Natalie Winkelfoos – The Oberlin Review

Oberlin Celebrates Homecoming Weekend

October 11, 2019

The campus seemed to be abuzz with energy from students and non-students alike when Homecoming Weekend approached. Homecoming Weekend is always a time for members of the Oberlin College and community to come together. Whether it is families coming to Oberlin to watch their student-athlete perform on the field or alumni visiting old friends, there is always something that draws people to Oberlin’s campus. The festivities began Friday with the Heisman Club’s annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony...

Exploring the Money Behind OC Athletics

Nathan Carpenter, Editor-in-Chief

October 11, 2019

In the midst of significant institutional change due to Oberlin’s mounting structural budget deficit, investments in spaces like the Shanks Health and Wellness Center and the Knowlton Athletics Complex have left some community members wondering where the money for such projects comes from. The answer, according to Vice President and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo and Delta Lodge Director of Athletics and Physical Education Natalie Winkelfoos, is complicated, and has to do with the specifics of fundraising strategies and logistics. “Athletics fundraising at a Division III school is like breathing — you need to do it and it’s always happening,” Winkelfoos wrote in an email to the Review. “I have regula...

Search for Next Vice President for Advancement Ongoing

Katie Lucey, News Editor

September 27, 2019

A search is underway for Oberlin’s next vice president for advancement, a position previously titled vice president for development and alumni affairs. Candidates will be expected to build upon previous institutional fundraising campaigns, such as Oberlin Illuminate, as well as articulate a strategy for Oberlin’s financial future as shaped by Academic and Administrative Program Review recommendations. Rachel Smith Silver assumed the position on an interim basis following the retirement of Bill Barlow last June. Upper-level administrators, including President Carmen Twillie Ambar, Acting Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences David Kamitsuka, Acting Dean of the Conservatory Bill Quillen, other administrative s...

All Good Things Must Come to an End: Jenkins Steps Down After 11 Seasons Leading Women’s Basketball

April 12, 2019

As his players arrived at the gym for practice one Monday afternoon in March 2018, Women’s Basketball Head Coach Kerry Jenkins devised a plan. The 2017–18 team was the first in program history to win the North Coast Athletic Conference title and earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament, but Jenkins knew that the Yeowomen’s most daunting challenge of the season would be facing the Messiah College Falcons that Friday, March 2. Messiah, which was ranked No. 15 in Division III at the time, is...

New Building Promises Better Access to Wellness in Academic Year

September 7, 2018

Delta Lodge Director of Athletics and Physical Education Natalie Winkelfoos beamed with pride last Tuesday as students and coaches gathered to celebrate the opening of the Pat ’63 & Merrill ’61 Shanks Health and Wellness Center. Perhaps she could hear the turning of wheels and Men’s Basketball Head Coach Isaiah Cavaco’s music blasting through the speakers in the new spinning room, or maybe it was the thought of Associate Director of Leadership Annual Giving Lisa Thuer recitin...

College Goes All In For Oberlin

April 27, 2018

President Carmen Ambar and Associate Vice President for Athletics Advancement and Delta Lodge Director of Athletics and Physical Education Natalie Winkelfoos pose on a golf cart for yesterday’s All In For Oberlin fundraiser. Ambar and Winkelfoos cruised around campus yesterday asking students and community members to go “All In” for Oberlin and donate toward the fundraising challenge. Organizers sought 1,500 donors, and every dollar donated up to that point was matched with a $100 contribu...

Philanthropy Lifts Athletics to Next Level

Alexis Dill, Sports Editor

April 6, 2018

The men’s and women’s tennis teams and softball team were welcomed to Amway Center two weeks ago to catch an Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers game and meet fellow Obie Jeff Weltman, OC ’87, president of basketball operations for Orlando. As the former Oberlin basketball player reminisced about sitting in Wilder Bowl with his buddies in the springtime, I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the opportunities our athletics department continuously provides its student-athletes. Just two days before the game, Eastern Michigan University announced it will cut four sports at the conclusion of the semester: men’s swimming and diving, wrestling, women’s tennis, and softball. The reduction will affect 58 ma...

In The Locker Room with Delta Lodge Athletics Director Natalie Winkelfoos

September 29, 2017

This week, the Review sat down with Delta Lodge Athletics Director Natalie Winkelfoos. A former Division III basketball player at Baldwin Wallace University, the Ohio native is entering her sixth year as Oberlin’s Athletic Director. She discussed her journey to Oberlin, her views on the Oberlin Athletics Department, and the role sports plays in social justice and reform. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. How did you end up working here at Oberlin? I was a college athlete. I got t...

Philips Gym Renovation Continues Throughout School Year

September 1, 2017

As Philips gym renovations continue, members of the Athletics Department are confident that the project’s disruptions will ultimately be a worthwhile investment for the campus. The $13 million project, according to Delta Lodge Director of Athletics Natalie Winkelfoos, will benefit both sports teams and non-athletes. “[It’s going to be a space] where people can start to build more community,” Winkelfoos said. “There’s going to be a lounge where people can [convene] in really cool ways a...

Krislov Forms Task Force for New Admissions Dean

Louis Krauss, News editor

March 10, 2017

Following the retirement of longtime Dean of Admissions Debra Chermonte last fall, College President Marvin Krislov created a search committee of 10 members to help select a replacement to lead the admissions office. Physics Professor and Search Committee Chair Yumi Ijiri said the group had met in the fall but then delayed future meetings and the formal announcement for the committee until releasing an online advertisement last week. The consulting firm Witt/Kieffer is conducting the search and published the ad. “We were announced, maybe not as widely in faculty notes, but we didn’t bother to say, ‘Hey, we’re here’ until we were actually going,” Ijiri said. “We put it on hold to align it better with the ...

Students, Athletes Divided over ‘Zen Zone’ Hours

March 11, 2016

Last Monday, the Department of Athletics and Physical Education introduced its new “quiet hours” for the Philips gym weight room every Monday through Friday during the hours of 9–11 a.m. and 1–3 p.m. Some Philips patrons saw the measure as a step too far in regulating gym use, while others didn’t think it was enough. The pilot system, referred to as The Zen Zone, bars varsity workouts from taking place and music played through the weight room speakers during those times. “With an...

NACWAA, NCAC Honor Oberlin Administrators

September 4, 2015

Oberlin’s Administration earned commendations for achievement in athletic leadership and management this summer. President Marvin Krislov was elected President of the North Coast Athletic Conference, while Delta Lodge Director of Athletics Natalie Winkelfoos was honored with the NACWAA award for Administrator of the Year in Division III Athletics. Both Krislov and Winkelfoos were recognized for being inclusive, accessible leaders who exert a concentrated effort to provide athletic...