EDMOND —
It’s the most wonderful time of the year
With the kids all returning
And everyone yearning to welcome them here
It’s the most wonderful time of the year
It’s the hap-happiest season of all
With new classes beginning and the Bronchos start winning
The games in the fall
It’s the hap-happiest season of all
There’ll be exams for studying
And new friends for buddying
And hanging out in the UC
There’ll be exciting all-nighters
Looking over papers as writers
Are trying to raise a “C”
It’s the most wonderful time of the year
There’ll be many faces beaming
And dreams will be gleaming
When students are near
It’s the most wonderful time of the year
OK, so I know that the song doesn’t really go that way (and that I’m not a talented lyricist) but this week something close to this song has been in my head every day. The reason? Our University of Central Oklahoma students started moving back to campus last week and classes are slated to begin Monday.
Christmas is undoubtedly the happiest time of the year — a time for celebrating with friends, a time for reminiscing about the past, and dreaming about the future. In the world of academia though, the excitement of the Christmas season is rivaled by the excitement of the back-to-school season. It is during this season that we see a new crop of students, eager to live their dreams, walk through our doors. We see returning students growing increasingly confident as they near the completion of their educational goals. We hear the band practicing, we see the faculty preparing, we feel the excitement building.
These days there are a lot of people criticizing America’s higher education system. While the system is not perfect, it is still an amazing transformational force in our society. We take young students, and through the educational process help them learn about new ideas, help them mature into young adults and help them transform into tomorrow’s leaders.
Each year this back-to-school week reignites my passion for serving our students. I know that here at UCO, I am joined by hundreds of colleagues who feel the same way. We’ve been eagerly waiting for this moment for the last three months — to once again be able to say “Welcome Back Bronchos!”
MICKEY HEPNER is the dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of Central Oklahoma. Hepner serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for The Oklahoma Academy.
Columns
Welcome back Bronchos
- Columns
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Bullies do not lurk around every corner
The principal of a middle school recently confided in me that “this bullying thing has gotten completely out of hand.” He wasn’t referring to bullying itself, although that’s certainly out of hand. Instead, he referred to the fact that many parents have become overly sensitized to the possibility that their children might, at any moment, become bullied and overreact, therefore, to any indication that they have been.
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Fulfilling the American Dream a step at a time
I knew the Blake family in a different time and place and by a different name, but the story of how they twice realized their American Dream is based on first-hand observation.
I was there. I saw it happen. -
Kids of all ages learn from what we say
I was sitting in a physician’s waiting room when a young father came in with a boy about 4 years old.
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This is what conservative leadership looks like
The list of bills to be considered this year by the Legislature has now been published. As hundreds of bills have been filed, it takes a careful observer to take note of a rather interesting fact. Perhaps unnoticed in the sea of proposed measures are a fascinating series of initiatives by one particular state representative. Check these out!
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Expect state tax collections to suffer
In the coming days the State Board of Equalization will certify the official state revenue estimates — the estimates that will guide the Legislature in crafting the fiscal year 2014 state budget. If the early indications hold, though, I think their forecasts will be much too optimistic.
- Vote yes for $80M bond
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Myopic outbreak threatens children’s eyesight worldwide
Suppose you read this headline in tomorrow’s paper: Children Around the World Losing Eyesight, Parents, Grandparents and Schools to Blame. Suppose further you are stunned as you read the story because you discover it’s true. You are dismayed to learn that scientific studies in the United States, Europe and Asia consistently find that young people are becoming increasingly myopic in staggering numbers for the last few years. Your heart breaks when you discover that schools, parents and grandparents are playing an enormous role in the failing eyesight of our loved ones. And sadly, for many, the damage is already done and can’t be reversed.
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Ensuring customer protection at the pump
After a visit to the gas station to fill up his truck with gas, my 17-year-old son had a very simple question for me: “Mom, since your name is on the gas pumps, why can’t you make the prices go down?”
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Lessons from a five-star president
As President Obama contemplates his second term, he has been talking to historians about another two-term president, Dwight D. Eisenhower.
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3 friends selected by Obama may be one too many
In February 2008, a helicopter transporting three U.S. senators had to make an emergency landing in Afghanistan. A crash was averted and all three — Joe Biden, John Kerry and Chuck Hagel — survived. Already friends, they bonded over the experience, say people who know them.
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Bullies do not lurk around every corner
