Alumni
Alumni News
Monday, June 10, 2024
Oakland University Associate Professor of Theatre Jeremy Barnett and theatre alumnus Jason Maracani recently unveiled a new art installation in the East Garden of the Krasl Art Center in St. Joseph, Mich. that they hope will help people feel connected to and inspired by the gallery's outdoor space.
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
Oakland University’s School of Music, Theatre and Dance presented Andrew Lloyd Webber’s blockbuster musical, “Jesus Christ Superstar,” on Feb. 15-18 and Feb. 20-24 in the newly renovated Varner Studio Theatre on the campus of Oakland University. Featuring music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, “Jesus Christ Superstar” is a rock opera loosely based on the final seven days in the life of Jesus Christ, as told through the eyes of Judas Iscariot.
Tuesday, September 26, 2023
As Michigan's first poet laureate in more than 60 years, Nandi Comer has literally written herself into history. Oakland University will welcome the writer for a reading, Q&A and book signing on Thursday, Oct. 5 at 5 p.m. for the annual Maurice Brown Poetry Reading in the Oakland Center’s Ballroom A. Attendance is free and available via Zoom with registration. Refreshments will be served.
Thursday, September 21, 2023
Madison Lorincz has used her experiences in OU's Career and Life Design Center and COM 4970 capstone course to find purpose in her academic program and embark on a meaningful, productive career path.Oakland University’s newly established Career and Life Design Center incorporates design thinking, a philosophy of self-empowerment, to support students at each stage of their academic and professional lives.
Thursday, September 14, 2023
National Hispanic Heritage Month is a national recognition of the culture, contributions and heritage of Hispanic Americans whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15.
Thursday, June 29, 2023
Julie (Jordan) Ali is on the cusp of earning her master’s degree in public administration from Oakland University. That wouldn’t have been possible without an internet connection and stellar time management skills, since much of Ali’s time is spent aboard a 1,093-foot aircraft carrier in Norfolk, Virginia.
Friday, April 14, 2023
Oakland University Professor Anna Spagnuolo has been recognized as one of the state's three recipients of the 2023 Michigan Distinguished Professor of the Year award, which recognizes the outstanding contributions and dedication exhibited by the faculty from Michigan’s 15 public universities to the education of undergraduate students. The awards are presented annually by the Michigan Association of State Universities.
Thursday, March 23, 2023
The Region III Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF), which took place Jan. 11-15 at the University of Michigan-Flint, featured the work of 48 students from the Department of Theatre in the School of Music, Theatre and Dance. You can read more about their accomplishments here.
Wednesday, February 01, 2023
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has announced the appointments of Colleen Ochoa Peters, of Bloomfield Hills, and Stefen J. Welch, of Detroit, to the Oakland University Board of Trustees. Both were appointed to eight-year terms that will run through August 2030. They replace Melissa Stolicker and W. David Tull whose terms have expired.
Thursday, September 15, 2022
Elizabeth Parkinson, a doctoral student in Oakland University’s Department of Biological Sciences, has been awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation. The fellowship supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing master’s and doctoral degrees with a focus on NSF-supported science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines.
Monday, August 15, 2022
Michaela Messing, a student in Oakland University’s Master of Accounting program, was recently selected to receive a $10,000 scholarship from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), a nonprofit corporation created by Congress to oversee audits of public companies.
Friday, August 12, 2022
The 2021-22 performance season concluded in the spring with a jazz and world music residency at the Flagstar Strand Theatre for the Performing Arts in Pontiac March 30 - April 2, including four concerts and a community workshop with faculty, students and artist-in-residence Regina Carter; the Department of Theatre’s production of Pippin, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, from March 30 - April 3 in Varner Studio Theatre; a series of Young Choreographers Forum and Senior Dance Concert performances at Detroit Country Day School in April; an Oakland Symphony Orchestra and Oakland University Symphony Chorus performance on April 14 at Orchestra Hall in Detroit; and the Department of Music’s reimagined version of Handel’s opera, Acis and Galatea, from May 5 - 8 and May 12 – 15 in the Varner Studio Theatre.
Wednesday, July 20, 2022
Oakland University alumni Ellen Hargis and David Douglass, the husband-and-wife team who stepped down recently after many years of serving as the co-artistic directors of The Newberry Consort in Chicago, have been selected to receive the 2022 Howard Mayer Brown Award for lifetime achievement from Early Music America, the leading organization in their field, for their pioneering work in uncovering and performing rarely heard music.
Monday, July 11, 2022
After a highly competitive application process, Oakland University’s Project Upward Bound (PUB) College Prep Academy has secured a five-year, $3.5 million federal grant that will enable the program to continue its mission of helping participants graduate high school and successfully pursue postsecondary education.
Tuesday, April 05, 2022
Oakland University’s School of Nursing and its Board of Visitors have announced the 2022 Nightingale Award winners and runners-up. This year’s top nurses in Michigan come from a variety of clinical positions and settings and are recognized as exceptional in their areas of nursing.
Friday, February 18, 2022
Researchers in Oakland University’s Department of Biological Sciences have published a study that employs statistical models to analyze host-parasite relationships – in this case between tadpoles (hosts) and flatworms (parasites). The study, published in The American Naturalist, one of the world’s leading peer-reviewed publications in ecology, evolution and behavior research, uses the Metabolic Theory of Ecology (MTE) to describe the role temperature plays in that relationship.
Wednesday, February 02, 2022
Oakland University’s Creative Writing Program will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a fiction reading by author Matt Bell, whose most recent book, “Appleseed” was recognized by The New York Times. The OU alumnus will share his work during a campus event at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 10 in Oakland Center Banquet Room A. In-person attendees will be required to complete OU’s Daily Health Screening Form. The reading will also be streamed via Zoom.
Monday, December 20, 2021
In recognition of his exceptional leadership, service, and accomplishments, Oakland University alum Michael Kenny (CAS ’78) has been awarded an honorary Doctorate of Arts degree. The degree was presented on Friday, Dec. 17 during the university’s fall commencement ceremony.
Thursday, December 02, 2021
Theatre alumnus Esau Pritchett has joined the cast of Keenan Scott II's Thoughts of a Colored Man on Broadway. The production began performances at Broadway's Golden Theatre on October 1, ahead of an official opening on October 31. Natasha Ashey with Broadway World has called Thoughts of a Colored Man “a jaw-dropping, thought-provoking, incredibly real production that is not to be missed,” and Pritchett’s performance has been praised by The New York Times.