Alumni News
Thursday, September 23, 2021
Through its graduate programs, Oakland University’s School of Education and Human Services (SEHS) empowers teachers and administrators to enhance their communities, shape the future of their professions and touch the lives of thousands of learners.
Monday, September 20, 2021
Matt Bell, a 2006 graduate of Oakland University’s English program, recently released his novel “Appleseed” to critical acclaim. The book traces three storylines across a thousand years, including a mythological retelling of the Johnny Appleseed folktale, a harrowing struggle against climate change-driven corporate control and the travails of a bioengineered creature searching for the last vestiges of civilization.
Thursday, September 09, 2021
Oakland University doctoral student Sarah Denha traveled to the Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts this summer to take part in a neurobiology course that introduced her to cutting-edge research techniques taught by leading experts in the field.
Monday, July 19, 2021
Originally from a small village in Germany, the opportunity to study business through a three-year apprenticeship at Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. KG whet Rebecca Ramirez’s, MBA ’14, appetite for the prospects a career in the automotive industry could offer.
Wednesday, July 14, 2021
Oakland University’s School of Nursing and its Board of Visitors have announced the 2021 Nightingale Award winners and runners-up. This year’s top nurses in Michigan come from a variety of clinical roles and settings and are recognized as exceptional in their various nursing roles.
Thursday, July 01, 2021
ReciproCity Apps, a Pontiac-based company co-founded by Oakland University alumni Cam Underdown, Chris Powers and Josh Linneburg, has been using technology to build public goods and help better connect communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thursday, May 27, 2021
As colleges and universities look to address the growing mental health crisis on campuses across the nation, a new book is touting the benefits of the human-animal bond. Published by Purdue University Press, “The Canine-Campus Connection: Roles for Dogs in the Lives of College Students” provides evidence-based guidance on bringing college students and canines together in mutually beneficial ways.
Tuesday, May 25, 2021
As part of an effort to help students achieve greater physical, mental and emotional well-being, OU’s Department of Recreation and Well-Being is offering continuing students free summer access to the Recreation Center on campus.
Wednesday, May 19, 2021
From Shakespeare on Zoom to the history of jazz, Oakland University Community Music’s virtual and in-person Summer Camps will offer something for everyone.
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Wednesday, May 19, 2021
Noah Canales, junior musical theatre major, has been named the “First Place Male Singer” in the fourth annual “NextGen National: Finding the Voices of Tomorrow” competition, which featured vocal performers from colleges and universities from across the United States.
Wednesday, April 21, 2021
Oakland University alumna Sarah Bussineau (BM ’20) has won the Michigan Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) Secondary Grades Student Teacher of the Year Award for 2020.
Wednesday, February 10, 2021
If you want to change your life and the way you see the world – study abroad.
Friday, January 08, 2021
Recent Oakland University graduate Shreyas Gavit was part of an innovative team that won the Salesforce Career Journey with Deloitte, a case study competition in which college students were tasked with helping a fictional online retailer meet recruiting and hiring challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Tuesday, December 01, 2020
In a video on Oakland University’s YouTube channel, former Wall Street Journal business columnist John Stoll shared how a degree in history from Oakland University helped him stand out among his peers.
Wednesday, November 18, 2020
Oakland University percussion students, faculty, and alumni participated in the annual Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC), which took place Nov. 13-14.
Wednesday, November 18, 2020
FALL EVENT HIGHLIGHTS:Our fall performance season kicked off with Mark Stone’s annual Peace Day concert on Sept. 20. The event happened live in the Varner Hall Courtyard and was livestreamed on the SMTD Facebook page. Professor Stone was interviewed by Civic Center TV, during which he discussed the return to campus and the Peace Day concert.
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Adam Avery, an assistant professor of biochemistry, has been awarded a three-year, $400,000 grant to research gene mutations associated with Spinocerebellar Ataxia, a degenerative brain disorder that affects motor skills, including balance, coordination and speech.
Friday, September 18, 2020
Annie Fuelle, an alumna of Oakland University’s Honors College, has been selected as the recipient of the inaugural Honors College Humanitarian Award, which was established to recognize students who have demonstrated “sustained humanitarian involvement” during their time at OU.
Wednesday, September 02, 2020
Oakland University alum Matthew Carlsen recently won the 2020 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) National Award for Costume Design for his presentation/costume design work on OU’s fall 2019 production of Urinetown.
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Oakland University's Department of Theatre hosted “A Candlelight Vigil to Honor the Lives of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and Countless Others” on June 7 at The Elliott Tower at Oakland University. About 100 people attended the vigil, which was featured in an article in The Detroit News. “The diversity of our department is our greatest strength,” said professor Anthony Guest, chair of the Department of Theatre. “Something like this (event) is important. We are storytellers, and if we are not telling stories that represent all of humanity, then we are not doing our job.”
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
When the lights went dark in theatres across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Oakland University Assistant Professor and Tony Award nominee Josh Young reached out to some of Broadway’s top talent and helped them connect virtually with OU’s musical theatre students as part of an innovative Summer Masterclass Series.
Friday, August 21, 2020
Jodie Madeja, a recent OU graduate and current student in the university’s Master of Accounting program, has been awarded a $10,000 scholarship from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.
Wednesday, August 05, 2020
Oakland University’s Environmental Health and Safety program helped Chase and Jessica Salazar transform their shared passion for helping others into successful careers as EHS professionals.
Monday, August 03, 2020
Oakland University has announced the recipients of the 2020 Alumni Awards, which recognize alumni and supporters who have achieved success in business, community services, volunteerism and other areas.
Thursday, July 23, 2020
The Oakland University Alumni Association’s Young Alumni Chapter has announced the Young Alumni “10 Within 10” class of 2020 awardees.
