Josh Nolan Named Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary at 91ֱ��</h1> <article> <h1>Josh Nolan Named Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary at 91ֱ��</h1> <p>eburnett — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 14:26:30 +0000</p> <span>Josh Nolan Named Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary at 91ֱ��</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-12-19T09:26:30-05:00" title="Friday, December 19, 2025 - 09:26">Fri, 12/19/2025 - 09:26</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Josh Nolan, a respected higher-education attorney who has served as 91ֱ��’s interim General Counsel since July, has been appointed to the permanent position of Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary. He will assume the role on January 1.</p><p id="docs-internal-guid-ce3e1c48-7fff-32b4-0761-01ff3de27954">The Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary is a key member of 91ֱ�� President Carmen Twillie Ambar’s Executive Leadership Team. As Vice President and General Counsel, Nolan will serve as 91ֱ��’s chief legal officer and liaison to the Board of Trustees. As Secretary, he will represent the Board in legal matters and serve as a Board liaison when that body conducts business. </p><p>Nolan joins 91ֱ�� following a nine-year tenure at the prominent law firm Bricker Graydon LLP, where he has served as the co-chair of the higher education practice group and has been a partner since 2019. During his time at Bricker Graydon, Nolan was respected for his extensive expertise in higher-education law and for advising on complex legal and regulatory matters, including transformative transactions, Title IX, privacy compliance, accreditation, and student mental-health interventions.</p><p>Prior to his interim work with 91ֱ�� over the past five-plus months, he also served as 91ֱ��’s interim General Counsel in 2021 and 2022—a critical period, as campuses everywhere navigated the transition out of the COVID-19 pandemic. He has provided legal guidance to 91ֱ�� on multiple other occasions spanning a number of years as well.</p><p>“Through Josh’s extensive work with 91ֱ��, he has clearly demonstrated that he is the ideal person to fulfill this vital role on our campus,” says President Ambar. “Josh truly understands 91ֱ�� inside and out: our mission, our people, and our commitment to being responsible stewards of this institution’s remarkable legacy as we approach the dawn of its third century. </p><p>“Josh stood head and shoulders above a nationwide pool of candidates for this position, and I am thrilled to welcome him to our leadership team.”</p><p>Before joining Bricker Graydon, Nolan practiced with the Akron-based firm Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs. Early in his career, he worked in student affairs at Allegheny College for 10 years, including as its student conduct officer. He is an active member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys and has worked with nearly 100 colleges and universities across the country on higher education risk management and legal issues. </p><p>"I am excited and honored to join the 91ֱ�� College community, a haven for intellectual rigor, musical excellence, transformative relationships, and empathetic leadership,” Nolan says. “I am thankful to President Ambar for providing me the opportunity to partner with passionate students, exceptional colleagues, and the Board of Trustees in advancing 91ֱ��’s mission of providing access to a world-class education.”</p><p>Nolan graduated from Boston College. He earned a master’s degree at Indiana University and a JD from the University of Akron. He resides in Medina with his wife and two teenage children.</p><hr><p><em>Media inquiries: Please contact Andrea Simakis, Director of Media Relations, at </em><a href="mailto:asimakis@oberlin.edu"><em>asimakis@oberlin.edu</em></a><em>.</em></p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Distinguished attorney brings extensive experience in higher education law.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2025-12-19T12:00:00Z">Fri, 12/19/2025 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Office of Communications</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2359">Administration</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Tanya Rosen-Jones '97</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-article-header field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">0</div> </article> <article> <h1>91ֱ�� College Names Jon Seydl as Director of the Allen Memorial Art Museum</h1> <p>bdenneen — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 13:43:17 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� College Names Jon Seydl as Director of the Allen Memorial Art Museum</span> <span><span>bdenneen</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-04-14T09:43:17-04:00" title="Monday, April 14, 2025 - 09:43">Mon, 04/14/2025 - 09:43</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Seydl brings to 91ֱ�� a wide-ranging background in museum leadership, curatorial innovation, and community-focused programming. Since 2018, he has served as director of Krannert Art Museum at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he led the museum through a major strategic shift emphasizing equity, care, and institutional accountability. Under his leadership, Krannert strengthened ties with historically underrepresented communities, launched acclaimed exhibitions, and completed a sweeping building renovation.</p> <p>“It is beyond thrilling to join the brilliant team at the Allen Memorial Art Museum,” says Seydl. “I have long admired the Allen; its vibrant student and faculty engagement is the gold standard for university art museums. The stunning collections offer endless opportunities for the college and the broader community to explore the most pressing issues of our time. It’s also a joy to return to the incredible arts ecosystem of Northeast Ohio, where my partner and I have a close-knit community of friends. After eight fulfilling and exciting years at Krannert, I look forward to maintaining the Allen’s excellence, supporting the faculty and staff, and building new partnerships across the city of 91ֱ�� and the region.”</p> <p>Seydl’s career includes roles at several of the country’s leading institutions. He previously held curatorial posts at the Worcester Art Museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the J. Paul Getty Museum and has served in academic roles at Case Western Reserve University, the University of Southern California, and the University of Pennsylvania. His scholarship and curatorial practice reflect a deep commitment to accessibility, historical rigor, and contemporary relevance.