End of semester and holiday message from the President
Dear Oglethorpe Community,
As the Fall Semester comes to a close and we turn the page on another calendar year, I want to say thank you for making 2024 an incredible year for your Oglethorpe family.
I am grateful for your creativity, diligence, and commitment. Together we achieved the following milestones:
- We graduated the largest class in Oglethorpe history.
- We awarded more than $27 million in scholarships and other forms of financial aid to deserving students.
- We achieved an 88% placement rate for new graduates in either grad school or jobs in their field, beating the national average.
- We welcomed new leaders to campus: Dr. Gabriel Barreneche as our Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs and Sarah Emerson as Vice President of Advancement.
- We cheered on the men’s soccer team to reach the Division III national championship tournament for the second consecutive year.
- We supported Sanyia Ross and Charity Cloud as they took home the top prize in the university’s first intercollegiate business pitch competition.
- We rooted for Ashton Deriso and Zachary Benner as they ran in Division III Cross Country National Championship meet.
- We raised a record $25,000 on GivingTuesday following a record OU Giving Day total of more than $65,000.
- We invited nationally acclaimed poet Willie Perdomo to campus for the first-ever Oglethorpe Out Loud poetry event.
- We sent students Mackenzie Roberson, Jaely Chavez, and Thalia Boston to Washington, D.C., to present their research to an international audience at the Allied Genetics Conference.
- We cut the ribbon on a new commuter lounge in the garden level of Hearst Hall.
- We launched Career Communities for Communications and Healthcare.
- We energized the community with our first Petey’s Madness pep rally.
- We introduced a new minor in museum studies.
- We partnered with Emory University to offer a new pathway to a Master of Nursing degree.
So you see, it was truly a remarkable year. We are well on our way to being known as Atlanta’s premier undergraduate learning experience. Together, we will continue working to make academic excellence accessible to everyone. With your help, we can achieve even bigger and better milestones in 2025.
I sincerely hope you have a wonderful holiday season with family and loved ones. Enjoy your time away.
Sincerely,
Kathryn
Kathryn McClymond, Ph.D. (she, her)
President, Oglethorpe University