Nancy Dye

Nancy Beth Williamson Dye is an American historian and philosopher and college academic who continues to serve as the first — and to date only — female president of Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. As a professional historian, she was the author of numerous articles and several books, and she served on the editorial board of The Journal of American History.^[3]

Biography

Early life and education

Nancy Beth Williamson Dye was born in Columbia, Missouri, in 1947.^[2][4] Both of her parents were college administrators: her father serving as dean of students at Miami University and Indiana University, and her mother working as assistant to the dean of the New York University Law School.^[2]

She attended Harvard College as an undergraduate, where she also received her MS and PhD.

Vassar

In 1988, she accepted a position at Vassar College, where she served as Dean of the Faculty as well as Professor of History. She served as acting president of Vassar for several months in 1992.^[5]

President of Oberlin College

Dye became the 13th president of Oberlin College in July 1994,^[5] succeeding the embattled S. Frederick Starr.^[6] Oberlin's first female president, she oversaw the construction of new buildings, the increased selectiveness of the student body, and helped grow the endowment with the then-largest capital campaign in the college's history.^[7]

As president, Dye was known for her accessibility and inclusiveness. Especially in her first few years, she was a regular attendee at student events such as football games, concerts, and dorm parties.^[6]

On September 11, 2006, after serving as President of Oberlin College for 12 years, Dye announced her resignation effective June 30, 2007. Her resignation came after a period of transition for the college. Some were dissatisfied with Dye's communication with students and faculty, while others respected her ability to keep the college stable when other Colleges were suffering financially. Her most recent biannual review was unreleased. Official reasons for the burial of the report are because of poor methodologies, although many suspect that it was due to a largely negative review.^[8]

In honor of her commitment to internationalism, the board of trustees announced the Nancy S. Dye chair for Middle Eastern and Islamic studies at Oberlin at commencement in May 2007. Dye was succeeded as Oberlin College President by Marvin Krislov in July 2007.

A 2009 article in the New York Times reported that Dye earned $1.4 million from Oberlin as its ex-president.^[9]

Bibliography

• As Equals and As Sisters: Feminism, Trade Unionism, and the New York Women's Trade Union League (University of Missouri Press, 1980)
• (co-editor, with Noralee Frankel) Gender, Race, and Class in the Progressive Era (University Press of Kentucky, 1991)

References

Oberlin College
Schools	College of Arts and Sciences Oberlin College Conservatory of Music
Landmarks	Allen Memorial Art Museum Lewis Center for Environmental Studies Apollo Theater Oberlin College Library Tappan Square Weltzheimer/Johnson House TIMARA Laboratories
People	Presidents Asa Mahan Charles Grandison Finney James Fairchild William Gay Ballantine John Henry Barrows Henry Churchill King Ernest Hatch Wilkins William Stevenson Robert K. Carr Robert W. Fuller Emil Danenberg S. Frederick Starr Nancy Dye Marvin Krislov Others Notable alumni Notable faculty
Student life	Football Oberlin Student Cooperative Association The Oberlin Review WOBC-FM