Oakwood's Board of Trustees Holds Spring Meeting

On April 20, members of the Oakwood University Board of Trustees met to discuss and receive reports concerning the growth of the 118-year-old educational institution at its spring Board Meeting. Chaired by Dan Jackson, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America, the board meets twice per year and includes leadership from the Seventh-day Adventist Church's World Headquarters, local conferences, unions, as well as lay members. The Board also toured the newly remodeled Carter Hall and Ford Hall, as well as the newly erected Peters Media Center.

Listed below is a brief synopsis from Dr. Leslie N. Pollard's 2015 Spring President's Report:

Carter Hall construction update - The $7.2M renovation of Carter Hall has been mostly completed. Carter Hall is the residence hall for freshman ladies. A dedication service was held during the 2015 Alumni Weekend. Guests included one of the daughters of the late Bessie Carter and other members of the Carter family. Carter Hall is scheduled to open in the fall.

Recent Baptisms - On April 16, leaders in the Office of Spiritual Life baptized 26 students. The baptism was held in the Natatorium.

Healthy Campus 2020 - Oakwood administrators presented to Florida Hospital Executives of Adventist Health System a research proposal, titled Healthy Campus 2020, that outlines how a partnership could positively impact the health status and practices of Oakwood University students. The goal is to make Oakwood the healthiest university in America. Healthy Campus 2020 calls for a longitudinal collaboration through the use of CREATION Health as a biblically-based intervention and educational tool. The CREATION Health program is being customized to meet the Oakwood environment, since at the time of the proposal, Adventist Health System did not have a campus-focused model. This partnership is designed to enable Oakwood to address the endemic health issues of its region by transforming students into local health missionaries. It will assist AHS-Florida Hospital by providing evidence-based data on the effectiveness of its CREATION Health strategy.

AHS $2M gift to Health & Wellness Center - Oakwood University received notification from Adventist Health System of a $2M gift for the construction of the Oakwood University Health and Wellness Center. This gift is an expression of Adventist Health System's commitment to advance higher education in North America and to invest in its workforce needs for the future. The University is working along with KPS Architect for the design and construct of the Health & Wellness Center.

Last Day of Instruction for Spring Semester

Today serves as the last day of classroom instruction for the 2015 Spring Semester. Final exams are scheduled for April 26 through 30, and Graduation Weekend is scheduled for May 8 and 9. These students were so excited about the last day of instruction they decided to toss their papers in the air as a sign of relief. Please pray for our students as they continue to prepare for final exams.

English and Psychology Students Tour Montgomery

Earlier this month, students and faculty from the departments of English and Psychology traveled to Montgomery, Alabama, for a historic tour of sites associated with the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott.

One of the highlights of the tour was meeting two of the participants of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Reverend and Mrs. Robert Graetz (seated in the photo above). Rev. Graetz, who was a white Lutheran pastor of a black congregation in the 1950s, openly supported the Montgomery Bus Boycott. He wrote about his experience in the book, A White Preacher's Memoir: The Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Students also toured the National Center for the Study of Civil Rights and African-American Culture at Alabama State University; the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. parsonage at Dexter Avenue Church; the Rosa Parks Museum; and the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church.

More photos and highlights from the trip are on the English Department's Facebook page.

Oakwood Student to Receive Scholarship on

UNCF: An Evening of Stars

Jajuan Sanders (front left) is pictured here with all of the UNCF Rising Stars.

Watch "UNCF: An Evening of Stars" on Sunday, April 26, at 10:00 p.m. (EDT) on BET. "UNCF: An Evening of Stars" is a celebrity-packed event that raises money and awareness for minority education. The show is full of performances and scholarship presentations to inspire and support the next generation of "Rising Stars." This year's show highlights 20 students and presents more than one-half million dollars to students attending historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

One of this year's Rising Stars Scholarship Recipient is Oakwood sophomore theology and psychology major Jajuan Sanders, from Baltimore, Maryland. "I always prayed that I would be financially cleared 100% for school and then this happened," Jajuan said during the taping of the event.

