Relaying News Of A Devastating Loss: Glenn McIntosh

Wednesday, September 17, 2025

I write you with a heavy heart to share that Senior Vice President for Student Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer Glenn McIntosh passed away early this morning.

There are no words that can adequately describe the scale of this loss to our community. For more than 30 years, Glenn gave everything he could to encourage, motivate and support the success of everyone in our campus community. When it comes to the life affirming experiences that the college experience provides, however, students always held a special place in our beloved colleague's heart.

"That's the cornerstone of higher education, and empowering students to their full potential is our unyielding purpose," he said.

A true servant leader, Glenn was also deeply committed to ensuring that professionals from all walks of life had the opportunity to thrive. He knew that the entire Oakland University community would benefit from diverse cultural competency and the wealth of talent that results from it. He championed this goal in his role as Chief Diversity Officer.

In his early years with OU, Glenn served as a Project Upward Bound instructor and as Founding Director of the Center for Multicultural Initiatives. He created the Oakland University Trustee Academic Success (OUTAS) program, which even today continues to garner national recognition for its retention and graduation rates of underrepresented students.

To foster inclusiveness, and among many other initiatives, he created the Veterans Support Services Office and the Gender and Sexuality Center.

"I define success as the process of setting diversity, equity and inclusion goals and metrics for the campus community and consistently taking action to close the gap between our current and desired campus climate," Glenn said.

He was also active with our Athletics Department, acting as a strength, conditioning and nutrition coach for many athletes, as well as playing a significant role in the department's NCAA Division I Certification process. For all his contributions, he was presented the George Wibby Award.

Glenn played a key role in our OU-Pontiac Initiative and demonstrated his tremendous character even further with many commitments to organizations outside Oakland University, including the American Heart Association, Big Brothers and the NAACP.

As we grieve the loss of this extraordinary leader, please know that support is available, including the OU Counseling Center, which is open to all students, faculty and staff from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. OUCC counselors will also be available in rooms 128 and 129 of Oakland Center for grief counseling from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

A campus memorial to honor Glenn’s remarkable life and legacy will be held. Expect details to be shared soon. In addition, I have requested that OU flags fly at half-mast through next week.

We will always remember Glenn's infectious smile, his uplifting and engaging personality and his warm and caring nature. In our community, Glenn McIntosh will always be loved and renowned as Mr. OU.

With deepest sympathy,

Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, M.D.
President