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Oberlin College Commencement Award Recipients and Speakers

This guide contains listings of Commencement speakers, including for the Baccalaureate ceremony. This also contains listings of Distinguished Award and Honorary Degree recipients.

Distinguished Community Service Award Recipients

"President Fuller, as chairman of the Honorary Degrees Committee, presented the Committee's recommendation that the Trustees establish a Distinguished Community Service Award to be conferred at Commencement Exercises upon persons from the Oberlin area who have made significant contributions to the welfare of the community and its residents. Nominations would normally be made by the General Faculty Honorary Degrees Committee through the Trustee Honorary Degrees Committee. Mr. Reid's MOTION that the Award be created as recommended CARRIED unanimously. It was understood that the award will probably not be conferred every year." Trustee Minutes, November 13-14, 1970, p. 13.

"Mr. Stone presented a recommendation, MOVED and SECONDED by the Committee, that the Distinguished Community Service Award be changed to the Award for Distinguished Service to the Community. There was brief discussion after which the motion PASSED without dissent." Trustee Minutes, March 16-17, 1984.

Distinguished Community Service Award Recipients

Distinguished Community Service Award Recipients, 1971-present
Year Name
1971 Gladys Sellew
1972 Fred Lee Steen
1973 Alcines Clair Siddall
1974 Evan Walter Nord and Eric Thomas Nord
1975 Ella Thompson
1976 Robert Thomas
1977 Saul Robert Gilford
1978 No award given
1979 Jeanne Beattie Butts
1980 Jeanne Hibbard Stephens and James Thomas Stephens
1981 Dorothy Wheeler Holbrook
1982 George Tallmon Jones
1983 Alexandra Podwalny, OC 1965
1984 James F. "Bill" Long
1985 No award given
1986 Robert Walrath Tufts, OC 1940
1987 Arthur Henry "Kenney" Clark
1988 Margaret Reynolds Schauffler, OC 1918
1989 Jeanne Bay
1990 Dorothy Schwimmer Luciano
1991 Ann Fuller
1992 Anne Cartmell Elder, OC 1953, and John Dixon Elder, OC 1953
1993 Harvey Gittler
1994 Sigrid Boe
1995 Shirley R. Johnson
1996 Jane Baker Nord
1997 Robert K. "B.J." Jones
1998 Francine Toss, OC 1971
1999 Marian Hooper Baum
2000 Roy A. Church
2001 Katherine S. Plank
2002 Charlotte Owens Baker
2003 Ruby Nell Jones
2004 Delbert Dean Mason
2005 Harriet Ahmed Thomas
2006 Miriam L. Johnston Hallock
2007 Beverly Reep
2008 Jaquita Robinson Willis
2009 Reverends Mary and Steve Hammond
2010 Carol Longsworth
2011 James W. White
2012 Richard Dunn
2013 Booker Carver Peek
2014 Pat Holsworth
2015 Helen Thompson Taylor, OC 1955
2016 Mary Louise, OC 1947 and Don VanDyke, OC 1947
2017 Benjamin K. Ezinga, OC 2001, Joshua Rosen, OC 2001, and Naomi Sabel, OC 2002
2018 Aiko and Roy U. Ebihara
2019 No award given
2020 No award given
2021 Gail Horn Wood, OC 1970
2022 Dr. James Anthony, OC 1978 and Kurt Russell
2023 Eugene C. Matthews
2024 John F., M.A.T. 1972 and Linda Myles Gates, M.A.T. 1965
2025 Elizabeth "Liz" Burgess, OC 1973