- On Mar. 24, an email sent to PLC and LOT students said interviews for continuing and transfer applicants were canceled, leading to confusion among students
- A follow-up email sent a couple of days later said the previous message was a miscommunication and that interviews were rescheduled, with no intent to cancel future applications
- UCO student Marissa Johnson started a petition to reinstate the interviews on Change.org, gaining more than 1,000 signatures
On Mar. 24, LOT and PLC students received an email that interviews for continuing/transfers had been canceled, leading many to believe the scholarships had been canceled altogether.
A follow-up email was sent out a couple of days later explaining that the previous email was a miscommunication and that interviews were actually rescheduled, with no intent to cancel future applications.
In the email, Art Cotton, vice president for Transformational Leadership, said that the miscommunication was due to several scheduling conflicts regarding both his and President Todd Lamb’s schedules.
The Independent View reached out to the university for an official statement.
“The original intent was to cancel the interviews scheduled for this week and reschedule for a later date,” said Adrienne Nobles, vice president of University Communications.
“The miscommunication occurred in the communication of the decision to cancel interviews scheduled for this week. The intent to conduct interviews and award the scholarships has remained,” Nobles said.
The Leaders of Tomorrow and President’s Leadership Council offer scholarships to those who are accepted into their respective leadership programs. These scholarships provide a certain amount of tuition waiver in exchange for the student following various requirements such as service hours, projects and required freshman classes, etc. Some of the rules may differ between programs as well as for continuing/transfer students.
Continuing/transfer students are those who apply for the scholarship either as a non-freshman, or after transferring to UCO from another institution, usually a community college.
On Mar. 25, a day after the initial email was sent out, UCO student Marissa Johnson started a petition to reinstate the interviews on Change.org, gaining more than 1,000 signatures as of Mar. 29.
“I really just wanted to get the voice of the students heard,” said Johnson, a graphic design major and sophomore member in the Leaders of Tomorrow, before the university sent a follow-up email clarifying that interviews were rescheduled.
She said it was important for the administration to see how much of an effect decisions have on the student body, and that she had been drafting an email to President Lamb and the administration sharing a personal story about the impact of the programs.
“I would encourage anyone who has a story, anyone this is affecting, to share it,” she said.
