Vol. 3, No. 20
 
May 17, 2013
 
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OU? Oh, Yes! offers congratulations to the entire class of 2013!
 
Courtesy of Interim Registrar John Hill, here are a few interesting statistics about our most recent graduates:  

 

The home state of the largest number of graduates is Alabama with 102; next largest numbers come from Georgia (29), California and New York (28 each), and Florida (25).

  

The United States is home to 301 of our 350 graduates; seven members of the class of 2013 are from the Bahamas, and six (each) from Canada and Jamaica. Eighteen other countries were represented.

  

Christopher K. Holloway had the highest GPA (4.0); Charles Eaton, II and Tamanda C. Chanza tied with the second highest GPA (3.99); Monique M. Williams and Cynthia Thompson had the third highest GPA (3.95).

  

 There were 15 Masters graduates, 48 LEAP graduates, and 23 Dietetic interns. The major with the highest number of graduates (42) was Biology. Our most "senior" senior was a man of 60 years; the youngest graduate was a 20.3 year old female. The class of 2013 was comprised of 131 males and 219 females.

 

See WAAY-TV Reporter Tim Reid's coverage of Commencement here.

 

Individual DVDs of the weekend's services are $10 each, and are available through the OU Communication Department. Give them a call at (256) 726-7533. 

What's next, citizens of Oakwood Nation, winners of 2013 Home Depot "Retool Your School" Contest?

 

Thanks again for your tireless daily voting, which allowed us to win the coveted and competitive $50,000 Home Depot grand prize.

  

 Hopefully on this past Tuesday the 14th, you and the eight million other listeners over the 105 radio stations, heard OU President Dr. Leslie Pollard's interview on the nationally-syndicated "Tom Joyner Morning Show."  If not, check out The Tom Joyner Morning Show website. 

  

So what's next, champs? Two initiatives:

  

Initiative #1:  Oakwood Nation, let's come together again and let's all vote "Miss Oakwood" on to the pages of the HBCU Queens issue (September 2013) of EBONY magazine - another "David vs. Goliath" campaign; AND

 

Let's move from the Home Depot "Retool Your School" contest, to now the Oakwood Nation "Reclaim Your Name" initiative!

 

Initiative #2: Not only do we wish to again say "thank you for your marathon support of the successful Home Depot contest," BUT

 

We want to honor your individual commitment and participation in this historic milestone victory, by including your individual name by listing you on our "Reclaim Your Name" Champions Roll Call;

 

Yes, the $50,000 outdoor pavilion by the campus' Unity Pond, which The Home Depot folks have already started marking off to begin construction work, will now include not only the outdoor grills and fireplaces, but also your name(s) - once you email it to us individually (please: no group of names, just yours)!

 

Bottom line: if during the February 19-April 15 Home Depot contest, you voted for Oakwood University at least one time, please send us your individual name by May 31, so that we can include your name to be displayed in our "Reclaim Your Name" Champions Roll Call.

 

Please do it today. Email us your name to pr@oakwood.edu. Thanks.

  

 

Congrats on the winning the money and more importantly, energizing the global Seventh-day Adventist Community to vote for your school.   

 

Yuri Rodgers Milligan, Director of University Relations

Hampton University (VA) 

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We are very pleased to announce that our PhD Pipeline Partner  Oakwood University is the $50,000 Tier 1 Grant winner of the 2013 Retool Your School campus improvement program. Many kudos to Dean Hyacinth Burton and her colleagues at Oakwood University for this outstanding achievement! We note that Oakwood alumnus Dr. Milton Blackmon is Associate Dean in Duke's Trinity College of Arts and Sciences. He serves as a member of the PhD Pipeline's Duke/Fuqua Advisory Committee.

 

Lucy J. Reuben, Ph.D.

Professor of the Practice of Business Administration

The Fuqua School of Business | Duke University

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Les,

 

Just a short note of congratulations and a job well done for your development team on winning the Home Depot contest. This is a great accomplishment. I hope someone will write it up as a news story and I will try to get it in the Adventist Review. Blessings!

 

Larry D. Blackmer

Vice President, North American Division

Seventh-day Adventist Church

 

  

 

 

 

 

Spring 2013 Board of Trustees Meeting Highlights, continued. . .

   
(Note: Over the next few weekly issues, OU? Oh, Yes! will capture highlights from the reports of the various divisions; this week's report comes from the Office of the Provost/Senior Vice President.) 

