Campus Life

The Campus Student Organic Farm (CSOF) at Oakland University recently launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to expand their hoophouse, which will allow the CSOF to become even more sustainable in the future.

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.

Growing up in a small town in North Carolina, Dr. Amy Tully, D.M.A., discovered her passion for the performing arts — a passion she hopes to share with Oakland University students, faculty and staff as the new director of the School of Music, Theatre and Dance within the College of Arts and Sciences.

TreeRunner Adventure Park, which features more than 60 trails with zip lines and obstacles of varying levels of difficulty, officially opened on Friday, June 21 on the campus of Oakland University.

Take Root, a contemporary dance company-in-residence at Oakland University will present an evening of movement and dance at 7 p.m. on Friday, August 2 at The Cube at the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center in Detroit.

As part of an ongoing effort to provide an efficient and cost-effective transfer process, Oakland University has signed an additional articulation agreement with Macomb Community College. 

Oakland University’s popular summer carillon concert series, which features carillonneurs from around the world, is now in full swing.

The efforts of Oakland University’s Industrial Systems and Engineering (ISE) Department to integrate Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) concepts, techniques and tools into its curriculum are highlighted in Product Lifecycle Management (Volume 4): The Case Studies — the latest book by Dr. John Stark, an internationally recognized expert on PLM.

This fall, Oakland University’s Disability Support Services, in collaboration with the College of Arts and Sciences, will be offering a special topics course through social work, sociology and psychology, which will provide an overview of disabilities — with a particular focus on autism spectrum disorders — as well as peer-mediated instruction.

From June 7-10, Oakland University will host the 27th Annual Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition (IGVC), which provides an opportunity for engineers and computer scientists from around the world to compete with their uniquely-designed autonomous unmanned ground vehicles (UGV).

Oakland University’s First Year Advising Center has been selected as the winner of the 2019 Outstanding Institutional Advising Program Award from NACADA, the global community for academic advising.

On Friday, May 17, around 1,200 fifth graders participated in Oakland University’s 13th annual Clinton River Water Festival. The students came from schools in the Clinton River Watershed community in Oakland County, and learned about the vital role that water and the Clinton River play within the region. 

Whether they’re taking the stage at Oakland University to perform with the OU Brass Band, touring with the children’s production of James and the Giant Peach, or studying abroad in Greece, students and alumni of OU’s School of Music, Theatre and Dance will be busy rehearsing and performing this summer throughout the state and beyond.

Oakland University will welcome actor, singer and Tony Award nominated Broadway star Josh Young to campus this fall as he joins the faculty in the Department of Theatre in the School of Music, Theatre and Dance.

Emily Hadick (BFA '18) recently performed in Meadow Brook Theatre’s production of Spitfire Grill, which ran through March 10. BroadwayWorld Detroit said Emily's "portrayal of the main character, Percy, was magnificent. Above all else, her voice is strong and is more than up to the task of tackling this demanding role” Hadick is also one of three OU theatre alumni in three of the four lead roles in Meadow Brook Theatre’s production of The Marvelous Wonderettes, which runs through May 19.

Last August, Oakland University’s Department of Psychology welcomed Fulbright scholars Anna Szala and Rania Bellaaj to campus. 

In recognition of her outstanding contributions to the advancement of women at Oakland University, Stephanie J. Lee, administrative associate to the Provost, has been named the 2019 Phyllis Law Googasian Award winner.

Oakland University’s Department of Human Development and Child Studies, in collaboration with the Oakland University Center for Autism*, will present “Guilt by Innocence: Understanding Autism in the World of the Criminal Justice System” from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, May 3 in the Golf and Learning Center Building at 464 Golf View Lane in Rochester.

Oakland University’s vision statement pledges to “unlock the potential of individuals and leave a lasting impact on the world through the transformative power of education and research.” 

For a seventh year, Oakland University is holding its Summer Career Camps for 14- to 18-year-old teens at the OU Anton/Frankel Center in Mount Clemens.The career camps are a unique pre-college experience to help motivated and ambitious college-bound teens choose a college major and future career.

The Oakland University community will gather in the Oakland Center Winter Garden at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17 for a remembrance event honoring faculty, staff, retirees and students who passed away during the past year. RSVP’s are requested.

Oakland University's food service provider and partner, Chartwells, was inspired by The Ellen DeGeneres Show & Cheerios' mission to fill the world with good!

Oakland University’s Professional Artists Series Concert, Children’s Concert and World Music Concert will feature legendary steel-pan artist Andy Narell, who will be in residency at OU during the first week of April.

Oakland University is hosting a lecture by Annabelle Gurwitch, an author, humorist, popular television host and storyteller to help celebrate the launch of the university’s Cis Maisel Center for Judaic Studies and Community Engagement. The event takes place on Monday, April 8, at 7 p.m. in the Oakland Center Founders Ballroom B.

The Oakland Symphony Orchestra will present their final concert of the season at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 29 at Detroit’s Orchestra Hall.

