Nancy S. Dye, president of Oberlin College since 1994, has announced that she will step down at the end of the academic year.

Ms. Dye had faced criticism from faculty members and students, some of whom worried that Oberlin’s new strategic plan, which puts an emphasis on the word “fearless,” might alter the traditional liberal image of the small Ohio college, according to an article in The Plain Dealer, a Cleveland newspaper.

In a letter last week, 67 faculty members asked for Ms. Dye’s resignation. And three months ago, faculty members complained that Oberlin’s Board of Trustees had ignored criticism of Ms. Dye in her most recent evaluation (The Chronicle, June 23). One trustee blamed his ouster from the board on the dispute over the evaluation.

Ms. Dye is the latest in a wave of presidential departures at Ohio institutions, including Case Western, Kent State, Miami, and Ohio State Universities.