</p> <p>The search committee for the directorship was chaired by Laura Baudot, senior associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences. Members included faculty from both the college and conservatory, as well as members of the museum’s visiting committee. “We are deeply grateful to the search committee for their thoughtfulness and care throughout this process,” says Baudot. “Jon rose to the top of a competitive pool as a visionary, sensitive, and collaborative leader—someone who commands respect while genuinely caring for the people he leads. As one committee member noted, ‘He has a PhD in early modern Italian art but also understands the complexities of contemporary repatriation politics in Peru.’ That breadth is exactly what the Allen needs in this moment.”</p> <p>Katie Solender, who has served as interim director since December and participated in the search, praised Seydl’s unique mix of academic and civic experience. “Jon’s background working at major civic museums and his focus on public engagement ensures he brings both curatorial depth and a commitment to visitor service,” she says. “He’s an ideal match for the Allen’s dual role as a teaching museum and public institution.”</p> <p>David Kamitsuka, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, also enthusiastically welcomed Seydl’s appointment. “Jon understands the power of museums in academic settings to be catalysts for student learning and community connection. We are excited for the vision and energy he will bring to 91ֱ��.” Kamitsuka also extends sincere gratitude to Katie Solender for her exceptional leadership during this transition: “Her deep knowledge of the Allen, steady guidance, and unwavering commitment ensured continuity and care for both the museum staff and our broader community during this pivotal period.”</p> <p>Seydl’s arrival at the Allen follows a decade of impressive growth under the stewardship of Derstine, who was recently appointed deputy director and chief curator at the Cleveland Museum of Art. During her tenure, the Allen expanded its collections—especially in works by women and artists of color—and secured significant endowments and conservation projects, cementing the museum’s national reputation for excellence and innovation and status as one of the premier academic art museums in the country.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Accomplished curator and academic leader to helm one of the nation’s premier teaching museums</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2025-04-14T12:00:00Z">Mon, 04/14/2025 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Communications Staff</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p> 91ֱ�� is pleased to announce the appointment of Jon Seydl as the new John G. W. Cowles Director of the Allen Memorial Art Museum. Seydl becomes the 11th director in the museum’s distinguished history, succeeding Andria Derstine, who stepped down in December 2024 after more than a decade of transformative leadership. He will begin his tenure on July 1.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2378">Allen Memorial Art Museum</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2359">Administration</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-flex-content field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden vertical-spacing--basic field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div id="obj-40400" class="paragraph paragraph--type--para-el-copy paragraph--view-mode--default o-flex--basic-copy basic-copy"> <h2 class="h4">About the Allen Memorial Art Museum</h2> <p>The <a href="http://amam.oberlin.edu/">Allen Memorial Art Museum</a> is free and open to the public, with a collection of more than 16,000 works spanning 6,000 years. As one of the finest academic art museums in the United States, it serves as an essential hub for interdisciplinary learning, creative exploration, and community engagement.</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>91ֱ�� Expands Impact Investment Platform to Help Improve World’s Troubled Regions</h1> <p>eburnett — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 17:24:06 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� Expands Impact Investment Platform to Help Improve World’s Troubled Regions</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-08-20T13:24:06-04:00" title="Tuesday, August 20, 2024 - 13:24">Tue, 08/20/2024 - 13:24</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p> 91ֱ��’s <a href="/investment/impact-investment-platform">Impact Investment Platform</a>, created in 2013 to guide socially conscious investments of 91ֱ��’s endowment, will expand to create experiential learning opportunities for students, uniting academics and investing in ways that directly address troubled regions and vital issues worldwide.</p> <p>The Board of Trustees’ Investment Committee endorsed the plan for expansion.</p> <p>The platform, developed to promote 91ֱ��’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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>“91ֱ�� taught me to keep my eyes and mind open to the many ways we can engage with the most difficult challenges and influence the world for good,” says Board Chair Chris Canavan ’84. “People movements are what we tend to think of first. But we should also appreciate—and try to influence—money movements as well. Investing dollars can have as much impact as mobilizing people, and even amplify the impact of movements. I’m glad to see 91ֱ�� providing opportunities for us to learn how to do this better.”</p> <p>91ֱ��’s expansion of impact investing coincides with the development and growth of the Impact Investment Advisory Group, a nine-member panel made up of students, faculty, alumni, members of the Board’s Investment Committee, and Chief Investment Officer Jun Yang.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Measures follow recent steps to increase student participation in socially conscious investment decisions.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2024-08-20T12:00:00Z">Tue, 08/20/2024 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Office of Communications</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2554">Board of Trustees</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=4103">Impact Investment Platform</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=4104">Impact Investment Advisory Group</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=4105">Investment Committee</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2359">Administration</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=4107">Sustainability</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2392">Social Justice</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Mike Crupi</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-flex-content field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden vertical-spacing--basic field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div id="obj-32150" class="paragraph paragraph--type--pb-el-bq paragraph--view-mode--default"> <blockquote class="blockquote--quotemark" data-text-color-red data-text-size-giant> <p>Impact investing is a natural fit with 91ֱ��’s mission of education and global engagement while generating necessary financial returns.” —Sean Gavin ’98, Investment Committee Chair</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div id="obj-28053" class="paragraph paragraph--type--para-el-copy paragraph--view-mode--default o-flex--basic-copy basic-copy"> <p>Formed in 2022 with the goal of providing an invaluable experiential learning opportunity to 91ֱ�� students, the IIAG serves in an advisory capacity to the Investment Committee. 