Oakwood University Welcomes New Students for 2016-17 School Year

New Student Orientation and Registration started on August 10. Hundreds of new students and their families arrived on campus, ready to complete the steps of registration, and move into the residence halls. The move in sometimes involves one last trip to the store to pick up a few more items needed for a comfortable stay. Chaplains from the Office of Spiritual Life and several local pastors offered prayer over each residence hall, with individuals and groups, as well as with staff members. President Pollard and several administrators warmly greeted many new students as well. To "Get Connected, Stay Connected" and follow the schedule of activities for New Student Orientation, click here. Instruction for all students is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, August 17.

President Leslie Pollard and Vice President Karen Benn-Marshall greet incoming freshman Alexa Wheeler in Carter Hall.

Chaplain Kimberly Mann from the Office of Spiritual Life leads a group of Carter Hall residents in prayer.

As he moves into Holland Hall, freshman Brandon Brown finds a place in his room for the last few purchases.

Raymond King, director of Student Activities, assists students with a smile during registration in Cunningham Hall.

Oakwood to Sponsor Voter Registration Drive

On August 25, the Oakwood University will hold a voter registration drive at Blake Center. In order to vote in the historic presidential election in November, it is crucial that first-time voters, and those who are racial minorities, verify that they are registered to vote well ahead of any local, state or national election. State voter registration deadlines vary.

Assistant Professor of Public Policy Preston Foster emphasized the importance of voting, by quoting Franklin D. Roosevelt: "Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting."

Poet Sonia Sanchez to Speak at Oakwood

by Ramona Hyman, Ph.D., associate professor, English & Foreign Languages

The Department of English and Foreign Languages at Oakwood University and the Alabama State Council on the Arts will host a very special reading by poet, mother, professor Sonia Sanchez on the "Artist as Creator of Social Values" on September 6, 2016, at 7:00 pm, in the Moran Hall Auditorium. The reading is free and open to the public.

Sonia Sanchez is the author of over 20 books including Homecoming, Shake Loose My Skin (Beacon Press, 1999), and most recently, Morning Haiku (Beacon Press, 2010). In addition to being a contributing editor to Black Scholar and The Journal of African Studies, she has edited an anthology, We Be Word Sorcerers: 25 Stories by Black Americans. BMA: The Sonia Sanchez Literary Review is the first African American Journal that discusses the work of Sonia Sanchez and the Black Arts Movement.

A recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts, the Lucretia Mott Award for 1984, the Outstanding Arts Award from the Pennsylvania Coalition of 100 Black Women, the Community Service Award from the National Black Caucus of State Legislators. Sonia Sanchez has lectured at over 500 universities and colleges in the United States and has read her poetry all over the world.

Currently, Sanchez is one of 20 African American women featured in "Freedom Sisters," an interactive exhibition created by the Cincinnati Museum Center and Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition. In December of 2011, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter selected Sonia Sanchez as Philadelphia's first Poet Laureate, calling her "the longtime conscience of the city."

Register for Oakwood Live!

Oakwood University cordially invites potential students to Oakwood Live! (formerly known as College Days), scheduled for October 5-9, to fellowship with current students, administrators, and employees.

Oakwood Live! immerses prospective students into life at Oakwood University. During the event, guests will meet people from all over the world and participate in an array of activities that allows them a chance to explore the unique qualities of an Oakwood University education. This annual event is offered to high school seniors and college transfer students, so don't let your youth miss out on the excitement.

For more information about Oakwood University or the Oakwood Live! event, call (256) 726-7356 or click here.

Employee Notes

Pamelea Cook, Ph.D., and Carmen Bucknor, Ph.D., from the Department of Psychological Sciences, recently made two poster presentations at the American Psychological Association's annual convention in Denver, Colorado. Their research on "Race, Religiosity, Readiness: Customizing Bystander Intervention" was supported by 10 psychology majors serving as Student Research Assistants, and was funded by an Oakwood University Faculty Development Grant. Helen Fischle, dean of the Center for Student Success, served as the third author on the research project.

Join the Oakwood Family - Employment Opportunities

Oakwood continues to build the quality of personnel that will serve our students and constituents in the best possible way.

HOW TO APPLY:

Persons interested in any position must submit an Oakwood University Employment Application (online at oakwood.edu under Human Resources), along with a resume, copy of transcript(s)/diploma(s) to Human Resource Management. Application and supporting documents may be emailed, mailed, faxed, etc.

Click here to see the listed positions.

Thank you for your interest in Oakwood University.

Alumni News

April Seay, M.D., '09, has recently been named as the Chief Executive Resident in Psychiatry for the 2016-2017 school year at Duke University Hospital. She is the first African American to be named to that position. Dr. Seay, who earned her MD at Vanderbilt School of Medicine, joined the Duke Psychiatry residency in 2013, motivated to develop her clinical skills and become an excellent psychiatrist with a mission to help patients overcome ethnic, cultural, sociodemographic and religious barriers to optimizing their mental health. In the words of faculty who have worked with her, Dr. Seay is "a model of professionalism, self-motivated learning and compassion" who will be a "wonderful role model" and an "outstanding clinician, teacher, and advocate. She was awarded a 2016 James H. Carter, Sr., Memorial Award for Community Service.

quote of unknown origin says: "I wondered why somebody didn't do something. Then I realized that I am somebody." Alex Dumas, '12, is somebody who is doing something. He works as an attorney and is passionate about social justice and making the world a better place. Recently Dumas co-founded "Let's Bridge the Gap," a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) officially launched in June. "We want to incrementally bridge the gaps in urban and black communities," Dumas says. MORE

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.