insideOakwood: Oakwood Aiming to Increase Endowment, and more

Oakwood Aiming to Increase Endowment to $20M by 2020

Oakwood University has begun to implement plans to grow its endowment to $20M by the year 2020.

"It may seem a tall order to make such a sizable jump in our endowment, but we see this as a strategic and necessary goal when we look at our future plans and the investment in our future," states Sabrina Cotton, vice president for Financial Administration. "By partnering with the Board of Trustees, the President's Office, and the Development Office, we feel that our stretch goal is easily attainable as long as we are persistent and keep the 'big picture' in mind."

At the close of fiscal year 2016, Oakwood had an endowment totaling $13.8M, representing a 42% growth over the past five years.

The plans for growth include four strategies:

Budget to eliminate non-mandatory spending of endowment earnings until 2020;
Reinvest earnings not required for mandatory spending;
Assign annual % increase in operating subsidies received from NAD and Regional Conferences to quasi-endowment (per voted policy); and
Add at least two new scholarship endowments via fundraising annually.

"The growth of the endowment is important because it allows us to reduce our dependence on tuition revenue, and it assures our students that they can successfully complete the journey to graduation by the use of scholarship funds," remarks Cotton. "Other useful areas of the endowment allow for the upkeep and continued outfitting of campus buildings and the growth of our academic programs."

If you or someone you know would like more information on contributing to Oakwood University's endowment, please contact our development office by emailing Kisha Norris at [email protected], or calling her at 256-726-7201.

He Said "Go! Teach! Baptize!"

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. Matthew 28:19, 20.

At the beginning of the Fall Semester 2016, the Adventist Youth Ministry (AYM) team at Oakwood University took this Scripture seriously. Karsten Rogers, AYM director, with the sponsorship of Chaplain Marlene King in the Office of Spiritual Life, organized a Bible Study class called AYM Reveal. This class was directed by Jajuan Sanders, a member of the AYM team. As a result of the diligent labor of the entire AYM team and the chaplains at the Office of Spiritual Life, and the support of Dr. Leslie Pollard, eight students were dedicated to Jesus through baptism. The baptismal service took place during AYM at the Oakwood University Church on Friday, December 2.

UNCF's Class of 2016 Interns and Fellows Includes 15 Oakwoodites

On December 9, 2016, the UNCF recognized its Class of 2016 interns, fellows and scholars under its Student Professional Development Programs (SPDP) department, creating a new pipeline of highly qualified minority professionals to fill the jobs that are needed in the 21st century.

Nearly all of the 260 interns, fellows and scholars, including 15 from Oakwood University, are current students or recent graduates of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and have successfully completed their internships this past summer.

"Thanks to our supportive donors and partners, we're creating transformational career development opportunities, allowing our students to gain a competitive edge in securing career opportunities," said Taliah Givens, UNCF SPDP senior director. "We received favorable feedback across the board from corporations who had positive experiences with our interns and fellows. Over 86 percent of intern supervisors feel that UNCF interns demonstrated the critical thinking and academic skills necessary to complete their assignments and showed great interest in learning the field. It is our hope that these relationships turn into full-time employment after graduation, as our analysis also shows that over 80 percent of supervisors felt that their intern was a great fit for their organization and that they are happy to maintain ongoing professional mentoring with their intern."

The 2016 interns, fellows and scholars are among the top-selected recipients in key UNCF pipelines for developing highly qualified college graduates. Of those programs that awarded scholarships, more than $650,000 was collectively awarded to selected scholars to help them advance their studies.

The Class of 2016 includes the following individuals from Oakwood (and their status as of Summer 2016):

Redmond Bandy - Sophomore, Business
Kenesha Bennett - Senior, Education
Mauricia Clarke - Senior, Allied Health
Darren Daly - Junior, Education
Khristian Edwards-McCoy - Freshman, Business
Laurie Farreau - 5th year Senior, Biology
Kayla Harris - Junior, Social Work
Sanna-Gay Hird - 5th year Senior, Pre-Medicine
Derek Lane - Sophomore, Engineering
Deja Langston - Junior, Early childhood Education
Alice Merelus - Senior, Nursing
Jujuan Sanders - Junior, Theology
Mariah Smith - Senior, Chemistry
Wendell Tavuyanago - Junior, Social Work
Jontaya Williams - Senior, Education

DAP Founder Visits Social Work Department


	Danica Antoine (center) coordinated the Harris' visit to the Social Work Department.

