Gary Kornblith

Professor of History Gary J. Kornblith is retired in 2012 after teaching American history at Oberlin since 1981. Kornblith has served the college in several administrative capacities. In 1995-96, he was acting director of computing; at the end of his term of service, the Computing Center staff awarded him the title “Honorary Techno-Nerd.” A year later he founded—and named—the Oberlin Center for Technologically Enhanced Teaching (OCTET), which he directed from 1997 to 2000. He was acting director of the Comparative American Studies Program in 2003-04. Kornblith plans to devote a great deal of energy to a book project he is working on with his history faculty colleague and wife, Carol Lasser. Their work-in-progess, Elusive Utopia, is a history of race in Oberlin On the personal front, Kornblith says he “will continue to enjoy watching my three remarkable sons make their ways in the world.” Russell, the oldest, will be clerking for a federal district judge in Cleveland this coming year. Max is prospering at a consulting firm in Washington, D.C., and Simon, his twin, is pursuing a PhD in brain and cognitive science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Bachelor of Arts, Amherst College, 1973 Master of Arts, Princeton University, 1975 Doctor of Philosophy, Princeton University, 1983