Faculty & Staff

Starting today, Oakland University is distributing an additional $6.9 million in emergency relief funds to eligible students enrolled in the Winter 2021 semester. Those who qualify for an award were notified via their OU email. 

Nearly 300 students from a variety of health-oriented academic programs recently took part in Oakland University’s fifth annual Interprofessional Education Workshop on opioid abuse. Although this year’s event was held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic, it featured plenty of insights into the challenges and opportunities health professionals have to deliver the highest quality of patient care. 

If you want to change your life and the way you see the world – study abroad. 

Xiangqun Zeng, distinguished professor of analytical chemistry, was invited to give a talk during a virtual celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The February 11 event is hosted by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), in collaboration with the Leibniz‐Institute for Catalysis (LIKAT) and Space Foundation.

Oakland University and Kirtland Community College have forged a series of new articulation agreements that will help Kirtland students transition to OU in pursuit of a Bachelor of Science in Applied Health Sciences, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Bachelor of Integrative Studies. The agreements help students save money by increasing the number of credits they may transfer to OU for each program. 

February 2 is Groundhog Day. But this year, it’s also the day of Oakland University’s first-ever Day of Giving – and greatness is in the forecast. The 24-hour event starts at midnight and invites OU faculty, staff and supporters to contribute to their favorite OU gift funds, which include scholarships, departments, programs, and more. 

In response to the state’s recent reallocation of $30 million in Michigan Capital Outlay funds toward the planned renovation and expansion of South Foundation Hall, the university will close the building and establish an associated construction perimeter on Monday, February 1.

Oakland University has been awarded a $321,075 Healthy Aging grant by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund in support of the university’s HOP-UP-PT (Home-based Older Persons-Upstreaming Prevention-Physical Therapy) program.

Led by a group of Oakland University researchers, the largest study of genetic diversity in Ukraine has been published in the open science journal GigaScience. The study provides data on genetic variants associated with human health and describes historical factors that helped give rise to remarkable genetic variation in a part of the world that has been underrepresented in genome research. The project was an international effort that brought together researchers from Ukrainian institutions, headed by Uzhhorod National University, as well as institutions in the U.S. and China. 

As the pandemic continues, many students have lost jobs and income, and some are dealing with family members who are sick. OU is committed to providing support in the face of these challenges. Applications are being accepted for emergency aid through the OU Student Emergency Relief Fund. 

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. 

Dr. Alta Marie Boover, an assistant professor of voice at Oakland University, will present a virtual performance of Bon Appétit — a one-woman operatic scene by Lee Hoiby based on Episode No. 228 of Julia Child’s PBS television show “The French Chef” — at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 16 on Zoom.

UPDATE: Here is the Oakland University YouTube link to watch Monday, Jan. 18th's Keeper of the Dream virtual event. The premiere begins at 11:30AM.For helping break down stereotypes and promote racial and cultural understanding, nine students will be recognized during Oakland University’s 29th annual Keeper of the Dream Awards Celebration. This year’s event will be broadcast via YouTube on Monday, January 18, 2021, starting at 11:30 a.m. The link will be posted at Oakland.edu. 

Oakland University’s School of Education and Human Services received a perfect score on its latest accreditation report from the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, a national group that evaluates teacher education providers. 

To honor this year’s summer and fall graduates, Oakland University will host a virtual commencement celebration on Saturday, December 19. The pre-recorded event will be broadcast on OU’s YouTube channel starting at 10 a.m. 

Dr. Brandy A. Randall, dean of the Graduate School at Oakland University, has been appointed to serve a two-year term as a member of the Council of Graduate Schools’ Advisory Committee on Advocacy and Public Policy. Her term will begin in January 2021.

Todd Shackelford, distinguished professor and chair of Oakland University’s Department of Psychology, is editor of the newly published SAGE Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology. This comprehensive, up-to-date reference text provides a rich overview of the most important theoretical and empirical work in the field. 

To help protect campus from a COVID-19 outbreak, Oakland University is offering students, faculty and staff an advanced technology device called the BioButton, created by BioIntelliSense Inc. These wearable devices are now available to students, faculty and staff free of charge.

Oakland University percussion students, faculty, and alumni participated in the annual Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC), which took place Nov. 13-14.

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.

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. 

Mark Navin, Ph.D., professor and chair of philosophy at Oakland University, recently co-authored an article for Pediatrics — the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics — about the non-acceptance of vaccine refusers in primary care.

