Letter from Lee Reynolds
Director of Community and Alumni Relations
Dear Alumni and Friends,
Spring is in the air and COVID shots are available. Life is good in Norman, Oklahoma, and we are all looking forward to returning to a more normal in-person semester in the fall.
On March 10, Gaylord College’s Dean’s Leadership Class (DLC) held its final meeting of the year. These outstanding freshmen began their DLC journey with an orientation on Sunday, Aug. 23, 2020 – outside, masked and socially distanced – with remarks from Dean Kelley and me. With classes starting the next day, I felt each DLC member welcomed a bit of socialization to ease jitters about their first day at the University of Oklahoma.
The Dean’s Leadership Class, which began in 2018, is a leadership initiative for incoming freshmen who have decided to pursue one of Gaylord’s five majors. Dean Kelley and I select these 35+ freshmen based on their high school leadership success and diverse backgrounds. Not surprisingly, we also have gotten to know them through our recruiting efforts.
Championing the DLC is the JayMac Board of Directors. A JayMac board member would attend our bi-weekly meetings and observe the interactions of these freshmen, the future talent of Gaylord College.
This year’s DLC class was extraordinary and I daresay the most interactive. Despite COVID, we held most of our meetings in-person by breaking up the class in two groups to align with campus social distancing guidelines.
Meetings included OU resources that did team-building exercises and talked about mental health resources on campus; Gaylord College alumni who spoke of their journey and how they define effective leadership; and how to create an effective cover letter and resume. Gaylord Ambassadors discussed how they selected their majors and opportunities to get involved in clubs as freshmen. A Minors Fair was also held utilizing on-campus advisors from other academic programs.
The DLC initiative has furthered the concept of the Gaylord Family. We truly believe in family and community and this year’s Dean’s Leadership Class is an excellent example of just that.
Come see us anytime! We have many new initiatives and stories to share.
Lee Reynolds
Director of Community and Alumni Relations
Class of 1977