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 91ֱ�� students and the community more broadly on impact investing and the endowment overall.</p> <p>The IIAG consists of four student members, known as IIAG Fellows. This summer, the Investment Committee appointed an IIAG Coordinator to guide the group’s efforts, recruit new members, develop the IIAG agenda and projects for the coming year, and serve as primary liaison to the committee. The inaugural coordinator, Iman Abdullah, is a 2024 91ֱ�� graduate who majored in Economics. She was an IIAG Fellow in 2023-24.</p> <p>A previous advisory group, the Impact Investment Platform Subcommittee, consisted primarily of members of the Investment Committee and the Board of Trustees, as well as faculty and alumni. The IIAG, by comparison, involves a greater number of students and provides rigorous opportunities to apply classroom learning to real-world challenges—and to play a key role in the future of 91ֱ��. </p> <p>“Impact investing is a natural fit with 91ֱ��’s mission of education and global engagement while generating necessary financial returns,” says Sean Gavin ’98, chair of the Investment Committee. “Engaging students in this process facilitates learning and gives agency to students in acting as a catalyst for good. The addition of a full time on-campus fellow facilitates this process and is a critical step in the realization of our vision.”</p> <p>Current 91ֱ�� students may submit applications for <a href="https://jobs.oberlin.edu/postings/15543">2024-25 IIAG Fellowships</a> through August 31. Applicants are required to have completed their first year of 91ֱ�� studies, and all majors are welcome. This year’s fellows will be announced in mid-September.</p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>JeffriAnne Wilder Named Inaugural Executive Director of Center for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion</h1> <p>eburnett — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 13:59:11 +0000</p> <span>JeffriAnne Wilder Named Inaugural Executive Director of Center for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-04-16T09:59:11-04:00" title="Tuesday, April 16, 2024 - 09:59">Tue, 04/16/2024 - 09:59</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p> 91ֱ�� has named JeffriAnne Wilder, an accomplished educator and developer of higher education diversity programs, as the inaugural executive director of the 91ֱ�� Center for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.</p> <p>The Center was developed through the work commissioned by 91ֱ��’s <a href="/node/410371">Presidential Initiative on Racial Equity and Diversity</a>, a comprehensive examination of the campus and its programs conducted from 2020 to 2022. The initiative, which was launched amid heightened tensions nationwide in response to the murder of George Floyd, was aimed at identifying opportunities to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion across all facets of the institution.</p> <p>Wilder’s appointment marks the conclusion of an extensive nationwide search. She will begin June 10; the Center is scheduled to open in fall 2024.</p> <p>“Each one of us at 91ֱ�� inherits this institution’s legacy of leadership in embracing diversity, creating access to education, and cultivating a climate that is intentionally inclusive of differing cultures, perspectives, and experiences,” says 91ֱ�� President <a href="/node/48561">Carmen Twillie Ambar</a>, who initiated the campus study. “These are values upon which 91ֱ�� was founded nearly 200 years ago, and they are the values that will guide our work into a third century and beyond.</p> <p>“The arrival of our Center for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and the appointment of JeffriAnne Wilder sets in motion an exciting new opportunity for 91ֱ�� to lead by example.”</p> <p>From 2008 to 2018, Wilder served the University of North Florida as a tenured associate professor of sociology and later as the founding director of the school’s Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnic Relations, the first center of its kind in the State University System of Florida.</p> <p>Wilder has also held roles as senior lecturer and designer of the Masters of Science in DEI Leadership at Glasgow Caledonian New York College and as senior research scientist and director of racial equity and strategy for the National Center for Women and Information Technology in Colorado. She was the inaugural executive director for DEI at Shaker Heights City Schools near her hometown of Cleveland.</p> <p>From 2015 to 2019, Wilder served as a research and evaluation consultant for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a Baltimore-based nonprofit dedicated to juvenile justice reform. She is a graduate of Allegheny College and earned a master’s degree in sociology from Cleveland State University and a PhD in sociology from the University of Florida.</p> <p>As executive director and a member of 91ֱ��’s executive leadership team, Wilder will guide the Center and the ongoing implementation of recommendations presented in the <a href="/media/20067/download">Presidential Initiative report</a>. She will provide leadership in all facets of the center’s operations, including fundraising, research, and ongoing assessment of 91ֱ��’s progress and effectiveness related to DEI efforts.</p> <p>“JeffriAnne Wilder has supplied thoughtful leadership to initiatives such as these throughout her career, and I am thrilled to see what she can accomplish on a campus so thoroughly in support of all that the Center for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion represents,” says Ambar. “I look forward to welcoming her to campus and embracing this vital work together.”</p> <p>In previous roles, Wilder notes, earning buy-in for DEI initiatives was often the first order of business. In Florida, recent state legislation scrutinizing DEI led the University of North Florida to disband the very center she had founded.</p> <p>Her transition to 91ֱ��, she says, is “almost night and day.”</p> <p>“Everyone in the 91ֱ�� community and in our broader community understands why this work is so very important right now,” she says. “There is clear buy-in, because the work came from grass-roots efforts at 91ֱ��.”</p> <p>When discussing the mission of the Center, Wilder invokes the phrase “standing on business,” a reference to 91ֱ��’s obligation to lead by example.</p> <p>“Organizations like 91ֱ�� get to stand on business: to say that this work is important in light of what’s happening and in spite of the resistance,” she says. “It’s not a fight; it’s doing the right thing. It’s doing the right work in the right way and being a model for how the work gets done in spite of the resistance. And that’s the side of history we’re going to be on.”