Cecilia Conrad to Deliver Commencement Address to Class of 2026</h1> <article> <h1>Cecilia Conrad to Deliver Commencement Address to Class of 2026</h1> <p>kviancou — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 19:38:25 +0000</p> <span>Cecilia Conrad to Deliver Commencement Address to Class of 2026</span> <span><span>kviancou</span></span> <span><time datetime="2026-04-14T15:38:25-04:00" title="Tuesday, April 14, 2026 - 15:38">Tue, 04/14/2026 - 15:38</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Conrad is the former managing director of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, where she led the MacArthur Fellows Program—popularly known as the “Genius Grant”—contributing to one of the nation’s most prestigious recognitions of creative achievement. </p><p>Genius Grant recipients can’t apply but must be nominated. One of Conrad’s most important jobs was selecting those choosing the annual crop of grantees—individuals whose work shows exceptional creativity and promise for important future advances. Through her leadership of the fellowship program, she played a central role in identifying and elevating some of the most creative minds of our time. </p><p>Her dedication to recognizing pioneering intellects aligns perfectly with �鶹��Ƶ's institutional mission. �鶹��Ƶ has long nurtured the kind of original thought the MacArthur Foundation celebrates: 15 of its alumni have earned MacArthur Fellowships—more than any other liberal arts college in the nation. Three �鶹��Ƶ MacArthur winners have been named since 2022: writer and educator <a href="https://Kiese Laymon">Kiese Laymon ’98</a>, composer and pianist <a href="/news/courtney-bryan-04-wins-prestigious-macarthur-fellowship">Courtney Bryan ’04</a>, and historian <a href="/news/historian-jennifer-l-morgan-86-wins-macarthur-fellowship">Jennifer L. Morgan ’86</a>.</p><p>Conrad has created a global legacy in philanthropy, helping direct transformative funding where it matters most. Under her leadership, Lever for Change has influenced over $2.5 billion in grants and provided support to more than 500 organizations worldwide.</p><p>Conrad's reputation and reach were detailed in a profile in <em>Time</em> magazine’s first-ever list of the 100 most influential people in philanthropy in 2025: Yield Giving founder MacKenzie Scott sought out Conrad when she wanted to give $250 million to 250 charities serving low-income households and people facing discrimination. Conrad’s Lever for Change identified so many deserving groups that Scott doubled her initial pledge, ultimately awarding $640 million in grants to 361 organizations. Lever is also vetting hundreds more charities to help Melinda French Gates allocate $250 million toward improving women’s health.</p><p>Conrad founded Lever for Change in 2019 to dismantle barriers in philanthropy, noting, “There are donors who want to fund creative, effective organizations and creative, effective organizations who need funding, but they have trouble finding each other.” This model, which uses open-call competitions to reverse the typical invitation-only system, gives, as <em>Time</em> noted, “little-known nonprofits a shot at significant funding.” Adds Conrad: “We exist to help donors discover new ideas, new potential."</p><p>�鶹��Ƶ College Board of Trustees member Lillie Edwards ’75, who nominated Conrad, praised her lasting achievements. “Her leadership in big philanthropy has powerfully demonstrated that one person can indeed change the world,” Edwards wrote. “Her success exemplifies the extraordinary ways intellectual creativity and agility, combined with social consciousness, can transform the lives of individuals and communities."</p><p>A Stanford-trained economics professor, Conrad also co-led the team that created MacArthur’s 100&Change competition, which periodically awards a single $100 million grant to help solve a critical problem. The competition, which began in 2017, has funded initiatives including early childhood education for refugee children displaced by conflict, securing legal access to reproductive health care for women in marginalized communities in the U.S. South, and deploying data-driven methods to end homelessness in American cities.</p><p>Prior to her work in philanthropy, Conrad had a distinguished academic career at Pomona College, where she was the Stedman Sumner Chair in Economics and is now Professor of Economics, Emerita. Conrad is widely respected in her field, having been named to the inaugural Time100 Philanthropy list in 2025, joining Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffett, and Dolly Parton; and the <em>Forbes</em> 50 over 50 Impact List in 2024; in addition to being named one of <em>Inside Philanthropy’s</em> 50 Most Powerful Women in Philanthropy in 2023. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Wellesley College and a PhD in economics from Stanford University.</p><p>Conrad's add will be live streamed as part of Commencement Weekend festivities.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Founding CEO of Lever for Change and former MacArthur Foundation leader will address the graduating class on May 25.</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="2026-04-14T12:00:00Z">Tue, 04/14/2026 - 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="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p><strong>Cecilia A. Conrad</strong>, PhD, a philanthropy leader who has helped reimagine how transformative ideas are funded and founding CEO of Lever for Change, a nonprofit that connects donors with impactful, under-recognized organizations, will deliver the keynote address for �鶹��Ƶ’s <a href="/events/oberlin-college-commencement">Commencement ceremony honoring the Class of 2026</a> on Monday, May 25, in Tappan Square. She will also receive an honorary doctor of humanities degree, <a href="/news/oberlin-announces-2026-commencement-honorees">alongside five other honorary degree and award recipients</a>.</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=3152">Commencement</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-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>�鶹��Ƶ Announces 2026 Commencement Honorees</h1> <p>kviancou — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 15:12:17 +0000</p> <span>�鶹��Ƶ Announces 2026 Commencement Honorees</span> <span><span>kviancou</span></span> <span><time datetime="2026-04-14T11:12:17-04:00" title="Tuesday, April 14, 2026 - 11:12">Tue, 04/14/2026 - 11:12</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><a href="/news/oberlin-names-cecilia-conrad-2026-commencement-speaker"><strong>Cecilia A. Conrad</strong></a><strong>,</strong> an economist, philanthropic leader, and founding CEO of Lever for Change, will receive an honorary doctor of humanities degree <a href="/news/oberlin-names-cecilia-conrad-2026-commencement-speaker">before delivering the keynote address to �鶹��Ƶ’s Class of 2026</a>. As a former managing director of the MacArthur Foundation, she led the MacArthur Fellows Program—popularly known as the “Genius Grant"— focused on identifying and elevating some of the most creative minds of our time.</p><p>�鶹��Ƶ will also present honorary degrees to alumna <strong>Chloe E. Bird ’86</strong>, a leading sociologist in women’s health, who will receive an honorary doctor of science; internationally acclaimed soprano <strong>Christine Goerke</strong>, who will receive an honorary doctor of music; and <strong>Carla D. Hayden</strong>, former Librarian of Congress, who will receive an honorary doctor of humanities.</p><p>Two others will be recognized for their exceptional service: <strong>Rosa Gadsden</strong> will receive the Award for Distinguished Service to the Community for her years-long impact in �鶹��Ƶ and Lorain County, and <strong>Leah Modigliani ’86</strong>, a pioneering finance leader and longtime supporter of �鶹��Ƶ, will receive the Alumni Medal, the highest honor awarded by the �鶹��Ƶ Alumni Association.