Oakland University
Originally known as Michigan State University-Oakland, the university enrolled its first students in 1959 and was renamed Oakland University in 1963. The university has been officially independent since 1970.
As of the fall 2008 semester, more than 18,000 students were enrolled at OU.
Sandra Packard on an interim basis in 1995 and was appointed president by the Board of Trustees in 1996.
Motto
Oakland University's motto is Seguir virtute e canoscenza ("Seek virtue and knowledge"). These are the final words of Ulysses' speech to his men urging them to sail on in pursuit of knowledge and experience of the world — even beyond the pillars of Hercules, traditionally the frontier and limit of legitimate exploration.
This is the three-line stanza:
Considerate la vostra semenza / Fatti non foste a viver come bruti / Ma per seguir virtute e canoscenza.
Consider your birth / You were not made to live like brutes / But to follow courage and knowledge .
Academics
Oakland University offers more than 120 baccalaureate degree programs and approximately 100 professional certificate and graduate degree programs (M.A., M.S., and Ph.D.).
The main academic units of the university are the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Business Administration, the School of Health & Human Services, the School of Engineering and Computer Science, the School of Health Sciences, and the School of Nursing.
The university also offers numerous opportunities for studying abroad.
As part of its research mission, OU also supports a number of major research centers and institutes, including the Center for Biomedical Research, the Center for Robotics and Advanced Automation, the Fastening and Joining Research Institute, the Human Systems Initiative, and the renowned Eye Research Institute. Additionally, OU's Smart Zone Business Incubator (OU INC) provides entrepreneurial resources and expertise to support and foster new technology-based and life science businesses.
In the Spring of 2007 the university announced plans to establish a Medical School on the OU campus in partnership with William Beaumont Hospital.
The Medical School, which will be the fourth in the state of Michigan to offer the M.D. The founding dean of the Medical School is Robert Folberg.
Graduate programs
Oakland University offers more than 100 graduate degrees and certificate programs.
A full slate of day, evening, and weekend classes is designed to fit a variety of student schedules.
OU has established partnerships with Fortune 500 companies, municipalities, school systems, health-care organizations, and more. Graduate students work side-by-side with faculty and industry leaders to research practical answers to complex problems.
Internship and co-op possibilities also put classroom theory into practice.
Graduate students have access to tuition-covered career counseling and other services.
Research institutes and centers
OU is home to major research institutes and centers addressing a broad range of interests and industries, including biomedical, public affairs, technology, engineering, education, international studies, and more.
Center for Applied Research in Musical Understanding
Center for Biomedical Research
Center for Creative and Collaborative Computing
Center for Robotics and Advanced Automation
Eye Research Institute
Fastening and Joining Research Institute
OU Center for Autism Research, Education and Support
Pawley Learning Institute
Product Development and Manufacturing Center
Public Affairs Research Laboratory
Culture and the arts
Oakland University offers a wide variety of cultural and artistic attractions, drawing more than 350,000 visitors to OU's campus each year.
The historic heart of campus is Meadow Brook Hall, a 110-room Tudor revival–style mansion that was completed in the 1920s as the centerpiece of OU founder Matilda Dodge Wilson's estate. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Meadow Brook Hall is often referred to as one of America's "castles" and is currently the fourth-largest historic house museum in the United States.
Residential learning communities on OU's campus include Scholars Tower and the Residential Honors College community. Eight additional buildings make up the Matthews Court student townhouses, and six major Tudor-style buildings house the University Student Apartments, which were completed in 2002.
The campus also offers recreational facilities for intramural sports and for OU's 16 NCAA Division I athletic teams, including the lighted Upper Athletic Fields, the indoor Sports Dome, fields for varsity baseball, softball, and soccer, facilities for basketball, handball, track, and weight training.
The campus Recreation Center houses OU's state-of-the-art natatorium, and the Athletics Center O'Rena, a 4,000-seat field house, is the home court for OU basketball and volleyball.
OU's student union, the Oakland Center, underwent an extensive renovation and expansion in 2003. The Oakland Center houses the offices of student organizations, a large food court with a variety of restaurants, the student bookstore, a cafe, a pool hall and gaming center, a Student Technology Center, as well as the offices of the university radio station, WXOU (88.3 FM).
Campus life is further enhanced by more than 140 registered student organizations, ranging from cultural and religious groups to Greek organizations. Fraternities represented at OU include Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Pi, Theta Chi, Tau Kappa Epsilon, and Alpha Phi Alpha.
Sororities include Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Sigma Tau, Gamma Phi Beta, Phi Sigma Sigma, Delta Sigma Theta, and Sigma Gamma Rho.