Ohio Wesleyan University

Ohio Wesleyan University held its 179th commencement ceremony on May 13, celebrating its Class of 2023. Keynote speaker Brigadier General Deydre Smyth Teyhen, OWU Class of 1973, encouraged the new graduates to "lead in a manner that will make the future brighter for the next generation." Congratulations and best wishes to Ohio Wesleyan's newest alumni. OWU is proud of you!

The Woltemade Center for Economics, Business and Entrepreneurship at Ohio Wesleyan University has selected eight students for admittance into its fall 2023 class of Corns Business and Entrepreneurial Scholars. The competitive program is open to sophomores who have demonstrated strong academic performance, leadership in campus or community service organizations, and potential for achievement in business or as an entrepreneur. Corns Scholars receive $5,000 scholarships during both their junior and senior years. The program is designed to help them "combine classroom knowledge with the spontaneity of daily business applications and challenges, putting them a step ahead in the business world with future employers." Congratulations to these business-savvy Bishops!

The Woltemade Center for Economics, Business and Entrepreneurship at Ohio Wesleyan University has selected nine students as 2023-2024 Accounting Fellows. Being selected for the competitive program gives the fellows access to enhanced internship, research, and other opportunities. Congratulations!

Ohio Wesleyan University inducted six first-year students into its chapter of the Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society this spring. Phi Eta Sigma recognizes first-year students who are taking a full academic course load and who either achieve a grade point average of at least 3.50 or who are ranked in the upper 20 percent of their class. Founded in 1923, Phi Eta Sigma is the nation's oldest and largest honor society for first-year college and university students in all disciplines. Its motto is "Knowledge is Power." Congratulations to the 2023 inductees!

Ohio Wesleyan University inducted 23 new members this spring into its Eta Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa National Academic Honor Society. The new inductees join a historic organization that counts 17 U.S. presidents, 42 Supreme Court justices, and more than 150 Nobel laureates among its members. Nationwide, only 10 percent of all U.S. colleges and universities have Phi Beta Kappa chapters, and each of the 293 chapters selects only 10 percent of its graduates to join annually through a highly selective, merit-based invitation process. Congratulations to OWU's newest Phi Beta Kappa inductees!

Five Ohio Wesleyan University students have earned OWU Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Grants this spring to support projects that include researching women's health and food issues in Southern Africa, restoring and celebrating a Native American-inspired mural on campus, and exploring at a national conference how to create a more just U.S. economy. Ohio Wesleyan's DEI Grant program was launched in 2021 to support projects proposed by students and employees to advance the OWU campus as an antiracist space. The university continues to accept student DEI Grant proposals this semester, with the application and review process overseen by the Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Student grants may be up to $1,500 each. Congratulations to the newest grant recipients!

Ohio Wesleyan University's Golden Bishop Awards are presented each academic year to recognize students for outstanding achievements in leadership and community service. Congratulations to all of the very deserving 2022-2023 Golden Bishops!

Ohio Wesleyan University held its 2023 Spring Student Symposium on April 20 with students sharing mentored research, performance, and class projects that highlight the breadth, depth, and quality of work produced this academic year. Congratulations to all of the participants!

Ohio Wesleyan University is awarding more than $60,700 in competitive Theory-to-Practice Grants this spring to help students complete OWU Connection experiences that apply their academic knowledge to hands-on, real-world projects outside the classroom. The university awards multiple rounds of Theory-to-Practice Grants (TPGs) each academic year to support its signature student experience, the OWU Connection. As of fall 2023, the OWU Connection will be fully incorporated into the university's curriculum, requiring all students to complete at least one project that requires them to Think Big (complete undergraduate research), Do Good (participate in community-engaged learning, including student leadership), Go Global (complete off-campus study), or Get Real (explore their future careers through meaningful internships and externships). Congratulations, grant recipients!

Two teams of Ohio Wesleyan University students spent a week helping others as part of OWU's annual Spring Break Service Week program. One group traveled to Lakota Nation, South Dakota, and worked with the Lakota Youth Development, a nonprofit organization located on the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Reservation. The other traveled to Houston, Texas, and worked with the nonprofit organization SBP to help rebuild two hurricane-damaged homes. They traveled between March 11 and March 19, 2023. Congratulations to all involved for a successful week of life-changing learning and service!

Ohio Wesleyan's graduating senior art show, "Kaleidoscope," opens April 15 with a public reception at the university's Richard M. Ross Art Museum. The juried exhibit, which runs through May 13, includes works from nine students. Congratulations, OWU artists!

The Ohio Wesleyan Department of Performing Arts will present five performances of "Xanadu" at 7:30 p.m. on April 13, 14, 15, 21, and 22, 2023, on the Main Stage of Chappelear Drama Center, 45 Rowland Ave., Delaware. Fifteen Ohio Wesleyan students are performing in the musical, and 24 are filling key production jobs. Congratulations for bringing this magical '80s musical to life!

