Oakwood Receives Home Depot Prize

Oakwood's Administrators and USM President Tahjai Conkerite (3rd from right) receive $25,000 prize from Home Depot representative Lynda M. Ares. Photo by Richard Hodnett.

It was announced in May 2014 that Oakwood was one of three HBCUs that won a $25,000 Campus Pride Grant in The Home Depot's RETOOL YOUR SCHOOL Campus Improvement Program. According to the judges, Oakwood was selected because of a combination of the social media activity and voting score. In 2013, Oakwood won the Tier 1 grant of $50,000, for the construction of an outdoor pavilion.

Recently, Oakwood administration appealed to Home Depot to allow Oakwood to change the grant that was originally submitted to re-seed the softball and soccer fields behind the Ashby Gymnasium, as well as install sprinkler systems. The new project that will be supported by this $25,000 grant will be to continue upgrading the Unity Pond area of the campus, which is the location of the outdoor pavilion.

Today, the Home Depot Retool Your School team officially presented the University with its $25,000 prize, and began work which included installing benches, constructing a smaller pavilion, and power washing the amphitheater stage.

Honoring Our Own - Veterans Day at "the Oaks"

Click here to see photos of yesterday's event. Photos by Anthony Chornes II.

On Veterans Day 2014 (November 11), Oakwood University paused to recognize the service of all of our employees and students who are veterans of the United States military. "Your brave and faithful service to our nation is greatly appreciated," said President Leslie Pollard in a special email message.

"Service is not a foreign concept to Oakwood University, as it is one of the values by which we operate to transform lives through quality Christian education," Pollard said.

Our nation's flag was raised at 8:00 a.m. in front of the Eva B. Dykes Library, in honor of our veterans who have served this country, as well as in remembrance of those who may have lost their lives in service. Then at 4:30 p.m. yesterday, the U.S. Flag was lowered, as part of a brief ceremony.

Additionally, two former faculty members who are also veterans - Dr. Oliver Davis, Sr. and Dr. Lance Shand - represented Oakwood University in Huntsville's annual Veterans Day Parade. They were chauffeured by Collins Alexander, director of Physical Plant and Transportation, in a vehicle provided by community partner, Woody Anderson Ford.

OU Students Prepare to Make Calls

Get ready to pick up that phone! From November 16 to 20, Oakwood University students will be calling you to share some of the latest news from campus. These students will also invite you to join with others in financially supporting our ongoing commitment to excellent Christian education.

So when one of these students calls, take some time to pray with them and then take the next step and express your confidence in Oakwood's continued development by making a financial gift.

Your continued support is vital to Oakwood's future. Can't wait to give? Call today: (256) 726-7201.

Oakwood Students Visit King Center

Stephon Ferguson recounts the history of Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church to an audience of Oakwood students.

On October 31, a group of 55 students, accompanied by Drs. Samuel London and Alfonso Greene, Jr., journeyed to Atlanta, Ga., to visit sites associated with the civil rights champion and martyr Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

At the King Center, students visited rooms containing a plethora of artifacts and memorabilia dedicated to the memory of Martin and Coretta Scott King, as well as Mahatma Gandhi. The students also visited the King gravesite, where the Dr. and Mrs. King are buried. As the group explored the Visitor's Center and Museum, they saw exhibits depicting the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. The students also viewed two films: one on the life of Dr. King and another on the birth home of the civil rights leader.

The trip included a tour of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church that Dr. King co-pastored with his father. Here, the group had an educational treat as Stephon Ferguson, staff member at the recounted the history of the church from its founding to the present. To the delight of the audience, Ferguson reenacted the entire "I Have a Dream" speech - mimicking King's famous intonation. The group also assembled in the sanctuary, where they listened to a riveting audio recording of a sermon Dr. King delivered at Ebenezer.

Oakwood Coed's "Project Chocolate" featured on HBCU Buzz

Oakwood's Areisa Peters was recently interviewed for HBCUBuzz, about "Project Chocolate," which questions the stereotypes facing young Black women and what beauty is. The motto of her project is "Sisterhood, Strength, and Self-Love." MORE

Alumni News

This past weekend, The Breath of Life Television Ministry celebrated its 40th anniversary at the Oakwood University Church, where the ministry's current speaker/director Dr. Carlton Byrd, '94, is the senior pastor. The program featured the ministry's founder Walter Arties and former speaker/directors C.D. Brooks, '51, and Walter Pearson, '88, The two-day event featured sermons, baptisms, and musical selections from numerous choirs and the Breath of Life Quartet. Throughout its history, the Breath of Life ministry has launched 13 churches and baptized more than 20,000 people. [story/photo: Adventist News Network/Kenneth Hines, Jr.]

OU Picture of the Week

President Dr. Leslie Pollard (left) and Provost Dr. Timothy McDonald
(right background) took a moment on this past Monday to visit with the elementary students of Oakwood Adventist Academy during the dedication of their new playground equipment. (Photo by Roland Scott)

About Oakwood

The mission of Oakwood University, a historically black, Seventh-day Adventist institution, is to transform students through biblically-based education for service to God and humanity.