, the couple established the Alan L. ’55 and Irene R. Wurtzel Endowed Fund for Business Education.

Associate Professor of Business Eric Lin lectures in his fall

When Dean of Arts and Sciences David Kamitsuka introduced the idea of a business program, he was struck by how many Oberlin alumni have pursued careers in business and finance—the third-largest sector after education and health care. In designing a liberal arts curriculum for the 21st century that builds on Oberlin’s classic liberal arts core, business is among those majors Kamitsuka considers “catalytic,” he says. “It offers a set of skills and experiences through which our students can bring their extraordinary liberal arts knowledge to a wide range of sectors.”

Lin has a subtle way of teaching, working his questions into the larger conversation and pulling the

The business major builds on things Oberlin already offers, including multiple student activities [see sidebar] and the popular

business integrative concentration that launched in 2021. Its introduction follows the fall 2024 launch of another desired new major, financial economics. Although the two courses of study are related—among other things, both are data-driven and require a strong analytical foundation—financial economics focuses on topics like the study of financial markets and trading exchanges and how to value and regulate securities. The Oberlin business major, meanwhile, teaches a foundation of basic business skills and concepts with a focus on what Lin calls “operating decisions”—for example, how assets, opportunities, and talent combine to create value.

Many undergraduate business programs are modeled on MBAs, which means they’re essentially scaled-down versions of a postgraduate business degree. That’s not necessarily the best approach, Lin says; undergraduate students don’t always have the real-life experiences of MBA students, who often have many years of full-time work in their background. At Oberlin, the business major plans to “build the experience while we are delivering the lesson,” Lin says. “Business is something that’s taught not just by lecture, but through doing and through feedback and apprenticeship.”

“Business is something that’s taught not just by lecture, but through doing and through feedback and apprenticeship.”

think on their feet, collaborate, and adapt—skills that are invaluable in any professional path they choose.”

The business major also possesses a strong focus on cocurricular experiences. For example, students will complete a formal experiential learning experience (e.g., an internship) along with a capstone course in strategy that integrates what they’ve learned in marketing, operations, and finance courses. Lin also plans to continue teaching studio classes where students consult on actual problems companies are facing.

“We want to make what happens inside the classroom feel as realistic as possible,” Lin says. “We want to bring people in from the business community and give students exposure to that. That’s what allows the lessons to make a lasting impact for anybody, but undergraduates in particular.”

Lin will employ the case method in the classes he teaches at Oberlin.

As the Annie’s discussion illustrates, Lin will employ the case method in his classes. This teaching approach uses examples that mirror “the complexities students will encounter in the real world,” he says. “Unlike traditional problem sets, which often present a neatly packaged and controlled scenario, case studies place students in a dynamic environment where they must sift through a blend of relevant and extraneous data, navigating ambiguity much like they would in an actual business setting. Students practice making decisions, defending their assumptions, and tackling complex, open-ended problems that don’t have one right answer.

“[The case method] aligns with Oberlin’s commitment to critical thinking and holistic problem-solving,” Lin says. “By working through cases, students learn to

Oberlin’s emphasis on interdisciplinary education also offers a n advantage for a business major. “Our students are going to think about multiple things at once from multiple lenses,” Lin says, noting that this approach can often cause anxiety and confusion in students. “But I’ve noticed that Oberlin students can thrive in these ambiguous environments—and learn quickly that examining something from multiple vantage points leads to unique insights.” That means being comfortable with classes where the whole point is integrating diverse perspectives—like a previous class on the history of rock ’n’ roll and business—or learning how concepts like marketing and operations are informed by a cultural context in messy, fascinating real-world scenarios.

Above all, Oberlin’s small campus size and the intellectual rigor of the liberal arts environment differentiate the business major. “Students come to liberal arts schools for that intimacy, that access to experts, and for professors who know and care about them personally,” Lin says. Once the major launches, students will have the opportunity to tailor their Oberlin business experience: pursue the major or integrative concentration; take individual classes that meet their interests and needs; or choose to go the popular double-degree route.

Lin says Oberlin will also incorporate existing strengths in areas like the arts and environmental sciences into the business program. That could give students the opportunity to approach

business in a new way, such as learning arts management by studying how arts organizations or arts-related businesses operate.

“In addition to being a great program and a great student experience, we’re aiming to build knowledge in business that doesn’t exist today,” Lin says. “I’m eager to see Oberlin contribute to the conversations among practitioners and scholars of management.”

On-Campus Support

For students interested in business, Oberlin offers. programs such as Investment Banking Co., an ExCo taught by Cole Tashjian ’25 and Zach Yaqub ’26, or the Oberlin Finance Club, in which students can manage a portfolio or conduct market research.

Another active program that fits well with the new business major is the Women and Nonbinary in Finance and Economics (WNBF) club, cofounded by economics major and business concentration participant Bridget Adu-Dapaah ’25 and economics and politics double major Sharanya Rajani ’25, who is also pursuing a concentration in international affairs.

skills like budgeting, and hear from guest speakers

“Students have gained a stronger understanding of financial tools, with many deciding to add business courses, take economics classes, or even pursue an economics minor to deepen their knowledge,” Adu-Dapaah says. “The club provides a welcoming environment where members can discuss finance openly, free from intimidation, which has helped many students feel more comfortable engaging with complex financial topics.”

STUDENTS ARE ALREADY BENEFITING FROM alumni expertise in the business world via Winter Term projects, internships, and panel discussions. In recent years, alumni have also been integral to the on-campus momentum behind the business integrative concentration and now the major. Alumni designed and supported the entrepreneurship-focused initiative LaunchU, and as members of the entrepreneurship board, they have provided consultation in the recent Pathfinder Program. Parents and alumni were also important partners as Oberlin built the business curriculum. For one semester, Richard Kesner ’73 drew from his 20-plus years teaching business to undergraduates and taught Business 101, an introduction to the field.

“We wanted to create a safe space for women and nonbinary [students] in a generally male-dominated major and field,” Rajani says. “We also wanted to create a space where women and nonbinaryidentifying students could come and learn anything and everything about personal finance and basic economics so that they could empower themselves.”

Adu-Dapaah says WNBF gives students a chance to network, learn

For Rajani, WNBF has also had a tangible impact. “Growing up, I was taught that knowing personal finance and basic economics can save a person from a multitude of situations in life, and having that kind of financial freedom is incredibly important,” Rajani says. “Being on the leadership team helped me not just feel accomplished, but also polished my leadership, communication, time management, and problem-solving skills. I could come out of my shell and feel more empowered about who I was.”

—Annie Zaleski

TAKING

When Jesse Gerstin ’07 started teaching business at Oberlin in summer 2021 as part of the launch of the integrative concentration, he served as entrepreneurin-residence and led classes in areas like sustainable accounting and impact finance. He also worked collaboratively with college staff to establish the Impact Investment Advisory Group (IIAG) [see page 9].

Gerstin was impressed by the passion Oberlin students had for these courses. “There’s a real appetite from students to do [business classes],” he says, noting that every class he taught at the college had a waiting list. “Oberlin is a much more entrepreneurial place than I think people realize.”

After graduating from Oberlin, Gerstin earned an MBA and built a career in climate finance and now holds a job in the sustainability finance space. But he didn’t study anything related to business during his time here; instead, he studied French and international relations and geology. As an undergrad, he says he saw himself as more of an activist and thought of business largely in terms of “big business and corporate”—in other words, things he wasn’t interested in. Today’s students see business differently, he says, and the busi-

ness world itself has been changing over time, being held more accountable. The younger generation is often “drawn to then being part of that shift,” he says.

Eric Steggall, managing director for theater, dance, and opera, thinks the college’s progressive, activist culture will differentiate its business program from others. “Unlike some bigger schools, Oberlin’s size, attitude, and history makes us agile,” Steggall says. “There’s a nimbleness to our ability to respond to our students.”

Take theater, for example. When Steggall arrived at Oberlin a little more than a decade ago, he wanted to add a class focused on arts management to help teach students more about the business of theater and related fields like opera, dance, or TV. In his career, Steggall learned most of those lessons on the job, and while this experience was valuable, he wanted his classes to focus on what he wished he would have learned in school before entering the workforce.

For example, one meeting of his Arts Management I class focused on economics and why someone in arts management needs to pay attention to the larger market forces at play. Economics, he explained, is about costs and trade-offs—a high-level concept he made tangible by using examples students would have already found in their own lives, like scheduling classes or

CARE OF BUSINESS

Mayanka Dahal ’25 (at right)

finding housing. In terms of housing, that might mean weighing the cost of a home against the time of a commute. The arts make products that people need to find valuable enough to spend their money, time, or energy on, he says.

Kay Patrolia ’25, a studio art major minoring in art history, realized that to be an artist, “understanding the ins and outs of arts business terrain is incredibly useful to my future career.” Pursuing the business integrative concentration was the solution. “I wasn’t interested in an economics or accounting minor because it wouldn’t apply directly to the focus of my studies,” they said. “Through the business concentration, I was able to apply my learning specifically to studio art.”

Among other things, the concentration helped them work directly with the owners of small arts businesses like For Ewe, owned by Lisa Whitfield ’90, and Massachusetts-based Inky Hands Print Studio and Gallery. “This has helped me visualize, in a hands-on fashion, what operating an arts business would look like, including the highs and the lows,” Patrolia says.

The concentration also taught them about the importance of networking and setting short- and long-term career goals. “As an artist, it can often seem like it’s you against the world,” Patrolia says. “But I feel so fortunate to know how important it is to have a community of people who I can look to for support, assistance, and critique when it comes to my art.”