</p><p>This year's honorees are:</p><p><strong>Chloe E. Bird ’86, PhD, Honorary Doctor of Science</strong></p><div class="align-left"> </div> <p><strong>Chloe Bird</strong> is a sociologist whose work has shaped national conversations on women’s health. She is director of the Center for Women’s Health, Sex Differences, and Population Health at Tufts Medical Center, as well as the Sara Murray Jordan Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine and a senior sociologist at RAND. Her research has reshaped how scholars and policymakers understand the structural forces that influence health, with a particular focus on women’s health and health equity.</p><p>Bird’s work, which examines how social policies, institutional priorities, and access to care shape health outcomes, is funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, and Women’s Health Access Matters. Her influential book, <em>Gender and Health: The Effects of Constrained Choice and Social Policies</em>, offers a groundbreaking framework linking social and biological factors to show how families, workplaces, communities, and public policies affect opportunities to live healthy lives.</p><p>A dedicated �鶹��Ƶ alumna, Bird has remained deeply engaged with the college, generously sharing her time and expertise through public lectures and conversations with students. Her work connects closely with �鶹��Ƶ’s global health and sociology programs and reflects the college’s belief that one person can change the world.</p><p>She holds both her master’s and doctoral degrees in sociology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has played a key role in shaping national research agendas. She served on a National Academies of Sciences committee reviewing NIH funding for women’s health research and as a senior advisor in the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health, helping guide efforts to address longstanding gaps in scientific knowledge and care.</p><p>A Fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Academy of Health Behavior, Bird received the American Sociological Association’s Distinguished Career Award in 2021. Throughout her career, she has worked not only to advance research but to translate evidence into institutional and policy change to improve health for women and men alike.</p><hr><p><strong>Christine Goerke, Honorary Doctor of Music</strong></p><div class="align-left"> </div> <p>An internationally acclaimed dramatic soprano, <strong>Christine Goerke</strong> has built an extraordinary career spanning more than three decades on the world’s leading opera and concert stages. Known for her powerful, expressive voice and commanding stage presence, she has appeared with many of the most respected opera houses and orchestras, collaborating with conductors such as Seiji Ozawa, Robert Shaw, Christian Thielemann, Sir Andrew Davis, Sir Mark Elder, Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Semyon Bychkov.</p><p>A frequent presence at the Metropolitan Opera, Goerke has also performed at the Bayreuth Festspiele, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Paris Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, and Houston Grand Opera, among others. Her repertoire reflects a rare artistic evolution, from early work in Baroque and classical repertoire to the great dramatic roles of Wagner, Strauss, and Puccini.</p><p>In addition to her celebrated performing career, Goerke is a passionate educator and mentor. She has worked extensively with emerging artists through masterclasses and residencies at leading institutions, including the �鶹��Ƶ Conservatory of Music, where faculty still point to her masterclass as one of the most impactful in recent years. She has also taught at the University of Michigan, Northwestern University, the Eastman School of Music, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and has mentored young artists through programs such as Glimmerglass Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Washington National Opera, and the Aspen Music Festival. Her work with the Schmidt Foundation further reflects her dedication to supporting the next generation of singers through both artistic guidance and financial support.</p><p>From 2021 to 2024, Goerke served as associate artistic director of Detroit Opera, where she played a key role in reimagining the company’s Resident Artist Program. She continues to expand her artistic leadership through new initiatives, including the launch of Detroit’s Classic Opera Series at Music Hall. In fall 2026, she will join the faculty of the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance.</p><hr><p><strong>Carla D. Hayden, PhD, Honorary Doctor of Humanities</strong></p><div class="align-left"> </div> <p>A pioneering librarian and visionary leader, <strong>Carla Hayden</strong> served as the 14th Librarian of Congress from 2016 to 2025. Nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she was the first woman, the first Black person, and the first professional librarian to hold the position. During her tenure, she transformed the Library of Congress into a more open and accessible institution, expanding public engagement and dramatically increasing access to its vast collections through digitization. Although appointed to a 10-year term, she was fired from her position by President Donald Trump on May 8, 2025, in an email. </p><p>Two months later, Hayden was appointed a senior fellow at the Mellon Foundation, where she continues her commitment to expanding access to knowledge and cultural resources. Respected for her integrity, humility, and grace, she has consistently focused her work on advancing equity, strengthening communities, and ensuring that knowledge remains accessible to all.</p><p>Prior to her role as Librarian of Congress, Hayden had built a distinguished career focusing on the power of libraries to strengthen communities. She served as executive director of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore for more than two decades, where her leadership established the library as a vital civic institution. During moments of crisis, including the unrest following the death of Freddie Gray in 2015, she made the courageous decision to keep branches open, reinforcing the library’s role as a safe and trusted community space. Earlier in her career, she was an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Science and held leadership roles at the Chicago Public Library.</p><p>Hayden earned her bachelor’s degree at Roosevelt University and her master’s and doctoral degrees in library science at the University of Chicago. A national leader in the profession, she served as president of the American Library Association, where she championed “equity of access” and spoke out in defense of intellectual freedom and user privacy. Her advocacy and leadership have made her a role model for generations of librarians, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, and she has long supported efforts to diversify the field.</p><hr><p><strong>Rosa Gadsden, Award for Distinguished Service to the Community</strong></p><div class="align-left"> </div> <p>A dedicated community leader and lifelong resident of �鶹��Ƶ, <strong>Rosa Gadsden</strong> has made a lasting impact through her service, leadership, and commitment to supporting others. A graduate of �鶹��Ƶ High School and former member of the �鶹��Ƶ School Board, she has long been engaged in strengthening the local community.</p><p>For nearly a decade, Gadsden has worked at �鶹��Ƶ Community Services, moving from her early role as a gardener in the People’s Garden to her current position as volunteer and outreach coordinator. In this role, she oversees the organization’s food pantry, trains and supports volunteers, and helps lead initiatives that serve hundreds of Lorain County residents each year. In the past fiscal year alone, she coordinated more than 200 volunteers who contributed thousands of hours of service.</p><p>Gadsden also plays a central role in organizing community events, including the annual Juneteenth cookout and the Jaqui Willis Back-to-School supply drive, helping ensure that essential resources and moments of connection are accessible to everyone. This work provides meaningful opportunities for �鶹��Ƶ College students to engage with the broader community while addressing critical needs.