The Oakland Post recently sat down with university President Gary Russi to discuss pertinent topics.

What positive reactions has OU seen since its March Madness appearance?

Russi: Number one: There have been gifts given to the university as a result of this and in some cases unsolicited. Number two: And this is really big — the name identity of Oakland University is much more prevalent in the key feeder high schools for us. We do this by taking surveys, and we check and listen to counselors, and so on.

Have you seen any differences in the OU landscape?

Russi: We think that it’s opened the door to partnerships we’ve never had before.  Some people who we couldn’t get in our offices to talk about relationships — whether it be a fundraising relationship or research relationship or internship relationship – it’s opened the door.  It’s created a community excitement we’ve never seen before that’s related to the university, and people are more willing to say things. The national perspective at Oakland has been opened up.

Is there national name recognition for OU now?

Russi: I think I’ve recounted a few times where it has happened. When you travel with Oakland on your chest, which I do all the time when I fly, it doesn’t matter where you go.  They know.  And in many cases they know because of intercollegiate athletics, because we got into the tournament. They say: “Oh, you’re the Oakland admission that got into the tournament,” and that’s really cool.  It’s really opened a lot of prospective opportunities for us.  Hopefully this year, it will happen once again.

Is OU Athletics expanding globally?

Russi: You do that to diversify the student body.  And, whether it be intercollegiate athletics or whether it be at graduate level. If you were to study at our graduate level, you’d see a lot of international students in engineering and mathematics and so forth, so it’s really natural for us to reach out. I’ll say that one of the key reasons that a top mid-major athletic program like Oakland can’t compete at some of the top levels is to go international.   It’s really critical.