These connections have endured, as Patrolia has kept in touch with teachers and colleagues, “supporting their work and inviting them to engage with my own,” they add. “The business integrative concentration facilitated this crossroads approach to art networking that I wouldn’t have been able to find in a usual business/ economics course.”

Building Expertise

In fall 2025, Oberlin is welcoming two new tenure-track faculty to the business program: assistant professors Yongha (Yon) Kwon and Minah Park, both of whom are pursuing doctorates in management and human resources at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. At Oberlin, Park—who also holds a master’s degree in chemical and biomolecular engineering and a doctorate in operations management—will teach courses in marketing, entrepreneurship, and operations. Kwon will teach courses in strategy

and organizational behavior; he previously earned a master’s degree in business administration. Park’s research focuses on the gender gap in entrepreneurship—for example, why women might be less inclined to go into the field and how their experiences might be different—while Kwon studies the role of organizational design as a managerial tool to enhance organizational learning, including how firms can better appreciate the diverse knowledge of their employees.

—Annie Zaleski

HISTORICALLY, OBERLIN HAS ALSO produced successful entrepreneurs and business executives thanks to activities outside of the classroom, like the student-run nonprofit Oberlin Student Cooperative Association (OSCA).

That’s long been evident to Gregory Ristow ’01, an associate professor of conducting who works in the conservatory as the director of vocal ensembles. Oberlin students are involved in their studies, he says, but they’re also active in other ways outside the classroom. They’re creating musical groups to

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

Kay Patrolia ’25, a studio art major minoring in art history, realized that business was crucial to their future career.

highlight student-composed pieces. They’re writing and staging musicals. And they’re running the dining and residence programs of Oberlin’s co-ops.

“A lot of the experiential side of what I hope a business program will offer at Oberlin has been happening,” he says, “and I think that’s really been consciously cultivated at a curricular level, at a programmatic level, for many years.”

Ristow knows firsthand that conservatory students want to bolster their business skills and acumen, given the career pathways many alums take after college. After all, he’s also an entrepreneur, having founded uTheory, an online program to help people learn the fundamentals of music reading. Today’s arts graduates often need to be both artists and businesspeople to know how to do things like promote their work and book their own gigs, he says.

Though students have the will and the ideas, Ristow notes they don’t always have the business skills—or even realize that’s something they’re missing. “The reality is that probably more leave with great ideas with what they want to do but without necessarily the set of skills or how to make that sustainable and successful in the real world,” Ristow says. He sees the business program as a solution, taking the experiences students are already getting and connecting the dots on how to create and market something in a way that can lead to a career.

To Natalie Winkelfoos, associate vice president for athletics advancement and the Delta Lodge director of athletics and physical education, playing collegiate sports also overlaps with the business world: Both things require leadership, discipline, and strategic thinking.

Failure and opportunity for growth are common in sports; likewise, competition requires athletes to embrace feedback from coaches and teammates. This mindset applies well to business, where success depends on adapting to customer needs and overcoming challenges.

“Excelling as an athlete on a team demands flexibil-

ity,” Winkelfoos says. “It means collaborating with people who have different working styles, strengths, and weaknesses from you. At the same time, you need to develop a strong sense of self-awareness. Agility, resilience, and the ability to adapt to an ever-changing landscape are essential.”

Take Zander Norris ’23, who came to Oberlin knowing he wanted to play baseball, but also that the college was a place he could explore his academic interests. His father had been a history major, and Norris knew that was an interest for him, too. But he had also long been interested in statistics and the labor market and the way those intersected with baseball.

He ended up majoring in history and economics and took part in the Ashby Business Scholars program at the recommendation of a teammate. This program gives students from different majors the chance to learn about financial concepts and professional development in a classroom setting and connect them with business professionals in Oberlin’s network.

The Ashby Business Scholars program is a good example of experiential learning experiences available to students interested in business—and the way these hands-on experiences lead students to their chosen careers.

For Lily Gonzalez ’26, a financial economics and mathematics double major with a business concentration who’s also an Impact Investment Fellow, the Ashby Scholars program builds on the key concepts and strategies taught in Oberlin’s business and economics classes. “What excites me most about the

“The business integrative concentration facilitated this crossroads approach to art networking that I wouldn’t have been able to find in a usual business/ economics course.”

development.” As examples, he cites an exposure to financial analysis, stock pitching, and project management. “I plan to network with finance and tech professionals who will provide valuable insights and connections, preparing me for internships and future career opportunities.”

program is the chance to see firsthand how these ideas play out in real-world settings and to learn directly from people who use them in their day-to-day work.” It’s also helping Gonzalez—who worked with the risk team at PPM America, a fixedincome asset manager for Jackson Financial Insurance, as part of a summer 2024 internship—connect with people working in areas in which she’s interested, such as research and operations at investment firms.

Likewise, Menard Simoya ’27—a double major in computer science and economics—says the Ashby Business Scholars program “offers an invaluable chance to merge my academic focus on finance and technology with practical, career-focused

NORRIS GRADUATED TOO SOON to be a business major, but he’s excited to see Oberlin add this option. Today, he’s an analyst at PNC in Washington, a newer branch for the banking system as it expands westward. The business skills he learned at Oberlin have been valuable, but so have things like promoting his own brand and behaving professionally. And the network he built has been critical, he says, noting the strong relationships professors and students can build at a small liberal arts college.

Danforth-Lewis Professor of Economics John Duca notes that in today’s world of AI and automation, students with problem-solving skills and an ability to be innovative—two hallmarks of a liberal arts education— also have an advantage in the workplace. Lin also sees that having a solid foundation in quantitative analysis and decision-making widens career paths for students.

“With the business program, we’re giving students the opportunity to develop these crucial quantitative skills,” he says. “No matter what students plan on doing after graduation, knowing how to use data when making decisions or solving problems is key to career success.”

At the end of the day, it’s a good thing to have Oberlin alums bringing progressive values, an entrepreneurial spirit, and exceptional critical thinking skills to the business world. Even for students who don’t go on to work in business, studying it “helps students see more possibilities in their talents,” Lin says.

“When you can recognize a problem and communicate a compelling story of how you help others by solving it at scale, your opportunities to create impact will always be abundant,” he says. “I want Oberlin students to genuinely and credibly feel that confidence. Regardless of domain, that abundance allows students to build careers that are in tune with their talents, passions, and desire to make a difference.”

Rachel Abbey McCafferty is a freelance writer and editor from Northeast Ohio who covers education and business.

Men Leader

Leader

Two hundred years after his birth, Oberlin’s first Black graduate, George Boyer Vashon, is receiving his due as a civil rights and educationhigher pioneer.

of Men

BY WALTER THOMAS-PATTERSON ’25

BY TIM O’BRIEN

ILLUSTRATION

In March 1844, at a monthly gathering where students practiced their oratorical skills, Oberlin fourth-year student George Boyer Vashon delivered his speech “Conservatism and Change.”

Reprinted in the April issue of the Oberlin Evangelist, the town’s only newspaper, the address reflected the intellectual rigor and careful negotiation of an emerging leader in the abolition movement and an early fighter for racial equality. Just three months after the speech’s publication, the 19-yearold became Oberlin’s first Black graduate. In the coming decades, George devoted his life to social change and pursuing civil rights and educational opportunities for African Americans. And now, 200 years after his birth, the world at large is finally recognizing the enduring legacy of this work.

THE EARLY YEARS

George Boyer Vashon was born on July 25, 1824, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, a

town of roughly 3,000 in rural southern Pennsylvania. His father, John B. Vashon, fought in the War of 1812, and his paternal grandfather, who was white, served as a captain in the U.S. Army in multiple states. George’s great-grandfather, Simon Vashon, was an enslaver who emigrated to America and fought in the Revolutionary War as part of the Maryland militia.

According to Paul Thornell—George’s great-great-grandson and author of the 1999 Negro Journal of History article “The Absent Ones and the Providers: A Biography of the Vashons”—John’s experience during the War of 1812, where he was freed in a prisoner exchange, influenced son George’s thinking on America. “There’s almost no other way to demonstrate equality,” Thornell said, “other

than a Black man fighting for America during the War of 1812, getting captured for his country, and then traded for a white British soldier.”

In 1829, the Vashon family moved to Pittsburgh. John, an astute businessman, found economic success in the growing city, first through a string of barber shops catering to the Black population, then a series of bathhouses, which were popular in a city where public sanitation was still in its infancy. John also used his growing wealth to support the abolitionist movement. In 1832, after meeting with the noted antislavery activist William Lloyd Garrison, John became a regional sponsor of Garrison’s newspaper, The Liberator. A year later, John founded the Pittsburgh Antislavery Society. The 1830s witnessed the rise of the

George Boyer Vashon was born in 1924 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

abolitionist movement in the northern United States—and the Vashon home in downtown Pittsburgh was a hub for organizing. On many nights, young, ambitious abolitionists—including Frederick Douglass and Martin Delany—gathered at the family home for passionate debate and discussion, including about whether it was possible for African Americans to ever achieve equality in the United States .

Patrick Rael, professor of history at Bowdoin College and author of Black Identity and Black Protest in the Antebellum North, notes the importance of these gatherings: “It’s hard to imagine the Black protest tradition emerging without such urban contexts, opportunities to meet and organize, access to modes of communication like presses, and schools and churches that nurtured Black leadership.”

John was also determined to educate his son. Since Pittsburgh lacked an educational system for Black children, John decided to create his own. In 1832, he and the Rev. Lewis Woodson, a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, established the Pittsburgh African Education Society. Young George excelled in this rigorous environment, combining academic accomplishment with abolitionist organizing.