Thursday, July 23, 2020
In response to the shortage of COVID-19 testing in the United States, Oakland University alumni Evan Tsang and his business partner, Erik Bogaard, have formed Task Force Lab (TFL), a California-based company that provides on-site testing to group living facilities and businesses.
Tuesday, May 26, 2020
OU alumnus Shawn Ryan’s parents were both educators, influencing his decision to choose education for his profession.
Thursday, May 21, 2020
The Oakland University community is mourning the death of Professor Emeritus David Daniels, who passed away on Friday, April 24 at age 86. Daniels taught music for 28 years at OU — including three years as chair of the former Department of Music and three years as chair of the then newly-formed Department of Music, Theatre and Dance.
Thursday, May 21, 2020
In early March, SMTD musical theatre seniors traveled to New York City to perform for casting directors, agents and managers, and to participate in masterclasses and seminars with the industry’s leading artists. The acting seniors traveled to Chicago and performed for local agents and casting directors at Stage 773. They also participated in a number of workshops at The Acting Studio, including classes that focus on improvisation, voice over and on-camera work, auditions, and a concentrated introduction to the theatre, film, and television industry in Chicago. The OU students were one of the last groups of college students to do a showcase prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thursday, April 16, 2020
When OU professor Shailesh Lal received an early morning text from Dr. Angela Helmholdt asking for donations of personal protective equipment, he and his colleagues in the Department of Biological Sciences answered the call.
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
A new report by college ranking website GradReports.com shows that recent graduates of Oakland University public health master’s program and its related bachelor’s program earn among the highest median salaries in the nation compared to other recent graduates in those fields.
Friday, April 10, 2020
From sewing masks to collecting donations for those most in need the faculty, staff, students and alumni of the School of Music, Theatre and Dance (SMTD) at Oakland University have been busy finding ways to help during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wednesday, April 08, 2020
Monday, April 06, 2020
Every spring, Oakland University’s School of Music, Theatre and Dance recognizes distinguished students, alumni and community members with MaTilDa Awards, which are named to honor Matilda Dodge Wilson, who donated the land on which Oakland University is built.
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
While now is the time to take precautionary steps and practice the preventive measures recommended by the CDC and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s “Stay Safe, Stay Home” announcement, it is also a time for some in the Oakland University community to come together to meet the needs of the community.
Tuesday, March 03, 2020
Oakland University’s School of Music, Theatre and Dance presented Facing Our Truth: 10-Minute Plays on Trayvon, Race, and Privilege from Dec 5-7 in the Varner Lab Theatre in Varner Hall. The collection of plays included works by Dan O’Brien, Winter Miller, Dominique Morisseau, Mona Mansour and Tala Manassah, Marcus Gardley, and A. Rey Pamatmat.
Wednesday, February 05, 2020
The median annual salary for recent OU mechanical engineering graduates is among the highest in the nation, according to new rankings by GradReports.com.
Thursday, January 09, 2020
Thursday, December 19, 2019
At seven years old, Serena Scott took it upon herself to organize a water bottle campaign during Flint’s water crisis. She made posters, collected bottles from her Farmington Hills classmates and personally delivered 30 cases of donated water to her peers at a Flint elementary school.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Upon graduating from Oakland University’s Master of Public Administration program last April, Benjamin Olsen’s career in public service was already taking shape. He recently started a job as program coordinator at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in Washington, D.C.
Friday, November 08, 2019
With an accounting degree from Oakland University, experience in competitive gymnastics, and an internal drive to set and achieve challenging goals, Maria (Fernanda) Zehnder, ACC ’03, steered her career to lead finance positions at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA).
Monday, September 30, 2019
As a mentor to women entering the workforce, Amy Martin, ACC/FIN ’93, advises to focus on networking. “As you build your network, the world gets smaller and your opportunities will grow.”
Friday, September 20, 2019
Long before she became the new artistic director of Eisenhower Dance Detroit — a professional contemporary dance company based in Metro Detroit — Stephanie Pizzo discovered her passion for dance on the campus of Oakland University.
Friday, September 20, 2019
Lynnae Lehfeldt, associate professor of theatre, recently completed her certification in the Linklater Voice Method. Linklater Designation is the most prestigious certification in the field of Stage Voice. Designated Linklater Voice Teachers (DLTs) teach at the most sought after programs in the country — Yale, Carnegie Mellon University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill — and Lehfeldt has the distinction of being the only DLT in the state of Michigan.
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
As the fall semester approaches, Oakland University has received a record number of applications and is on pace to welcome its most academically talented freshman class. This year’s class of 2,717 freshmen holds an average GPA of 3.54 and an average SAT score of 1120. The university received applications from 14,858 freshmen and 3,427 transfers for a total of 18,285, the most applicants in OU’s history.
Thursday, August 15, 2019
When the Detroit Youth Choir returns to the America’s Got Talent stage later this month, Oakland University alumna British NiCole Burnett (BM ’06) will be watching.
Wednesday, August 07, 2019
Three Oakland University Political Science students — Timothy Kandow, Andrew Sebra, and Gustaf Vanderndonck — have been spending their summer getting hands-on experience working in the Michigan Senate.
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Oakland University’s School of Music, Theatre and Dance presented James and the Giant Peach — directed by Lynnae Lehfeldt and based on Richard George’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s fantastical tale — on May 17, May 19, June 7 in Varner Recital Hall on the OU campus.
Friday, July 19, 2019
Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan K. Barnett has added another hat to his growing list of civic and community responsibilities. In addition to being mayor and serving as chairperson of the Oakland University Alumni Association Board, he has now been sworn in as the 77th President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
Wednesday, June 05, 2019
From interacting with alumni to working on budgets, to updating web pages, Shanna Dawson does a little bit of everything in her role as an office assistant for the Office of Alumni Engagement at Oakland.
