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Oberlin College Elects First-Ever Black President Carmen Ambar
Oberlin College Elects First-Ever Black President Carmen Ambar
Screengrab via YouTube

Oberlin College Elects First-Ever Black President Carmen Ambar

Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY. Screengrab via YouTube

Oberlin College has elected its first ever African-American president.

In a report from ABC5, Carmen Ambar, who previously served as president of Cedar Crest College, will be replacing Marvin Krislov, who announced earlier this year that he was leaving Oberlin to accept a position as president of Pace University in New York City. Ambar will serve as the college's 15th president.

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"Oberlin is a singular institution in American higher education, with a historic commitment to social justice, academic and musical excellence, and the liberal arts," Ambar said during her introduction event on May 30. "I look forward to my work with Oberlin's faculty, staff, students, board, and alumni to think creatively and collaboratively together. I am humbled to be joining this institution and excited about the opportunity to lead it into its next era."

"I'm incredibly excited to work with Carmen Ambar as Oberlin's next president," Chris Canavan, Chair-Elect of Oberlin's Board of Trustees and '84 graduate of the school, said. "Her life story, her academic achievements, her devotion to the liberal arts and her love of music make her the very embodiment of Oberlin. Under her leadership, I'm confident that Oberlin can advance with the times without losing sight of who we are."

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Oberlin was the first college in the United States to begin admitting students of color, making the change in 1833, just two years after the school was founded.

Source via ABC5