By the time he was a teenager, he had studied Latin, Hebrew, Greek, Persian, and Sanskrit and founded the Pittsburgh Juvenile Anti-Slavery Society with his friend, David Peck. The organization grew rapidly, boasting roughly 50 members by its second year.

THE OBERLIN YEARS

In 1840, when George was 16, John enrolled his son at Oberlin. Five years earlier, the institution had adopted a “Colorblind Admissions Policy,” the second institution in the country to do so, preceded by the short-lived Oneida Institute in upstate New York, which closed in 1844.“When [George] comes [to Oberlin], he doesn’t have many possible alternatives,” explains Gary Kornblith,

Oberlin emeritus professor of history and co-author of 2015’s Elusive Utopia. “There was the occasional Black student at Dartmouth and Amherst, but this is a different place.”

At that time, Oberlin College was known as Oberlin Collegiate Institute and included a pre-college program known as the Oberlin Preparatory School. The vast majority of students who arrived first studied at the preparatory school, as they were simply unprepared for the advanced coursework in the Institute, which was heavy in Greek and Latin. Yet Kornblith emphasized that George was exceptional in that his education prepared him to go directly into the Institute.

George was one of 18 students in the freshman class and quickly distinguished himself in his studies and organizing. In a letter to fellow abolitionist Theodore Dwight Weld, Oberlin professor of rhetoric and belles lettres (fine literature) James A. Thome spoke highly of the younger Vashon: “Mr. [John] Vashon of Pittsburgh … has a son of considerable promise. [George Vashon] is now in the Freshman Class, and one of the best minds in the class.”

Leader of Men

Henry Langston. The three of them, all members of the “Committee in behalf of Colored Students,” drafted a letter titled “Three Colored Students Attest to Oberlin’s Commitment to Educational and Social Uplift.”

The letter praised the financial support that English donors had given the school while excoriating the position that other educational institutions took toward African American admittance: “Resolved, That we still view with grief and abhorrence the cruel prejudice that would make color instead of character the ground for our reception to literary and theological institutions.” That very committee was likely the first college organization for African Americans in U.S. history. This fact speaks to the strength of the Black organizing at Oberlin and foregrounds the role that Black abolitionists would play in later years, exemplified in such events including the Oberlin Wellington Rescue.

“Bytimethehe was a teenager, George Boyer Vashon had studied Sanskrit Latin, Hebrew, Greek, and Persian. He also founded the Pittsburgh Juvenile Anti-Slavery Society.”

As George matriculated, the college found itself in a financial crunch that threatened its very existence; in a bid to avoid closure and escape the fate of the Oneida Institute, the administration turned to overseas English donors for additional financial support. George immediately got to work helping the College find the funds, enlisting the support of two other Black Oberlin students, John Mifflin Brown and Charles

On August 1, 1842, George gave a speech at the Oberlin College Chapel for “West Indies Emancipation Day,” which commemorated the abolition of slavery in the British colonies in the Caribbean. According to Kornblith, this event was an early example of how abolitionists sought to recast the popular conception of America’s founding: “In the early 1840s, [West Indies Emancipation Day] was often celebrated … by abolitionists as an alternative to the Fourth of July.” George played a key role in organizing this event with two escaped slaves, William Newman and Sabram Cox, both of whom began studying at Oberlin in 1839; in later years,

Newman became a Canadian minister, while Cox became a key figure in Oberlin city leadership

George found purpose within the college as well as the broader community. He joined the Union Society, a prestigious literary club for men that later became Phi Delta. In 1843, George also took advantage of Oberlin’s Winter Term to tutor Black students in Chillicothe, Ohio, roughly 150 miles to the south, likely through the AME Church, whose presence was notable in the town. One of his students eventually graduated from Oberlin too: future U.S. Rep. John Mercer Langston of Virginia, brother of George’s classmate Charles Langston.

“[George] had a pretty critical role in bringing a number of Blacks who were in the area around Oberlin,” Thornell said in a 2024 interview with Howard University. “He had a strong commitment in helping bring in younger Blacks to whatever educational institution he worked with.”

A TURNING POINT

After graduating in 1844, George began

studying law under the direction of Pennsylvania Judge Walter Forward and applied to join the Pennsylvania bar. In a stinging defeat, he was denied in 1847 solely on the basis of an 1838 revision to the Pennsylvania constitution that barred African Americans from holding public office.

George’s rejection from the Pennsylvania Bar marked a turning point in his life, and he decided to leave the United States for Haiti in 1848. Yet before he left, he traveled to New York and passed the bar exam, becoming the first Black lawyer in the state. Following his departure, a note appeared in Frederick Douglass’s newspaper The North Star, alluding to George’s reasons for leaving: “Now he leaves his native city, to take up his abode among strangers, expatriated by the cruel prejudices of his fellow citizens.”

Haiti occupied an important place among abolitionists in the United States. In 1791, the country then known as the French colony of Saint-Domingue saw the only successful slave uprising in world history. In 1801, it became the first Black nation in the Western Hemisphere.

George’s stay in Haiti corresponded with the increasingly autocratic tenure of Haitian President Faustin Soulouque. In correspondence with fellow abolitionist Gerrit Smith, George wrote that, “Haiti’s unsettled state … deterred me from carrying out my intention of becoming a citizen thereof.”

But George made the most of his time in Haiti before returning to the U.S. in 1850. In addition to his primary job teaching ancient languages at various local schools in the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, he began work on a poem that would resurrect the spirit of the Haitian revolutionary Vincent Ogé; was the Haitian correspondent to Frederick Douglass’ The North Star; developed fluency in French; and immersed himself in a study of the country’s history. In 1849, as a result of his work in the country, Oberlin awarded him an honorary MA.

MAKING HIS MARK

Upon arriving back in America, George settled in Syracuse, New York, at that time a hotbed of abolitionist activity, and started practicing law. He later used his legal skills at the Freedmen’s Bureau,

Oberlin honored Vashon with a plaque during 2024’s fall reunion weekend.

where he served as a legal representative for formerly enslaved men as they had their claims heard in both the Supreme Court and federal court in Washington, D.C.

But George distinguished himself in education, taking a job as a professor of belles lettres at New York Central College—making him one of the nation’s first Black professors—and later becoming president of Avery College in downtown Pittsburgh. He also was an administrator in the Black public schools of Pittsburgh and the District of Columbia and became a founder and the first Black professor of Howard University, where he taught courses in reading and arithmetic, became an administrator in the institution’s evening school, and was instrumental in establishing the university’s law school.

In 1873, George took a position as a professor of ancient and modern languages at Alcorn State University in Mississippi. He also was accepted to the Mississippi Bar in 1875, becoming one of the first Black men to do so. George’s son, John B. Vashon, eventually graduated as valedictorian at Alcorn. But in 1878, George contracted yellow fever in

the midst of an outbreak sweeping through the South. He died on October 5 at the age of 54 and was buried in an unmarked grave on Alcorn State University grounds. The location of his remains is unknown to this day.

A LEGACY REMEMBERED

George’s family was determined to further his legacy.

Their son, John B. Vashon, forged a career as an educator in the St. Louis public schools. In 1927, the second Black high school in St. Louis—Vashon High School, named after George and John— opened. Distinguished alumni include U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters of California, Class of 1956.

“George became a founder and the first Black professor of Howard University, where he taught courses in reading and arithmetic… and establishhelpedthe university’s law school.”

In 1882, they relocated to St. Louis as part of a larger Black postwar migration to the city. The Vashon family played a crucial role in helping Black students overcome educational barriers, says Calvin Riley, curator of the George B. Vashon Museum in North St. Louis, which is dedicated to George’s life but also serves as a repository for the artifacts of Black Americans whose lives have gone unheralded in history. “They became some of the early pioneers for Black education in St. Louis.”

George’s widow, Susan Vashon, served as president of the Missouri Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs.

Inspired by stories passed down by his grandmother, Thornell is driven to keep George’s legacy and influence alive. In 2024, he worked with multiple cities to commemorate the bicentennial of George’s birth. Syracuse held a celebration of his life and achievements, while Pittsburgh created an exhibit in conjunction with the mayor’s office. And earlier this year, Oberlin both planted a tree in Tappan Square and installed a plaque commemorating George’s status as the college’s first Black graduate. During the tree planting ceremony, Oberlin Emeritus Professor of Religion A.G. Miller praised George’s achievements: “Black people were at the center of the abolitionist movement. And they came to Oberlin with a strong sense of who they were. Their commitment to abolitionists and as Christians … came with a real commitment to justice. And George B. Vashon represents the best example of what that looks like.”

Walter Thomas-Patterson ’25 is a musical studies and Latin American studies double major and freelance journalist who has written for The Nation and St. Louis Public Radio.

AR

Voices Ca rry

Grammy-certified vocalist and viola da gamba player Ari Mason ’14 finds her niche in video games, films, and now a vocal library.

BY ANNIE ZALESKI

ARI

WHEN ARI MASON ’14 put together a biography for her website, she outlined some of her biggest strengths. Improvisation. A DIY recording approach. Music production. On-demand composition. A historical performance degree in viola da gamba from Oberlin Conservatory. At the very end of this bio, Mason added a section highlighting some of the skills most pertinent to her work.

Old Norse siren calls. Creepy “ooOOooOos.” Aggressive breathing. Chanting improvised Latin words. (Real liturgical Latin, to be clear.) Hums. Throat singing. Microtonal chanting.