</p> <h2 class="h3">About 91ֱ��</h2> <p><a href="/"> 91ֱ��</a>, an independent coeducational institution in Northeast Ohio, holds a distinguished place among American colleges and universities. Founded in 1833, 91ֱ�� was the first college to enact a policy to admit Black students and the first to grant undergraduate degrees to women in a coed setting.</p> <p>That legacy is carried forward today in a multitude of ways: through an ongoing commitment to cultivating a campus that embraces diversity and inclusion in all forms; in an admissions policy that meets the full need of each student; and in the development of academic programs that reflect the African diaspora, indigenous people and all people of color, and women.</p> <h2 class="h3">About the Presidential Initiative on Racial Equity and Diversity</h2> <p>In August 2020, in response to growing racial unrest across America, 91ֱ�� President Carmen Twillie Ambar identified the need for a proactive examination of all facets of 91ֱ��’s curriculum and campus life. The resulting Presidential Initiative on Racial Equity and Diversity involved a 20-member committee and four subcommittees of faculty, staff, and students to examine:</p> <ul> <li>issues related to violence, police-community relationships, and racial injustices, with an eye toward meaningful engagement with these and other vital issues related to equity and diversity.</li> <li>91ֱ��’s curriculum across the college and conservatory, campus programming, hiring practices, and overall campus culture, to identify opportunities to elevate the institution’s longstanding commitment to equity.</li> </ul> <p><a class="view-more" href="/node/410371">Learn more about the Presidential Initiative on Racial Equity and Diversity and read the committee’s report.</a></p> <h2 class="h3">Media Inquiries</h2> <p>Please contact Director of Media Relations Andrea Simakis at <a href="mailto:asimakis@oberlin.edu?subject=re%3A%20Appointment%20of%20JeffriAnne%20Wilder">asimakis@oberlin.edu</a>.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Newly created center deepens 91ֱ��’s nearly two-century commitment to creating access and opportunity; Wilder has played a leading role in establishing diversity programs across the educational spectrum.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2024-04-16T12:00:00Z">Tue, 04/16/2024 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Office of Communications</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3490">Presidential Initiative</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2359">Administration</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/jeffrianne-wilder" hreflang="und">JeffriAnne Wilder</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Kamron Khan</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Going Above and Beyond Diversity</h1> <p>anagy — Mon, 08 May 2023 19:15:27 +0000</p> <span>Going Above and Beyond Diversity</span> <span><span>anagy</span></span> <span><time datetime="2023-05-08T15:15:27-04:00" title="Monday, May 8, 2023 - 15:15">Mon, 05/08/2023 - 15:15</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>In spring 2023, 91ֱ�� appointed <a href="/kristen-surla">Kristen Surla</a> as the institution’s first human resources director of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In this position, Surla plays a key role in promoting a culture of inclusive excellence and advancing strategic diversity hiring initiatives. </p> <p>Surla comes to 91ֱ�� from the University of Michigan, where she worked in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the School for Environment and Sustainability. At 91ֱ��, she is primarily responsible for the recruitment and retention of faculty and staff from historically underrepresented backgrounds in higher education, supporting community building and retention efforts through affinity groups and mentoring programs, and offering professional development opportunities.</p> <p>Surla is no stranger to the 91ֱ�� community. From 2013-2016, she served as the Asian Pacific Islander Diaspora community coordinator in the Multicultural Resource Center (MRC), now known as the <a href="/mrc">Multicultural Resource Commons</a>. She went on to receive a master’s degree in education from Loyola University Chicago and is now working toward a PhD in higher, adult, and lifelong education from Michigan State University.</p> <p>In the following Q&A, Surla discusses her research interests, her approach to an inclusive work culture, and the factors that brought her back to 91ֱ��.</p> <p><strong>First of all, welcome back to 91ֱ��! Can you start by talking about your past role here and your career journey up to this point?</strong></p> <p>Thank you! I’ve felt a warm welcome back to the community by former and present colleagues. It feels like a homecoming to be back at both 91ֱ�� and the town at large. My position in the MRC was my first job following graduation from Loyola University with a bachelor’s in sociology and English. Beginning my career at 91ֱ�� was a formative start to understanding the ecology of liberal arts institutions of higher education. I learned a lot about how faculty and staff can create collaborative learning cultures with students in order to pursue research and teaching. </p> <p>I loved working at the MRC because of its intersectional approach to programming and working with our campus community. Programs such as “My Name is My Own”—a series that featured leaders talking about intersectional identities and the impact of their lived and professional identities on their fields—was really instructive in forming my approach to DEI work. The collaborative programs I hosted with the other community coordinators in the MRC helped me better serve a diverse student population whose identities weren’t siloed to individual groups. For example, although my title was the Asian Pacific Islander Diaspora (APID) coordinator, I was also working with LGBTQIA+, Africana, and Latinx populations around shared priorities, programming, and student support. Many of our students span multiple communities, so this kind of advising model made sense for that reason.</p> <p>After 91ֱ��, I went to graduate school for my master’s and PhD. My research focuses on academic socialization, faculty culture, and curriculum development in environmental education. Specifically, my dissertation examines practices of decolonizing curriculum within environmental education and how these movements push to prioritize Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) voices, place-based learning, and policies that recognize the history of how colonialism and the Global North has dominated discourse and research in this field. I hope my contributions can continue to diversify the methods we use to teach environmental education and support more BIPOC students who are pursuing environmental studies.</p> <p><strong>Explain your role as director of diversity, equity, and inclusion.