</p><p>Known for her warmth, leadership, deep knowledge of community resources, and for bringing people together, Gadsden is also active with the Mount Zion Church choir. Through her tireless efforts and genuine care for others, she has enriched the lives of countless individuals and exemplifies the spirit of service that defines �鶹��Ƶ.</p><hr><p><strong>Leah Modigliani ’86, Alumni Medal</strong></p><div class="align-left"> </div> <p><strong>Leah Modigliani</strong> graduated from �鶹��Ƶ with high honors in economics. When her daughter later enrolled, she became the fifth generation in their maternal line to graduate from the college, reflecting a deep and enduring family connection to �鶹��Ƶ.</p><p>Modigliani earned an MBA at Harvard Business School and went on to a distinguished career in finance. At Morgan Stanley, she co-developed the M2 measure of risk-adjusted return, which is now an industry standard included in Chartered Financial Analyst materials, journals, and textbooks. She also developed a global stock risk-rating system for the firm. Over the course of her career, she has served as a portfolio strategist, research analyst, portfolio manager, and executive director, advising mutual funds, hedge funds, pension funds, foundations, and endowments on asset allocation, portfolio construction, and investment strategy.</p><p>She has been featured in outlets including <em>The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Economist, Money Magazine</em>, and CNN, and she has served as a co-host on CNBC. She has also held positions at the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank, Neuberger Berman, and Bridgewater Associates.</p><p>A dedicated and longtime supporter of the college, Modigliani served for 24 years on the �鶹��Ƶ College Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees (as an external member), including six years as co-chair. During her tenure, the college’s endowment more than doubled to over $1 billion while supporting substantial annual withdrawals for the operating budget.</p><p>A former co-op member, Modigliani later served as an advisor to OSCA student leadership. Committed to social justice, she is a pro bono consultant to numerous nonprofits, president of the board of Youth Communication, and an advisor to NYU’s Hidden Legacies Project: "Slavery, Race, and Contemporary Institutions in the United States." She lives with her family in New York City.</p><p>The Alumni Medal is the highest honor awarded by the �鶹��Ƶ Alumni Association, recognizing individuals who exemplify outstanding, sustained, or unique service to �鶹��Ƶ College.</p><p> </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">College and conservatory celebrate six leaders whose work reflects �鶹��Ƶ’s commitment to creativity, equity, and community.</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="2026-04-14T12:00:00Z">Tue, 04/14/2026 - 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="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>�鶹��Ƶ will recognize six leaders in public service, scholarship, the arts, and community at its 2026 <a href="/events/oberlin-college-commencement">commencement ceremony on May 23</a>.</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=3152">Commencement</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2368">Alumni</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-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>�鶹��Ƶ Celebrates the Class of 2025 at Commencement</h1> <p>eburnett — Mon, 26 May 2025 17:04:11 +0000</p> <span>�鶹��Ƶ Celebrates the Class of 2025 at Commencement</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-05-26T13:04:11-04:00" title="Monday, May 26, 2025 - 13:04">Mon, 05/26/2025 - 13:04</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>�鶹��Ƶ’s Class of 2025, more than 700 graduates spanning the college and conservatory, celebrated Commencement under a sun-filled sky on Memorial Day. </p> <p>The ceremony, which featured a keynote address from <a href="/news/sonia-shah-90-deliver-commencement-address-class-2025">Sonia Shah ’90</a>, investigative science journalist and critically acclaimed author of prize-winning books on migration, disease, and human-animal relations, capped a weekend of Commencement and Milestone Reunion festivities that included family socials, conservatory recitals, and Illumination.</p> <p>Students processed onto the square to the sounds of the Commencement Brass Ensemble, with one senior joining in on kazoo. They sported black robes and mortarboards adorned with colorful homemade flowers, laurel wreaths, sticker collages, and other celebrations of their time at �鶹��Ƶ. Many wore a decorative red and gold pin commemorating �鶹��Ƶ’s first Commencement as a carbon-neutral campus.</p> <p>The celebration opened with an invocation from multifaith chaplain David Dorsey, followed by greetings from Board of Trustees Chair Chris Canavan ’84 and Alumni Association President Jan Weintraub Cobb ’71. </p> <p>President Carmen Twillie Ambar recognized faculty members retiring at the conclusion of the year and reminded students that they hadn’t reached this milestone alone. “I would like to ask you to acknowledge the people who helped get you here today—namely your parents, your grandparents, your families, your friends.”</p> <p>Graduating senior <a href="/news/meet-your-2025-student-commencement-speaker">Omukoko Okoth</a>, representing the Class of 2025 as the student commencement speaker, described his unlikely path to �鶹��Ƶ.</p> <p>“I come from a remote village in Kenya,” he said. “The dream of higher education was just as remote, let alone the possibility of studying at an exceptional institution like �鶹��Ƶ. My story in many ways confirms that indeed all roads lead to �鶹��Ƶ—even those that wind through uncertainty and the unknown. </p> <p>“While I still struggle to explain how I got here, I know one thing for sure: That I’m endlessly grateful. Grateful for the privilege of receiving a world-class education. Grateful to work alongside you, my peers, who are not just brilliant minds but kind souls. I am grateful for the life-changing opportunities I have received in this place, and I hope that �鶹��Ƶ will continue to use education to transform the lives of those for whom all they have is a dream.”</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">More than 700 students participated in Commencement exercises, which featured a keynote address from award-winning science journalist Sonia Shah ’90.</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="2025-05-26T12:00:00Z">Mon, 05/26/2025 - 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="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3152">Commencement</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="/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">Alaina Battle</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-41644" class="paragraph paragraph--type--pb-el-bq paragraph--view-mode--default"> <blockquote class="blockquote--quotemark" data-text-color-red data-text-size-giant> <p>For the handful of months we get to be here, those of us who might be considered too strange or too quiet or too intense, we move from the margins toward the center and we feel—for many of us for the first time in our lives—that we belong.” <strong>—Sonia Shah</strong></p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div id="obj-41575" class="paragraph paragraph--type--para-el-copy paragraph--view-mode--default o-flex--basic-copy basic-copy"> <p><a href="/news/four-distinguished-alums-receive-honors-oberlins-2025-commencement">Four distinguished alums</a> received honors from �鶹��Ƶ faculty:</p> <ul> <li>Elizabeth “Liz” Burgess ’73 (Distinguished Service to the Community), longtime �鶹��Ƶ resident and board member of organizations that advance local business, philanthropy, and affordable housing.