These aren’t common résumé bullet points—but for the Los Angeles-based Mason, these things are crucial to her music contributions to film, television, and video games. She’s Grammycertified for being the featured vocalist and a viola da gamba player on the video game Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarök; sang on the Emmy-nominated documentary Planet Earth III and the video game Fortnite; and contributed vocals and viola da gamba on Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints.

Mason’s singing is often ethereal, hewing toward equal parts gothic and dreamy—for an example, check out her work on the TV series Castlevania: Nocturne—but she also specializes in lush, otherworldly vocal effects. “So many films and TV shows out there right now use very strange what they call

extended techniques,” Mason says, citing the HBO show White Lotus and the movie Don’t Worry Darling as examples. “What I’ve been known for lately is ‘Oh, she’s the weird one. You want her.’”

Composers use vocal sample libraries to augment their music or put together a demo to show hired vocalists what to do. In recent years, Mason noticed there was “a hole in the marketplace of virtual instruments” in the unorthodox style of what she does. “My closest friends are composers, and they were telling me, ‘You know, there really isn’t a lot of what you do in a vocal library,’” she says. “I was already starting to work on a library of my voice. So then I thought, ‘Why don’t I get really strange and put everything that I’ve been doing into this library?’”

The result is Fever Dreams, a “deeply human” vocal sample library released in fall 2024 via the virtual sampling platform Kontakt Player. She spent six months recording more than 100 different patches, which translates to more than 6,000 samples. “It became a rhythm in my life,” she says. “I was coming up with new ideas for new patches every day.” Fever Dreams ended up including an extensive library of specialized sounds (for example, rhythmic breathing and morphing, textural vocal pads), packaged in a Hieronymus Bosch interface that reflects the collage style found on much of her album art.

“This was just me sitting in a room figuring out what else I can do that I haven’t heard on this planet yet or revisiting the noises I’ve been making since I was a child,” she says. “I’ve been making weird noises my whole life. I even called my parents and my sister and asked, ‘Can you remind me of some of the first ones that you remember me doing?’”

Before bringing Fever Dreams to market, Mason discussed partnering with different sample library companies. In the end,

In fall 2024, Ari Mason released Fever Dreams, a “deeply human” vocal sample library.

however, she ended up starting her own company, Fever Audio (feveraudio.com), to release the library. “To be honest, none of the deals were really making sense to me because a lot of them were saying, ‘Ari, why don’t you just release this yourself? It’s almost done. You could polish it up and then create your own company.’ Eventually, I just thought, ‘Well, why don’t I?’”

Mason cultivated this kind of boldness at Oberlin. After entering college as a baroque violin major, she quickly found herself struggling to progress beyond a certain level. “I had been working so hard for years to make this happen, to get into the conservatory,” she says. “It was my dream school. But that instrument was simply not suited to my body.”

So during her first year, she came up with a solution: switching to viola da gamba. She spent Winter Term learning the instrument and, six months later, re-auditioned for the conservatory—and was accepted. “It’s because they all believed in me,” Mason says today. “They could see that I had this work ethic and drive and that I had a special connection to this instrument.

“I did have to work extra hard that first couple years, but I couldn’t have done any of that without this very unique support that Oberlin can offer,” she adds, citing things like Winter Term. “And I respect that dedication to their students by letting somebody do something like that. That’s so unique. I don’t think that would happen at another school.”

At Oberlin, Mason was given free rein to explore her “nerdy” interests, like baroque and Renaissance music. But she also learned how to improvise and taught herself how to sing two notes at once—the latter a skill that’s become an in-demand part of her arsenal. “Lots of composers will be like, ‘Can you do your overtone singing here, here, and here?’” she says. “I’m like, ‘I learned this in my bathroom at Oberlin—but sure.’”

By her fourth year, Mason signed a record deal with Germany-based Danse Macabre Records for her solo electronic music. After graduating, she moved to L.A. and continued producing

“A lot of the voices out here in Hollywood have the same vibe, the same type of quality, and my approach was a bit different.”

albums of original synth pop. But along the way, her longtime friend Stephanie Economou tapped her to contribute music production and later vocals on a freelance basis to several composition projects. “When she heard my vocals, she was like, ‘I want you to sing on everything now,’” Mason says. “A lot of the voices out here in Hollywood have the same vibe, the same type of quality, and my approach was a bit different because I’m an instrumentalist.”

Over the next few years, the pair cemented their collaboration across multiple projects, including scores for two expansion packs of the popular video game Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Siege of Paris and Dawn of Ragnarök. Mason sang and played viola da gamba on both soundtracks; the latter was a particularly evocative, timeless score

that reflects the video game’s fantasybased plot by incorporating influences from metal music.

“A lot of the composers I work with are looking for that timeless quality right now—or somebody who knows about music beyond the modern era, even if I don’t always necessarily incorporate it into the scores,” she says. This knowledge especially paid off with Dawn of Ragnarök, where her job “was to be the weird, ancient music person,” she says with a laugh, doing things like singing in Old Norse or mimicking the ancient Nordic animal calls people use to beckon their sheep.

In early 2023, Dawn of Ragnarök ended up becoming the first winner in a brand-new Grammy category, Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media. (Economou won

the main award, and Mason received a Grammy certificate for being the featured artist.) Major opportunities have continued to roll in, via video games (Hello Kitty Island Adventure, Mortal Kombat I) and TV shows (Vikings: Valhalla). For the 2023 animated film Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken, she even had the chance to invent a Kraken language— a modified take on Old Norse. From a creative standpoint, releasing Fever Dreams continues to pay dividends. “Composers already call me to improvise or do something unique when they’re at a place where they don’t know what to do,” she says. “So I was already out of the box. But this took me so much further than I had been—and gave me the opportunity to stretch myself beyond a certain genre and medium.”

No matter what Mason’s doing, Oberlin is never far from the surface. “I feel like Oberlin lives in everything that I do,” she says. “I was surrounded by other creative young people and the teachers, both in the historical performance department and outside of it, were all so supportive. I carry that support with me.”

For Tracy Chevalier ’84, the Oberlin-In-London program was a magical, intense period of cultural and intellectual stimulation. As the beloved study-away experience celebrates 50 years, the New York Times best-selling author looks back on the semester she spent studying and living in London.

LONDON CALLING

BY TRACY CHEVALIER ’84

HARRIS

PHOTOGRAPHY BY OLIVIA

1982

Then

During Chevalier’s London experience, students took the courses London Theater and British Modernism. Later, they performed The Man of Mode, a Restoration-era comedy by George Etherege.

When I started at Oberlin in 1980,

I already knew I would major in English; books were foundation blocks in my life. I chose Oberlin in part because it had a strong, respected English department.

What I didn’t know until I overheard students talking about it was that Oberlin offered students the chance to study in London for a semester. Every fall, an English professor would take a group of mainly English majors to London to immerse themselves in British literature, theater, and culture. The London Semester—celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and now officially known as the Danenberg Oberlin-in-London Program—was the crown jewel of Oberlin’s English department.

I had been abroad only once, to France when I was 10. Though some of my favorite books as a child were set in England (Joan Aiken’s The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and Susan Cooper’s The Dark Is Rising series), and I watched Upstairs Downstairs religiously on PBS, I was not really an Anglophile. But by the middle of my sophomore year at Oberlin, I knew I wanted to go to London. The opportunity to study in a foreign country where the books I loved had been made was overwhelmingly appealing, as was the chance to escape Ohio cornfields for

a semester.

In fall 1982, 18 of us landed in London, along with Professor David Walker and a former student as assistant. We met four mornings a week in the parlor of a vicarage in west London. I’m not sure why we ended up there; presumably, it was cheap—so cheap that there weren’t enough chairs, so some of us sat on the floor. We took two courses—British Modernism and London Theater—plus a third independent project.

There is something delicious about reading novels and poetry in situ, as it were—novels by Conrad, Woolf, Forster, Waugh, Greene, Bowen; poetry by Hopkins and Hardy—most written while the writers lived in the UK and all set in England. I read and looked around and thought, “Yes, England is different from what I have known.” I’m sure if I had read those works back in the U.S., they would have resonated differently—and not so strongly.

Once back in Ohio, I read Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway for a class and recognized what she was describing because I had walked those streets myself, interacted with English people, and begun to sense the mindset from which such novels emerged. The Great

Gatsby was published the same year as Dalloway—1925—and I had a visceral understanding of how different the two novels were because I had lived in the two nations.

Even more impactful were our twiceweekly visits to the theater. Oh, the theater! At the beginning of each week, we were given envelopes containing our weekly stipend and our theater tickets of productions carefully chosen by David. We would read the play and discuss it in the morning, see the production that night, and discuss that the next morning. It was an immersive lesson in analyzing the power of theater, of working out how to take words from the page and put flesh on them, making them threedimensional, and when it works and when it doesn’t.

We saw almost all of that fall’s repertoire of the two stalwarts of British theater, the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, as well as West End productions and fringe theater. We saw Patrick Stewart play Henry IV; he subsequently went global as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. We even met actors: Derek Jacobi, after he starred in The Tempest and Much Ado

Now

Professors Christina Neilson (art history) and Amanda Schmidt (geosciences) put together a program that considered Earth’s materials and matter in a global context, focusing on art, architecture, and landscapes.

(L-R): LINDA LIPKIN; JOSH FRAIMOW; DAVID WALKER

about Nothing, talked about dealing with stage fright. We were regaled by Judi Dench in her dressing gown after seeing her in The Importance of Being Earnest. David also took us to the opera—the first time I had been—and to the ballet, exposing us to worlds many of us had never considered visiting.

