Inspiration abounds for faculty, staff to support AUFD

Editor's note: In the final stretch of the All University Fund Drive, Dean of the Oakland University Honors College Graeme Harper offers inspirational insights on how to help OU create new opportunities for the diverse and dedicated community it serves.

It takes three days to fly to the moon. You could travel to the moon, stop up there for cheese, and still be back in a week!

But that's nothing! Popsicles were invented by an 11-year-old child in just one night! As you can imagine, at the time, he didn't know much about studying at college, but he knew what he loved and he was determined to make his idea happen.

Sometimes, great things take a little luck. The concept for the pacemaker was discovered by accident in a matter of seconds when inventor Wilson Greatbatch accidentally pulled the wrong piece of circuitry out of a box of resistors. Because of that one moment, millions of lives have now been saved.


If you added up the number of ideas that occur in just one week around Oakland University, and if those ideas were actually light bulbs, we'd make enough light at this university in one week to light even the darkest corners of the world.


Successes happen in a week. Great successes. You can define yourself in a week; and you can define your future.

There's a week to go now for our AUFD.

We might not travel to the moon, or light every dark corner of the world, or save every life, but together we can a difference.

Just a small donation to the AUFD will potentially provide something for a student who comes to Oakland University with a great idea. We can give them the support to pursue that idea.

Every donation counts, no matter how small. Onward!