</li> <li><a href="/news/historian-jennifer-l-morgan-86-wins-macarthur-fellowship">Jennifer L. Morgan ’86</a> (Honorary Doctor of Humanities), a historian and scholar of the early modern Black Atlantic known for pioneering work on the intersections of race, gender, and slavery. Morgan has earned national recognition, including a 2024 MacArthur Fellowship.</li> <li><a href="/news-and-events/running-to-the-noise-podcast/episode-13">Timothy M. Uyeki ’81</a> (Honorary Doctor of Science), a physician, epidemiologist, and global health expert with more than 25 years leading efforts to prevent and control influenza and emerging infectious diseases worldwide.</li> <li>Sonia Shah, awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humanities 35 years after her own graduation from �鶹��Ƶ.</li> </ul> <p>In her address, Shah expressed empathy for graduates entering a world in which shared resources and humanity are increasingly threatened by those who, in her words, look around at our living earth and see raw materials—people “willing to scrape the final dregs of fossil energy and raze the last of our forests.”</p> <p>“I’m not one to sugarcoat it,” Shah said. “ I share your uncertainty about our future, about what comforts we will find, about where we will find community, and what kind of work there will be for us in this new world emerging around us.”</p> <p>We humans, she said, are “animals among animals”: organic beings interconnected with the natural world around us. Our well-being is tied to nature and our connections with each other; “it’s why our depression and anxiety lift when we hear just a few moments of birdsong.” These connections, she continued, are a “soul-nourishing” source of comfort and solidarity as we confront myriad challenges, from climate change to robots taking our jobs. She concluded by reminding the Class of 2025 that they leave �鶹��Ƶ uniquely equipped to handle whatever comes next.</p> <p>“ For the handful of months we get to be here, those of us who might be considered too strange or too quiet or too intense, we move from the margins toward the center and we feel—for many of us for the first time in our lives—that we belong. </p> <p>“And so we locate a muscle deep in our body and we activate it, and that muscle, once activated, gives us the power to speak up for who we really are and what we really want and how we really feel.</p> <p>“ So my friends in the Class of 2025…you have everything you need. You are ready, so you go get them, you bunch of animals!”</p> <hr> <p><em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn1tNrJrpwI">View the entire 2025 Commencement on YouTube.</a></em></p> <p><em><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/oberlin/albums/with/72177720326315673">View photos from Commencement and Milestone Reunion Weekend on �鶹��Ƶ’s Flickr.</a></em></p> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Meet Your 2025 Student Commencement Speaker</h1> <p>mreed — Thu, 08 May 2025 13:31:15 +0000</p> <span>Meet Your 2025 Student Commencement Speaker</span> <span><span>mreed</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-05-08T09:31:15-04:00" title="Thursday, May 8, 2025 - 09:31">Thu, 05/08/2025 - 09:31</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>During his time at �鶹��Ƶ, Omukoko Okoth has learned to lead with integrity, to listen with empathy, and to serve with humility — and encourages others to do the same.</p> <p>Omukoko Okoth will represent the Class of 2025 as the student commencement speaker on May 26 at Tappan Square.</p> <p>Okoth will graduate with a bachelor's degree in economics (with honors), along with a minor in politics and concentrations in business and mathematics.</p> <p>Since arriving at �鶹��Ƶ, Okoth has been inspired to build community through meaningful change, serving as a resident assistant, student senator, and facilitator of Barefoot Dialogue groups. </p> <p>A dedicated student leader, Okoth has been involved in numerous campus organizations, including the Entrepreneurial Club, the National Society of Leadership and Success, African Student Association, Finance Club, Soccer Club, and the Dean of Students Student Advisory Board. He also served as a Peer Advising Leader and Peer Mentor for first-generation students. Omukoko is the co-founder of the African Brotherhood, a campus community that helps students from various African countries and cultures navigate their transition to �鶹��Ƶ—their new home away from home.</p> <p>Okoth boasts an extensive list of professional accomplishments. He was named an Athens Democracy Fellow, a Newman Civic Fellow, an Impact Investment Fellow, and an Ashby Business Scholar. Last summer, he worked as an analyst at Morgan Stanley in New York City.</p> <p>He received the National Student Employment Association’s 2025 Student Employee of the Year Award for his compassionate peer mentoring and student employment work in the Center for Student Success. Other notable recognitions have included the Senior Leader Award, Omicron Delta Epsilon (the international honor society in economics), and Alpha Alpha Alpha (the national honor society for first-generation college students).</p> <p>Okoth plans to explore opportunities in research and policymaking within the field of economic development. He hopes to contribute to sustainable, data-driven change in Kenya, applying rigorous analysis and innovative policy design to promote inclusive growth. </p> <p>“My time at �鶹��Ƶ has been an enriching and fulfilling experience of personal growth within a community of brilliant, loving, and supportive individuals,” he says. “I have been pulled out of my comfort zone, challenged to think boldly, and encouraged to explore a world of endless possibilities. I have been taught to lead with integrity, to listen with empathy, and to serve with humility.”</p> <hr> <p>Want to know more about commencement weekend 2025? Visit <a href="/node/478136">oberlin.edu/commencement</a> for the full list of programs and events.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Omukoko Okoth takes the stage to celebrate his fellow graduates with a message shaped by four years of inspiring leadership.</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="2025-05-08T12:00:00Z">Thu, 05/08/2025 - 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=3152">Commencement</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> </article> <article> <h1>Four Distinguished Alums to Receive Honors at �鶹��Ƶ’s 2025 Commencement</h1> <p>azaleski — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 17:10:18 +0000</p> <span>Four Distinguished Alums to Receive Honors at �鶹��Ƶ’s 2025 Commencement</span> <span><span>azaleski</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-04-28T13:10:18-04:00" title="Monday, April 28, 2025 - 13:10">Mon, 04/28/2025 - 13:10</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Four distinguished �鶹��Ƶ alums will be receiving prestigious honors at <a href="/commencement" target="_blank">this year’s Commencement ceremony</a> on Monday, May 26.</p> <p>Investigative journalist and critically acclaimed author <a href="/news/sonia-shah-90-deliver-commencement-address-class-2025" target="_blank">Sonia Shah ’90</a> will receive an honorary doctor of humanities degree before delivering the keynote address to �鶹��Ƶ’s class of 2025.</p> <p><a href="/news/historian-jennifer-l-morgan-86-wins-macarthur-fellowship" target="_blank">Jennifer L. Morgan ’86</a>, a renowned historian and MacArthur Fellowship recipient whose groundbreaking work examines the intersections of gender and race in the early modern Black Atlantic, will also be receiving an honorary doctor of humanities. <a href="/news-and-events/running-to-the-noise-podcast/episode-13" target="_blank">Dr. Timothy M. Uyeki ’81</a>, a leading global health expert who serves as the chief medical officer in the Influenza Division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will be presented with an honorary doctor of science.</p> <p>And Elizabeth (Liz) Burgess ’73, is receiving the Award for Distinguished Service to the Community for her decades-long impact in �鶹��Ƶ and Lorain County, including as co-founder of the beloved Ginko Gallery & Studio.