Alumni Stories
Alumni Luncheon Held June 1st
The Oakland City University Alumni Association board of directors held their annual Alumni Luncheon on the OCU campus Saturday, June 1, 2025. Members from the classes of 1974 and 1999 were celebrated as having graduated 50 and 25 years in the past from Oakland City College/University. Our esteemed attendees were welcomed “Back Home Again” to…
Read MorePassing of Rae Murray
The Oakland City University community was shaken to find out that the former first lady of OCU, Rae Murray, passed away on Friday, April 26, 2024. Rae’s obituary reads as follows: Rae Arliss Murray, age 89, of Fosston, MN, passed away on Friday, April 26th, at Cornerstone Living in Fosston. A funeral service was held…
Read More2024 Commencement
Oakland City University proudly celebrated the graduation of 201 exceptional students on Saturday, May 4, 2024, on the Oakland City, Indiana campus. These graduates, with their hard work and dedication, have set a high standard for academic excellence and community involvement. Chartered by the State of Indiana in 1885, OCU has been a beacon of…
Read MoreOak 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. …
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