Selected out of a national search, historian Stephen Frederick Starr (b. March 24, 1940) served as Oberlin College's twelfth president (1983-1994). Starr's primary presidential goal was to ensure that Oberlin remained one of the most distinctive liberal arts colleges in America. In the early years of this administration, the institution's financial base was restored, divisional faculties were increased by over sixty continuing appointments, and the college's physical plant was refurbished. However, this administration, which initially received campus wide affirmation, later found itself struggling to maintain its constituencies of support. Starr's personal style and mainstream agenda for innovative change often clashed with the college's conservative faculty and liberal student body, resulting in a complex, modern presidency, whose controversies often overshadowed its successes.

Inheriting a fiscal state of affairs weakened by eroding endowment values, rising tuition costs, and creeping inflation, Starr focused on ways to increase College funds through enhanced alumni support, a Capital Campaign, and the aggressive solicitation of external dollars from federal and private sources. As a result of the 1983-84 Alumni Association ACTION Campaign (Alumni Campaign to Involve Oberlinians Now), over time, giving to the annual fund rose from 23 percent to more than 50 percent. Drawing on the success of the ACTION campaign, Starr was the driving force behind the College's $80 million Capital Campaign (1986-91). The campaign greatly exceeded its goal, raising a reported $94 million.

The targeted goals of the Capital Campaign contributed to supporting the College's academic and institutional needs, and ensuring Oberlin's position of quality and competitiveness among its academic peers. Campaign dollars devoted to faculty development (endowed chairs, increased fellowship opportunities, and teaching equipment) numbered over $19 million. The financial aid budget was slated for a $17.5 million increase, and another $17.5 million was to be directed to improving the college's aging physical plant. Likewise, campaign funds were directed to supporting Oberlin's curriculum, as well as ensuring the stability and health of the college endowment with an increased ratio of endowment dollars per student.

These enlarged financial resources allowed Starr to focus on his goal to expand Oberlin College. The work of the Office of Sponsored Programs was critical here, as it obtained over 400 grants to support faculty research opportunities. Included among the many private and government bodies who awarded grants to Oberlin were the Jesse Philips Foundation, the Ohio Arts Council, the National Endowment of the Arts, the National Science Foundation, and the Research Corporation. Over a decade, the college endowment rose from $130 million to $275 million, and the financial aid budget rose from $7 million to $14.5 million

Aware of affirmative action issues, Starr sought to create diversity among the faculty and staff of Oberlin College. Starr's senior staff included an African American as the Dean of Student Life and Services, and a woman as the Vice President of Operations. Reporting to the President, the Office of Affirmative Action attempted to ensure that Oberlin's employees represented a balance of minority and ethnic groups. Between 1983 and 1993, the percentage of minority faculty members rose from 7.35 percent to 12.5 percent, while the female faculty increased from 24.49 percent to 29.2 percent. Of equal importance was the 1992 revision of the college's sexual harassment policy. This lead to the appointment of an Officer of Gender Equity (1994), who also reported to the President.

In an effort to rejuvenate and strengthen the college faculty, the 1978 "faculty freeze" was lifted (1985/86), and built-in leave replacements were made available to a growing number of academic departments (1986/87). Capital Campaign funds and alumni bequests helped establish a total of 15 endowed professorships. Notable gifts included $4 million from Robert S. Danforth (c.'47) and $1 million from Donald R. Longman (c.'32). In 1994, the American Association of University Professors reported that 69 tenure track positions had been created at Oberlin College over the last ten years.

Redefining and focusing Oberlin's curriculum was central to the Starr presidency. His limited involvement on such curricular issues as distribution requirements (1989), the promotion of the Black Studies program to department status (1983), and the founding of a computer science program (1985), often signaled his implied consent on such academic shifts already in the offing. However, Starr did take the lead in supporting several curricular developments. Under his direction, Oberlin College hosted a series of science conferences (1984-89) for the presidents of the nation's leading liberal arts colleges. By bringing attention to the science needs of these entities in higher education, the federal government and private funding agencies responded by providing Oberlin and its academic peers financial support to increase their science curriculums. Scholarships and new laboratory equipment were supported by the Capital Campaign and the National Science Foundation, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute provided funds to support the biology and neuroscience programs. Later on, $2 million from the campaign funded the construction of the Roger S. Sperry Neuroscience Building (1990). Starr also played a direct role in establishing the Business Initiatives Program (1990) and supported increased course offerings in international studies.

The clarinet playing Starr also considered strengthening of the Conservatory of Music as one of his presidential goals. Internal restructuring, a ten year accreditation from the National Schools of Music (1988), enhanced recruitment efforts, and merit based scholarships gave the Conservatory the edge it needed to maintain a competitive position among the leading conservatory schools in the nation. Publicity surrounding the College's involvement with the American Soviet Youth Orchestra also gave the Conservatory additional international exposure. Physical improvements included the renovation of Warner Hall (1983), and the expansion of the Conservatory Library (1988).

