An evening at the president's house
The President's Scholarship Trophies Reception
By Veronica DeSantos, Campus Life Writer
May 8, 2007 | 11:20 a.m.
Once a year, President and Mrs. McDavis, the Department of Residence Life and Ohio University’s Chapter of Mortar Board come together to honor the residence halls and Greek organizations that earned the highest grade point averages for the school year.
The event, which was held at 6 p.m. on April 30, took place at the president’s house. Upon walking inside, each student representative from the dorms and Greek organizations were handed a name tag and program for the evening.
Judy Piercy, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Director of Residence Life, was the first speaker to welcome the students and congratulate them on their achievements.
“I just think it’s wonderful to take a moment and honor students’ success,” she said.
During her welcome speech Piercy discussed ways that Residence Life has emphasized the importance of studying this year, such as the implementation of Study Bucks and Treats for A's.
She also discussed the fact that she likes the opportunity to talk to students to find out what they think about the campus and what some of their favorite things are at OU.
After her speech, Piercy introduced Ryan Basford, President of Mortar Board and a Broadcast Journalism major. He discussed Mortar Board, which is a national honor society to recognize seniors. Mortar Board focuses specifically on scholarship, leadership and service amongst outstanding seniors. After offering his congratulations to the students, he then stepped aside to let President McDavis offer his congratulations.
President McDavis welcomed the students and stated how proud he was of their academic achievements. He then continued by saying that he was once one of the students attending the President’s Scholarship Reception and commented on the fact that any one of the students present could one day end up being the president of OU.
After his short speech President McDavis and Judy Piercy presented the awards to each winning residence hall and Greek organization. Each group of students from respective dorms and Greek organizations was able to pose for a picture with President McDavis and received a plaque with the year and residence hall engraved in it.
During the presentation, students were asked to give their name, major and class rank. Also, Piercy asked each student to answer a question, such as who was their favorite professor, where is their favorite place to study and what has been their favorite class so far.
Sophomore Bethany Axe, ARA of Brough House, stated that her favorite place to study was on the sixth floor of Alden Library because it was quiet. When asked what she thought of the evening, she said that overall, it was a nice experience.
"It was just really nice for them to recognize students," she said. "It was also really nice for President McDavis to have it in his house. That was a cool opportunity."
Axe also said that she was glad to have a nice opportunity to talk with many of the faculty at OU.
After the awards presentation, everyone was invited to stay, enjoy refreshments and mingle with the various faculty and staff present, including President and Mrs. McDavis.
“There are so many events that we have here...but of all of the events, this is one of the most important,” Mrs. McDavis said. She also said that the event is important because it is an excellent opportunity to meet with students.
“It makes us so proud,” she said with a smile on her face, referring to how she and President McDavis feel about the event. “You all are our children. You make us proud, and we want to show you off.”
When asked about the evening, Chris Ruggieri, GRD of Scott Quad, stated that he really liked the opportunity to be inside the president’s house.
“I thought it was a great evening,” he said. “I felt like a proud parent (of his residents).”
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Below is a list of the winning halls and Greek organizations:
First Year Hall - 1st place
Washington (overall average GPA - 3.063)
First Year Hall - 2nd place
Bush Hall (overall average GPA - 2.988)
First Year/Upperclass Hall
Biddle Hall (overall average GPA - 3.041)
Upperclass Hall
Scott Quad (overall average GPA - 3.063)
Fraternity
Phi Gamma Delta (overall average GPA - 2.826)
Sorority
Alpha Gamma Delta (overall average GPA - 3.447)
Academic Emphasis Hall
Bryan Hall 4th Floor (overall average GPA - 3.364)
Graduate Center
Brough House 1st floor (overall average GPA - 2.982)
Honors Tutorial
Hoover House Mod 1A (overall average GPA - 2.982)
Scholars
Johnson Hall 3rd floor (overall average GPA - 3.672)