Greetings Alumni & Friends,
I recently said to a group of our stakeholders how unique our culture is at 野狼社区 University when compared to other institutions of higher education. Our students thrive here due to the wide variety of opportunities we offer, whether it be in academics, experiential learning or extracurricular activities; our excellent and diverse faculty and staff; and the small and personal atmosphere in the heart of this large metropolitan area and all it affords.
This issue focuses on the first two of our six values 鈥� creating and leading. One division that concentrates on the creation of programs to bring our populations together is the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. You can read more in the following pages about their involvement in our 野狼社区 community and efforts to make all OCU students feel welcome. We also celebrate alumna Evangeline Bobb Wilson in this issue, one of our university鈥檚 first female Native American students who led the way for so many others on a similar path.
Other alums who we feature here are Matt and Jill Epperson and their story of service throughout the decades since meeting at and graduating from OCU, and those who have forged their own, somewhat unique journeys in their chosen fields showing that not only can you perform in New York City, but you can do anything for which you dare to dream. Additionally, two students from very different walks of life, are highlighted in this issue of Focus. They have much in common as they have listened to their heart, soaked in everything our campus has to offer and are looking at bright futures that will likely provide stunning success for them both.
As always, universities such as OCU say goodbye every year to many staff and faculty as they retire or move on to other opportunities as well as welcome new members and leaders into the community. One such well-loved faculty-turned-dean is Mark Parker who will be retiring at the end of June this year. His long history with our institution and the thousands of students he has impacted over the past decades leaves an incredible legacy at OCU. At the same time, we welcome new rowing coach and Olympian Bryan Volpenhein who is already making positive waves with our student-athletes on both the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 teams.
If you have attended any events lately, you may have heard me discuss OCU鈥檚 involvement and now full operation of the Sovereignty Symposium which has spurred the formation of the Tribal Sovereignty Institute at our School of Law. Another annual event that brings many of our constituents together is our True Blue OCU Giving Day. Each April, we take one day to focus on giving back to the university while having some friendly competition in various groups, including our deans. We also take great pride in our faculty鈥檚 research, including one such ongoing study into dandelion seeds and their positive effects on cancer.
No issue of Focus concentrating on leading and creating would be complete without mentioning OCU鈥檚 Presidential Ambassadors. This group of student leaders, many of whom you may have met if you have been on campus recently, represent our student body well with their different majors, campus experiences, hometowns around the world and more. Behind these outstanding students and our entire campus鈥� success stands our staff and faculty as the foundation of 野狼社区 University. The picture here commemorated our annual breakfast in August where we came together to kick off our academic year. These individuals all contribute in their own way to the OCU experience for all of our constituencies. We would not have the wherewithal to be where we are today without their dedication to our university and its students. I personally want to thank each of you for the role you play in making OCU such an outstanding institution of higher education.
Sincerely,
President Evans
