The Golden Grizzlies spent a warm, funfilled weekend at OU Winter College in Bonita Springs, Florida in mid-February. The second year of this growing event brought together alums from various class years and many “snowbirds” in the Bonita Springs and Naples area.
Provost Virinder Moudgil hosted a welcome reception, and four faculty members presented classes during the weekend on various topics of interest:
Margaret Pigott is a retired OU professor of international programs who attended the event for the first year. “My initial reaction when I received the invitation was that it was an innovative idea because there are a number of retired faculty who spend a great deal of time in Florida in the winter time. And there are even more retired alumni who are donors. It’s a very fine way to share these important topics with retired donors, alumni and faculty.”
“I was particularly interested in subjects that I hadn’t been familiar with. Professor Mary Bee taught us a great deal about how our body is put together. Knowledge is power. We learned a lot. People our age are interested in learning what bone is aching and how to describe it.”
Don Kaegi, also retired, attended two classes and a Friday evening dinner hosted by President Gary Russi.
“I thought the classes were very engaging with topical presentations. It exceeded what we expected. Dr. Russi’s talk at dinner was pretty eye opening in terms of what the university faces with the state budget situation.” He feels the event will grow over time, saying “The challenge is to continue to come up with classes that are engaging and informative."
Guests enjoyed the beautiful amenities of the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa with part of the weekend earmarked for leisure time.
“It was a beautiful place… so many options of things we could do,” Pigott said. “We went off on a boat ride to an island and went swimming in the gulf. Others went golfing and shopping.”
Oakland plans to host the weekend again next year according to Eric Barritt, vice president for Community Engagement. “We were thrilled to see so many alumni and friends take advantage of a destination event like this, to connect with each other and with Oakland; and to learn from our faculty. I think the event will only continue to grow.”