</strong></p> <p>I’d summarize the work I do as recruitment and retention of faculty and staff from historically underrepresented backgrounds in higher education, supporting community building and retention efforts through affinity groups and mentoring programs, and providing professional development opportunities. Some of the professional development I’d like to focus on includes inclusive hiring practices, shifting academic culture toward a more justice-oriented lens, and supporting the overall well-being of our faculty and staff. To do this work, I think we have to intentionally analyze, reflect, and propose creative approaches to expectations of work culture, processes, and procedures to support employees’ overall well-being. I’d like for us to admit the ways we could do better in supporting faculty and staff and to create solutions together. </p> <p><strong>How does this position fill a need at 91ֱ��, and where will we see the impact?</strong></p> <p>I think 91ֱ�� has done a good job at starting to increase its compositional diversity, but we need to be thinking more about how we create inclusive environments where faculty and staff feel supported in the requirements and workloads they have for research, teaching, and service. A quote that stays with me about doing DEI work is that “admission does not mean acceptance, and acceptance does not mean welcome. To be truly welcoming, we have to commit to creating environments where people are empowered and supported to share their diverse experiences, perspectives, and identities." Essentially, what I interpret from this quote is that we have to go beyond compositional diversity and recruitment to create infrastructures of community building and honest conversations where we can talk about what is really needed for faculty and staff to feel supported in their full selves. Creating longevity and decreasing turnover among faculty and staff are important indicators of how well we’re doing as an institution at DEI work. </p> <p><strong>What are some of your goals and objectives?</strong></p> <p>As the inaugural HR director of DEI, I’m still developing a list of priorities through listening and collaborating with faculty and staff around campus. I always think that the most important thing to do first in a job is to listen to the people who have already been doing or want to propose DEI work that they’ve been waiting to see on campus.</p> <p>Some of my initial priorities focus on increasing recruitment and retention programs for faculty and staff from historically underrepresented backgrounds. In the upcoming academic year, I hope to collaborate with the college and conservatory in creating training programs for hiring managers and search committees to better recruit faculty and staff, and additional training on creating inclusive departmental cultures that incorporate DEI throughout processes. </p> <p><strong>What drew you back to 91ֱ��?</strong></p> <p>After working at a lot of different institutional types—including mid-size, research, religiously affiliated—I found that liberal arts colleges such as 91ֱ�� best fit my personality and work style. I enjoy the brilliance and collaboration that occurs at 91ֱ�� between faculty, staff, and students on events and scholarship. I love being on a campus where there’s a large LGBTQIA+ community—that makes me feel at home. Also, I am impressed by the leadership of President Ambar in her <a href="/about-oberlin/presidential-initiative-racial-equity-and-diversity">Initiative for Racial Equity and Diversity</a>. Many of the components of the plan outline strategies forward that I think cut across academics, workplace retention and satisfaction, and overall improving student, faculty, and staff experiences from a DEI lens. This would not be possible if it wasn’t for President Ambar’s investment in these issues and my position in human resources. In collaboration with offices across campus, and in particular the MRC, I think we can get a lot done together. </p> <p><strong>What do you like to do in your free time?</strong></p> <p>I love gardening and building relationships with others through community garden work. I also enjoy exploring the Metroparks, hiking, kayaking, traveling, and writing poetry.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Recruitment, retention, and community building are priorities for 91ֱ��'s new director of diversity, equity, and inclusion.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2023-05-08T12:00:00Z">Mon, 05/08/2023 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Amanda Nagy</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2551">Staff</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2359">Administration</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3490">Presidential Initiative</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Kristen Surla, 91ֱ��'s inaugural director of diversity, equity, and inclusion.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Tanya Rosen-Jones '97</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>91ֱ�� Appoints Ted Evans as Director of Entrepreneurship and Instructor in Business</h1> <p>anagy — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 15:06:39 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� Appoints Ted Evans as Director of Entrepreneurship and Instructor in Business</span> <span><span>anagy</span></span> <span><time datetime="2022-03-18T11:06:39-04:00" title="Friday, March 18, 2022 - 11:06">Fri, 03/18/2022 - 11:06</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p> 91ֱ�� has selected Ted Evans as the new director of Entrepreneurship and Instructor in Business.</p> <p>Evans’ career reflects success in corporate, non-profit, academia, entrepreneurship, and management consulting with two top-tier global consulting firms. He has worked throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, and South America. He is an experienced industry professional, higher education practitioner, and management consultant who has 25 years of industry, education, and consulting experience as an executive with firms such as A.T. Kearney, Accenture, Aon Hewitt, and Grainger. He has consulted with and impacted several companies, including American Red Cross, Intel, General Electric, Siemens, Corning, Pfizer, Chevron, and Sara Lee. Through his work, Evans has interacted with and served various industries including distribution, finance, technology, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, and oil and gas.</p> <p>Prior to 91ֱ��, he was a senior director of several key areas—admissions, recruitment, corporate relations, placement, fellowships, internships—at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. Immediately before CWRU, he served as an executive for a global technology commercialization management consulting firm where innovation, problem solving, and positive societal impact were basic to the role.</p> <p>Most notably, Evans is the namesake of the highly valuable and popular <a href="https://weatherhead.case.edu/events/ted-listens">TedListens</a> events and one-on-one sessions conducted at various educational institutions and corporations. TedListens brings a breadth of intellectual resources to individual students and professionals seeking business consultation, personal growth, connections/relationships, and interview/employment opportunities at firms around the country. These events often draw more than 100 participants to each session.