<br> <br> The honorees at �鶹��Ƶ’s 2025 commencement ceremony include:</p> <h4><strong>Jennifer L. Morgan ’86, Honorary Doctor of Humanities</strong></h4> <p>A leading historian whose groundbreaking work examines the intersections of gender and race in the early modern Black Atlantic, Jennifer Morgan earned one of the nation’s highest honors in 2024: a MacArthur Fellowship, commonly known as the “genius grant.” This year, she serves as an Andrew R. Mellon Fellow at the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library.</p> <p>A lifelong New Yorker, Jennifer is the Silver Family Professor of History in the Department of Social & Cultural Analysis and the Department of History at New York University and the author of several influential books. <em>Reckoning with Slavery: Gender, Kinship, and Capitalism in the Early Black Atlantic</em> (Duke University Press, 2011) won the Mary Nickliss Prize in Women’s History from the Organization of American Historians and the Frederick Douglass Prize awarded by the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University. Jennifer also wrote <em>Laboring Women: Reproduction and Gender in New World Slavery</em> (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004) and co-edited <em>Connexions: Histories of Race and Sex in America</em> (University of Illinois Press, 2016).</p> <p>Jennifer is now working on <em>The Eve of Slavery</em>, a project about slavery and freedom in the 17th century that centers around Elizabeth Key, a Black woman who successfully sued for her freedom in Virginia in 1656. In conjunction with that project, she served as executive producer for <em>Key to Freedom</em>, a narrative film project that was written and directed by Jennifer’s daughter, Zinha Morgan-Bennett.</p> <p>As a student at �鶹��Ƶ, Jennifer designed her own major in third-world studies and went on to earn a PhD in history at Duke University. She credits her extraordinary scholarship and her Genius Grant to the late Adrienne Lash Jones, the first tenured Black woman in �鶹��Ƶ’s Africana Studies (then Black Studies) Department.</p> <hr> <h4><strong>Dr. Timothy M. Uyeki ’81, Honorary Doctor of Science</strong> </h4> <p>Tim Uyeki is the chief medical officer in the Influenza Division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A leading global health expert, he has dedicated his career to studying, preventing, and controlling influenza and other infectious diseases worldwide. His work has been instrumental in shaping public health policies, responses, and treatment guidelines to emerging disease threats, including COVID-19, Ebola, H1N1, and, most recently, the H5N1 avian influenza outbreak in dairy cattle.</p> <p>Since joining the CDC in 1998, Tim has been at the forefront of global health efforts. As a consultant to the World Health Organization (WHO), he contributed to international responses to zoonotic and pandemic influenza outbreaks, and his expertise has informed critical governmental decisions and public health initiatives aimed at protecting the most vulnerable populations. Most recently, he served as clinical chair for the WHO’s 2024 influenza clinical practice guidelines, as chief medical officer for the CDC’s response to the multi-state outbreak of H5N1 infections, and as a member of the National Institutes of Health’s COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel. </p> <p>Tim’s work on SARS in Vietnam was featured in the 2008 documentary <em>The Virus Empire: Silent Killers</em> and the 2006 WHO book <em>SARS: How a Global Epidemic Was Stopped</em>. His research on avian influenza in Vietnam and Indonesia was highlighted in CNN and NHK Japanese Public Television documentaries, as well as in books such as <em>The Fatal Strain</em> (Alan Sipress, 2009) and news articles like “The Flu Hunters” (<em>New York Times Magazine</em>, 2004). Tim also appeared in the Discovery Channel’s <em>Invisible Killers</em> series and additional NHK programs on SARS and pandemic flu. </p> <p>At �鶹��Ƶ, Tim studied biology and environmental ecology and nurtured a lifelong love of the blues. He earned his medical degree at Case Western Reserve University, and later a Master of Public Health in epidemiology and a Master of Public Policy, both at the University of California, Berkeley. </p> <p>Beyond his scientific contributions, Tim is a committed mentor and advocate for public health education. He is a clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, and he played a key role in developing �鶹��Ƶ’s global health concentration and its new global health major and minor. He also advises students pursuing public health and medicine careers. </p> <hr> <h4><strong>Elizabeth (Liz) Burgess ’73, Award for Distinguished Service to the Community </strong></h4> <p>Since her days as a college student in the 1970s, Liz Burgess has prioritized service to her community. Born in Troy, New York, Liz grew up in locales worldwide: Rensselaer, New York; Seoul, South Korea; and Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. In 1969, she moved to Ohio to attend �鶹��Ƶ, graduating in 1973 with a degree in psychology. She began a psychiatric social work and health care administration career at the W.G. Nord Community Mental Health Center. In 1989, she transitioned from social work to a career as an independent artist, working with textile techniques and sericulture.</p> <p>In 1997, Liz and two other artists co-founded the Ginko Gallery & Studio in �鶹��Ƶ, exhibiting and selling the work of local and regional artists. She became the sole proprietor in 2005, adding an art supply department and transforming the store into a vibrant base for various community activities. One of its most beloved features was the group of neonatal kittens Liz fostered in the back room—an ongoing attraction for college students and local families alike. She retired and closed the store in 2024.</p> <p>Even as a student, Liz was involved in the larger community, organizing Lorain County’s first women’s hotline and domestic violence shelter. Over the years, she has served as a board member and president of organizations such as the �鶹��Ƶ Consumers Cooperative (Co-op Bookstore), the Textile Art Alliance of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Main Street �鶹��Ƶ, Community Action to Save Strays (CATSS), Kendal at �鶹��Ƶ, and Kendal Northern Ohio.</p> <p>Alongside her friend Krista Long, Liz co-founded the Bill Long Foundation, a public community foundation that supports projects and activities in �鶹��Ƶ, and the �鶹��Ƶ Community Land Trust, a nonprofit dedicated to creating opportunities for affordable homeownership. Liz continues to live in �鶹��Ƶ with her husband, John A. Machnauer—and an ever-changing number of foster kittens.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Recipients recognized for their academic impact and community service.</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="2025-04-30T12:00:00Z">Wed, 04/30/2025 - 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=2368">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=3152">Commencement</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">Scott Shaw</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-40486" class="paragraph paragraph--type--para-el-copy paragraph--view-mode--default o-flex--basic-copy basic-copy"> <style> .basic-copy hr { margin: 1.5rem 0 } </style> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Sonia Shah ’90 to Deliver Commencement Address to Class of 2025</h1> <p>bdenneen — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 21:06:13 +0000</p> <span>Sonia Shah ’90 to Deliver Commencement Address to Class of 2025</span> <span><span>bdenneen</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-04-14T17:06:13-04:00" title="Monday, April 14, 2025 - 17:06">Mon, 04/14/2025 - 17:06</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>A persuasive writer and fierce skeptic, Shah challenges our popular assumptions and long-held scientific beliefs about everything from the way we test the safety and effectiveness of new drugs to how we combat infectious disease. A throughline of her work is mythbusting, an extended argument that what we have been taught to believe about the world—and about each other—is often based on flawed logic, lousy science, or overtly racist beliefs.