Alexandrea Irby, left, with Redstone Federal Credit Union President and CEO Joseph Newberry

Last month, Alexandrea Irby, 08, administrative assistant for Academic Administration, was honored at the 2014 Redstone Federal Credit Union (RFCU) Scholarship Recipient Dinner. Ten years ago, Alexandrea received the scholarship while a student at Oakwood University. For the first time in the history of the scholarship, RFCU decided to select an honoree and highlight their accomplishments since the scholarship was received. Irby was recognized in 2013 by United Way as the "Give" award recipient. Because of this and her previous work with United Way, RFCU will send a check to United Way in Irby's name to assist the United Way in their mission and continue Redstone's mission of "People helping people."

This week I am participating in the Honda Corporation's Campus All-Star Challenge Strategic Advisory Session. The purpose of the 14-person committee of Honda executives and participant Universities is to strategize how to enrich the partnership between Honda and the HBCU community. Oakwood University enjoys a stellar reputation with the college bowl community because of its continued success in the Honda competitions. The 2014 Honda All-Star team placed second in the 64-school competition and our coach, Dr. Rennae Elliott, was named Coach of the Year. Funds raised by the Oakwood Honda team have been used to finance students' matriculation at Oakwood University. - Dr. Leslie Pollard

President and Dr. Pollard are rejoicing over the arrival of their first grandchild - Genesis Lillian Kiel. The bundle of joy arrived on Father's Day, June 15, to Kristin and her husband, Demetrius.