Dr. Gregg Garn

A Special Message from Dr. Gregg Garn, OU’s Vice President of Online Learning

Welcome to our brand-new OU Online Newsletter. Our newsletter is completely digital and distributed every winter, spring, summer, and fall. The newsletter spotlights our amazing faculty, students, and alumni, highlights programs and initiatives, features upcoming events, and shares important student support services. Please connect: if you would like to recommend someone to be spotlighted or have an event or program that you would like to have highlighted in the newsletter, email Hannah Rieger or Sage Mauldin. Their contact information is provided at the end of the newsletter.

New OU Online Career Development Center

Last fall, OU Online launched our Career Development Center, a virtual space created for our OU Online Community! On this platform, students will find resources to help them build career skills, navigate various career paths, find community, explore labor market insights, apply for jobs in their field, and more.

This platform integrates Handshake, OU's career management platform, OU Connection, LinkedIn Learning, Labor Market Insights, Career Resources, and up-to-date articles, blogs, and news in one convenient place.

We hope our online students and stakeholders will spend some time exploring and looking through curated materials related to career advice and advancement. This platform will continue to grow and evolve as our students’ needs grow and evolve. We hope to incorporate corporate partnerships and career outcomes in the near future. We look forward to supporting our students through this new platform and welcome any ideas that you may have.

Faculty Spotlight

Dr. Stacey Tovino

Stacey Tovino, JD, PhD, serves as the William J. Alley Professor of Law and Director of the MLS and LLM in Healthcare Law Programs at OU College of Law. She is passionate about teaching health law to her JD, MLS, and LLM students. Professor Tovino’s favorite classes include Health Care Access, Quality, and Liability; Mental Health Law; and HIPAA and Patient Privacy.

Alumni Spotlight

Katrina Boutwell

Katrina Renee Boutwell is a recent graduate in the Online Master’s Program in Human Relations: Inclusive Leadership track. This program develops inclusive leaders dedicated to systemic change by bridging people, organizations, and communities through human relations, inclusive practice, and social justice efforts. She plans to apply her degree in the world of education and will be pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership. She has a passion for teaching and would love to return as a professor at the university-level. She enjoys traveling, volunteering in her community, reading, and crossword puzzles.

Finding Community Through Affinity Groups and ORGSA

OU Online is excited to share that we are now hosting affinity groups. Merriam Dictionary defines an affinity group as “a group of people having a common interest or goal or acting together for a specific purpose.”

Currently, we are hosting seven affinity groups. They are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ), Women, First-Generation, Persons with Disabilities, International, and Military-Connected.

The goals of the affinity groups are to support and network with each other and drive change.

If you are interested in leading or joining an affinity group, please fill out the Affinity Group Sign-Up Form. The link is provided under Student Support Services at the end of the newsletter. Do not hesitate to contact us if you do not see yourself reflected in the affinity groups. We are happy to host more affinity groups.

OU Online is also pleased to share that we are co-hosting Online and Remote Graduate Student Association (ORGSA) with Graduate Student life. ORGSA aims to host online events, build community among online and remote graduate students, and facilitate community service activities. If you are interested in being part of ORGSA, the link to the ORGSA Interest Form is also provided under Student Support Services at the end of the newsletter.

Olan Field is pursuing a M.A. in Global Affairs, while serving as an Army Civil Affairs Officer. He aspires to apply his degree and passion for international relations with a future career at the Department of State, following graduation in May 2024. “My favorite part of the program is the emphasis on lived professional experience provided by the IAS faculty,” he said.

He enjoys playing boardgames and reading books with his fiancé, Callie.

Student Spotlight

Olan Field

Online Master of Social Work graduates celebrating at the December graduation ceremony.

Alpha Kappa Alpha sisters representing at the OU Online graduation ceremony.

Student Support Resources

Welcome! We have provided a list of resources for OUr community. If there is a resource that you would like included in this list, please reach out to a member of the team.

Career Development Center

career.online.ou.edu

Writing Center

ou.edu/writingcenter

Accessibility and Disability Resource Center

ou.edu/adrc

Soonercard ID (Mobile)

ou.edu/soonercard/mobile

Library Services

libraries.ou.edu/services

Technology Support

career.online.ou.edu

Graduate Student Life

ou.edu/gradcollege/student-life

Veteran Student Support

career.online.ou.edu

Affinity Groups

career.online.ou.edu

Affinity Groups - Sign-Up Form

tinyurl.com/3793teat

ORGSA Interest Form

tinyurl.com/48d36fr4

Meet the Team

Hannah Rieger is the Director of Student Support Services at OU Online. hrieger@ou.edu

Sage Mauldin is Coordinator of Student Support Services at OU Online. sagemauldin@ou.edu

OU Online Virtual Speaker Series

Date: Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM CT
Location: Zoom

*More information and an email invite to follow.