Presidential Update – Spring 2025

  1. Home
  2. Alumni
  3. Presidential Update – Spring 2025

Dear Oglethorpe Alumni,

It was great to see so many of you at Alumni Weekend this year, and judging by the stories and laughter I heard, it was a good time for all who made the journey back to campus.

It was especially fun for our ’80s graduates as well as the classes of 2015, 2000 and the Golden Petrels of 1975. Our Advancement team led by Vice President Sarah Emerson did an amazing job, and I am grateful to Senior Director of Alumni Engagement and Giving Kathryn Henderson ’17 and her team of Alyssa Merletti ’23, Assistant Director of Alumni Engagement, and Student Assistant Rachel Malone ’27.

As we head into the final weeks of Spring Semester 2025, I want to provide important updates, some of which I was able to share Saturday during the Petrels with the President presentation.

First, I want to encourage you to take advantage of the many opportunities to connect as we sprint toward Commencement on May 3. We have an outstanding lineup of impressive speakers and events coming soon:

  • Support Stormy Petrel Spring sports: baseball, women’s and men’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s track and field, women’s and men’s golf, and women’s and men’s tennis teams.
  • Spring 2025 Rikard Lecture: Greg Adams ’79, chair and chief executive officer of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals, Cousins Center Atrium, 4 p.m., April 15
  • Liberal Arts and Sciences Symposium (LASS) Lecture:  Hala Moddelmog, CEO of the Woodruff Arts Center, 1 p.m., April 16

We recently welcomed 2012 graduate Aline Mello back as our featured poet at the Oglethorpe Out Loud poetry event made by possible by a generous gift from 1988 alumna Professor Leah Hughes. This was the second annual event after last year’s inaugural reading by renown poet Willie Perdomo, and Aline was a delight to the crowd and students alike. You should check out her work and her book, “More Salt Than Diamond,” at https://www.thealinemello.com/.

Next, it’s my pleasure to announce that the Board of Trustees and Faculty Council have approved Carol Tomé, CEO of Atlanta-based United Parcel Service (UPS), to deliver the keynote address and receive an honorary degree at Commencement May 3. Ms. Tomé has a strong commitment to higher education and will offer a memorable and inspiring speech to our graduates.

Finally, I am pleased to inform you that after a national search, Ginger Fay has accepted our offer and will assume the responsibilities of Vice President of Enrollment Management effective June 1, 2025. This is a strategic hire that will capitalize on the momentum built by Interim Vice President Whitney Lewis whose efforts have produced a record number of applications and an increase in deposits year-over-year at this point in the recruitment cycle. I am grateful for Whitney’s expertise and happy to announce that she has agreed to stay on in a contract capacity to assist Ginger with the transition and work on enrollment marketing. With Ginger, I believe we have the leadership to attract and enroll excellent students who will thrive at Oglethorpe.

There is much to be done between now and May 3. I’m proud to be working alongside our faculty, staff and you, our supportive alumni, as together we fulfill our mission of teaching excellence, inclusive learning, and preparing students for success as responsible members of a global society.

I look forward to seeing you at an alumni event soon and welcome you back to campus any time. Thank you for all the ways you stay engaged with Oglethorpe!

Kathryn

Kathryn McClymond, Ph.D, (she, her, hers)
President, Oglethorpe University