Alumni Stories
Oak Love
An old wives’ tale on campus is that if you kiss someone under the well, you will marry that person one day. Whether that is true or not, only the well knows for sure. But we know that many people attend OCU and meet the love of their lives. We asked alums and current students…
Read MoreOCU Alumni Board Adds New Members
As the new year turns, so does the Oakland City University Alumni Board of Directors. Established in 2022, the Oakland City University Alumni Board of Directors has organized and formed committees, established principles to guide the organization, and tackled changes to new operations moving forward. A couple of significant projects undertaken by the board since…
Read MoreHonoring Mike Atkinson
The OCU Biology Department is creating a bulletin board to honor Dr. Mike Atkinson, a professor who started his career at Oakland City College in January 1989. In May 2022, Dr. Atkinson retired and recently passed away in October 2023. He was a “constant” on the campus and in the department for which he is…
Read MorePassing of Derek Barton
Dear OCU Faculty, Staff, and Alumni Board Members, At 4:00am December 21, 2023, 1987 Oakland City University education graduate and OCU Alumni board member Derek Barton was called home to join our Father in Heaven. Derek grew up in Petersburg, Indiana, and lived in Ft. Branch, Indiana. Derek was a music and eighth-grade history teacher…
Read MoreBelltower Brick Update
OCU’s Development Team is hard at work taking on renovations to the Belltower Brick Plaza! The Development Team is excited to announce that a Brick map is coming soon to help locate your brick! The map will be posted on the main campus website. The project has sold over 450 bricks by many of our…
Read MoreMelba Phillips – Oppenheimer Colleague and OCU Alumni
Perhaps you have wondered about the historical marker that sets on the Oakland City University campus. It celebrates a person who was perhaps our most famous alumnus, Melba Phillips. Melba graduated from Oakland City College in 1926 and went on to become a famous international woman physicist. She was Professor Robert Oppenheimer’s first graduate student…
Read MoreReflection on the Alumni Luncheon
For 30 years, I have received invitations to the annual Alumni Luncheon at Oakland City, yet I never attended—busy summer plans and the unknown of attending topped my list of reasons not to go. Now, after putting the Luncheon on my July calendar, I realize what I have been missing for the past three decades. …
Read MoreAlumni Board Needs Your Help
As Oakland City University students are back on campus to begin the fall semester, excitement is building. Individuals can see changes to campus, and they may also hear rumblings of changes. Anticipation is building for the inaugural season of the new football team. The need for an unforgettable game day experience is paramount. The game…
Read MoreAlum Makes Another Generous Gift to OCU
Their generosity knows no bounds. In September of 2022, Dr. Donald, class of 1963, and Mary Ann Wilder made an unprecedented donation to the OCU Tennis program. Their gift drives the construction of the new Tennis Center on the OCU campus. President Dempsey, Don Wilder, Mary Ann Wilder, T-Ray Fletcher at Tennis Court Groundbreaking…
Read MoreOakland City College and Me – Fifty Years Ago
Fifty-year anniversaries of important events in our lives tend to stand out, perhaps because there are still fellow survivors left to share the memories with. This late spring, I celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of my graduation from Oakland City College. To understand the importance of this occasion for me, one must look back at my…
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