Florida governor appoints 2012 Alumni Awardee to statewide commission 

The Honorable Ronald A. Brisé (3rd from left) received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Oakwood University in 2012. (From left to right: Dr. Octavio Ramirez, Mrs. Charlotte Troup, Brisé, Dr. Oliver Davis, Sr., and Dr. Leslie N. Pollard - at the 2012 Commencement ceremony).

 OU Alumnus Promoted

Calvin Eakins, class of 1975, was recently promoted at McCain Foods, one of the world's leading food manufacturers and the world's largest manufacturer of French fry potatoes.

As Director of North America Procurement, he has responsibility for managing a budget of approximately $500M.

Home Depot Volunteer Day set for October 2 

(L-R: Walvid King, Area Development Coordinator, UNCF; Bruce Emerson, UNCF Honorary Co-Chair; Dr. Leslie Pollard, OU President; Miss Kisha Norris, Executive Director for Advancement and Development

2014 UNCF North Alabama Campaign begins

 

Oakwood University hosted its annual UNCF North Alabama Campaign Kick-off Reception on the evening of September 23, at the McKee Business and Technology Complex.

 

The kick-off reception is an opportunity to thank sponsors and friends, share the impact the UNCF has had on students, graduates, and the community, and to meet and greet potential UNCF supporters from our community. The evening was filled with food, inspiring remarks, humor and camaraderie.

 

As North Alabama's only UNCF institution, Oakwood partners with donors, local alumni and friends to organize this first event of the annual campaign.

 

OU sophomore Mariah Smith shares the impact of receiving a UNCF scholarship.

Additional events include the UNCF Golf Classic scheduled for October 14, and a Women's Tea scheduled for November 17. The culminating event is the UNCF Gala, scheduled for April 17, 2014.

 

The campaign motto is "Building Bridges to Opportunity," and events are planned to build community and business relationships, inspire diversity, encourage growth and economic development, and a foster a spirit of philanthropy.

 

The UNCF mission is "to enhance the quality of education by providing financial assistance to deserving students, raising operating funds for member colleges and universities, and increasing access to technology for students and faculty at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUS)."

 

Since its inception in 1944, UNCF has grown to become the nation's oldest and most successful minority higher education assistance organization, although UNCF provides scholarships to any deserving student who attends an HBCU, regardless of ethnicity.

 

As one of 37 UNCF member institutions, Oakwood University helps promising students from low- and moderate-income families with funds for college tuition, books, and room and board.  Collectively, these private member institutions enable more than 65,000 students each year to attend college and get the education they want and deserve.

From Retirees to Missionaries

Huntsville residents (and OU retirees) Morris and Shirley Iheanacho will be leaving soon, to continue their global outreach ministry in Ghana, West Africa. There they will team up with 23 other Maranatha volunteers from Canada and the U.S. to build an elementary school.

They are grateful to God for the opportunity to participate with Maranatha in these outreach projects. A few years ago they assisted in building two churches in Mozambique and Shirley led out with Vacation Bible School. Their experience was life-changing and spiritually rewarding.

They request your prayers on behalf of everyone involved.

Click here for more information about Maranatha Volunteers International.  

"Oakwood on the Road" receptions score "10s" with Oakwood alums, friends.  Next stop: Metro DC

From Oakwood's Orlando alumni and friends, "10s" meant the $10,000 they contributed to Alma Mater in gifts and pledges on that Saturday evening, August 10.

Central Florida resident and retired pastor Russell Bates, Sr. (class of 1951) later reflected, "It was so encouraging to hear the progress taking place at OU," as he handed Miss Norris his personal check toward his capital campaign commitment.

By all accounts "Oakwood on the Road (OOTR)," the national (and inter-American) series of regional receptions where alumni, friends and prospective students and parents get to see and hear OU senior administrators, is bridging together the campus with its key outlying stakeholders.

Strategically, according to organizer and Advancement and Development executive director Miss Kisha Norris, "these meet-greet-and-eat gatherings are linked to high-profile scheduled events which bring together OU officials with local and area Oakwood supporters - alums, friends and prospective students and their folks."

For example, the annual White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities conference, she continued, invited the Aeolians to perform at the September 26 luncheon for its annual meeting at the Washington Hilton.

"Our Aeolians were invited not only because they won the World Spirituals Championship and three gold medals at the 2012 World Choir Games - where Oakwood University was the only HBCU represented of the 362 international choirs there competing - but our director, Jason Max Ferdinand has led our choristers to win the last three national HBCU choir championships (2011, 2012 and 2013).

"The choir's acceptance of this performance invitation in the metro DC area propelled us to work with the local alumni and co-host this

continuing series of Oakwood on the Road receptions at the Washington Hilton."

To date, OOTRs have occurred in such areas as:

1. Greater Nashville, during the NAD Teachers' Convention - August, 2012;
2. Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex - January, 2013;
3. Allegheny West Conference camp meeting - June, 2013;
4. Hamilton, Bermuda - July, 2013; and
5. Central Florida/Orlando - August, 2013.
6. Next stop for the OOTR train? Saturday evening, September 28, in the metro Washington, DC area.

Most recently, the central Florida event brought out some 60 alums, friends and prospects. True to the successful OOTR model, the attendees:

• Heard and saw President Pollard's brief "State of the University" PowerPoint presentation, from which he later fielded and answered a series of questions;
• Submitted or updated their contact information, in order to receive campus print and online publications and weekly updates;
• Won an array of OU paraphernalia as gifts;  
• Enjoyed a light Sabbath evening meal and worship thought by Pastor Dr. Herman Davis; and
• Contributed more than $10,000 in checks and pledged donations, toward the school's current $9.3 million capital campaign.

Following the metro Washington, DC, reception which promises to break all records for both attendance and contributions and pledges, the next schedule OOTR is for the greater Houston area. Stay tuned.