</p> <p>Evans is very familiar with the values, teachings, and quality of students at 91ֱ�� College and the liberal arts curriculum. Not only has he worked closely with the Ohio 5 (<a href="https://ohio5.org/">Five Colleges of Ohio</a>) and met individually to assist those students, he led the signing of the 4+1 agreement between 91ֱ�� and Case Western Reserve University, enabling early graduate school admission and scholarships for 91ֱ�� students. </p> <p>Evans serves on the board of directors of the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and the Great Lakes Science Center, whose organizations work to build sustainability, conservation, innovation, STEM, creativity, and social awareness. Prior to that he was on the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Rainbows for All Children (serving children who have suffered traumatic loss in their life) board of directors.</p> <p>Evans has an MBA from Case Western Reserve University. He enjoys spending time with his family and staying physically and mentally active. As an undergraduate, he played football at the University of Kansas. </p> <p>Evans’ office is located in Wilder Hall 205, and he can be reached at 440-775-8962.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">An experienced industry professional, higher education practitioner, and management consultant, Evans is the namesake of the popular TedListens events.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2022-03-18T12:00:00Z">Fri, 03/18/2022 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Communications Staff</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2359">Administration</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2551">Staff</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2395">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2363">Academics & Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Ted Evans is the new director of Entrepreneurship and Instructor in Business.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Tanya Rosen-Jones '97</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Condemning Anti-Asian Racism and Violence</h1> <p>anagy — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 22:05:08 +0000</p> <span>Condemning Anti-Asian Racism and Violence</span> <span><span>anagy</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-03-18T18:05:08-04:00" title="Thursday, March 18, 2021 - 18:05">Thu, 03/18/2021 - 18:05</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>91ֱ�� continues to unite as a community against injustice and bigotry. We have a distinctive history of Asian American student activism, mobilization, and programming dating at least to the 1970s, which yielded an ethnic studies curriculum and interrogated 91ֱ��’s own history of cultural imperialism in Asia. But clearly much work remains to be done. </p> <p>Our faculty includes respected scholars of the Asian American experience: Shelley Lee, Rick Baldoz, and Harrod Suarez. Professor Lee’s book, <em>A New History of Asian America</em>, has become a go-to text in Asian American studies courses around the country. Lee teaches that anti-Asian racism runs deep in American history, and has been especially weaponized during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p> <p>We stand in solidarity with Asian and Asian American students, staff, faculty, and all other community members who have been impacted by these events. For those who may have missed them, please read the two statements the college shared prior to the Atlanta shooting: <a href="/campus-resources/bulletins/presidential-initiative-racial-equity-and-diversity-commission-statement">the first on March 7</a>, from the Presidential Initiative, and <a href="/campus-resources/bulletins/condemnation-anti-asian-violence">the second</a> from the Comparative American Studies Department, East Asian Studies Department, International Student Resource Center, and Multicultural Resource Center on March 12 that includes resources for wellness and emotional support.</p> <p>Please reach out if you need support and share the following campus resources with each other:</p> <p><strong>91ֱ�� College Safety and Security On Call System: 440-774-8444</strong></p> <ul> <li>24-hour response service to address urgent issues of campus safety and connect members of the community to the after-hours support system.</li> </ul> <p><strong>The Counseling Center: 440-775-8470</strong> </p> <ul> <li>Confidential counseling services for 91ֱ�� students. After-hours telephone counseling support is available by calling the number above and selecting option 2.</li> </ul> <p><strong>The Multicultural Resource Center: 440-775-8802</strong></p> <ul> <li>A gathering place for the collaborative support of historically disenfranchised communities which works on issues of diversity and inclusion within a social justice context.</li> </ul> <p><strong>The Office of Religious and Spiritual Life: 440-775-8103</strong></p> <ul> <li>A multifaith resource center that supports religious practice, education, service, and activism, and provides spiritual support and counseling.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Student Help and Resource Exchange: 440-775-8462</strong></p> <ul> <li>Trained staff advisors available to talk through issues, brainstorm options, and connect to solutions. </li> </ul> <p><strong>International Student Support: 440-775-8462</strong></p> <ul> <li>Specialized immigration assistance, advising, and support for international students.</li> </ul> <p><strong>The Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: 440-775-8555</strong></p> <ul> <li>Support regarding reports of discrimination and harassment, including sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence.</li> </ul></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2021-03-18T12:00:00Z">Thu, 03/18/2021 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Office of the President</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The mass shooting on Tuesday, March 16 in Atlanta, in which six of the eight people killed were Asian and Asian American women, serves as a horrific reminder of the xenophobia and misogyny rooted in our society and yet another call on all of us to strengthen our commitment to social justice work. Advocacy organizations such as Stop AAPI Hate have reported at least 2,880 incidents of violent attacks in 2020, with rising numbers in 2021. These are indeed unsettling times in our country during which Asians and Asian Americans are suffering as these hate-driven incidents become more common. The urgent work of ending racially motivated violence is a long, ongoing journey that we will walk together.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2359">Administration</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">The Cox Administration Building.