Ottawa University students, administration, faculty and staff will see many changes in the coming year.
The business office in the basement of the Administration Building will be transformed into the new Adawe LifePlan Center.
The word ‘adawe’ comes from the Ottawa Tribe in Oklahoma and means to trade or exchange.
The purpose of the LifePlan Center is to make sure students are well-rounded and can be prepared for life after graduating from OU.
The Center is geared toward first-year students, however, all students are invited and encouraged to participate.
“The Center is designed to be an oasis where students will be able to engage in the learning process with peers and professionals individually and in small groups,” Karen Ohnesorge, director of the new Adawe LifePlan Center.
The students will have an academic advisor for their studies and an advisor
in the LifePlan Center for the other aspects of being a student.
The Adawe Center will combine many different parts of the university and put them in one location.
Career Services Director Susan Webb will take part in the new Center as well the addition of a counselor.
Campus Pastor Bud McCluney also will be involved
with the Center.
The LifePlan Center will house a place for peer tutors and mentors. All of these people will be available to help students grow academically, spiritually and personally.
Even though the LifePlan Center is focused on freshmen, sophomore Jake McMillian said he would be willing to explore what the Center had to offer.
“If the program is well organized, it could be a very significant part of OU,” McMillian said.
Ohnesorge also will be taking over the position as dean of instruction; her responsibilities will lie with insuring a positive learning environment for students and a positive teaching environment for professors.
Another change around campus will involve a new face. Rajani Kanth will be a visiting professor in the field of economics.
Before coming to OU, Kanth was a visiting professor at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. for two years.
“We are delighted that he agreed to come to our school to share his expertise with us,” OU Vice President and Provost Dennis Tyner said of Kanth.