Dobson honored for work with disabled children

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - May 4, 2004 - The Edmond Board of Education honored Oklahoma Christian University (OC) professor Dr. Max Dobson with a special recognition award Monday for his 28 years of devoted service to the disabled children of Edmond.

"We wanted to recognize him for the invaluable service he has provided students with disabilities," said Nancy Goosen, Director of Special Services for Edmond Public Schools.

Dobson leads classes in which OC students play and spend time with disabled children from Edmond's Washington Irving and Chisholm elementary schools. The classes, held on Wednesday and Friday afternoons during the school year, take place in the old OC gym, otherwise known as "the Barn." Through numerous donations and through his own efforts, Dobson has acquired many things for the children to enjoy, including a trampoline, tricycles, basketballs, hula hoops, and much more.

Dobson has led the classes since 1976. The impetus for the program's launch was a call from the mother of a disabled child, who was looking for a place for her child to play and learn with college students. She asked Dobson if Oklahoma Christian has such a program. It didn't - yet. Dobson made some calls and, right then and there, the program was born. That first year, the Oklahoma Association for Retarded Citizens honored the program as its Most Outstanding Local Project.

Dobson, formerly the baseball and women's basketball coach at Oklahoma Christian, originally used his baseball team to help the children. The team built a fence and set up a play area for the children. Now, all OC students are encouraged to take the class, no matter what major they are. Some students have even changed their major because of the class. Today, more than 1,200 OC students have participated in the program through the years, helping touch and change the lives of many people.

"It is a humbling experience for the Edmond Board of Education to honor me. I wish all of the OC students who have helped me over these past 28 years could have been present," Dobson said. "This program could not have been possible without their help and encouragement. I know the OC students feel just as blessed as the disabled children because these precious children truly touch us in a special way each day we spend with them. I thank God for the opportunity to be a part of this class and to serve these beautiful children."

Oklahoma Christian, a private, four-year comprehensive university nationally ranked seventh overall in the 16-state Western region by U.S. News & World Report, offers degree programs in more than 60 fields of study in three colleges: the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Biblical Studies and the College of Professional Studies. The university also offers two graduate degree programs in Biblical Studies in addition to one- and two-year Masters of Business Administration programs.

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