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Dale Preston '83</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>91ֱ�� College Reaffirms its Commitment to Accessibility with New Scholarship</h1> <p>swargo — Fri, 25 Sep 2020 18:47:41 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� College Reaffirms its Commitment to Accessibility with New Scholarship</span> <span><span>swargo</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-09-25T14:47:41-04:00" title="Friday, September 25, 2020 - 14:47">Fri, 09/25/2020 - 14:47</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>OBERLIN, OHIO — To help families address the increasing cost of higher education, 91ֱ�� College will award a $10,000 91ֱ�� Commitment Scholarship to all new students who apply and enroll in fall 2021. The scholarship will be renewable for up to four years for students pursuing degrees in either the College of Arts and Sciences or the Conservatory of Music, and up to five years for students who are pursuing a double degree.<br> <br> Each year, 91ֱ�� dedicates more than $60 million dollars to financial aid to support students and their families and is committed to making higher education affordable for all who aspire to join the 91ֱ�� community. By meeting 100 percent of every student's demonstrated financial need, it is ensured that an 91ֱ�� education is accessible to students from all financial backgrounds. 91ֱ��’s generous merit-aid policy provides an opportunity to further address the rising cost of college for all admitted students while also rewarding their achievements. <br> <br> In many cases, the $10,000 91ֱ�� Commitment Scholarship will be part of a larger need- and/or merit-based package that will be calculated once a student has been admitted. Providing the 91ֱ�� Commitment Scholarship to all students as a baseline sends the strong message that the college is committed to making an 91ֱ�� education affordable for everyone. It is important that 91ֱ�� College reaffirms its commitment to accessibility in this straightforward, universal manner, especially during these uncertain times. </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-09-25T12:00:00Z">Fri, 09/25/2020 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Office of Communications</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2556">Admissions</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2359">Administration</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2385">Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Yvonne Gay</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>91ֱ�� College Establishes Presidential Initiative on Racial Equity and Diversity in Response to National Distress</h1> <p>swargo — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 14:12:31 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� College Establishes Presidential Initiative on Racial Equity and Diversity in Response to National Distress</span> <span><span>swargo</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-08-28T10:12:31-04:00" title="Friday, August 28, 2020 - 10:12">Fri, 08/28/2020 - 10:12</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>OBERLIN, OHIO – President Carmen Twillie Ambar and 91ֱ�� College announced today the launch of the Presidential Initiative on Racial Equity and Diversity in response to increasing injustice and racial tensions in America. The Presidential Initiative will elevate and advance 91ֱ��’s more than 180-year commitment to the education and rights of Blacks in America, and will provide the framework for faculty and students to address issues of violence, police-community relationships, and racial injustices. </p> <p><a href="https://www.marshall.usc.edu/personnel/shaun-harper">Shaun Harper</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-external-link"></span>, one of the nation’s foremost experts on racial culture on college campuses, will work with the commission to assess and improve 91ֱ��’s approach to campus diversity.</p> <p>‘‘The work of dismantling the vestiges of white supremacy, anti-Black policies, and gender inequality has long been embedded in the promise of 91ֱ�� College,’’ Ambar wrote in her <a href="/about-oberlin/presidential-initiative-racial-equity-and-diversity/declaration">charge to the commission</a> of 21 faculty, staff, and students from the college and the conservatory. ‘‘This work in the 21st century, however, looks different than it did in 1833.’’</p> <p>The announcement follows a personal note Ambar wrote to the 91ֱ�� community after the killing of George Floyd and reflects sentiments expressed across the country after the recent shooting of Jacob Blake. </p> <p>‘‘At every turn it seems we are watching in anguish a world that views African Americans as less than human and unworthy of dignity,’’ she wrote. ‘‘The Black community—my community—is in excruciating pain. We are contending with what appears to be an unending well of racism and bigotry. We are witnessing an unraveling and a democracy that is now in search of its foundational societal norms. Hatred, anger, illness, and death fill our screens. There is grief at the abandonment of our ideals and a tearing of the heart as we see the impact on our children.’’</p> <p>Meredith Gadsby, associate professor of Africana studies and comparative American studies, and Bill Quillen, dean of the conservatory, will cochair the commission, which will evaluate 91ֱ��’s programming in both the college and conservatory, review hiring, and examine divisional and departmental climates to identify methods to elevate 91ֱ��‘s commitment to equity.</p> <p>‘‘Although this is an incredibly painful moment for Black people, people of color, and all people of conscience, I am energized by examples of generations of Black men and women who mobilized and continue to mobilize in struggle,’’ said Gadsby. ‘‘This energy propels me forward to engage in this important work with President Ambar, colleagues, and students.’’</p> <p>‘‘ 91ֱ�� are united in undertaking this critical mission to help improve and redefine education in America,’’ said William Quillen, dean of the conservatory. ‘‘It is imperative that we respond to these challenges with immediacy, for the sake of our students today and for the sake of future generations who deserve a world grounded in equity and an expanded, shared sense of belonging.’’</p> <p>The commission‘s work will span the 2020-2021 academic year, with the expectation of both short-term and long-term strategic recommendations at year’s end. Their partnership with Harper and the USC Race and Equity Center will help guide the work, which will include quantitative and qualitative assessments of related efforts already under way at 91ֱ�� and a climate assessment survey of the college and conservatory. The commission will lead the development of meaningful antiracism education and professional development for all members of the campus community, and will assess the viability, form, and structure of what a Center on Race and Equity could look like on 91ֱ��‘s campus. </p> <p>The commission will evaluate hiring policies and practices that ensure accountability in both the development of diverse applicant pools and the assessment of candidates, and will offer initiatives that more effectively launch Black students into graduate programs and professional pursuits after 91ֱ��.