Before the London Semester, I had been to the theater maybe six times in my life. Since then, it has become a habit, and I go at least once or twice a month. Because of the London Semester, I know better why a production is or isn’t working. I can say more than, “I liked it,” or, “I didn’t like it”: I can articulate why because of all those stimulating, challenging discussions we had on the vicarage floor.

The intellectual and emotional intensity of the London Semester made the group of students coalesce in a way that didn’t quite happen with classes on the Oberlin campus. In London, we lived together; we saw one another almost every day; and we discussed and argued and laughed and partied and traveled together. This was aided by David Walker’s great care and attention to both choosing what we did and how we treated one another. The group knew

we were lucky to have such an astute professor guiding us.

We grew so close that back in Oberlin we even put on a play together—the Restoration comedy The Man of Mode because we wanted to sustain the magic of London. Even 40 years on, many of us have retained a bond of some sort to the group, a residual fondness because we shared a memorable, life-changing experience—much like a family. A few have remained close friends. Just in the last nine months, I’ve seen David and seven of the other London students in various places including London.

Yes, London. Because I live there. For me personally, my life really did change because of the London Semester. I fell in love with that vibrant, seductive city, and after graduating from Oberlin, I went back with two friends from the group. My intention was to stay for six months, but 40 years later, I still live there. My husband is British, and our son has dual nationality. It would never have occurred to me to live in London if I hadn’t gone there as an Oberlin student.

More than that: I have unintentionally lived my adult life as an “other,” a stranger in a strange land. I’m also an author, and I think that’s no

coincidence. There’s something about standing on the sidelines of a culture, analyzing it rather than taking an active part in it, that suits me, the distance making it easier to write. Maybe if I had stayed in the U.S., I would still have been a writer—but not the same one. Being American in London has challenged me in the best way, just as it did back in 1982. When David Walker retired in May 2020, the London group put together testimonials and held a joyful Zoom call. Many people cited the London Semester as life-changing. As one participant put it: “I can draw a direct line between those four months and who I am today. ... More than anything, London made me brave.” I am very glad Oberlin students still have that opportunity today.

Tracy Chevalier ’84 is the New York Times best-selling author of more than 10 novels, including 1999’s Girl with a Pearl Earring , which has been translated into 45 languages and made into an Oscarnominated film, a play, and an opera. Her newest novel, 2024’s The Glassmaker, is out now. For more information on Oberlin-In-London, visit oberlin.edu/ oberlin-in-london.

Class Notes

1950s

1950

Mort Schrag has self-published his memoir, Lemonade Stand . “Much of the book focuses on anecdotes and my 40-year career as a social work administrator and are family related,” he says, while adding that “references to Oberlin are sprinkled throughout the book.” These include mentions of three close friends, Jorge Lewis ’51 , Harry Rosenberg ’49, and Albert Stillson , whose life stories will “hopefully teach young people about courage in the face of ongoing adversity. … Harry and I remain in close communication to this

THE VAN CLEEF FAMILY FLENTROP ORGAN , shown here in this archival photo before its 1974 installation, has inspired generations of organists and musicians from around the world. Today, the instrument continues to play a central role at Oberlin, as it’s used on a daily basis for teaching, performing, and practice. In November 2024, alumni from 50 years of conservatory organ studies gathered at Warner Concert Hall as part of the Flentrop 50th Anniversary celebration.

day, though we are both 95.”

“I cherish my time at Oberlin and the friends I made there,” says Elizabeth Willmott . “I even met my husband, Donald Willmott . I have spent my life as an artist and still do so, selling several pieces to a major Canadian collector last year. I was a psychology

major, and what I learned has formed the background to both my art and life.” Elizabeth adds that she’d love to hear from “those I shared my amazing Oberlin experience with.”

1951

“Just to let you know that some of us are still around!” Alice Hornaday Gerety

writes, noting that she played jazz and show tunes for a group of friends at a recent happy hour also attended by Ellie Veazey Starfas

1955

Ellie Lurie and Larry (Lawrence) Lurie celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary and Larry’s 90th birthday with a garden party attended by Dolores Taller ’57, among others. “Larry and I first met on a hayride freshman week—although our significant contact came two years after graduation through Barbara Rabin and Alan Wurtzel,” Ellie recalls. “Doubt Oberlin still has hayrides for freshman orientation!” In the recent past, Ellie has also seen Michael Bank ’54 and Adrienne Bank ’54 and would love to hear from other alums: “We are still living in our late Victorian San Francisco home and welcome visitors.”

Inspired by a class note from Anne Dinsmore Phillips ’56 in the spring 2024 issue of OAM that mentioned her singing as the opening act for Dave Brubeck’s 1953 Finney Chapel performance, Jim Newman —who organized the famous concert—reminisces about seeing Anne at Brubeck’s 2003 concert at Oberlin. Jim also notes that Space is the Place, the 1974 film he produced that stars Sun Ra, is available online on the Criterion Channel.

1959

Susan Quinn ’62 and husband Dan Jacobs have written the play Enter Hallie, which opens off Broadway on March 6 for 16 performances. The play centers on Hallie Flanagan, director of the Federal Theater project of the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s.

Engelsberg Ideas ran a career-spanning interview with documentary filmmaker Norma Percy, who recently produced two episodes within the 2024 miniseries Putin vs the West.

1960s

1961

“I find that writing about my life, inspired by many, many life losses, has been fulfilling and healing,” writes Martha Johnson while sharing the republication of three of her books. These include two volumes of Musing Along the Way (Volume 1, 1997-2001: Tears, Lies, and Fresh Fruit Pies and Volume II, 2002-2008: Pain, Persistence, and Purifying Waters) and Why Not Do What You Love. “It’s been an interesting life, and I just started on another [book] that now wants to flow out into the world: Encountering Age … Without a Map ”

1965

Anita Fahrni-Minear ’s 12th story was recently published in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in English and Mongolian. “Professionally illustrated, these books are distributed free of charge to secondary school students in eight provinces,” Anita says. “My search for volunteers to teach English for three or four months

in the Mongolian countryside continues. I usually place three or four each year.”

Attorney Allen Weintraub won the New York State Bar Association’s President’s Pro Bono Service Award for the services he provides via the Safe Passage Project. Since 2018, Allen has represented an unaccompanied minor who entered the U.S. to reunite with his mother after fleeing racist violence in Central America.

In June 2024, Bonnie Yelverton attended a chamber concert at her retirement community, OceanView at Falmouth—and was happy to see that one of the two cellists in the quartet was Katie Kennedy ’02 , playing alongside her violist mother.

1965

In honor of our 50th reunion and in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Commencement speech at our graduation, our class established the MLK Internship Fund to provide financial support for high-need students from both the college and the conservatory. The MLK Internship Fund is exclusively focused on addressing income inequality by providing opportunities for highneed students to engage in career-enhancing internships that can also build critical professional networks. Over the last 10 years, 110 Oberlin students have received $5,000 to $5,500 each to pursue unpaid internships they might not otherwise have been able to afford. As we approach our 60th cluster reunion in October 2025, the alumni-led MLK Internship committee (Marcia Aronoff, Peter Anderson, Lisa Hirsh, Monica Knorr, Terry Rosenberry, and Phil Singerman, along with Charlie Heck ’66, Wendy Solmssen Sommer ’66, and Taiyo Scanlon-Kimura ’15) is undertaking an ambitious $1.5 million fundraising campaign, of which over 40 percent has already been raised. The goal is to raise sufficient funds for the program to have an impact in perpetuity. We are grateful to the many

Weintraub ’65

Gerety ’51

alums who have already made generous commitments and invite alums from all classes to consider supporting the fund. Contact Marcia at msaronoff@aol.com or Charlie at cbheck@aol.com.

1966

Following in the footsteps of the Class of 1965, the Class of 1966 also named the MLK Internship Fund as one of our 50th Reunion gifts. Class presidents Charlie Heck and Wendy Solmssen Sommer are thrilled to announce that thanks to the generosity of classmate Peter Kemper and his wife, Laura Powell Kemper ’68, the MLK Internship Fund has been endowed. See Class of 1965.

1968

Since the death of his wife, Nell (Snavely) Lurain, John Lurain has been enjoying traveling with daughter Kate Lurain ’06, a hematologic oncologist at the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health, and her husband, Gabriel “Gabo” Alvarado ’05, a senior intelligence analyst at Nisos. They have traveled to the Lake District of England; Turkey; Cinque Terre in Italy;

Mainz, Germany; Denmark; and the Scottish Highlands. “Travel had always been a passion of Nell’s and mine,” says John, a retired gynecologic oncologist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, “and I am fortunate now to be able to enjoy and share in this with other members of my Obie family.”

The group’s next planned trip is to Paris.

1969

Penny Howell Jolly, professor emerita of art history at Skidmore College, curated an exhibition for the Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, N.Y.—Growing Up in a Renaissance Palazzo: Childhood in Italy, 14001600—that runs until January 5.

Joe Klein has published Reading Genesis Again for the First Time: A Radical Commentary, a book that argues “there is a reason there are two Creation stories, and neither one is meant to explain how the world was created.”

1970s

1970

The Academy Art Museum in Easton, Maryland, held the exhibition Light: Paintings by Philip Koch from April to July 2024. The museum later acquired two of the works; both were made on location in Cape Cod during some of Philip’s residencies in the former painting studio of the American artist Edward Hopper. “It was Allen Memorial Art Museum that inspired me to become an artist,” Philip says. “It is a treasure.”

1971

Sherin and Lodgen attorney Gary M. Markoff was recognized in the 2025 Best Lawyers in America listing in real estate law.

