Oakwood News

Acclaimed journalist and author Juan Williams, an alumnus from the Class of 1972, returned to campus to dedicate a plaque to Oakwood in recognition of the school's historical support of Black and Latino students and its commitment to racial justice throughout history. With a career in media spanning decades including work at The Washington Post, NPR, as a political analyst for Fox News, and a weekly columnist for The Hill. Juan has received numerous awards for his writing and investigative journalism. He is also the author of six books, including the non-fiction bestseller, "Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965" and "Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary. Juan has also written numerous articles and has contributed to many national magazines, including: TIME, Fortune, The Atlantic, The New Republic, Ebony and GQ.

Please join us on campus on Friday, November 18th at 11:30 AM in The Spencer Family Theater for our annual Caroline 'Dash' Davis Gleiter Lecture on Social Justice.  This lecture series highlights social justice issues and was initiated by the class of 1951 in memory of their classmate, Caroline ‘Dash’ Davis Gleiter, an attorney whose life work and passion were devoted to civil rights and social action.  

What started as a student idea and then a project to address food insecurity in the spring Direct Action class of seniors Theo, Trevor, and Kishi has grown into a community collaboration with Poughkeepsie Public Library District and the installation of their first Community Fridge at Adriance Memorial Library! 

Congratulations to the Oakwood Cross Country team on their 2022 Hudson Valley Athletic League (HVAL) Championship Race! All of the team ran exceptional races, improving times anywhere from 30 seconds to five minutes this year. In a strong run, the boys team took home an upset win for a first place in in the HVAL race this year!

Humanities Chair Stephen Miller is one of two representatives from the United States attending the International Philosophy Olympiad (IPO) from May 26th -29th in Lisbon, Portugal under the umbrella of the World Congress of Philosophy.  The IPO brings students and teachers together from over 50 countries, this year for the theme of Personal Identity. 

We are thrilled to share the news that Jonathan Talbot '57 has completed "The Oakwood Triptych: Oakwood in the 1960's" a collage painting commissioned by Joel Erlitz '68. This stunning piece is now permanently installed at Oakwood in the lobby of The Spencer Family Theater. We are excited to share it with visitors to campus for years to come! Work on the triptych was inspired by the 100 Year Celebration held on campus this past fall and alumni from throughout the 60s informed Jonathan's work. 

For the 17^th year, Tim and Laurel Sweeney, parents of Sean ’09, and the owners of Stone Ridge Wine & Spirits, sponsored a festive evening for parents, faculty, board members and guests at our annual fundraiser to support Oakwood’s Annual Fund. The event, held on March 5^th at Locust Grove in Poughkeepsie, was also sponsored by Berg-Moss Architects (Chris and Erin Berg, parents of Milla ’23 and Corbin ‘27), Hudson House River Inn (Regina and Sam Bei, parents of Karolina ‘26) and Rondack Construction.  

New this year, Oakwood was thrilled to welcome acclaimed singer-songwriter Rebecca Martin and renowned jazz bassist Larry Grenadier as our very special guest performers at this year’s event.  Rebecca and Larry are globally recognized jazz artists, and also the proud parents of Charlie Grenadier, class of 2024. Rebecca and Larry presented selections from their new album After Midnight.  

Arts Chair Ted Messerschmidt's composition has been selected for this year’s International Composers Festival. Forty compositions were chosen from more than 800 applicants and selections will be performed in the United Kingdom in May.