Ohio Wesleyan awards Baran Fellowships annually to help students pursue their graduate school and career goals. The recipients receive financial awards to support educational programs, internships, or other initiatives to make them more competitive candidates for graduate school admission and prestigious post-graduate fellowships, such as Fulbright and Rhodes Scholarships. Congratulations, Baran Fellowship recipients!

Three Ohio Wesleyan University students have earned new OWU Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Grants to support projects studying the contributions of Black women to gynecological care in the United States and the development of Black journalism in Africa and Europe. The newest recipients of the competitive, university-funded DEI Grants are first-year students Jemimah Chukwuemeka of Ikoyi, Lagos State, Nigeria; Anya Robinson of Belleville, Illinois; and senior Jada Respress of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. Chukwuemeka and Robinson will use their grant to attend The Anarcha, Lucy, Betsey Day of Reckoning Conference from Feb. 26 to March 1 in Montgomery, Alabama. The event recognizes the historic inequities in Black women's healthcare, focusing upon the legacies of three enslaved women who underwent multiple gynecological surgeries without their consent in the mid-1800s. Today, the women are memorialized through a 15-foot public monument in downtown Montgomery for their roles as "the mothers of gynecology." At Ohio Wesleyan, Chukwuemeka is pursuing majors in Biochemistry and Pre-Medicine and a minor in French; Robinson is pursuing majors in Neuroscience and French and a minor in Black World Studies. Respress is applying her grant to fall semester research she conducted in Black journalism in both Cape Town, South Africa, and London, United Kingdom. She is pursuing a major in Communication and a minor in Politics and Government. In addition to a DEI Grant, Respress also earned a 2022 Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to support her project. Ohio Wesleyan's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Grant program is overseen by the university's Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. It was launched in 2021 and includes both student and faculty-staff funding categories. The program is part of the university's larger Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Action Plan, which seeks to make the campus an actively antiracist space. To share their newfound knowledge with others, Chukwuemeka and Robinson plan to collaborate with Ohio Wesleyan's Black Student Union to share information about the Day of Reckoning Conference and ongoing inequities in health care with the campus in March during Women's History Month. "I want people to make informed decisions instead of forced decisions," said Robinson, who plans to pursue her doctorate in Neuroscience to support a career researching Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases. "I have always been interested in health and medicine and through the conference, I will be able to explore different fields and learn more about the medical field, medical history, and racial disparities. With this, I can share my knowledge with others and hopefully help other Black women learn about medical autonomy and other medical issues that pertain to them. Knowledge is power." Chukwuemeka adds that attending the national conference will "allow me to learn about the history and development of gynecology, travel Anarcha's actual path, and hear from a variety of viewpoints about how the medical industry has and continues to function in relation to Black women. Attending a conference in my field of study allows for exposure to national experts early in my academic journey." The conference also directly ties into Chukwuemeka's long-term career ambitions, noting: "My future end game is to become a successful pediatric neurosurgeon. My ultimate objective is to establish multiple foundations, hospitals, and clinics for women and children, especially in my home country. Most female children in my home country do not receive quality education nor medical care; therefore, I want to help females understand that they are unique and deserve equal rights as their male counterparts." As for budding journalist Respress, she plans to move to Washington, D.C., to become a political journalist after graduating in May and is using her Ohio Wesleyan DEI Grant to better understand the evolution and impact of Black journalism. Of her research, Respress said her primary goal while abroad was to explore how "a free press in a young democracy and country where the government is predominantly Black but the racial majority of Cape Town is Coloured compares to one in a country with a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy and a predominantly white population." She also will share insights with the Ohio Wesleyan campus, using her work to advocate for a potential new Communication class. "Getting the opportunity to travel to Africa is an honor in itself," Respress said, "but being able to take my experience to help those like me who haven't been privy to that to further improve their writing is what motivates me to undergo this project." Ohio Wesleyan's DEI Grant program was launched in 2021 to support projects proposed by students and employees to advance the OWU campus as an antiracist space. The university continues to accept student DEI Grant proposals this semester, with the application and review process overseen by the Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Student grants may be up to $1,500 each. Learn more about Ohio Wesleyan's DEI Grant program at www.owu.edu/DEIGrants.

Ohio Wesleyan University student Brianna DeMuth is one of nine scholars nationwide to earn 2023-2024 Diversity Fellowship Program awards in the American Political Science Association's fall 2022 application cycle. All of the newly named fellows are seeking doctoral degrees in political science and will receive $5,000 over two years from the American Political Science Association (APSA) to support their graduate studies. The APSA is widely considered the leading professional organization for the study of political science and serves more than 13,000 members in more than 80 countries. Congratulations, Brianna!