1972

Beatrice Camp shares: “Soon after arriving for a two-month temporary assignment in Ho Chi Minh City, I was at dinner

with a visiting friend, who introduced me to several of her old friends from Jakarta. As soon as one mentioned having taught in Jogjakarta, I pounced. Sure enough, another Shansi alum: Jonathan Pincus ’83, now teaching at Fulbright University in HCMC.”

Jim Denny ’51 and Bill Friedman met up at their Santa Barbara retirement community, where Jim encouraged Bill to present a series of classical vocal recitals.

Since retiring from Rutgers University, Delia Pitts has worked on a dream career as a crime fiction writer, her latest book being a new mystery, Trouble in Queenstown (Minotaur Books). In this contemporary noir novel, New Jersey private eye Vandy Myrick uncovers shocking truths about her hometown and her own family while investigating a double homicide. “Trouble in Queenstown starts at a simmer, but when Vandy’s investigation gets going, it reaches full boil,” wrote the New York Times. Adds Delia: “My husband, John Vincent, and I continue living in central New Jersey, and our twin sons are based in Texas.”

1973

Andrea DiLorenzo visited with Bette McDevitt ’54 in Bette’s new home at the Wake Robin residential community in Shelburne, Vermont. Andrea notes that her and Bette’s friendship “gelled in their hometown of New Castle, Pa., during the George McGovern campaign for president in 1972”—and they’ve remained close ever since.

Joe Miller ’s book Secrets of the Vietnam Civil War is available via Amazon. “I served in the U.S. Army, Fourth Squadron, 12th Cavalry, as a tank commander/

Lurain ’68

platoon leader in 1968 and 1969, during the peak of civil war during the North Vietnamese Tet Offensive,” Joe says. “My book is a history based on recently declassified top-secret documents.”

1974

At its annual conference, the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) presented Thomas Lloyd with the 2024 Elaine Brown Award for Choral Excellence, a lifetime achievement award named in honor of the founder of the Singing City Choir in Philadelphia. Tom is currently the Canon for Music and the Arts at the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, artistic director of the Bucks County Choral Society, an emeritus professor of music at Haverford College, and an active composer.

1975

In July, Holmes (Sonny) McHenry celebrated his 70th birthday at his home in the Bronx, N.Y. His guests included Al Morton ’74 and Patsy (Jennings) Morton ’73, Lawrence Stackhouse ’74, Mitch Weiss ’74, Nanette Carter

’76, and Ifechukwude Mmakwe ’76

Dzvinia Orlowsky recently published Those Absences Now Closest (Carnegie Mellon University Press). She writes, “The poems in this book reflect on the current tragedy in Ukraine and prompt us to enter our own histories instead of just watching.”

Louise K. Stein’s most recent book, The Marqués, the Divas, and the Castrati: Gaspar de Haro y Guzmán and Opera in the Early Modern Spanish Orbit (Oxford University Press), was published in June 2024 with color illustrations, supported by a grant from the Roger W. Weiss and Howard Mayer Brown Fund at the Newberry Library in Chicago. It is also available free of charge as an open-access monograph, thanks to a TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem) grant from the University of Michigan.

1976

Greg Ewing received recognition in the Western New York Daily Record and the Rochester Business Journal as a 2024 Attorney of the Year in the in-house counsel category.

1978

Emma Daisy ’02 and Ellen Brull, president and past president of the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians, went to Washington, D.C., the week of May 21, 2024, to lobby for better health care for all. “We met with our congresswoman as well as senators’ staffs to improve access for primary care doctors and services,” Ellen shares. “Only primary care has been shown to improve longevity and reduce costs to the health care system.”

Michael Doyle announces the publication of his fourth book, Nightmare in the Pacific: The World War II Saga of Artie Shaw and His Navy Band (University of North Texas Press), and the republication in paperback of his second book, Radical Chapters: Pacifist Bookseller Roy Kepler and the Paperback Revolution (Syracuse University Press). Mike is a reporter for E&E News by Politico.

Lori Ginzberg , professor emeritus of history and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies at Pennsylvania State University, shares news of the September 2024 publication of her latest book, Tangled Journeys: One Family’s Story and the Making of American History (University of North Carolina Press).

John Tripoulas has been a surgeon in Greece for over 30 years, but his true love is poetry. Kirkus Reviews described his 2024 book of poems, Polytropos (Dos Madres Press), as “an intellectually stimulating and emotionally resonant collection.”

1979

Lauren R. Taylor co-authored Get Empowered: A Practical Guide to Thrive, Heal, and Embrace Your Confidence in a

OBERLIN

Lloyd ’74

Sexist World (Penguin Random House), based on her 45 years of working to end gender-based violence.

1980s

1981

Raphael Golb has published The Qumran Con: A Dead Sea Scrolls Memoir (Archway Publishing).

Dale Mathews published an article in the peer-reviewed journal Ciencia y Sociedad on the “possible nearshoring of the garment assembly industry to Central America.”

1982

Joel Morgenlander, MD, was honored by the American Academy of Neurology with the 2024 A.B. Baker Award for Lifetime Achievement in Neurologic Education. Joel is a professor of neurology and has been at Duke University since 1987.

1983

Joel Kadis lives in Newton, Mass., with his wife, Maurya, and two boys, Colin and Riley. He is the CEO of shopping center real estate company Linear Retail Properties.

1984

Several Obies from the mid-’80s gathered to hear Tracy Chevalier read from her newest book, The Glassmaker, including Kathryn Washington ’85, Amy Peck, Ricki Farber ’86, Maya Weil ’86, Anne Gross ’86, and Aaron Zeitner

John Vaillant was a finalist for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction for his book Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World (Knopf). The book, which was also a finalist for the National Book Award, won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction.

1985

Caje Anderson, are both available now.

1986

Sally Denmead ’s debut picture-book biography, A Song for August: The Inspiring Life of Playwright August Wilson (Levine Querido) arrived in August 2024 and was “a warm introduction to a master of American drama” according to Kirkus Reviews. “With this book, I’ve officially entered the family business,” Sally says. “Husband Jonah Winter ’84 is the author of more than 45 awardwinning books for children—the latest being 2024’s Bird Rehearsal (Abrams)— and my mother-in-law is award-winning author/illustrator Jeanette Winter.”

Anne Gross is currently serving as an associate professor of music at Elizabethtown College, where she teaches voice, diction for singers, and vocal chamber music and directs Fenice, the college’s gender-inclusive treble choir. In addition to her teaching, Anne maintains a private voice studio in Lancaster County, Pa., and frequently (and happily) collaborates in art song recitals with pianist and Oberlin faculty member Thomas Bandy. In November 2023, her article “‘Morning Sings Around and in Me’: An

Introduction to Vítězslava Kaprálová and Her Songs” appeared in VoicePrints, the New York Singing Teachers’ Association’s online publication.

Jennifer Morgan co-convened the conference Slavery in Early America at the Huntington Library in Pasadena, Calif., with Peter Mancall ’81 and Josh Piker ’89. “All historians of early America and the Atlantic world, we were thrilled to find ourselves representing the entire decade of 1980s Oberlin in sunny California,” Jennifer says.

1987

Nicole (Boyer) Barnett has joined the executive team at Planned Parenthood Northern California as the new chief operating officer. “This is an honor and an important season of service for me as I hope to drive for health equity and reproductive justice in significant ways,” Nicole says. She has also been named governance chair at the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, as well as chair of the board of the Richmond Promise scholarship program in Richmond, Calif.

In November 2023, David Winner published Master Lovers (Outpost19

Daniel Schorr ’s fourth solo album, Under the New Moon, and second novel, Morgan ’86

Press), a memoir-biography hybrid about his aunt, Angel Records cofounder Dorle Soria, who was a prominent figure in the mid-century classical music world. As he sorted through her apartment after her death, David uncovered “hidden family secrets” that changed things. “The more he learned about her world, the more complicated her story became, a twisted puzzle full of love and fascism, a record of a young woman grappling with her attraction to lovers with hair-raising political ties.”

1988

James Helgeson was appointed dean of the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin in September and has been a professor in musicology and composition there since 2022. He earned his second doctorate at Royal Holloway, University of London, in music composition in 2024 after earning a doctorate in French (Renaissance studies) from Princeton University. James has also taught at the University of Cambridge, Columbia University, and the University of Nottingham. He lives in Berlin with his husband, the writer Joseph Pearson.

Hidden, a musical by David and Jenny Heitler-Klevans, had its world premiere in September at Gratz Theatre in Elkins Park, Pa. Hidden is based on the true story of Ruth Kapp Hartz, who was a “hidden child” as a young Jewish girl in southern France during World War II. David and Jenny worked closely with Rick Sperling ’89 in revising the musical over the last year and have also gotten feedback from Tanya Shaffer. David and Jenny’s sons Ari and Jason (both 2017 grads) performed in the staged concert reading of Hidden in 2023. For information, see hiddenmusical.com

1989

Stephanie Baker ’s book Punishing Putin: Inside the Global Economic War to Bring Down Russia (Scribner/Simon & Schuster) “takes readers into the frantic

backroom deliberations that led to a whole new era of economic statecraft and radically rearranged global alliances, influencing the world order for generations to come,” she says.

Mikyoung Kim is the founding principal of Mikyoung Kim Design. The firm’s design of TMC Helix Park, a nearly complete series of dynamic landscapes spanning over 300,000 square feet at the Texas Medical Center, won the urban design category at the Fast Company 2024 World Changing Ideas Awards and received an honorable mention in the water category.

1990s

1991

Luke Comer co-authored the book On the Origin of Being: Understanding the Science of Evolution to Enhance Your Quality of Life (River Grove Books).

