Letter to Administration:

When I started my educational career at Oakland over four years ago, I was greeted by a welcoming and diverse collection of Professors who have only ever done their best to provide the student body with a quality learning environment and education. Over the course of the last four years, one thing that I have learned is that our Oakland University faculty is an integral and necessary part of the well-oiled-machine that Oakland aspires to be. 

Over the course of these past four years I have switched my major a number of times and have had the privilege of experiencing Oakland from many different aspects. My time as a music education major introduced me to some of the most skillful, and truly world class, musicians and instructors I’ve ever met (Dr. Kenneth Kroesche, Dr. Hoag, Dr.Kaarre, and the rest of the amazing SMTD professors). Multiple history professors have exposed me to history in ways I’ve never seen before, truly opening my eyes to what it means to be a historian and an educator (Dr.Karen Miller, Dr.Erin Dwyer, and many others). Finally, after settling in as a student of the relatively small department of modern language and literature, my professors have become more than teachers, more than advisors; they have become mentors, and more so, friends (Dr.Jennifer Sullivan, Dr.Rebecca Josephy, Dr.Dikka Berven, Dr.Ashley Voeks). 

During some of my lowest of lows, there has always been a constant outpouring of kindness, support, and direction from my OU professors. Within myself, they have instilled knowledge, confidence, work ethic, and most of all kindness. Let it be known, that none of the quality education that I have received at this university has been the doing of the administration. It is the knowledge, hard work, kindness, and work ethic of OU professors that has made me the person I am today.

I could continue on and write pages upon pages about what our faculty means to us students, but I will leave the administration with this. As overly sentimental as it may sound, OU has become our home, and with it, the faculty our family; more so during the COVID-19 pandemic than ever before. As I would with my real family, I will support OU faculty when they are under attack like they currently are by Oakland’s administration. Let it be known that the OU student body stands with our faculty and our professors. What we will not stand for is blatant union busting, and mistreatment of our faculty. What we will not stand for is the administration’s talk of “what is best for the student body”, a statement that falls on deaf ears, precisely because what is best for our faculty IS what is best for the student body. There is no OU without our amazing and truly formidable faculty.

Sincerely, 

Alex Wright