The recent passing of Senior Vice President for Student Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer, Glenn McIntosh, has impacted a lot of students in the past week. From students that found their home in the Center for Multicultural Initiatives or the Gender and Sexuality Center, to the students living their day-to-day lives on campus — it is undeniable that VP Mac had an impact.
Student Activity Fund Assessment Committee (SAFAC) leaders in particular have been devastated with the loss of the Senior Vice President. VP Mac has been a key component to how people on the SAFAC board got to where they are today.
Here are some stories that SAFAC leaders have shared with The Oakland Post over the last week, regarding VP Mac and his impact on their lives and the lives of students at-large.
Marcus Johnson, Student Body President
“In my job, VP Mac is someone I work with a lot, and very closely, especially when it comes to advocating for things students want to see. Who else am I going to take it to but the VP for Student Affairs,” Marcus Johnson, Student Body President, said. “Outisde of the professional-working with him part, he had also become sort of like a personal mentor for me — especially as I took on the job of president — as far as developing leadership abilities and whatnot.”
Johnson was one of the first people to hear about his passing, Wednesday morning on the 17th.
“Not only did, you know, it feel like losing a good working partner, but a really close friend that I was developing a really good bond with and then all of a sudden — just gone…” Johnson said.
After a brief pause to reflect, Johnson reflected on how VP Mac helped all types of students — both active and passive in the campus community.
“The thing about VP Mac is that he was so present that he meant a lot of different things to a lot of different people. To the average student: he was just a nice guy who told you where you could find everything,” Johnson said. “To a lot of other students he was very instrumental in how they pursued their academics, how they got involved on campus…”
The Student Body President then commented on how proud he was that the campus community has been unified in its response to the recent news of his passing.
“I know even just from looking at interactions on social media, of us you know, discussing his passing, he’s meant so much to students on this campus for decades that thinking about what he means to people here transcends even what I can fathom,” Johnson said.
Mathew Seidel, Chair of the Student Life Lecture Board
After wrapping up the conversation with Johnson, Mathew Seidel, the Chair of the Student Life Lecture Board and the Student Liaison of the Board of Trustees, spoke with The Oakland Post about what VP Mac meant to him and the campus community, as well.
“VP McIntosh is a person who devoted his life to OU students, over 30 years, longer than I’ve been alive. And he was a mentor to me, he was a mentor to people on the Board of Trustees, he was a mentor to many of the staff here at OU,” Seidel, SLLB chair and Student Liaison to the Board of Trustees.
Seidel then discussed how VP Mac impacted the OU campus culture.
“VP Mac is the reason that we have just about every campus program that helps students from the Office for Student Involvement, from the Center for Multicultural Initiatives, from the Gender and Sexuality Center, to housing. He played a key role in creating many of these programs and also implementing them over the last 30 years of Oakland University’s history,” Seidel said. “He is the reason why we have memorable campus experiences that make our lives richer outside the classroom.”
Aidan White, Music Director of WXOU
In a statement to The Oakland Post, Aidan White, the Music Director of WXOU, reflected on his close relationship to the late Senior Vice President.
“It didn’t hit me initially, The first thing I did was call my dad, they’ve been friends since they started college together. They’re also fraternity brothers, so I was really concerned about how he was feeling. Then I realized I lost my uncle. I had seen him days prior at a funeral, we had made plans to get lunch and play pool. Now these things unfortunately can’t happen. I still come to a loss when I try [to] process that he’s gone,” White said.
White then was asked what VP Mac meant to the average student and how his impact will be felt in the future.
“The average student probably doesn’t even know what the dean of students even actually does, but know, we wouldn’t be the scholarly and competent university we are now without my Uncle. I think we all have him to thank for a lot of things around here,” White said.
