SGA Honors OBU Faculty as ‘Seven Who Care’

OBU students honored seven faculty and staff members Wednesday, April 11, for their contributions to the campus community. The honorees received the Seven Who Care Award during the university’s annual Hyde Park Day chapel service in Raley Chapel’s Potter Auditorium. Current members of OBU’s Student Government Association presented the award.

The Seven Who Care Award is given by SGA to honor the hard work and dedication that the university’s faculty and staff exhibit every day. The recipients are selected based upon nominations by students, faculty and staff.

The 2018 Seven Who Care recipients include Dr. Christopher P. McMillion, assistant professor of political science; Dr. Lindsey Panxhi, assistant professor of English, Dr. Michael Dean, associate professor of music; Benjamin Baxter, assistant professor of animation and motion graphics; Dr. Alan Bandy, Rowena R. Strickland associate professor of New Testament; Megan Smith, assistant professor of nursing-pediatrics; and Melissa Stroud, assistant dean of students: community and leadership.

In addition to the Seven Who Care Award presentation, the Hyde Park Day chapel service provides an opportunity for student government candidates to address the student body and detail their platforms and positions.

Hyde Park Day was instituted at the University in 1958, after John W. Raley, then OBU president, visited “Speakers’ Corner” at Hyde Park in London, England. When the event began at OBU,

based on the idea of free oratory, SGA candidates would gather in the quadrangle on campus and set up “political booths.” Today, students running for each position are given time during the Hyde Park Day chapel to address his or her fellow students and vie for students’ votes.