The Department of Social Work hosted Mr. Clifford Harris, founder of the Drug Alternative Program, for a lecture and sharing session with social work students o n November 13, 2016. While introducing her husband, Mrs. Freddie Harris described how the Drug Alternative Program came into existence and the number of people who have been helped over the years.

During the presentation, Mr. Harris spoke about his personal struggles with drug use and the pejorative effects on his family. He spent most of his life in and out of the prison until one day accepting Christ as his Lord and Savior. Harris then shared how the church has been a blessing to him and how he encourages students to avoid drug use at all costs.

To show his appreciation, Mr. Harris offered a $500 incentive to any student who attended his presentation, read his book, and writes a 2-3 page essay responding to his book. The winner will be announced at a later date.

Health & Exercise Science Students Earn Professional Certification

The Department of Health and Exercise Science is proud to announce that several of our Health and wellness majors are now certified professionals!

At least 25 students who were enrolled in PE320 Fitness and Testing and PE310 Athletic Injuries have reported passing the National Association for Sports Medicine certification exams for Performance Enhancement Specialist (PES) and Corrective Exercise Specialist (CES).

While the cost for these exams was met at great sacrifice, these new entrepreneurs are now qualified to enjoy benefits as professional trainers in public and private sectors, to work with individuals and/or groups in the area of personal fitness.

The exam for Certified Physical Trainer (CPT) will be offered for students enrolled in PE282 Personal Training Certification spring semester. Enrollment for these courses is open to all majors.

The success of these students is a significant accomplishment in preparing our graduates for professional careers.

Vote for Miss Oakwood


	Miss Oakwood 2016-17 Courtney Buckhanon is asking everyone to vote -- students, alumni, family and friends!

EBONY's 2016-2017 HBCU Campus Queens online competition ends at midnight on January 15, 2017.

To cast your vote for Miss Courtney Buckhanon, visit http://www.ebony.com . You're allowed to cast three (3) votes in a 24-hour period. Our goal is to have 1000 people vote three (3) times today.

Spread the word AND keep coming back every day. EVERYONE can share the information on their social media platforms as well to help spread the word.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities were founded to promote Black excellence and brilliance, and each reigning beauty was elected by her peers and/or school officials to represent those standards for her institution of higher learning. Oakwood University commits to the values of respect, compassion, integrity, excellence, service, innovation and collaboration.

To cast your vote for Miss Oakwood, visit us online at http://www.ebony.com.

EBONYCampusQueens2016 is the official hashtag of the competition and should be used as much as possible on all posts.

Alumni News

Andrea LaDoris Davis, '04, successfully defended her dissertation at the University of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee, on November 11, 2016. Her dissertation was entitled "Risk-Taking Behavior in Adolescence: Exploring the Roles of Family, Peers, and School." Davis graduated with a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and Research with a concentration in Educational Psychology during commencement exercises on December 11, and is giving all glory to God for the great things that He has done. She is grateful for "your prayers and encouragement as I pursued my undergraduate and graduate education."

Oakwod alumnus and renowned singer-songwriter Anthony Whigham will bring his musical ministry to the First Seventh-day Adventist Church, 1303 Evangel Drive, in Huntsville, on December 17, 2016, beginning at 5:30 p.m. An thony has been around the world in ministry lifting up Jesus in song through solos, leading groups (such as The Way-Back-When Quintet at Oakwood, and Gospel Dynamics), recording enduring gospel classics, hymns and memorable contemporary songs like "Heaven" and "Working for The Lord."

About Oakwood

The mission of Oakwood University, a historically black, Seventh-day Adventist institution, is to transform students through biblically-based education for service to God and humanity.