Art Griggs retires, but he’s not gone

Art Griggs retirement celebration was held on Thursday, Jan. 24.

By Rebecca Wyatt Thomas, OU Web Writer

While it was cold outside on Thursday, Jan. 24, the Oakland Center Banquet Room was filled with warm wishes for Art Griggs on his retirement. A 30-year employee of the university, Griggs is officially retiring but will serve as a consultant for the Academic Affairs Office.

“If you worked with Art, you know he did all of his work with passion,” said Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Virinder Moudgil.

Griggs’ association with Oakland University began before he was old enough to attend the university. His brother was a student and Griggs would come to campus to visit him. Eventually he joined his brother as a student and graduated from OU with a bachelor’s degree in biology.

After serving in the Army, Griggs went on to Wayne State University for his graduate studies and landed a job at Providence Hospital. He came back to Oakland University, this time to work with the Center for Health Science, which later became the School of Health Sciences.

Griggs was then moved to the Academic Affairs and Provost Office where he could lend his expertise.

“He brought so much stability and strength to the Provost Office,” Moudgil said. “He’s been a dear friend and colleague and all this was possible because he had a great support system in his wife (Joann).”

Because of his history with the university and his leadership, Moudgil has asked Griggs to continue working with OU as a consultant from time to time, especially as Oakland works with Beaumont Hospitals to develop the new medical school. Griggs also said he’ll stay connected through the OU Alumni Association, lectures and other cultural events on campus.

“It’s been a great number of years working and studying here. I’m looking forward to the future and staying involved with the university,” Griggs said.