</p> <p>But whether Shah is writing about microbes, migration, or pandemics, she reinforces her arguments with rigorous research, making her one of the most trusted expert voices in modern science literature. For example, in her 2004 book, <em>Crude: The Story of Oil</em>, Shah’s eloquent argument for us to ditch “our oil-drenched society” and “chart a new energy future” has even greater resonance today: 2024 was the hottest year on the planet since record-keeping began in 1880.</p> <p>Her other books include 2010’s <em>The Fever: How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,000 Years,</em> long-listed for the Royal Society Winton Prize; 2016’s <em>Pandemic: Tracking Contagions from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond</em>, a <em>New York Times Book Review</em> Editor’s Choice and a finalist for the <em>Los Angeles Times</em> Book Prize in science/technology; and 2020’s <em>The Next Great Migration: The Beauty and Terror of Life on the Move</em>, which was a finalist for the 2021 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award and was selected as a best nonfiction book of 2020 by <em>Publishers Weekly.</em> Shah received a 2023 Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant for her forthcoming book, <em>Special: The Rise and Fall of a Beastly Idea.</em></p> <p>�鶹��Ƶ President Carmen Twillie Ambar, who spoke with Shah on the �鶹��Ƶ podcast <a href="/node/463861"><em>Running to the Noise</em></a> earlier this year, says the commencement address comes at a meaningful moment for both the college and the world. “Throughout 2025, �鶹��Ƶ is celebrating our achievement of carbon neutrality on campus. That milestone underscores how vital it is to be responsible stewards of the Earth in the fight against climate change—something Sonia explores deeply in her work. Given that so many �鶹��Ƶ students and alums are committed to sustainability and environmental justice, Sonia’s insights and wisdom are a powerful and timely addition to this year’s commencement ceremony.”</p> <p>Shah’s bylines have appeared in the <em>New York Times Magazine</em>, the <em>New Yorker</em>, and the <em>Nation</em>. A popular public speaker and 2024 Guggenheim Fellow, Shah has lectured at universities and colleges nationwide, including Columbia’s Earth Institute, MIT, Harvard, Yale, Brown, and Georgetown. She also gave a popular TED Talk, “3 reasons we still haven’t gotten rid of malaria.”</p> <p>Shah was born in New York City to Indian immigrants. Growing up, she shuttled between the northeastern United States, where her mother and father practiced medicine, and Mumbai and Bangalore, India, where her extended working-class family lived. “Shah makes clear that her interest in migration is personal,” wrote Richard O. Prum, the W.R. Coe Professor of Ornithology at Yale University, in his <em>New York Times’</em> review of <em>The New Great Migration.</em> “The daughter of a couple who emigrated from India to New York, she writes that her parents’ relocation ‘instilled in me an acute feeling of being somehow out of place, one that’s taken nearly five decades to quell.’”</p> <p>Since earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and neuroscience at �鶹��Ƶ, Shah has been an active and generous alum. She served as editor-in-chief of <em>The �鶹��Ƶ Review</em> and participated on a career panel during the paper’s 150th anniversary celebration. Shah’s son, Kush Bulmer, is also an Obie; he graduated in 2022.</p> <p>Shah joins a list of notable authors to visit campus as �鶹��Ƶ Commencement speakers, among them Robert Frost (1937), Alex Haley (1976), Maya Angelou (1983), David Sedaris (2018), and Richard Powers (2023). The address will be live-streamed as part of <a href="/commencement">Commencement weekend</a> festivities.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Renowned science journalist and �鶹��Ƶ alum will receive an honorary doctorate</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="2025-04-15T12:00:00Z">Tue, 04/15/2025 - 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>Sonia Shah ’90, an investigative journalist and critically acclaimed author of prize-winning books on migration, disease, and human-animal relations, will deliver the keynote address for �鶹��Ƶ’s Commencement ceremony honoring the Class of 2025 on Monday, May 26. She will also be awarded an honorary doctor of humanities degree.</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=3152">Commencement</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2394">Commencement/Reunion Weekend</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">Glenford Nuñez</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>�鶹��Ƶ Celebrates Commencement 2024</h1> <p>mreed — Wed, 29 May 2024 00:43:17 +0000</p> <span>�鶹��Ƶ Celebrates Commencement 2024</span> <span><span>mreed</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-05-28T20:43:17-04:00" title="Tuesday, May 28, 2024 - 20:43">Tue, 05/28/2024 - 20:43</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Students sported caps and gowns adorned with flowers, stuffed animals, and other colorful add-ons as they processed onto the square before cheering attendees and encouragements from faculty and staff. Following the invocation from multifaith chaplain the Reverend David F.H. Dorsey, board of trustees chair Chris Canavan ’84 welcomed graduates and attendees. </p> <p>President Carmen Twillie Ambar recognized the faculty members who received the <a href="/node/468110">2022-2023 Excellence in Teaching Awards</a>. She then acknowledged the faculty members retiring at the end of the year, including Brian Alegant, Pamela Brooks, Chris Howell, James Howsmon, Roger Laushman, David Orr, Tom Newlin, John Scofield, Dan Styer, Peter Takács, Carol Tufts, and Jim Walsh.</p> <p><a href="/node/472055">Julia Maskin</a>, representing the Class of 2024 as the student commencement speaker, spoke to how her �鶹��Ƶ experience has been marked by her deep connections to student life and advocacy for equity issues.</p> <p>This year’s Alumni Medal was awarded to <a href="/node/472147">Nancy Dandridge Cooper ’51, MA ’54</a>, in honor of her dedication to service to �鶹��Ƶ College, and the award for Distinguished Service to the Community was presented to <a href="/node/472147">John Gates, MAT ’72</a>, and <a href="/node/472147">Linda Gates, MAT ’65</a>.</p> <p>Emeritus Professor of History Clayton R. Koppes presented <a href="/node/472147">Dr. Kathryn Anastos ’75</a>, an Honorary Doctor of Science, for advancing HIV and AIDS research and treatment on a global and local scale. “Anastos has made more than 50 trips to Rwanda and Central Africa working among the most marginalized people in the most stigmatized of diseases,” Koppes noted. “Dr. Anastos testifies to the power of intellect energized by a passion for social justice. She offers a vision for the class of 2024.”</p> <p>Dean of the Conservatory William Quillen also presented Giddens with the Honorary Doctor of Music in recognition of her contributions to American musical history and advocacy for a more accurate understanding of the country’s musical origins through art. “Giddens stands as one of the most important creative and artistic voices of our time,” Quillen shared. </p> <p>Giddens took the stage 24 years after attending her own graduation from �鶹��Ƶ with a degree in Vocal Performance and marveled at the circuitous route the ship of her life had taken. “I’m standing here before you, the unlikeliest of things—an opera singer turned banjo player—on this day of your celebration.”<br> <br> As she began her address, she fought tears and asked for a moment of silence for all people “displaced and killed by armed conflict around the world.”