Letter from Lee Reynolds
Director of Community and Alumni Relations
The holiday season is always a time of reflection for me. It has been gratifying to have students and classes meeting in person this past semester – a return of more normalcy within Gaylord College. However, the pandemic has definitely affected our student population within Gaylord College, both emotionally and financially.
Last year we established the Student Support Fund for Gaylord College to provide financial assistance to students – and their parents – with tuition, housing and food resources. Before the Thanksgiving holiday, Gaylord College was able to help three seniors, who will be graduating next spring, find financial and food resources.
Matt Marks, OU’s Campus Care Coordinator and a Gaylord College alum, who graduated in 2018 with a broadcast journalism degree, helped establish the OU Food Pantry on campus in 2017. The OU Food Pantry’s mission is to contribute to the overall health and wellness of the campus community by providing free supplemental food assistance and other basic needs. This resource is for any current OU student, faculty or staff who have a valid OU ID and are in need of nutrition assistance. The OU Food Pantry operates completely through online orders at www.ou.edu/foodpantry.
It is difficult for me to accept that there is so much hunger on campus. However, when a student’s financial straits are such that he/she has to choose between buying food and paying off a bursar account balance in order to enroll for the next semester, it is disheartening. Currently the usage of the OU Food pantry is roughly a 50/50 split between students and faculty/staff. Just this year, the OU Food Pantry has served 3,593 clients while handing out roughly 25,000 pounds of food to its clients. The pantry has served 13,329 clients since its 2017 opening. Impressive but sobering statistics.
I am grateful for the OU Food Pantry and combined with Gaylord College’s Student Support Fund, our college is getting students to the finish line. Student success is still our mantra at Gaylord College, and helping students graduate is our number one priority. I am confident that those we help will one day “pay it forward” for other Gaylord College students.
Helping students is a gift for me during this holiday season. On behalf of Gaylord College, thank you for your support and loyalty as OU alumni and J-school/Gaylord College grads.
Have a wonderful holiday season and all the best for 2022.
Sincerely,
Lee Reynolds, APR
Class of 1977