Oberlin College administration gives alumni update on One Oberlin initiative

Oberlin College alumni and community members got an update on the One Oberlin initiative via a webinar Thursday evening. Launched in 2018, One Oberlin looks to better align the college's resources, increase collaboration between the college and conservatory and balance providing a liberal arts education with practical career experiences for its students. Its timeline includes recommendations for the next five years. The webinar update brought College President Carmen Twillie Ambar; along with David Kamitsuka, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; and Bill Quillen, dean of the Conservatory of Music, to report back toward the tail end of the trio's 20-city tour and explain some of the changes made in the past year-and-a-half. Ambar said during the process she has challenged the skeptics to stop saying something "isn't Oberlin," and instead, "figure out what the right thing to do in the Oberlin way." The group explained the One Oberlin plan is in part a response to the changing landscapes within higher education — where fewer students are attending liberal arts programs, and Oberlin College is facing competition from state schools with small honors programs, or online degree programs. That, along with deficit spending for decades caused some of the tough decisions to be implemented, like taking a look at how the co-op housing program is implemented, as well as staff reductions and pay freezes. As students and their families are weighing the investment of a liberal arts college against its lower-cost competitors, Ambar noted many of the questions they've gotten are about life after Oberlin, professionally and personally. The college has placed a focus on funded internships and integrated business into some of its offerings. Quillen gave an update on changes at the conservatory, including implementation of the 100 student shift — a move to lessen the number of students by 100, while increasing enrollment at the college by the same amount. The shift would take conservatory enrollment down to about 450, in the hopes of offering students smaller ensembles, more specialized or intensive classes and shorter waitlists. Through its renewed collaboration, the conservatory will start offering a music minor in the fall — open to students at the college — and conservatory students will be able to take advantage of minors in college subjects as well. Kamitsuka said a lot of questions the trio got during the tour was what was happening with winter term. Every January, students are able to participate in on or off campus group projects, study abroad, or other self-directed research. The four-week term isn't going anywhere, but under One Oberlin, faculty created some new projects and there are community building events on and off campus, he said. The group has six cities left on its 20-city tour. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.