 

Provost/Senior Vice President - Tim McDonald

  • Served as Principal Investigator for the annual Pre Service Teacher Institute Program sponsored by NASA and the OU Title III Office
  • Supervised the overall planning and development phases of the Service Learning Program
  • Chaired and served on various campus-wide committees, including the newly created Space Utilization Committee, Black History Program Committee, and Cunningham Hall Decorations Committee
  • Supervised implementation and coordination of OU Centers of Excellence including the Media Center, BCBLC, and the Adventist/Islamic Relations Center

 Assistant VP for Leadership Development - Prudence Pollard 

  • Implemented monthly Leadership Academy training workshops for faculty and staff middle managers
  • Completed research and prepared various reports and matrix designs on procedures for upgrading the University's performance appraisal processes
  • Completed "move-in" procedures for Faculty Development Center in new Cunningham Hall
  • Worked with Administration in upgrading "LifeCore" results into Spiritual Master Plan

 

Assistant VP for IT - Roengsak Cartwright

    

Administrative Systems  

  • Implemented Jenzabar EX Dashboard for Admissions
  • Completed integration of "TimeClockPlus" system with Jenzabar EX to support payroll paperless timecard entry system
  • Finalized online payroll statements using MyOakwood
  • Installed Jenzabar EX Budget Planning Module into Administrative System
  • Reconfigured Administration System to accommodate the one year registration process

 

Technology    

  • Upgraded campus network core switch from 1GB to 10GB data transfer rate between buildings
  • Installed and set-up technology equipment for departments during Cunningham Hall relocation
  • Provided Staff and Faculty with Microsoft Window 7 training  

Media Center 

  • Provided videographer services for various campus events
  • Produced Promo Videos for the President and other departments
  • Provided video services for UNCF Gala
  • Provided video services for 2013 Alumni Homecoming Weekend Service

 

Telecommunications 

  • Relocated the campus telephone services during Cunningham Hall renovation
  • Upgraded the campus PBX to support additional digital licenses
  • Continued provision of reliable telephone services with traditional phones and VOIP

 

Assistant VP for Service Learning/Career Services/Student Employment - Patricia Stewart Daniel

   

Service Learning

  • Developed service-learning program proposal "White Paper", draft including a rationale and learning outcomes
  • Implemented spring semester Service-learning pilot engaging approximately 100 students in four classes
  • Established D2L presence to support Service-learning Faculty Fellows which includes readings, forms, resources, and examples
  • Engaged a Consultant to prepare first cohort of Service-Learning Faculty Fellows
  • Coordinated CERT training (Community Emergency Response Team) comprising twenty five faculty, staff, students and community individuals  

Office of Career Services and Testing  

  • Implemented the move of Career Services to the new Cunningham Hall
  • Coordinated installation of 24 new computers in Testing lab
  • Increased student awareness and usage of lab as judged by "sign in" logs
  • Increased number and effectiveness of local and outside recruiters

 

Office of Student Employment  

  • Created a resume data base of new students seeking employment
  • Made Employment Verification Forms (I9s) accessible electronically starting with the 2011-12 to current
  • Increased accuracy rate for the Employment Verification process (I9)
  • Prepared documentation files for all student employees that have completed an I9 after April 2012

 

Title III

 

  • Received $1,576,797 in new funding for our HBCU Title III grant and $753,753 in SAFRA funds, totaling $2,330,550
  • Provided management and budget services for all Title III as follows: (not an exhaustive list)

- Ford Hall construction project

- HVAC in Cooper Complex

- 14 computers for testing lab in Career Services area

- 42 computers for the computer lab in the Library

- 4 computers, printer and desks in the New Beginnings area

- Document Imaging implementation (campus wide)

- EX Vantage Admission Software

- Assisted Provost with event planning and implementation

- Coordinated campus-wide hospitality services

 

Director of Customer Care Center - Michele Solomon

 

  • Officially launched the Customer Care Center in the Blake Center Mall in early January, 2013
  • Continued work with Academic Affairs on the maintenance of a wiki site for online collaboration and the sharing of information among members of the OU Online Research Committee
  • Produced editorial work on several print and OU website publications, including OU Magazine and the UNCF Gala program
  • Began working with Administrative Services to launch Mobile Apps Campaign
  • Worked with Registrar's Office on Honor's Convocation Program and new full-year registration campaign
  • Handled student complaints and facilitated mediations for resolving concerns, as needed
  • Coordinated with the Title III Office on guest facilities reservations 

Center for Adventist/Muslim Relations - Keith Burton

  • Attended/presented paper during world conference on Muslim Relations in South Africa
  • Implemented local conference on prophets in the Bible and the Quoran
  • Entertained Muslim guests for campus luncheon with OU Administration
  • Worked on design and plan for documentary on Adventist/Muslim relations 

Bradford/Cleveland/Brooks Leadership Center - Harold Lee

  • Assisted in planning and implementation of annual PELC conference
  • Provided technical assistance for local conference administrations on church leadership
  • Attended/presented paper on leadership in S. Africa and other parts of the world field
  • Worked with OU Administration in organizing African/Caribbean higher education consortium

Challenges and Future Plans 

  • Continue focus on improving customer service/customer care
  • Conduct surveys to determine what is working and what is not
  • Research plans for improving technical service calls/ IT Help Desk,
  • Refine and implement Pilot Projects for Service Learning programs
  • Coordinate upcoming Administrative changes and include on updated Organizational Chart
    •  

   

 

On Tuesday's OU-sponsored "Ask the Experts" midday news program on the local ABC affiliate station (WAAY-TV Channel 31), President Dr. Pollard addressed, "Faith-based leadership: Can it happen in a secular workplace?"  View the segment here: http://www.waaytv.com/contact/experts/