Letter from Paige

Welcome to my first JayMac letter! As a proud Gaylord grad, returning home and supporting my alma mater brings me so much joy. I’m excited to connect with alumni and supporters to advance our college’s mission, footprint and legacy.

I would not be where I am today without the incredible education and experience I received at Gaylord. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to support the momentum of the college and its future. One reason I’m so passionate about what I do is because I want to ensure other students – past, current and future – have the resources and tools to reach their full potential. On April 14, the University of Oklahoma Foundation will launch its fifth OU Giving Day, a 24-hour online fundraising campaign that supports students, departments, programs and groundbreaking research across all three OU campuses. This year’s Giving Day is filled with opportunities for different groups within OU to benefit from hourly challenges. Thanks to a collective gift from the OU Foundation and the OU Foundation Trustees, the OU Foundation will award a first and second place prize at the top of the hour, every hour, to winning units. Let’s make sure Gaylord dominates #OUGivingDay!

Below are areas of support that could benefit from a successful Giving Day:

• The opportunity for students to practice their skills in a real-world environment, which is critical to the development of tomorrow’s storytellers, thinkers, creators and innovators
• Internships, apprenticeships, research opportunities and on-location breaking news coverage with faculty oversight. This allows students to experience the craft of journalism and strategic communication in the same environment in which they’ll serve post-graduation
• Costs associated with travel, lodging, equipment and programmatic resources to deliver our students to the larger classrooms around the world

This 24-hour fundraising event honors the generosity of the OU community and raises awareness of the impact of giving and giving back. It brings together the entire OU family – faculty, staff, students, retirees, alumni, corporations, foundations and friends – to ensure our university lives on for generations to come.

Be sure to follow along on social media with the hashtag #OUGivingDay! You could be featured on OU’s Instagram or The OU Giving Day website. Do you want to help spread the word? Contact me at puhr@ou.edu or Giving Day Project Manager, Halsey Musselman, at hmusselman@ou.edu.

Boomer!

Paige Uhr
Director of Advancement
Class of 2015