</p> <p>She then went on to admit she didn’t remember much from the speech delivered at her own graduation, but that she hoped graduates would carry a few core messages from her remarks into their lives when they looked back on Commencement day:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Dive into whatever you want to do. </strong>But have “no expectations. . . Let passion rule your life but be smart about it.”<br> </li> <li><strong>Be a lifelong learner—without fear.</strong> Decide to “continuously learn something new” but “you cannot be afraid to suck at it.” (Like picking up the banjo after being trained as an operatic soprano, for instance.)<br> </li> <li><strong>Be open to the unknown.</strong> “It’s great to have a goal,” Gidden said, “but be aware that you may not know what the path to that goal will look like.” Taking an unplanned detour can often lead to the most rewarding destinations.<br> </li> <li><strong>Use your privilege wisely.</strong> “It’s absolutely not shameful to have privilege,” she said, “but it is shameful not to share it as much as you can.” And we all have varying degrees of privilege. “You can be poor in money and rich in emotional support,” she explained. “That doesn’t make us more worthy or deserving; it simply makes us lucky.”<br> </li> <li><strong>Don’t lose hope that change is possible.</strong> She acknowledged that the challenges before us, as a nation and a species, are immense: the Amazon is on fire, disease is ravaging the globe, people are being killed. “My heart is with you,” she said, before adding that we must continue the work to better the world anyway. “Salvation,” she said, “lies in each other.”</li> </ul> <p>Giddens concluded with an emotionally charged a cappella rendition of a song by “friend and OG activist” Peggy Seeger, “How I Long for Peace,” encouraging the crowd to sing along with the chorus. Hundreds of voices sang in unison, the sound taking on the aspect of a prayer: Oh, how I long for peace.</p> <p>As the class of 2024 processed across the stage to receive recognition and their degree, cheers and shouts of encouragement were heard throughout Tappan Square.</p> <p> </p> <div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"></div> <script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script> <p> </p> <p>President Carmen Twillie Ambar closed the exercises with some positive words of encouragement for the class of 2024.<br> <br> “�鶹��Ƶ graduates literally go out and change the world for good,” she said. “I can assure you that you are ready for all that awaits you in the world beyond. The only thing remaining for you to do is to go out and fulfill your destiny.” </p> <hr> <p><a class="go" href="http://vimeo.com/950864392">Watch the commencement livestream</a>.</p> <p><a class="go" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/oberlin/albums">See commencement photo galleries</a></p> <p><a class="go" href="/sites/default/files/content/special-events/commencement/2024/rhiannon_speech_final-accessible.pdf">Read the commencement address</a></p> <p><a class="go" href="/sites/default/files/content/special-events/commencement/2024/2024_oberlin_commencement_program-accessible.pdf">View the commencement program</a></p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">On May 27, 629 members of the class of 2024 participated in commencement exercises, which featured a keynote address from Pulitzer Prize-winning musician Rhiannon Giddens ’00.</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="2024-05-28T12:00:00Z">Tue, 05/28/2024 - 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>On Monday, May 27, 629 members of the �鶹��Ƶ class of 2024 participated in commencement exercises. The ceremony, which took place in sun-filled and windswept Tappan Square, featured a keynote address from Pulitzer Prize-winning musician <a href="/node/471385">Rhiannon Giddens ’00</a> and capped off a <a href="/node/323776">weekend of festivities</a> that included family socials, conservatory recitals, and <a href="/node/471896">Illumination</a>.</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=3152">Commencement</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=4069">Guests Artists and Speakers</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=4067">Class of 2024</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=4068">Rhiannon Giddens</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">Yevhen Gulenko</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Global and Local Changemakers to be Honored at this Year’s Commencement</h1> <p>ygay — Mon, 20 May 2024 16:47:17 +0000</p> <span>Global and Local Changemakers to be Honored at this Year’s Commencement</span> <span><span>ygay</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-05-20T12:47:17-04:00" title="Monday, May 20, 2024 - 12:47">Mon, 05/20/2024 - 12:47</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p> </p> <p>Before singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist <a href="/news/rhiannon-giddens-deliver-commencement-address-class-2024">Rhiannon Giddens ’00 presents the keynote address</a> on May 27 to 660 members of the graduating class, she will be presented with the Honorary Doctor of Music in recognition of her contributions to American musical history and advocacy for a more accurate understanding of the country’s musical origins through art. Joining Giddens on stage for honorary degree recognition are Nancy Dandridge Cooper ’51, MA ’54, Dr. Kathryn Anastos ’75, and John Gates, MAT ’72 and Linda Gates, MAT ’65.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Dr. Kathryn Anastos ’75</strong></p> <p>Anastos will be awarded the Honorary Doctor of Science for her work in advancing HIV and AIDS research and treatment on a global and local scale. For more than 40 years, she’s provided primary medical care for persons living with HIV in the Bronx, New York. Anastos also has 30 years of experience conducting research to improve the lives of persons with HIV, especially women. Accordingly, she’s served as principal investigator of the New York City/Bronx Consortium of the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) since it launched in 1993. Anastos also builds local research capacity and leads research related to HIV and HIV-related cancers in several countries in Africa. Anastos serves as professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the departments of medicine; epidemiology and public health; and obstetrics, gynecology, and women’s health. Anatos majored in psychobiology at �鶹��Ƶ.</p> <p><br> <strong>Nancy Dandridge Cooper ’51, MA ’54</strong> </p> <p>Dandridge Cooper will be awarded the Alumni Medal for her dedication to service to �鶹��Ƶ College. As a student, the <a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/sociology">sociology</a> major and <a href="/dean-of-the-college-of-arts-and-sciences/phi-beta-kappa-society">Phi Beta Kappa</a> member was one of the cofounders of the first �鶹��Ƶ co-op, Pyle Inn before beginning a career at the college that stretched more than 40 years. Her contributions to students, faculty, and staff endure to this day, but she is proudest of her work on the formation of the Status of Women Committee. For 10 years, Dandridge Cooper served as chair of and a mediator on the committee, which was instrumental in mapping out a clear grievance procedure for sexual harassment reporting, increasing maternity leave benefits, and working on equity issues for adjunct faculty—the majority of them women—to ensure they were offered health benefits as part of their employment. Dandridge Cooper also created �鶹��Ƶ’s Parents Program and served as the organization’s director for 35 years, among her many other forms of service.