St. Louis University English professor Phyllis Weliver was Macgeorge Fellow at Melbourne Conservatorium of Music

in August and September and, jointly, Sugden Fellow at Queen’s College, University of Melbourne. Phyllis’s academic books explore literature and music in Victorian Britain as mutually constitutive with other 19th-century discourses, including constructions of gender, class, and politics. She also published a booklength memoir on long COVID in 2021. As a historical consultant for Zadie Smith’s 2023 book The Fraud, Phyllis also recently enjoyed a rare opportunity for a researcher to support the authenticity of a modern novel about the past. Learn more at phyllisweliver.com.

1993

Maggie Burns published a trilogy (Thrushcross Chronicles) and standalone novel (Landslide) in “the awkward New Adult genre” under the pen name Emma Burns “to keep my students off my trail,” she shares. “The books are all about the uphill challenges those students face, though.” All of the novels take place in the area of rural Maine, she adds, “where I’ve been on an extended writing retreat (joke) (sort of) for the past nine years.” For more information, see emmaburns.org.

Leibowitz ’05

Bring On Business

When I graduated from Oberlin, working in business was a most unusual thing to do. But I was my family’s breadwinner—and after an unsatisfying time working as a special ed teacher, I took the plunge and got a job as an administrative assistant with bond traders. I felt like I had to whisper to Obie friends what I did for a living, as Oberlin grads just didn’t work in the corporate world. Even when I earned an MBA at the University of Chicago, I had to convince myself that the courses were just a continuation of the Oberlin approach to a liberal arts education, not something business-y.

Decades later, things are different. Oberlin grads are working in all areas and levels of business. The integrative concentration in business, which focuses on experiential learning, is very popular. In fall 2025, the college is launching a business major in response to what applicants and current students express interest in studying. Students want a business major.

But employers also need our students. As I meandered on a slightly curvy path throughout my career, I discovered how much a liberal arts education, especially one from Oberlin, brought to the business world. Sometimes it was subconscious, but I had a broader view of the world and ways of thinking critically about a business problem that others didn’t have. I found that when I applied for jobs, the Oberlin education stood out. And when I hired people for my departments, I found the liberal arts background, especially one from Oberlin, pushed that person to the top of the list. Sure, I was biased, but I knew they would be able to analyze across diverse disciplines, think creatively, and have a foundation of ethics and social justice that would help influence their decisions.

Students today can include business education with whatever else they choose to do, especially because business courses will be a continuation of the rigorous academics Oberlin demands. So to a new major, I say—bring it on!

jan weintraub cobb ’71 President, Oberlin Alumni Association

1994

Stephan Farber met up with other Obies at the Ojai Music Festival, including Fred Fisher ’71 and the festival’s 2025 music director, Claire Chase ’00.

1997

Alissa Rose ha s been teaching voice at Commonwealth University-Mansfield (previously Mansfield University) in Pennsylvania for 16 years “and has always meant to write a class note because her work is so Oberlin!” She loves teaching a wide variety of students, from students with a poor musical background but who are eager to learn to those who are more ready to embark upon serious musical study. Alissa lived on a hobby farm for her first 10 years there but now lives in Corning, N.Y., with her husband, John, and two sons, Erik and Nathan.

Devon Strolovitch is a senior producer of the syndicated radio program Philosophy Talk, which won a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to produce Wise Women, a 16-episode series about women in philosophy from antiquity to the 20th century. Season 2 launched with an episode on Anna Julia Cooper, Class of 1884 MA 1887, who went on to become the fourth African American to earn a PhD. The episode aired in October on KALW-FM (91.7) in San Francisco, with a podcast available after. Listen at philosophytalk.org/ shows/anna-julia-cooper.

1998

Ellen Naomi Buck writes in to share news on All in the Same Breath, “a cool arts and culture exchange that Acacia Reed ’99 and I have created with both in-person and virtual components. All are welcome!” Visit allinthesamebreath.org.

Andrea Clark, director of the Perinatal Mental Health Alliance for People of Color, has accepted the position of deputy CEO of Postpartum Support International (PSI). In this role, Andrea will work closely with President and

CEO Wendy Davis ’80 to represent PSI in established and new partnerships. She will also engage with members, key partners, leaders, and federal and state agencies to represent and expand PSI’s reach and impact. Andrea is also an assistant pastor at CityPoint Community Church on the South Side of Chicago.

1999

Meredith Holmes earned a doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of San Francisco in May 2024 and was awarded the Dean’s Medal for Promoting Professionalism. They are now a psychotherapist in private practice, providing therapy to California residents through telehealth. “I have experience working with folks from all walks of life, and I have particular experience and interest in working with BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and neurodivergent clients,” Meredith says. “I honor the memory of my dear friend Andrea (Luna) Thom ’98 through the achievements that I accomplish.”

2000s

2001

Nicolás Alberto Dosman, assistant professor and director of choirs at the

University of California, Davis, has recently published Growing Your Choral Program: A Practical Guide for New Directors (Rowman & Littlefield).

2004

Aaliyah Bilal’s Temple Folk won the 17th annual Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. This prestigious award, presented to an emerging African American fiction writer, celebrates the enduring legacy of the late Ernest Gaines, whose narratives eloquently capture the voices of African Americans in rural settings.

The New York Times published Michael Murray ’s op-ed about how the Biden administration should support clean energy by giving consumers control over their energy usage information at home. Michael notes that his interest in energy began with the monitoring system at the Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies.

2005

In October, Michael Leibowitz and Karen Burgman organized and performed in an Oberlin reunion concert in Philadelphia attended by a crowd of alums going back as far as 1969. Michael shares that the musicians “performed a number of pieces written by myself and other composers,” and he also arranged “Dunque io son” from The Barber of Seville for all the performers. Musicians included Karen, the pianist; mezzo-soprano Kathryn Leemhuis; baritone Michael Weyandt ’04; violinist J Freivogel ’06; violist Kristina Giles; and cellist Rachel Henderson Freivogel ’06

James Putnam sometimes sees Oberlin bumper stickers around where he’s currently located, in the Providence, R.I., area. James is also looking to reconnect with old classmates, so please reach out!

After teaching middle school special education for the last 14 years, Wilson Skinner was awarded a sabbatical for

the 2024-25 school year. He is traveling, taking classes, and volunteering in the classrooms of his children, Noah Grace and Cosmo.

2006

Kate Oberg married Travis Grout ’07 outside of Shenandoah National Park with many Obies in attendance. From left (see next page): Eric Tillberg ’07, Caitlin Smith Tillberg ’07, Christina Russell, Darcy Gervasio, Michael Moore, Travis, Marshall Duer-Balkind, Kate, Gavin Platt, Allison Borst ’07, Gregory Anderson ’07, Carrie Noel-Nosbaum ’07, Laura Nagy ’92 , Bethany Mott ’79, and Reihonna Frost ’08.

2007

Mike Kroner and his wife, Hannah Lange, welcomed daughter Jane in September 2023. They moved to Greenville, S.C., to be closer to family.

2008

Brandon Patrick George’s Community Concerto Project, which is supported by the Ford Foundation, finds the Grammywinning flutist partnering with orchestras across the country to commission new flute concertos. As part of the initiative, Brandon also partners with local communities to include students in the process and the performance. For the inaugural installment of the Community Concerto Project, composer Michael Gilbertson wrote a flute concerto that Brandon performed with the Albany (N.Y.) Symphony and students from the Albany High School Chamber Choir in June 2024.

2010s

2011

Lisa Kpor, litigation counsel at United Airlines, was recently featured in Modern Counsel magazine for her work mentoring law students and young lawyers.

Clark ’98

Class Notes

2012

Colin Wheatley shares that six Oberlin alumni taught together at the Envision Chamber Music Workshop at Bay Chamber in Camden, Maine. “Envision brought together 35 students from Maine for a weeklong chamber music intensive and began while faculty were still in school at Oberlin in 2014,” Colin says. The alums include Aaron Wolf ’11, Luke Fatora ’13, Sophie Davis ’16, Julia Henderson ’14, and Josie Davis ’14.

2013

After many years of working in tech, Nadya Babich has returned to her artistic roots from her studies at Oberlin, where she graduated with a degree in visual arts. She is happy to announce the launch of her artist website with original mixed-media paintings and prints focused on themes of nature and healing: nadyababichart.com

Julie Christensen completed her training in child and adolescent psychiatry, where she was mentored by Tami Benton ’81, the psychiatrist-in-chief of the child and adolescent psychiatry and

behavioral sciences department of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

2016

Taylor Hobart, Cora Adair ’17, and Rose Chord ’15 are “happily handfasted and living together in an Obie-full household!”

2017

The comedy TV show Don’t Mind If I Don’t, filmed at Manhattan Neighborhood Network and in New York City, features cinematography and editing by Jacob M. Baron. The show’s latest episode is on painting and is available to watch at youtube.com/@DontMindTheShow.

2018

Jack Brewster and Justin Cruz ’17 cofounded Newsreel (newsreel.co), an interactive news app aimed at combating news avoidance and engaging young people with high-quality news. In four months, 7,000 people signed up for their beta version.

Kirk Pearson published the book Electronic Music from Scratch (Make Press) in October. “The book is all about building synthesizers, drum machines, talk boxes, and all sorts of other nifty musical gizmos and is intended entirely for beginners,” Kirk says, adding that their studio Dogbotic (dogbotic.com) “has been teaching virtual workshops on how to build your own synths for the past few years.”

