Oakwood Hosts Online Town Hall Forum

Tune in to Oakwood University's first online Town Hall Forum for 2016 on Friday, January 8, at 11:00 a.m. CST. You may view online at Livestream or on Periscope. Questions for Dr. Pollard to answer during the forum may be sent to pr@oakwood.edu or written directly in your Livestream or Periscope viewer.

Oakwood Ranked as a Best Value University

Oakwood University was recently named a "best value university" in the state of Alabama by Best Value Schools. The ranking was created using National Center for Education Statistics College Navigator and PayScale data to identify the schools based on graduation rate, net price, acceptance rate and a 20-year net return on investment. Best Value Schools helps students find schools and degree programs that can provide the most available financial aid and assistance, the greatest support and service, the highest return on investment, and the best overall value.

Oakwood Ranked as one of the Top 30 HBCUs

Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are U.S. higher education institutions that were established prior to 1964 with the intention of offering accredited, high-quality education to African American students. These schools do, however, admit students of all races. The 106 HBCUs across America include public and private schools, 2-year and 4-year schools, and professional schools. There are more than 100 HBCUs among top U.S. colleges and universities today. The best historically black colleges for 2016 were determined by considering each school's academic standards, affordability, outcomes, and student support. Check out Oakwood's ranking by clicking here.

Miss UNCF 2016 to be Announced

The coronation of Oakwood University's Miss UNCF 2016 is scheduled for Saturday night, January 9, at 7:30 p.m., at the Millet Activity Center. The National Miss UNCF (United Negro College Fund) Coronation Pageant was created in 1957, and aims to provide funding for students who are affiliated with the 37-member institutions of the UNCF.

Oakwood Offers New Scholarship Opportunities for Students

Oakwood University has announced two new scholarship programs to support students who receive church subsidy and those who have attended Oakwood in the past and are still in need of completing their degree.

The two new scholarship programs, the Debt Amnesty Program and the Church Subsidy Scholarship are just two of the many ways that Oakwood University is implementing to assist every student who wants to attend and complete a degree the tools and finances to succeed.

Many students have exited the University for various reasons and subsequently did not complete their bachelor's degree. Throughout the years, former students have expressed a desire to return and complete their undergraduate degree, but in some cases aged account balances present a formidable obstacle. Oakwood University will offer financial amnesty or "debt forgiveness" to former students who have not attended Oakwood University in the past five years, and who desire to complete their bachelor's degree at Oakwood University. The Amnesty program is set to start in the spring of 2016.

"When students come to Oakwood University and are unable to complete their degree we all lose. We want all those who still need to complete their degrees to know that we see you, you are important to us and above all, we want you to finish," states Tricia Penniecook, MD, vice president for Academic Administration.

For the Church Subsidy Scholarship, Oakwood University will match up to 30% of tuition and matriculation fees ONLY for students receiving 70% subsidies from church- related employers. Thus students could receive a total of 100% free tuition and matriculation fees. Students must have at least one parent who receives NAD tuition assistance (per NAD Working Policy) at 70% Oakwood University's tuition cost to be eligible. This program is set to begin in the fall of 2016.

"These scholarships represent not just an opportunity for former or future Oakwoodites to earn undergraduate degrees, they also provide our Adventist system employees with greater tuition assistance for their young people who attend or will attend Oakwood," said Leslie Pollard, Ph.D., president of Oakwood University. "The best long-term strategy in the midst of this global economic recession is to make yourself more competitive by getting your education," said President Pollard.

For more information on these scholarships or to apply to attend Oakwood University, please contact the Office of Admissions & Recruitment at (256) 726-7356 or email at admissions@oakwood.edu.

January's STANDOUT Focus

The health principle emphasized during the month of January in the 2015-2016 STANDOUT calendar is Drink Water.

One of heaven's choicest blessings, water is the natural beverage that God provided to quench the thirst. Did you know that at least 70% of our body is made up of water? We need water for essential physical functions such as breathing, digestion, and muscle movement.

Water, the most precious commodity needed by human beings, promotes health, wellness, and vitality. Drink freely!

Employee News

Gilbert Ojwang, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Religion and Theology, authored components of the teacher's edition of the Seventh-day Adventist Adult Bible Study Guide for the first quarter of 2016. The topic for the lessons this quarter is "Rebellion and Redemption."

Alumni Notes

On December 10, 2015, Kristin Pollard Kiel, '05, graduated from the distinguished, highly competitive, year-long National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) FIRST Leadership Program. The 2015 class was comprised of only 38 participants from all NASA Centers. Pictured is Kristin Pollard Kiel (left) with her Marshall Space Flight Center FIRST team.

JoAnne Powell Lightford, '83, left, launched an online TV talk show on December 22, 2015, from Hollywood, California. The JoAnne Powell Show is streamed live on wcobm.com, a multi-studio, live-streaming television network. Her first program featured Drs. Cynthia Powell-Hicks, '76, and Allycin Powell-Hicks, '05, both of whom are psychologists, who discussed post-traumatic stress disorder in the wake of the mass shooting that occurred in San Bernardino in December 2015. Harnessing the power of social media, programs on wcobm.com are advertised, reviewed, and discussed on all social media sites. Viewers are invited to join discussions live as on-air guests through the integrated chat forum, allowing questions to be answered and information to be shared in real time.

Larry D. Black, D.Min., BCC, '88, was recently selected to serve as the Hospice/Palliative Care Chaplain at the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center in Bay Pines, Florida. As chaplain, he provides a complete range of spiritual care ministries to veterans and their families in the Hospice and Palliative Care Unit. Such ministry encompasses all aspects of pastoral care, addressing the religious, spiritual, moral and ethical issues faced by veterans as they deal with the reality and meaning of terminal illness. Dr. Black is a retired Navy chaplain with over 20 years of military service.

The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) has named Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) professor Milton L. Brown, MD, Ph.D., '87, to its 2015 class of Fellows. Brown, the Edwin H. Richard and Elisabeth Richard Von Matsch Endowed Chair In Experimental Therapeutics at Georgetown Lombardi, is director of Center for Drug Discovery at GUMC. Election to NAI Fellow status "is a professional distinction accorded to academic inventors who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society," states the NAI. Brown has 16 issued patents for work at Georgetown and the University of Virginia related to novel compositions for the treatment of human diseases such as cancer and drug addiction, in addition to neuroprotective agents. The 2015 NAI Fellows will be inducted April 15 at Fifth Annual Conference of the National Academy of Inventors.

Would you like to share Alumni news with us? Please send to pr@oakwood.edu.

Picture of the Week

As a part of spring registration, new and returning students are welcomed by Oakwood Health Ambassadors and given Healthy Campus 2020 and STAND OUT materials. Pictured here welcoming a returning student is Erwin Stuffle (right), a biology major.

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.