Oakland Remembers

March 26, 2024

Throughout the year, there are many occasions and events where we talk about the value of community, but there is no other gathering that embodies the importance and need for community more than this remembrance ceremony.

On behalf of the Oakland University community of students, faculty, staff and alumni, I extend our condolences to the families who parted with a loved one during the past year.

We are deeply grateful for this opportunity to honor those who have honored us through their engagement, selflessness and generous giving. 

Today…and everyday….we stand respectfully beside you. Standing together is what a community does. In times of celebration. Times of mourning. And today, in times of remembrance.

We like to think of this remembrance gathering as a great chain that connects the past, present and extends into the future. 

As members of the Oakland University, each of us plays a valuable role as a link in an indivisible connection with each other. A connection held together by our common values and the belief that higher education and the pursuit of knowledge and truth makes a fundamental difference in transforming the world into a more humane and compassion place.

We are grateful that Oakland has been a chapter in the lives of those we honor today, and we are so proud that we can claim their presence in a chapter of the university’s history.

Those who have passed remain with us because of the love, friendship and support they have given us lasts far beyond the moment it was expressed for love and “the power of human connection” transcend our temporal lives.

Those of us who have struggled to find perspective when a loved one dies realize that the depth of the pain is a measure of the depth of love.

That emotional wound we call grief heals in time with the compassion of friends, family and the cherished memories that give meaning to our lives.

In some cultures, reciting the name of a person who has passed helps to keep alive their presence and contributions. 

I’d like to think today’s Remembrance Event is a modest reminder that once a member of the Oakland University community, always a member.