Oberlin College. Office of Development and Alumni Affairs.

The modern Office of Development was created in 1953 with the appointment by President William Stevenson (served 1946-59) of C.R. Keesey (b. 1923) to the post of Director of Development. From Oberlin's founding in 1833, fund-raising administration was carried out by the President, the Board of Trustees' Investment Committee (est. 1892), and, after 1904, by the Assistant to the President, a post created by President Henry Churchill King (served 1902-27). Duties of the Office include maintaining and expanding a pool of loyal donors; conducting solicitations and capital campaigns; handling and acknowledging the receipt of gifts; and ongoing involvement with the life of the College whose needs it must accurately represent to its constituency.