</p> <p>President Ambar‘s charge requires that recommendations have both an internal and external framing, to ensure the institution can speak nationally and internally in a moment that is critical to both higher education and to the nation. </p> <p>‘‘There are national moments that call upon all of us to gather our energies and take hold of moral missions, and this is one of those moments,’’ Ambar said. ‘‘Once again, we should assess ourselves and the role we play in educating our students to go out into the world to act upon the change that we want to see manifested in it.‘‘</p> <p><strong>About 91ֱ��</strong></p> <p>Ranked among the nation’s top liberal arts schools, 91ֱ�� is known for its exemplary academic and musical pedagogy and its commitment to social justice, sustainability, and creative entrepreneurship. The college, founded in 1833, holds a distinguished place among American colleges and universities as the first to grant bachelor's degrees to women in a coeducational environment and was a leader in the education of Black Americans. The Conservatory of Music, a recipient of the National Medal of Arts, was founded in 1865, making it the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States. 91ֱ�� Conservatory alumni enjoy illustrious careers in all aspects of the music world, achieving prominence as performers, conductors, composers, music educators, scholars, and arts administrators.</p> <p>Contact:</p> <p>Scott Wargo<br> Director of Media Relations<br> 440-775-5197<br> <a href="mailto:Scott.Wargo@oberlin.edu?subject=President's%20Initiative%20on%20Diversity%20and%20Equity">Scott.Wargo@oberlin.edu</a> <span aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-envelope-o"></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-08-28T12:00:00Z">Fri, 08/28/2020 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Office of Communications</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2359">Administration</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2577">Office of the President</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2385">Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/meredith-gadsby" hreflang="und">Meredith Gadsby</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/william-quillen" hreflang="und">William Quillen</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/carmen-twillie-ambar" hreflang="und">Carmen Twillie Ambar</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Office of Communications</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>91ֱ�� College Moves to Test-Optional Model for 2020-2021 Admissions Cycle</h1> <p>swargo — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 21:00:58 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� College Moves to Test-Optional Model for 2020-2021 Admissions Cycle</span> <span><span>swargo</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-04-17T17:00:58-04:00" title="Friday, April 17, 2020 - 17:00">Fri, 04/17/2020 - 17:00</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>In light of the unprecedented effects the current pandemic is having on high school students around the world, 91ֱ�� College is moving to a test-optional model for the next three years starting with the 2020-2021 admissions cycle, and continuing as a pilot program through the 2022-2023 application year. SAT and ACT score submissions will still be accepted, but will no longer be required for first-year and transfer applicants.</p> <p>The effects of COVID-19 on high school students around the world have been significant. Constant disheartening news, family disruptions, and health concerns are now a part of everyday life. Many have seen their academic schedules altered as schools have moved to virtual settings, grading scales have changed, and programs such as Advanced Placement and the International Baccalaureate have been affected.</p> <p>During these uncertain times, standardized testing presents yet another challenge. With many testing dates having already been canceled and with many schools closed for the remainder of the year, the testing requirement now presents an access issue for our applicants.</p> <p>“We are making this change to provide some comfort during the application process to students who are already living through a seismic shift in their path toward college,” says Vice President and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Manuel Carballo. “It also continues a pattern of reducing barriers and increasing access that 91ֱ�� College has undertaken the last several years.”</p> <p>This has included the elimination of the application fee for applicants to the College of Arts and Sciences, allowing students to self-report their standardized test results, eliminating the 91ֱ�� specific essay, and providing financial aid estimates through MyinTuition.org.</p> <p>This policy will underscore that admissions decisions do not overly emphasize testing and also will allow applicants to highlight their many academic and personal strengths. “A test-optional policy fits well with 91ֱ�� College’s holistic review that weighs a student’s four-year academic journey, including grades, strength of schedule, and teacher recommendations, more heavily than the results of standardized tests,” says Carballo.</p> <p>Students will still have the option of submitting test scores, and these will continue to be considered in the review of applications. Applicants for whom English is not their native language will still be required to submit results of an English-language proficiency exam. </p> <p><strong>About 91ֱ��</strong></p> <p>Ranked among the nation’s top liberal arts schools, 91ֱ�� is known for its exemplary academic and musical pedagogy and its commitment to social justice, sustainability, and creative entrepreneurship. The college, founded in 1833, holds a distinguished place among American colleges and universities as the first to grant bachelor's degrees to women in a coeducational environment and was a leader in the education of African Americans. The Conservatory of Music, a recipient of the National Medal of Arts, was founded in 1865, making it the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States. 91ֱ�� Conservatory alumni enjoy illustrious careers in all aspects of the music world, achieving prominence as performers, conductors, composers, music educators, scholars, and arts administrators.</p> <p><br> </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-04-17T12:00:00Z">Fri, 04/17/2020 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Communications Staff</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2359">Administration</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2556">Admissions</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">The Cox Administration Building.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Gregory Pendolino</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> </main></body></html>