Join us as C. Michelle Piskulich, Interim Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, interviews Oakland University's two newest deans.Polly Boruff-Jones, Dean of the University Libraries, was hired in April 2020 and Brandy Randall, Dean of the Graduate School, was hired in July 2020.

Actress, activist, recording artist and author Keke Palmer encourages everyone to live their best life by “breaking the chains of limiting ideas.” She will share her wisdom and experiences with the OU community via Zoom on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 8 p.m. 

A recent study led by Oakland University Professor Tanya Christ indicates that minority students’ reading comprehension improves when reading culturally relevant books whose characters, places and events align well with their own cultural and experiential backgrounds.

To better serve the needs of transfer students, Oakland University has expanded its partnerships with Oakland Community College and Washtenaw Community College. 

All emergency grant funding that Oakland University received from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF)  has been disbursed to eligible students. A total of $6,898,412 in emergency grants was distributed among 11,504 students to help ease financial burdens brought about by the pandemic. 

Oakland University’s Healthology Symposium is going virtual this year and will focus on the creative solutions developed across different health sectors in response to the unique challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Strong recruiting ties were a driving force behind Ford Motor Company’s generous donation of 50,000 disposable masks to the Oakland University community. The Dearborn-based automaker made the donation through its philanthropic arm, the Ford Motor Company Fund, as part of a goal to distribute 100 million masks nationwide. 

Julian RrushiJulian Rrushi has been awarded a Young Faculty Award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to discover the physics of cyberspace, an emergent research area that could revolutionize the field of cybersecurity. 

Following a national search, Oakland University has selected Britt Rios-Ellis to serve as Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost pending Board of Trustees approval. She will begin her appointment on January 4, 2021.

A grant from the National Science Foundation recently helped researchers at Oakland University acquire a flow cytometry cell sorter, a scientific instrument which will allow for hands-on collaborative research in the areas of amphibian biology, plant genomics, and stem cell biology.

For the seventh consecutive year, Pi Sigma Alpha, the national honor society for political science college students, has recognized Oakland University’s Nu Omega chapter with a Best Chapter Award. 

Oakland University’s PI Academy, which trains early-career faculty in the key aspects of becoming a nationally recognized researcher and scholar and then pairs them with prestigious scholars from across the nation, is going virtual this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meaghan Barry, partner and creative director and Unsold Studio and associate professor of graphic design at Oakland University, has been selected as a Crain’s Detroit Business’ 2020 Notable Woman in Design.

This year, Oakland University is taking its student-run hackathon virtual. The 36-hour GrizzHacks competition, in which students develop a variety of technology-based projects, will take place September 18-20. 

“When you go to a foreign country, you learn so much about yourself and different cultures,” says senior journalism major Claudia Marques Molina. “It opens your mind and becomes part of you.” 

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.”

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.

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. 

Oakland University Professor Luis Villa-Diaz has been awarded a $550,178 grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for his research on stem cell biology and the potential use of stem cells in regenerative medicine.

Oakland University’s First Year Advising Center, in collaboration with OU’s College and Schools, is hosting Campus Kickoff events to welcome new students to campus. Since the Summer 2020 orientation programs were all virtual, the Campus Kickoffs were created to provide students an in-person experience on campus before classes begin. 

When Oakland University student Peyton Schmid found out she had won the Alan Mulally Leadership in Engineering Scholarship via a Zoom call earlier this summer, she was in disbelief. The highly coveted $10,000 scholarship, named in honor of the former President and CEO of Ford Motor Company, is awarded annually to only 10 engineering students at premier partner universities around the world. 

With help from her students in Oakland University’s Teacher Development and Educational Studies program, OU Professor Mary Stein created innovative kits to bring science to elementary students at the International Technology Academy in Pontiac, Mich. who were impacted by the school’s closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, Oakland University faculty and staff are working to ensure that students have access to the classes and services they need, in an environment that protects health and safety. For the Fall 2020 semester, Oakland will offer a range of learning options, including in-person, online and hybrid classes. 

With nearly 60 percent of the world’s population online, the internet is a vital resource in today’s ever-changing world. In fact, internet users are anticipated to spend a cumulative 1.25 billion years online this year alone. Developing the skills to harness this technology offers a clear advantage that can open doors to coveted positions, projects and promotions. 

A 2019 CNN Hero who has helped more than 2 million families globally through a nonprofit she started in a minivan has been conferred with an Oakland University honorary doctorate degree.