Ohio Wesleyan University is proud to announce its fall 2022 graduates. Congratulations and best wishes to Ohio Wesleyan's newest alumni. OWU is proud of you!

Ohio Wesleyan University is pleased to announce its Dean's List for fall semester 2022. To qualify for OWU Dean's List recognition, students must earn a grade point average of 3.5 or better on a 4.0 scale in all applicable classes. Congratulations, Bishops, on your outstanding academic achievement!

Ohio Wesleyan University students shared the results of their 2022 summer science research projects Oct. 6 during the university's 30th annual Patricia Belt Conrades Summer Science Research Symposium. The students presented information and answered questions about their mentored research during the two-hour symposium. The presentations are available online at www.owu.edu/ssrp. Congratulations, scientists!

Ohio Wesleyan University is proud to announce its summer 2022 graduates. Congratulations and best wishes to Ohio Wesleyan's newest alumni. OWU is proud of you!

Ohio Wesleyan is awarding nine students with OWU Esports Scholarships as it prepares to launch its inaugural season of competition this fall. For the 2022-2023 season, OWU Esports participants will compete in varsity-level play in the titles League of Legends, Overwatch, Rocket League, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, and Valorant. Congratulations, scholarship recipients!

Ohio Wesleyan's Department of Economics and Business and the university's Woltemade Center for Economics, Business and Entrepreneurship have selected 14 students as 2022-2023 Economics Management Fellows. Congratulations to OWU's newest fellows!

Ohio Wesleyan University has selected nine students as 2022-2023 Education Fellows. The four-year fellowships are awarded each fall by Ohio Wesleyan's Department of Education to first-year students with a high potential for success at the university and a stated interest in teaching at the pre-school, elementary, middle, or high school level. Congratulations to OWU's newest Education Fellows!

Ohio Wesleyan University has welcomed 19 first-year students into its Global Scholars Program in recognition of their potential for high academic achievement and passion for international issues. The selective four-year scholars program is part of Ohio Wesleyan's Global Studies Institute, a hub where faculty and students from the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and fine arts come together to explore issues from all academic disciplines and work toward real-world solutions. Congratulations to OWU's newest Global Scholars!

Ohio Wesleyan awards Baran Fellowships annually to help students pursue their graduate school and career goals. The recipients receive financial awards to support educational programs, internships, or other initiatives to make them more competitive candidates for graduate school admission and prestigious post-graduate fellowships, such as Fulbright and Rhodes Scholarships. Congratulations, 2022 Baran Fellowship recipients!

Ohio Wesleyan University held its 178th commencement ceremony on May 7, celebrating its Class of 2022. Keynote speaker Amy Acton, M.D., M.P.H., encouraged the new graduates to "get in some John Lewis good trouble ... create the conditions in which all of us can lead flourishing lives ... (and) lead with courage and compassion." Congratulations and best wishes to Ohio Wesleyan's newest alumni. OWU is proud of you!

Ohio Wesleyan University is pleased to announce its Dean's List for spring semester 2022. To qualify for OWU Dean's List recognition, students must earn a grade point average of 3.5 or better on a 4.0 scale in all applicable classes. Congratulations, Bishops, on your outstanding academic achievement!

Ohio Wesleyan University inducted 38 new members this spring into its Eta Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa National Academic Honor Society. The new inductees join a historic organization that counts 17 U.S. presidents, 42 Supreme Court justices, and more than 150 Nobel laureates among its members. Nationwide, only 10 percent of all U.S. colleges and universities have Phi Beta Kappa chapters, and each of the 290 chapters selects only 10 percent of its graduates to join annually through a highly selective, merit-based invitation process. Congratulations to OWU's newest Phi Beta Kappa inductees!

Ohio Wesleyan University tapped 16 students this spring for membership in the Mortar Board national honor society. Mortar Board recognizes students with senior standing for exemplary scholarship, leadership, and service. The honor society, founded in 1918, also "provides opportunities for continued leadership development, promotes service to colleges and universities, and encourages lifelong contributions to the global community." Congratulations to the new Mortar Board members!

Ohio Wesleyan University inducted eight first-year students into its chapter of the Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society this spring. Phi Eta Sigma recognizes first-year students who achieve a grade point average of 3.50 or better during their first semester, who are in the upper 20 percent of their class, and who are taking a full academic course load. Founded in 1923, Phi Eta Sigma is the nation's oldest and largest honor society for first-year college and university students in all disciplines. Its motto is "Knowledge is Power." Congratulations to all of the inductees!

Ohio Wesleyan University is awarding 15 new Theory-to-Practice Grants totaling $73,550 to support student research, internship, service, and cultural-immersion opportunities. The grants are part of the OWU Connection, the university's signature program designed to help students think big (understand issues from multiple academic disciplines), go global (gain international perspective), get real (translate classroom knowledge into real-world experience), and do good (volunteer to help others). Congratulations, grant recipients!