Editor’s Letter

BRAND MANAGEMENT

Megan Horton | Interim Associate Vice President of Brand Management Erin Petrotta | Director of Marketing Shannon Rigsby | Public Information Officer Mack Burke | Associate Director of Media Relations Andy Wallace | Associate Director of Multimedia Dave Malec | Design Coordinator Jordan Bishop | Managing Editor Codee Classen, Paul V. Fleming, Valerie Kisling, Chris Lewis, Michael Molholt and Benton Rudd | Design Gary Lawson, Elizabeth Rogers and Phil Shockley | Photography McKinzie McElroy and Meghan Robinson | Video

Kurtis Mason | Trademarks and Licensing Kinsey Garcia and Kara Peters | Administrative Support Contributors: Jordan Bishop, Mack Burke, Bonnie Cain-Wood, Will Carr, Hadley DeJarnette, Hayley Hagen, Harrison Hill, Jeff Hopper, David C. Peters, Grant Ramirez, Shannon Rigsby and Sydney Trainor

Department of Brand Management | 305 Whitehurst, Stillwater, OK 74078-1024 405-7446262 | okstate.edu | statemagazine.okstate.edu | editor@okstate.edu | osu.advertising@ okstate.edu

OSU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Tina Parkhill | Chair

Kurt Carter | Vice Chair Tony LoPresto | Immediate Past Chair Dr. Ann Caine | President

Jacob Redway | Vice President of Marketing David Parrack | Vice President of Finance and Operations Treca Baetz, Thomas Blalock, Benjamin Davis, Deedra Determan, Scott Eisenhauer, Becky Endicott, Todd Hudgins, Aaron Owen, Joe Ray, Cecilia Robinson-Woods, Darin Schmidt, Taylor Shinn and Baloo Subramaniam | Board of Directors Lacy Branson, Will Carr, Chase Carter, Yuki Clarke, Jillian Remington and Chloe

Walton | Marketing and Communications OSU Alumni Association | 201 ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center, Stillwater, OK 740787043 | 405-744-5368 | orangeconnection.org | info@orangeconnection.org

OSU FOUNDATION

David Houston | Chair Blaire Atkinson | President

Robyn Baker | Vice President and General Counsel Donna Koeppe | Vice President of Administration and Treasurer Scott Roberts | Vice President of Development Chris Campbell | Senior Associate Vice President of Information Strategy Pam Guthrie | Senior Associate Vice President of Human Resources Blaire Atkinson, Bryan Begley, Ann Caine, Brian Callahan, Jan Cloyde, Ann Dyer, Joe Eastin, David Houston, Gary Huneryager, Brett Jameson, Griff Jones, Robert Keating, Diana Laing, Shelly Lambertz, Joe Martin, Greg Massey, Gail Muncrief, Bill Patterson, Jenelle Schatz, Becky Steen, Terry Stewart, Vaughn Vennerberg, Beverly Walker-Griffea, Jerry Winchester and Darton Zink | Trustees Bryanna Birdsong, Delaney Duffield, Samantha Hardy, Jennifer Kinnard, Chris Lewis, Amanda Mason, Heather Millermon, Michael Molholt, Grant Ramirez

and Benton Rudd | Marketing and Communications OSU Foundation | 400 South Monroe, P.O. Box 1749, Stillwater, OK 74076-1749 800-6224678 | OSUgiving.com | info@OSUgiving.com

STATE magazine is published three times a year (Fall, Winter, Spring) by Oklahoma State University, 305 Whitehurst, Stillwater, OK 74078. The magazine is produced by the Office of Brand Management, the OSU Alumni Association and the OSU Foundation, and is mailed to current members of the OSU Alumni Association. Magazine subscriptions are available only by membership in the OSU Alumni Association. Membership cost is $50 Call 405-744-5368 or mail a check to 201 ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center, Stillwater OK 74078-7043. To change a mailing address, visit orangeconnection.org/update or call 405-744-5368. Oklahoma State University, in compliance with Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 11246 as amended, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Higher Education Act), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and other federal and state laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, genetic information, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, or status as a veteran, in any of its policies, practices or procedures. This provision includes, but is not limited to admissions, employment, financial aid, and educational services. The Director of Equal Opportunity, 401 General Academics Building, OSU, Stillwater, OK 74078-4069; Phone 405-744-1156; email: eeo@okstate.edu has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies. Any person (student, faculty or staff) who believes they are experiencing discrimination may discuss his or her concerns and file informal or formal complaints of possible violations of Title IX with OSU’s Title IX Coordinator, 405-744-1156. This publication, issued by Oklahoma State University as authorized by the vice president of enrollment management and marketing, was printed by Royle Printing Co. at a cost of $1.06 per issue: 35,937. | December 2022 | #9698 | Copyright © 2022, STATE magazine. All rights reserved.

Letters

From the Editor's Desk

In the fall 2022 issue of STATE Magazine, we looked back on President Kayse Shrum’s first year in office — one defined by challenges and a flurry of milestones, like conference realignment, the creation of the Oklahoma Aerospace Institute for Research and Education (OAIRE) and opening the Hamm Institute for American Energy at Oklahoma State University. In this issue, we look forward through the lens of the defining achievement under President Shrum’s leadership to date: an ambitious new strategy to establish OSU as the nation’s preeminent land-grant university.

Although Dr. Shrum has led the effort to reimagine what’s possible, she is quick to share credit with the steering committee that helped refine the vision for the strategy and everyone in the Cowboy family, all of which will play a key role in coalescing this slate of ambitious goals into a reality (Page 60).

Speaking of vision, we also delve into the journey and vision of Dr. Jeanette Mendez, who was named provost and senior vice president of Academic Affairs in May (Page 10), and Dr. Ann Caine, who was named OSU Alumni Association president in September (Page 8).

As we look ahead, we also acknowledge some noteworthy highlights from a fall semester that included plenty of reasons for celebration, from Dr. Shrum’s inauguration ceremony (Page 56) to OSU welcoming the largest and most diverse incoming freshman class in history (Page 50).

OAIRE recently launched a Counter-UAS Center of Excellence (Page 74) and a new partnership aimed at strengthening national defense by developing counter-measures to thwart malicious Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). Also this fall, OSU Agriculture celebrated another milestone (Page 86) in the campaign for the New Frontiers Agricultural Hall.

The return of the New York Philharmonic brought incredible learning experiences for students this fall (Page 46), and beloved OSU alumnus and country music superstar Garth Brooks returned to campus to provide unique music industry insights to OSU students, kicking off the Industry Insights series (Page 48).

Of course, we also look back at highlights from this year’s Homecoming celebration (Page 28), which attracted flocks of alumni and fans from across the country. It’s a great time to be a Cowboy!

Mack Burke Editor

STATE Magazine

305 WHITEHURST OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY STILLWATER, OK 74078 EDITOR@OKSTATE.EDU STATEMAGAZINE.OKSTATE.EDU