Dr. Joseph B. Oxendine of Pinehurst, a 1952 Catawba College alumnus and the former chancellor of the UNC-Pembroke, received the institution's O.B. Michael Award during Catawba's 10 a.m. commencement exercise Saturday, May 12.
The award has been presented annually since 1938, by the Catawba College Board of Directors of the Alumni Association, to a graduate of the College who has made an outstanding contribution to the College and/or the larger society. Originally called the Citizenship Cup, it was established by the Reverend O.B. Michael, Class of 1919, in memory of his father, an alumnus of Catawba College and pioneer teacher and preacher.
A native of Pembroke, N.C., Dr. Oxendine tried out a variety of different professions, before settling on a career in higher education. He worked in the automobile factories of Detroit, Michigan; played professional baseball for the Pittsburgh Minor League System for three years; served in the U.S. Army from 1953-1955; and taught and coached in the Lynchburg, Virginia Public Schools from 1955-1957.
Following his graduation from Catawba, he earned his master's of education degree and his doctorate of education from Boston University. He served as a professor at Temple University and was later named the Dean of the College of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance there.
In 1989 at the pinnacle of his professional life, he was named the Chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, formerly Pembroke State University, and served in that capacity for a fruitful and productive 10 years, until his retirement in 1999.
Dr. Oxendine has served on numerous boards including the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools' Commission on Colleges; the Fact-Finding Team for the National Institute of Health's Office of Minority Programs; the N.C. Center for Nursing Advisory Council; the Fayetteville Area Health Education Foundation Board of Trustees; the Leadership North Carolina Board of Directors; and the Southeastern Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees.
He was honored by Catawba in 1979 with an honorary doctorate and was inducted into the Catawba Sports Hall of Fame in 1978. The American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance honored him in 1993 with the R. Tait McKenzie Award, and in 1989 with the Charles D. Henry Award for the enhancement of ethnic minority members.
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