</p> <p><br> <strong>John Gates, MAT ’72, and Linda Gates, MAT ’65</strong></p> <p>John and Linda Gates will be presented with the Award for Distinguished Service to the Community. Linda joined the Office of Student Life at �鶹��Ƶ in 1989, retiring in 2011 after serving seven years as dean of students. Meanwhile, John taught in local elementary schools for 17 years, was principal of �鶹��Ƶ’s Prospect Elementary School for three years, and retired from public school administration in 2000. In the 1980s, John and Linda were members of the �鶹��Ƶ Overground Railroad Coalition, a local interfaith organization that hosted 25 refugees from El Salvador and Guatemala who were securing political asylum in Canada. In 1997, John and Linda became founding members of the Santa Elena Project of Accompaniment, an organization formed to support Guatemalan refugees returning to their native Guatemala after fleeing Mexico during the civil war. From 2000 to 2012, John organized and led <a href="/winter-term">Winter Term</a> trips with �鶹��Ƶ College students to Guatemala. This work with refugees led to John and Linda’s involvement with the �鶹��Ƶ Community Supporting Immigrants, which supports immigrants resettling in Lorain County by expanding access to legal services, housing, employment, health care, and education.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Rhiannon Giddens ’00, Nancy Dandridge Cooper ’51, MA ’54, Kathryn Anastos ’75, and John Gates, MAT ’72 and Linda Gates, MAT ’65 to be Awarded Honorary Degrees</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="2024-05-20T12:00:00Z">Mon, 05/20/2024 - 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>A physician who works to advance HIV and AIDS research and treatment; a couple dedicated to serving the �鶹��Ƶ community; and a cofounder of the college’s first co-op will all be honored during this year’s Commencement exercises.</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=3152">Commencement</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/sociology" hreflang="und">Sociology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/psychology" hreflang="und">Psychology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/biology" hreflang="und">Biology</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Class of 2023 graduation exercises.</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">Kadrian Hinton</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Meet Your 2024 Student Commencement Speaker</h1> <p>eburnett — Fri, 10 May 2024 15:18:50 +0000</p> <span>Meet Your 2024 Student Commencement Speaker</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-05-10T11:18:50-04:00" title="Friday, May 10, 2024 - 11:18">Fri, 05/10/2024 - 11:18</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Julia Maskin will represent the Class of 2024 as the student commencement speaker on May 27 at Tappan Square.</p> <p>Maskin’s �鶹��Ƶ experience has been marked by her deep connections to student life and her advocacy for issues related to equity. A native of Montclair, New Jersey, she completed majors in <a href="/node/3426">Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies</a> and <a href="/node/3226">Cinema Studies</a>. She organized events to raise awareness for Ohio abortion access funds and participated in the Doula Collective and Survivors of Sexual Harm and Allies, or SOSHA.</p> <p>For three years, Maskin hosted a program on WOBC radio. She organized live comedy events and produced sketches through the late-night show <em>Good Talk</em>. She acted in theatrical productions and student films, performed original music and participated in cover band showcases, wrote and directed short films, and directed and choreographed a production of <em>The Rocky Horror Picture Show</em> at the ’Sco. She was a member of the Film Co-op, Folk Club, and OSCA, and she played intramural softball.</p> <p>“My commencement speech is about how �鶹��Ƶ is a place that values the process of learning and growing just as much as the product—and how rare and special an environment like that is,” Maskin shared in her application.</p> <p>For more information about commencement activities, please <a href="/commencement">visit the commencement page</a>.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">From comedy to equity, Julia Maskin has been an active participant in student life and social causes.</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="2024-05-10T12:00:00Z">Fri, 05/10/2024 - 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=3152">Commencement</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-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Bask in the Glow</h1> <p>eburnett — Thu, 18 May 2023 20:53:35 +0000</p> <span>Bask in the Glow</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2023-05-18T16:53:35-04:00" title="Thursday, May 18, 2023 - 16:53">Thu, 05/18/2023 - 16:53</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>This year’s Illumination will mix the event’s traditional offerings—sweet sounds produced by �鶹��Ƶ student musicians—with new edible enticements.</p> <dl class="labelled-items-grid labelled-items-grid--lines" style="margin: 2rem 1rem;"> <dt>What</dt> <dd>�鶹��Ƶ’s free campus-community celebration of a 120-year-old tradition: the lighting of Japanese lanterns strung in and around Tappan Square.</dd> <dt>When</dt> <dd>Sunday, May 26, from 7-10 p.m.</dd> <dt>Where</dt> <dd>Tappan Square in downtown �鶹��Ƶ</dd> </dl> <p>Highlights include performances by OSteel, �鶹��Ƶ College Taiko, and jazz ensembles; food trucks from Cleveland Cookie Dough, Cheesy Dave’s, Off the Griddle, Lorenzo’s Pizza, and Smooth Rider; and a bonfire & s’mores.</p> <h2>The Illumination Tradition</h2> <p>Sunday’s twilight celebration carries forward a longstanding �鶹��Ƶ tradition. The first Illumination was held in November 1860 to celebrate the election of President Abraham Lincoln. The use of glowing Japanese lanterns to mark happy occasions would not become a campus mainstay until the next century.</p> <p>Professor of Botany Frederick O. Grover, a Harvard grad who had experienced a similar lantern display in Harvard Yard, imported the practice to commemorate the inauguration of �鶹��Ƶ President Henry Churchill King in May 1903. As chronicled in the 1904 �鶹��Ƶ yearbook <em>Hi-O-Hi</em>, attendees delighted at finding the campus “brilliantly lighted with Japanese lanterns, strung in glittering ribbons from the roof of the library, the top of the flag pole and the highest branches of the trees.”</p> <p>Soon after, Illumination became an integral part of commencement activities, with few interruptions until the COVID-19 pandemic extinguished the light in 2020. In May 2021, �鶹��Ƶ held its first virtual Illumination featuring Obies from around the world displaying paper lanterns. Tappan Square blazed with the light of more than 1,000 lanterns once more in 2022.</p> <h2>Illumination By the Numbers</h2> <div class="stat stat--number-left"><span class="stat__number">1,300</span> <span class="stat__text">lanterns strung on Tappan Square</span></div> <div class="stat stat--number-left"><span class="stat__number">1,350</span> <span class="stat__text">candles (we still use candles and always buy extra)</span></div> <div class="stat stat--number-left" style="margin: 2rem 0;"><span class="stat__number">16</span> <span class="stat__text">people required to string and light lanterns</span></div> <div class="stat stat--number-left"><span class="stat__number">90</span> <span class="stat__text">minutes required to hang the lanterns</span></div> <div class="stat stat--number-left"><span class="stat__number">30–40</span> <span class="stat__text">lanterns lost each year to inclement weather</span></div> <p class="obj-center" style="margin-top: 3rem;"></p> <style type="text/css">div.stat { margin: 2rem 0; } </style></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-subhead field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Illumination celebration unites campus and community on �鶹��Ƶ’s bucolic Tappan Square.</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="2024-04-29T12:00:00Z">Mon, 04/29/2024 - 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>Illumination, �鶹��Ƶ’s annual celebration uniting the campus and community on the eve of commencement festivities, returns Sunday evening, May 26.</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=3152">Commencement</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> </article> </main></body></html>