As part of its Richard J. Burke Lecture Series in Philosophy, Religion and Society, Oakland University will host a discussion on “The Lies That Bind,” with Dr. Kwame Anthony Appiah from 7:30-9:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 28 in Banquet Rooms A and B in the Oakland Center. 

The Honors College recently hosted a talk by Cardie Mortimer, son of Charles G. Mortimer Jr., the influential television producer who worked on hit shows, including The Beverly Hillbillies, Get Smart and Bonanza. Cardie and family recently donated the Charles G. Mortimer Jr. Film and Television Collection to OU’s Honors College. 

The Oakland University Department of Biological Sciences recently hosted a genomics symposium, drawing researchers from around the country to discuss the latest advances in a field that is providing new insights into the function of genes, the promise of genomic medicine and the history of life itself. 

On Wednesday, April 3, Oakland University will welcome Academy Award-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter to campus. Her talk will spotlight her remarkable career in Hollywood, and will take place at 7 p.m. in the Oakland Center Founders Ballrooms.

The Oakland University chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society, recently sent eight students to present their research at the annual Pi Sigma Alpha National Student Research Conference, which was held Feb. 15-17 in Washington, D.C.

As a result of ongoing efforts to encourage students to become more involved in the electoral process, Oakland University has been designated a “Voter-Friendly Campus” by Campus Vote Project and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education.

Each day, faculty mentors help guide students toward their academic and personal goals, passing down knowledge and wisdom that will last a lifetime. 

Oakland University has partnered with the Chamber Music Society of Detroit to present Canadian pianist Steward Goodyear, who will perform at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 10 at OU’s Varner Recital Hall in Rochester Hills.

NOTE: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED DUE TO UNFORSEEN CIRCUMSTANCESThe 2019 Meadow Brook Lecture in International Affairs brings keynote speaker Professor Jessica Chen Weiss to Oakland’s campus on Wednesday, March 6 at 7 p.m. Her talk will take place at historic Meadow Brook Hall in the ballroom.

Marking its 35th year, Oakland University’s Women and Gender Studies Film Festival will present Challenging Femmephobia: Breaking the Gender Binary in Queer Communities. This year’s festival features screenings of the films “Making Masculine” and “The Same Difference.” The screenings, and a panel discussion, will take place from noon-3 p.m. on Saturday, March 9, in room 1050 of the Human Health Building on OU’s Rochester campus. 

A few years after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster, best-selling author and journalist Alan Weisman traveled to the site with Russian, Ukrainian and American scientists. They were tasked with designing safe ways for people to remain in surrounding regions.

The Center for Civic Engagement at Oakland University is planning a program entitled “Political Humor and its Impact on American Life.” The program is scheduled for Tuesday, March 5 at 7 p.m. It will be held in Banquet Room B of the Oakland Center on campus at Oakland University. It is free and open to the public.

Elizabeth Smart, who captured the nation’s attention when she was abducted from her home in 2002, will speak at Oakland University at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 21, in the Oakland Center Founders Ballrooms. A book signing will take place immediately following her talk. 

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, alumni of Oakland University’s School of Music, Theatre and Dance are sharing their stories of finding love in OU’s Varner Hall.

Native Howl, a “thrash grass” band consisting of OU alumni Alex Holycross and Mark Chandler, as well as Josh LeMieux and Jake Sawicki, recently headlined a show at Saint Andrews Hall in Detroit and will be joining rock legends Roger Daltrey, Kansas, Buddy Guy, 38 Special, Dave Davies, Foghat, The Outlaws, Nazareth, and more for the “Rock Legends Cruise VII” from Feb. 14-18.

Oakland University’s School of Music Theatre and Dance will present The Diary of One Who Disappeared/Needle Point at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 28 in Varner Recital Hall on the OU campus.

Oakland University’s Kristin Rohrbeck, director of the Joanne & Ted Lindsay Foundation Autism Outreach Services (OUCARES), has been named the overall winner of the Oakland County Executive’s Elite 40 Under 40 Class of 2019.

Longtime Macomb County District Judge Linda Davis recalls a time when she regarded addiction as a “moral failing” that only happened to flawed people from dysfunctional environments. It wasn't until her child, a straight-A student with a promising future, became addicted to heroin that she recognized the truth: “Addiction affects everybody. It affects all ages, all races, and all socioeconomic climates. It does not discriminate.” 

The Oakland Symphony Orchestra will present its 22nd Annual David Daniels Young Artists Concert at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 10 in Varner Recital Hall on OU’s campus.

Oakland University’s School of Music, Theatre and Dance will present Anton Chekhov’s Seagull from Feb. 7-10 and Feb. 13-15 in the Varner Studio Theatre in Varner Hall.

Calling upon her personal experiences, her thoughts on the role of higher education to support diversity and inclusion, and her hope for the future, Oakland University President Ora Hirsch Pescovitz submitted this opinion piece to the Detroit Free Press in advance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Oakland University’s Sigma Xi chapter has been recognized by The Scientific Research Honor Society as one of its leading chapters for the initiation of new members. OU is part of the Research and Doctoral Universities Constituency category within the organization’s more than 500 national and international chapters.