For the third consecutive year, Actor Anthony Anderson serves as the show's host. Other guests will include R&B singer Ronnie DeVoe, Rapper Big Sean, Country Singer Mickey Guyton, and special scholarship presentations by Kevin Hart, Chris Paul, Usher, and Pharrell Williams.

"UNCF and its celebrity partners and sponsors understand now is a crucial moment in which we all must recognize and demonstrate by our actions and deeds that 'Black Lives Matter.' Perhaps more than ever, we must continue to fill the need UNCF has been bringing to light since its inception," said UNCF president and CEO Dr. Michael L. Lomax. "I am immeasurably grateful to these young artists, philanthropists, and our sponsors, who are stepping up and answering our call."

Naming Opportunities Available in Bessie Carter Hall

On April 3, hundreds of Oakwood University alumni and friends toured "the new Carter Hall," which has been renovated from the inside out, and will be ready for Freshmen women in August, 2015.

To learn about the naming opportunities that are still available, please contact Kisha Norris, executive director for Advancement and Development, at (256) 726-7201 or developmentoffice@oakwood.edu.

Take the Blue and Gold Challenge by June 30, 2015

Join us in the Blue and Gold End-of-the-Year Challenge by making a gift to the Oakwood Annual Fund by midnight, June 30, 2015. Our goal is to increase the annual giving participation rate of our alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff and friends.

Your participation at any level is valued, appreciated, and counted! Annual Fund donors will be listed on the OU Donor Roll in the Oakwood Magazine, as a sign of our appreciation. The challenge has begun!

For your convenience, you may give online at online at www.ougiving.com, or you may send a check, payable to Oakwood University (Annual Fund), to the Office of Advancement and Development by midnight, June 30, 2015.

Your commitment, demonstrated through your tax-deductible charitable gift, is important to our students, faculty and staff, and the advancement of "our dear Oakwood."

Together, we can make a difference! Thank you for your generosity!

Free Laptop or Scholarship? What a Deal!

Prospective students who are still trying to decide where to enroll for the upcoming fall semester, have we got news for you! Incoming freshmen and transfer students to Oakwood University have the choice of receiving a free Macbook Air or a $1,000 scholarship. What do you have to do? Follow all the directions before May 1, 2015. If you have any questions, please call (256) 726-7356.

Alumni Notes

Alex Dumas, '12, was recently awarded a scholarship by the John M. Langston Bar Association of Los Angeles, California. Dumas is now is a third-year law student at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.

During his law school tenure, Dumas has had the opportunity to extern for the Honorable Chief Judge Claudia Wilken at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California; serve as the president for the USC Black Law Student Association; work as a certified law clerk at the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office; intern at the Writer's Guild of America; and place as a semi-finalist in the 2014 Frederick Douglass WRBLSA Moot Court Competition.

Committed to improving the communities that surround him, Dumas has spent time working with higher education administrators in Alabama to sponsor goal-driven conversations on how to bridge gaps between policy and implementation of community engagement initiatives. He has volunteered with the USC Justice Bus in Indio, California; the Project Envision mentoring program at 54th Street Elementary School; Street Law at Dorsey High School; and with humanitarian groups in Haiti.

Pollard's Places

This past Sunday, I had the privilege of attending our Annual Retirees & Employees Recognition Banquet. We honored a group of special employees -- our recent retirees. Each year, we host a banquet that, in part, allows members of the Oakwood University family to show how much our retirees are appreciated. I am pictured here with this year's roster of Oakwood retirees: (standing) Tim McClure, Joseph Dailey, Anne Smith-Winbush, Mervyn Warren; (seated) Flora Flood, Cecily Daly, Ivy Starks, and Sonia Paul. Each one of these individuals has served for numerous years at the University - collectively representing more than 340 years of service to Oakwood University and the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Dr. Mervyn Warren was recognized as the longest serving employee in Oakwood's history, having served for 52.83 years. (Photo by Anthony Chornes)

Picture of the Week

North American Division President Dan Jackson and Executive Secretary G. Alexander Bryant (seated) take a moment to tour the beauty salon in "the new Carter Hall." Both Jackson and Bryant were on campus this week for the spring Board of Trustees meeting. (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.