2023

Dani Assis won the prestigious 2024 Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition by performing the Cole Porter songs “Easy to Love,” “What Is This Thing Called Love?” and “It’s De-Lovely.” Kai-Min Chang won fourth prize and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Prize at the 2024 Leeds International Piano Competition.

Class Notes are prepared from a variety of sources but are drawn mainly from personal and professional news submitted by college and conservatory alums. What makes a good class note? When you’re proud to share something, we want to hear about it!

Good news! You can now submit your class note (along with a photo) online: go.oberlin.edu/submit-class-notes

Grout ’07

George ’08

Empowering Passion and Growth

Yuan Wang ’27, a Second-year mathematics student chose Oberlin for its outstanding financial aid, welcoming students and staff, and supportive community. During his time on campus, Yuan has experienced significant academic and personal growth thanks to the inspiration and guidance of professors like Rachel Diethorn, whose discrete math class deepened his passion for both mathematics and teaching.

In true Obie fashion, Yuan is heavily involved on campus as a tutor for the Ninde Scholars Program and serves as an admissions tour guide. He is also a campus lifeguard and an enthusiastic member of the varsity swim and dive team. “Joining Oberlin’s swim team has been really inspiring,” Yuan says. “My teammates make me want to be better. The team is like a microcosm of Oberlin—everyone is talented, hard-working, and supportive.”

Gifts to the Annual Fund have a direct and immediate impact on students like Yuan because nearly 90 cents of every donated, unrestricted dollar supports scholarships and financial aid. By making your gift today, you are ensuring that Oberlin remains a diverse and vibrant community where students from all backgrounds can thrive.

Losses

Alumni

1944

Dr. Lynn Randolph Peters

November 22, 2024

1946

Marilyn Deichert

November 16, 2019

Alice Henderson

April 15, 2024

1947

Mineko Sasahara Avery

February 1, 2024

Nancy Bassett

November 15, 2024

Eleanor Letts Lewis

May 27, 2024

1948

Edith Cripe Knauer

July 12, 2023

V12

Jack W. Upper

May 28, 2024

1949

Marie Houghton

January 21, 2023

1951

Patricia Mink Rath

Balsamo

June 13, 2022

Susanne Cottier

No date given

Marion Czar

November 15, 2021

1952

Georgene Allen

April 19, 2024

Tony Armer

August 12, 2024

Milton Heinberg

January 23, 2021

Lawrence Siddall

May 22, 2024

William Lynn Vance

September 25, 2024

1953

Margaret Helen (Elderfield) Ritchie

March 16, 2024

Don Robertson

November 24, 2024

Bruce Watson Steiner

February 8, 2024

BJ Ursin

No date given

1955

Barry Martin Browner

June 2, 2024

Mary C. “Kate” Hoh

June 25, 2024

Judith Marie

July 13, 2024

Jessica Ann (Perry)

Slosser

September 8, 2024

Ellen K. Thomas

September 17, 2024

1956

Joni Jaeger

March 16, 2024

Allen Lovekin

May 30, 2024

Sue Wagner

October 2021

Martha Warnock

February 2022

William “Bill” Wittig

August 17, 2024

1957

Carol Godes

July 13, 2024

David Gordon Mitten

January 18, 2022

Ellen Weiss

October 15, 2024

1958

Amédine Allis Bella

October 11, 2024

William Munson

October 28, 2024

Robert Snodgrass

April 15, 2022

Joyce (Martin) Wilson

September 21, 2024

1959

Harriet R. Clark

June 6, 2024

Alan Hooper

June 22, 2024

Dr. William Charles

McHarris

September 19, 2022

Lucia Claff Parker

May 24, 2024

Roberta A. Skerrett

July 8, 2023

Patricia Day Strecker

June 21, 2024

1960

Suzanne Elizabeth Abbey

July 13, 2022

Judd Kessler

October 24, 2024

Suzanne (Brown) Kilczewski

No date given

John P. Mayer

September 10, 2024

Joyce Schaub

May 20, 2022

David John Yeomans

January 24, 2024

1961

Donald C. McKay Jr.

May 26, 2024

Harry Lewis Patterson

June 7, 2024

James S. “Jim” Wolfe

October 30, 2023

1962

Sharon J. (Shaw) Barnes

November 15, 2024

Richard “Dick” Hayden

Bromund

March 15, 2024

John Caddey

February 2, 2023

Jon Margolis

January 29, 2024

Rev. Dr. James H. Price

August 8, 2024

Anne (McFarland

Southworth

June 21, 2024

Peter E. Strauss

October 6, 2024

1963

Ellen (Graham)

Anderson

February 12, 2024

Kim Allen Herzinger

August 18, 2023

Robert E. Stiefel

July 20, 2024

Barbara (Dyson)

Westerberg

January 17, 2024

1964

William Henry Zachry

June 19, 2023

1966

Barbara Kohler

December 8, 2022

1967

William Wilder Colson

October 13, 2024

1968

Jeff Alteri

June 21, 2024

James R. Bartlett

March 31, 2021

Charles Bates

June 5, 2024

Kenneth Krohn

June 3, 2024

1970

Michael Skinner

December 2020

1971

Dennis Paul Nordquest

October 24, 2024

1972

Martha Hewitt

Hickman Hild

August 23, 2024

1976

William “Bill” Carroll

Perkins

May 21, 2024

Judith Strong

November 16, 2023

1977

Joanne Chory

November 12, 2024

1978

Douglas Frank

May 8, 2024

Dr. Harrison Leslie Adams Jr.

May 24, 2024

1979

Steve Silberman

August 28, 2024

1981

Matthew Finch

July 28, 2024

1983

James G. (Jim) Lyman

August 21, 2024

Suzette L. Speight

August 29, 2024

1990

Rev. Dr. Sammie Davis-Dyson

November 28, 2024

2002

Scott Saylor

July 14, 2024

Faculty, Staff, and Friends

John Dunlop

Professor of Russian; chairman, Department of German and Russian, 1970–1983 October 14, 2023

Eric Estes

Vice president and dean of students; director of the Multicultural Resource Center (MRC), 2004–2016 June 4, 2024

Marlene “Marly” Merrill Historian and author who helped found the Oberlin College Affiliate Scholar Program; Oberlin College Archives volunteer November 7, 2024

Alison Ricker Head of the Science Library, 1983–2023 May 14, 2024

Joseph Schwartz Professor of piano, 1960–1998 February 13, 2024

Shirley “Mama ’Sco” Sikora Dionysus Disco night manager, 1983–2020 June 3, 2024

*Please note this list represents losses that have been reported to OAM between late May and December 10, 2024. Any losses received after that will appear in a future issue.

Our alumni have asked Oberlin to share news of classmates passing in a more timely way, a request that can’t often be accommodated in OAM , which publishes three times a year. Moving forward, we will add submitted death notices to an OAM webpage at www.oberlin.edu/alumni/losses that will link to online obituaries published by a newspaper, funeral home, or l egacy website. This will offer readers a more timely announcement and a more complete picture of the lives and accomplishments of our deceased community members. Please submit death notices by emailing alum.mag@oberlin.edu with “Losses” in the subject line and a link to a published online obituary or a letter confirming the date of death and the class year of the deceased. You can also mail a printed obituary to Oberlin Alumni Magazine, 247 W. Lorain St., Suite C, Oberlin, OH 44074.

Endquotes

“Known for excellence, Katharine was the only of her siblings to attend college, graduating from her beloved Oberlin College in 1898, where she had made lifelong friendships.”

Toni Vanden Bos, Wright State University special collections archivist, commemorating the 150th birthday of Katharine Wright, Class of 1898 , sister of the Wright Brothers

“I’m the belle of the ball / I’ll dance ’til dawn / I am the plus one of someone who has left”

Jane Wickline ’21 , new featured player on Saturday Night Live, portraying a guest who overstays their welcome at a party in her original song “Party”

“I find that difficulty can be subjective. Sometimes everyone’s going to be like, ‘This was a four out of five; it was really hard.’ But sometimes a board will get the whole range of scores.”

Wyna Liu ’05, speaking to The Atlantic on her work as editor of the New York Times game Connections

“The female characters were not profound or deep in the original, so I said, ‘We gotta change this.’”

Tony Award winner Julie Taymor ’74 in a BBC interview on how she approached shaping The Lion King musical

“I believe Oberlin students are going to do great things. I told them, ‘There are so many public health problems created by my generation and your parents’ generation. You need to go out, address, and solve these issues.’”

Tim Uyeki ’81 , chief medical officer of the influenza division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speaking to President Carmen Twillie Ambar on Oberlin’s podcast Running to the Noise

“The power of bringing people together and giving them the sense of, ‘I am not alone, I’m not the only person scared about this, I’m not the only person working on this problem,’ is a huge antidote to the hopelessness and the helplessness that comes from being isolated.”

Cindy Frantz , professor of psychology and environmental studies, stressing the impact of fans talking about climate change at a concert, in an August 2024 NPR story about the band AJR’s climate activism

“There is no failure in art. Art, to me, is setting realistic goals. It’s about being excited to see what comes next and the excitement for the future.”

Singer-songwriter Josh Ritter ’99, speaking to Glide Magazine

“He was the antientertainment industry artist. It was clear, a few bars in, this dude writes about what he wants to say. He was not concerned about being commercial. I’ve come to realize how deeply moving that is.”

Nolan Williams Jr. ’90 in an interview with the Alexandria, Virginia, publication Zebra on the impact of seeing poet-musician Gil Scott-Heron in concert at Oberlin

“As a set of skills or a discipline, business is very complementary to a lot of what Oberlin stands for.”

—ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF BUSINESS ERIC LIN