Oakwood Faculty Member Honored at the White House

On February 24, the White House recognized faculty and staff members at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) as "Champions of Change," including

R. Rennae Elliott, Ph.D., chairperson of the Communication Department at Oakwood University. Dr. Elliott and the other honorees have worked with students, families, and policymakers to build pathways to graduation at their respective institutions. The event featured a panel discussion moderated by actor and E! News Co-Host, Terrence Jenkins, remarks from Senior Advisor to the President Valerie Jarrett and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx.

Elliott currently serves as the chairperson and an associate professor of the Communication Department at Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama. In addition to classroom teaching and academic advising, she serves as coach of Oakwood's Honda Campus All-Star Challenge (HCASC) team, a post she's held for over 17 years. Influenced by her mentoring and advising, the team has won two championships and placed in the top four on five occasions. In 2014, HCASC named her Coach of the Year. Elliott's committee posts include the University's Quality Enhancement Plan, Rank and Continuous Appointment, and the Dean's Council.

Other White House honorees included: A. Deloris Alexander, Ph.D., Auburn, Alabama; Abayomi Ajayi-Majebi, Ph.D., PE, Wilberforce, Ohio; Frank A. James, Little Rock, Arkansas; Freddie T. Vaughns, Ph.D., Bowie, Maryland; Gregory Goins, Ph.D., Greensboro, North Carolina; Herbert W. Thompson, Ph.D., Daytona Beach, Florida; J.K. Haynes, Atlanta, Georgia; Robert A. Johnson, Jr., Ph.D, Princess Anne, Maryland; Tanya V. Rush, Baltimore, Maryland; and Tommie "Tonea" Stewart, Ph.D., Montgomery, Alabama.

The Champions of Change program was created as an opportunity for the White House to feature individuals doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities. Click here to learn more about the White House Champions of Change program.

Oakwood Invites Young Students

to Science Day

by WHNT/Melissa Riopka

Yesterday, Oakwood University opened its doors to a new group of students. Elementary, middle and high schools students from Madison and Huntsville were invited to participate in the University's Science Day.

The event is sponsored by the Alabama Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (ALSAMP). ALSAMP was established to increase the number of minority students who complete degrees in science, technology, engineering or mathematics.

By letting the students participate in hands-on experiments in a university lab, Oakwood officials hope to encourage more children to become interested in STEM fields.

Oakwood University's Chemistry Department hosted the event and lab assistants guided the children in the experiments.

Watch the story from WHNT.

Vote for Oakwood in Home Depot's Retool Your School Competition

This year, the Retool Your School Grant Program will use a new grant structure which will award a total of $255,000 in grants to nine accredited HBCUs in $50,000, $25,000, and $10,000 grant denominations. Based on student enrollment, schools will be categorized into one of three clusters:

schools with 4,000 students or more,
schools with between 3,999 and 1,201 students, or
schools with less than 1,200 students.

"This is a very exciting year for The Home Depot's Retool Your School program," says Melissa Brown, manager, Multicultural Marketing, The Home Depot. "For the first time, student bodies are competing for grant money against schools their same size. This allows for larger and more impactful improvements to be made to the winning schools."

Online voting begins on Friday, February 27, at www.retoolyourschool.com. Tweet now #THD_RYS.

Faculty & Staff News

Dana Wilchcombe, Ph.D., assistant professor of reading and literacy in the Education Department, was accepted to present a paper at the National Association of African American Studies & Affiliates Conference, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, February 9-14. Her paper was titled "Differentiated Reading Instruction: Learning to Teach from Exemplary Teachers."

The conference, with the theme: "Building Culturally Recognized Communities: We are Diversity and Inclusion," hosts scholars from across the U.S. and several foreign countries to present diverse research related to Africans and African Americans. Presenters can make full paper presentations, host seminars or round table discussions, or provide demonstrations and display posters.

Wilchcombe reflected: "I truly benefitted from the pedagogical, critical discussions about diversity and inclusion, and how to meet the needs of the Oakwood student, as they prepare to teach on a national platform. This conference motivated me to continue to present cutting-edge strategies, instilling in our students the confidence to remain 'the head and not the tail' in teacher preparation."

For more information on the conference, click here.

Alumni Notes

Mervyn and Barbara Warren, '57, were recently honored during the African-American Healers Conference, for over 50 years of servant leadership in the Oakwood community. To see the tribute video that was shared during the conference at the Oakwood University Church, click here.

Pollard's Places

This past weekend, we launched our first-ever Champion Men's Conference. Our theme was "Male by Birth, Man by Choice." The conference began with Sabbath afternoon seminars to enrich our young men, from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. Then early on Sunday morning, we travelled in two busses to Louisville, Kentucky, to tour the Muhammad Ali Museum. During the tour, Mr. Ali's courage to stand for his convictions and live with integrity was highlighted. We paused for a photo opportunity at the Ali Center.

While on the way to Louisville, guest presenter Jeremy Anderson shared from his "Next Level" seminars to the Oakwood men, in which he challenged them to commit to becoming full and unashamed men of God in every area of their lives.

Our young men were unanimous in their testimony - "Let's do this again!"

OU Picture of the Week

(L-R, standing) Sandrene Foster, '16, Mariah Smith, '16; Jameela Hall, '16; Monica Spencer, '15; Fredrick Barrett, '16. Kneeling (l-r) are Smith Francois, '15 and Jyremy Reid, '15.

Jameela Hall, Oakwood University's Miss UNCF, and several members of the Pre-Alumni Council attended the 57th National Pre-Alumni Council Leadership Conference in Charlotte, NC. This picture of our Oakwood students was taken during the crowning ceremony of Miss National UNCF.

Prior to the Leadership Conference, Miss Hall coordinated a campus-wide service project, collecting several large bags of gently worn shoes for residents of a women's shelter in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Kisha Norris)

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.