Oberlin College is a small liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1833, and today has a student population of approximately 2,850. It is home to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, a distinguished music school. Oberlin is frequently recognized as one of the best liberal arts colleges in the United States.

Oberlin was the first college in the United States to accept African-American students regularly (1835), and was also the first coeducational institution. The first four women to enter as full students were Mary Kellogg (Fairchild), Mary Caroline Rudd, Mary Hosford, and Elizabeth Prall. All but Kellogg graduated. Oberlin has long been associated with progressive causes; both students and faculty were involved in the controversial Oberlin-Wellington Rescue of a fugitive slave in 1858. One historian called Oberlin "the town that started the Civil War."

The school's varsity sports teams are the Yeomen. They participate in the NCAA's Division III and the North Coast Athletic Conference. Oberlin's football team was the first team coached by legendary coach John Heisman, who led the team to a 7-0 record in 1892. In modern times, however, the football team was more famous for losing streaks of 40 games (1992-1996) and 44 games (1997-2001).

Oberlin College is a member of the Great Lakes Colleges Association and The Five Colleges of Ohio consortium, including Ohio Wesleyan University, Denison University, Kenyon College, and The College of Wooster.

Oberlin College's motto is "Learning and Labor" (see College seal, below). Its school colors are officially crimson and gold, though more often than not maroon and white are used.

The Oberlin Student Cooperative Association, or OSCA, is a non-profit corporation that houses 175 students and feeds 630 students.

History

The Oberlin campus in 1909

Both the college and the town of Oberlin were founded in 1833 by a pair of Presbyterian ministers , John Shipherd and Philo P. Stewart . The ministers named their project after Jean Frederic Oberlin, an Alsatian minister they both admired. Oberlin attained prominence because of the influence of its second president, the evangelist Charles Finney.

The college was built on 500 acres (2 km²) of land specifically donated by the previous owner, who lived in Connecticut. Shipherd and Stewart's vision was for both a religious community and school. For a more detailed history of the founding of the town and the college, see Oberlin, Ohio.

Notable alumni

• Alison Bechdel (OC 1981), cartoonist
• Eric Bogosian (OC 1976), novelist/playwright
• Avery Brooks, actor
• James Burrows (OC 1962), producer and creator of Cheers
• Tracy Chevalier (OC 1984), novelist (Girl with a Pearl Earring)
• Eduardo Mondlane (OC '53), Mozambican political leader
• Stanley Cohen (Master's degree, 1945), Nobel laureate (Physiology or Medicine 1986)
• Carl Dennis, poet and Pulitzer Prize winner, Practical Gods
• Danny Elfman, lead singer of Oingo Boingo; Oscar-nominated film score composer, Batman, Good Will Hunting
• Lee Fisher, former attorney general of Ohio
• Kim France , editor of Lucky magazine
• Myla Goldberg , novelist
• William Goldman (OC 1952), novelist and Oscar-winning screenwriter (the Princess Bride and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid)
• Jerry Greenfield (OC 1973), Co-Founder Of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream
• Al Haig (pianist) , jazz pianist
• Jon Hamilton, National Public Radio science correspondent
• Charles Martin Hall, co-discoverer of the electrolytic process of producing aluminium
• Ed Helms, correspondent on The Daily Show
• Bill Irwin (OC 1973), writer, director, choreographer, actor and clown
• Daniel Kinsey, Olympic champion in 110 m hurdles
• John Kander (OC 1951), composer, one half of the musical theater team Kander and Ebb (Cabaret and Chicago, among others)
• Romulus Linney (playwright), playwright
• Michelle Malkin, journalist and political commentator
• James McBride (novelist) , author
• Josh McPhee (OC 1998), political artist and stencil art
• John Mercer Langston, early civil rights activist
• Robert Millikan, Nobel laureate (Physics 1923) for measuring the charge of the electron
• Adam Moss , editor of New York Magazine
• Amy X. Neuburg , classical and pop singer
• Thisbe Nissen , novelist and short story writer
• Liz Phair (OC 1989), rock musician
• Jane Pratt (OC 1984), creator of Sassy and Jane magazines
• W. V. Quine (OC 1930), philosopher
• David Rees, creator of My New Fighting Technique is Unstoppable and Get Your War On
• Josh Ritter, American folk singer/songwriter
• Henry Roe Cloud , Native American political leader
• Carl T. Rowan (OC 1947), journalist
• William F. Schultz (OC 1971), Executive Director of Amnesty International USA
• Lorenzo Snow, Mormon prophet
• Roger Sperry , Nobel laureate (Physiology or Medicine 1981)
• William Grant Still, composer
• Lucy Stone, feminist
• Anna Louise Strong (OC 1905), activist and author
• Julie Taymor (OC 1974), theatrical and cinematic director, Frida, Titus, Broadway's The Lion King
• John Vinocur, foreign correspondent
• Moses Fleetwood Walker, first black player in baseball's major leagues
• William Westervelt, writer
• Thornton Wilder, author and playwright, Our Town

External links

• Oberlin College Website
• OberWiki