Improving upon the College's fixed assets, Starr played a dynamic role in the renovation and beautification of the Oberlin campus. Carnegie Library, Cox Administration Building, Finney Chapel, Warner Hall, and Wilder were all renovated. Newly erected structures included the Clark Bandstand, the Conservatory Library (1988), Stevenson dining hall (1989), the Roger Sperry Neuroscience Building (1990), and the Heisman Field House (1992). Nine college residences were renovated, and a program of "clustered living" was implemented in conjunction with the completion of Stevenson dining hall. Technological advancements included the installation of a new telecommunications system (1984-86), the library's shift to on-line cataloging (1985), and the establishment of the campus data network (1988). Later developments included campus wide adoption of the Macintosh platform, the establishment of computer classrooms and laboratories in the Mudd Center and Stevenson Hall, and increased usage of electronic mail for campus wide communications.

During Starr's tenure, Oberlin had difficulty enrolling a selective student body in the College of Arts and Sciences. While the Admissions Office did see a rise in its number of applicants, acceptance rates remained high (65%), with comparably fewer students enrolling (24%). The college's financial aid policy, which generally was perceived to be based on need, rather than on merit, did not always attract the same caliber of students from Oberlin's past. Many also expressed concern that financial aid budget increases were granted at the expense of other college programs.

Improving the quality of student life at Oberlin was another important objective of Starr, even though he frequently clashed with members of the student body, who viewed him as an "Ivy Leaguer" intent on changing Oberlin. Upon the retirement of Dean of Students George Langeler (1989) Starr set out to restructure the campus' student life offices, and appointed a new Dean of Student Life and Services. Patrick Penn, the new administrative dean who was responsible for coordinating the work formerly conducted by the Dean of Students and the Dean of Student Support Services, made student retention one of his top issues. Campus wide efforts to provide answers surrounding this concern included the Deans' Research Group, which produced a study titled "Black Student's Persistence to Graduation at Oberlin College" (1988). The consulting firm Maguire Associates, Inc., also completed an in depth report (3 vols.) on student and parental perceptions of Oberlin (1993).

Starr's busy schedule often called him away from the campus to act as a representative on such national and regional bodies as the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and the Great Lakes College Association (GLCA); and, to give testimony to the United States Congress on educational issues and Soviet/Russian affairs. Starr served as the Board Chair of the GLCA, and helped create the Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges (1991). Furthermore, through his promotion of the college's involvement with the American Soviet Youth Orchestra (1986-92), Jazz Masterworks Editions (1982-90), and Campus Compact (1992), Oberlin received regional, national, and international exposure.

Starr's personal and administrative style often obstructed his own efforts to improve Oberlin, resulting in a presidency marred by a number of controversial incidents. Within his first two years in office, Starr's credibility was challenged over his handling of the Solomon Amendment (1983-84), and the dismissal of campus minister Willis Ludlow (1984). The divestment of funds in South Africa (1983-89), and on-going incidents of campus racism also increased tensions between the president's office and the rest of the College. Starr's proactive style of rapid change often conflicted with the more deliberative process advocated by the faculty, and resulted in disagreements over such issues as the College's distribution requirements, grading policies, and class scheduling. Moreover, the divisional faculties grew resentful when promised campaign dollars did not prove to be as substantial or substantive as projected. Despite the reported success of the Capital Campaign, managing the college's finances was a challenge for Starr. Unable to maintain the financial abundance of his early presidency, Starr's fiscal strategy eventually shifted from monetary expansion, to the reallocation of institutional resources in order to restore the college's "financial equilibrium."

Starr's efforts to mainstream the college's social and academic environment further increased tensions as many perceived his actions as an attempt to strip Oberlin of its distinctive characteristics. Presidential relations with college professional staff became strained as a result of the uncoupling of faculty and A&PS; benefit payments (1985) and the realignment of A&PS; pay structures (1991); and, dissatisfaction among the custodial staff grew with the college's attempted implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) objectives (1990). Represented by the UAW, the custodial staff's negotiations with the College were drawn out, and not resolved until the spring of 1995. Mounting tensions on campus had earlier reached a climax over Starr's handling of the student unrest at the President's house on April 13, 1990. The prolonged investigation conducted by the General Faculty Ad-Hoc Policy Committee ("3-3-3"), and the trial against student protesters, became an explosive issue for Oberlin and confirmed that the Starr presidency had lost a significant measure of support within the faculty and wider campus community. The cumulative effect of past actions and struggles had taken its toll, and probably haunted Starr for the remainder of his tenure in office.

Between July of 1991 and February of 1992, Starr took a six month sabbatical. Upon his return, he formed the Strategic Issues and Steering Committee (SISC) with the intent to create a long range plan for Oberlin. In 1993, a first draft of the plan was presented, reiterating much of what Starr had advocated during his entire presidency. Closely preceding Starr's resignation as president, the plan was never revised or implemented, and was left to die.

In March of 1993 at a meeting of the full Board of Trustees, S. Frederick Starr announced that he was resigning. He agreed to remain in Oberlin until June of 1994 while the college conducted a search for its new president and he looked for a new administrative position. In May of 1994, on the eve of his departure, Starr accepted the position of President of the Aspen Institute of Humanistic Studies in Washington, D.C. He began working there in July of 1994.

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