STATE Magazine, Fall 2010 by Oklahoma State

Orange Fever: catch it!

Visit OSU-Stillwater, and get to know one of America’s best college buys, home to 200 majors, more than 400 student groups, and more than 22,000 students from all over the state, nation and world. Plan your visit with one of these events, the best ways to learn about OSU.

OSU Experience ORANGE!!! POWER!!! It doesn’t get any cooler than football in Stillwater. You’ll visit campus and hang out with our students and alumni. Discounted tickets are available for the game. • Sept. 18, 2010 OSU v. Tulsa • Nov. 6, 2010 OSU v. Baylor

OSU Up Close Our largest fall event, this is when OSU’s colleges, labs and departments open their doors to high school juniors and seniors, giving them ground-level views of specific academic disciplines. They’ll also meet with faculty members from business, agriculture, the sciences, the arts and veterinary medicine. • Nov. 15, 2010

Weekly campus tours Can’t make any of those dates? Then, schedule your own. Go to admissions.okstate.edu/tour. • Tours are at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. on select Saturdays. You’ll see our campus and residence halls, meet with academic representatives and an Admissions Counselor. You’ll also learn about scholarships and financial aid.

Fall 2010, Vol. 6, No. 1 http://statemagaziNe.org

Welcome to the fall 2010 issue of STATE magazine, your source of information from the OSU Alumni Association, the OSU Foundation and University Marketing. Music education alumnus Barry Epperley’s distinguished career includes conducting the U.S. Army Chamber Orchestra at the White House, producing music for the Disney Corporation and promoting live symphonic music in Oklahoma. But conducting an impromptu memorial concert for the nation of Poland was the experience of a lifetime. Read more on page 50. As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions for future stories. Cover photography by Phil Shockley

The Time is Now! Another generous gift from Boone Pickens could triple your donation to OSU’s Branding Success campaign.

Quirky Gift Iguana and friends benefit from a donor’s generosity to zoology.

You’re Invited! Homecoming’s Executive Director Jordan Brockhaus extends a special invitation to Homecoming 2010.

Branding Success Update

Cuisine, 12 Haute Oklahoma Style

These students distinguish themselves through academic achievement, awards and campus and community activities.

OLLI @ OSU A $1 million gift ensures this popular program continues to serve generations of learners.

Committing to Education OSU-Tulsa offers scholarships to area teachers interested in career advancement.

Bridging the Gap A physician and his mother honor the memory of a family friend by establishing a scholarship to support underrepresented medical students.

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Shared Success Alumnus remembers his own days as a poor college kid and helps deserving students stay in school.

16 18

Faculty support for endowed chairs and professorships gives the campaign its thunderous start.

Outstanding Seniors

Ranchers Club chef showcases beef specialties at New York City’s James Beard House.

A Love for the Game A boy enamored with baseball and the OSU Cowboys reminds us the fight to cure cancer must continue.

Laced with Orange

Orange heartstrings weave through Ernst & Young, tying together Cowboy donors.

Visionary Leader

The retiring president of OSU Institute of Technology reflects on the successful transformation of Okmulgee’s small, rural campus into one of Oklahoma’s premier higher education institutions.

Giving Back

24 26

Photo courtesy Amble resorts, Design WorkshoP AnD mike Albert

A young landscape architecture alum stays connected to OSU by sharing his time, professional insight, financial gifts and real-world projects with current students.

A Gift with a View Retired couple hopes new lecture series inspires people to appreciate the relationship between science and art.

28 30 32 36 38

The Language of Music When a national tragedy plunged Poland into mourning, Barry Epperley accepted the sudden challenge of conducting Mozart’s Requiem for the grieving nation.

Leave a Legacy Scholarships ease student-athletes’ financial burdens while they’re playing hard for OSU.

Gulf Coast Responders During the worst oil spill in American history, OSU alumni, faculty and students were among the first responders and researchers to tackle the ecological disaster.

Traveling a New Road Neither a six-hour drive from her hometown nor an accident that landed her in a wheelchair could dent Amanda Stewart Tye’s determination to study agriculture at OSU.

Ahead of His Time The Thomas E. Berry Professorship upholds the ideals of a pioneering water conservationist.

The Greatest Gift Ethiopian schools and colleges built and operated by OSU a half-century ago nurtured some of today’s top scientists, including Gebisa Ejeta, the 2009 World Food Prize winner. He’s thankful to OSU’s Conrad Evans and others who laid the foundation for modern agriculture in his homeland.

Sit, Speak, Plan OSU’s Cohn Family Shelter for Small Animals gives couple peace of mind about their dogs’ futures.

Meet the Directors The OSU Alumni Association’s program directors love helping alumni stay connected to their orange heritage.

Remembering the Legacy The OSU family lost a dear friend and leader in the food science and food industries this year. But his wish to support graduate students lives on.

Keeping Rural Hospitals Open OSU rural health experts help communities maintain and expand their medical services.

A License to Brag

This great-grandmother finally has time to finish her degree in liberal studies and write nonfiction.

A New Spin on Campus Tours No matter how far prospective students may be from OSU-OKC, a virtual campus tour is just a click away.

Rudy, the Lucky Duck Veterinary teaching hospital saves the life of a Theta Pond resident.

Above and Beyond

82 83

OSU alumni living in the Lone Star State can show their allegiance to a brighter orange by sporting OSU license plates.

Never Too Late for Success

The OSU Alumni Association wins four awards for producing outstanding programs.

84 86 88 90

Maps & Miss Angie 110 Author Angie Debo created a map inventory for OSU and the U.S. Army.

74 76

Departments President’s Letter

FM with IQ

STATEment

Classnotes

O-STATE Stories

101

Chapters

History

110

Crossword

Campus News

When you see this logo, go to orangeconnection.org to view behind-the-scenes video and extras about the article. this member-only benefit is brought to you by the osU alumni association.

President’s letter

Fall is a special time on a university campus, and it is made even more exciting when student enrollment is up. We welcomed the largest freshman class since 1981 to the Stillwater campus for the start of the school year. We set records with system-wide enrollment of more than 35,000 students and graduate student enrollment of nearly 5,000. The freshman class of 3,554 students has a record average ACT score of 25.2. It’s also one of the most diverse we have ever had. Nearly a quarter of the students represent minority groups. For the second straight year OSU has the most 4.0 GPA high school students in its freshman class (more than 500) of any public research university in Oklahoma. In keeping with our land-grant heritage of offering advanced learning to all people, we are proud to have 643 first-generation college students in our freshman class. The historic renovation of our iconic Student Union is in full swing. With a million visitors a year, the union has been the main campus gathering place for 60 years. It is the largest and most comprehensive union in the country, and our current upgrade will expand and enhance space, improve traffic flow and address aging infrastructure. The students have stepped forward to fund much of the renovation, and we are seeking donor support as well. Once completed next year, the Student Union will continue its legacy of service and community for generations to come. Beyond our campus it is always amazing to see what OSU people are doing and the success they are having. This issue of STATE is packed with such stories. For example, we profile OSU alumni, faculty and students involved in the oil spill cleanup in the gulf. And the cover story about alum Barry Epperley is a fascinating piece on his conducting Mozart’s Requiem for the grieving people of Poland following the airplane crash that killed the country’s president earlier this year. OSU success is on display around the world. Go Pokes!

Burns Hargis OSU President

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The Presidents Club honors Oklahoma State Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most loyal supporters who give generously to enhance the success of OSU. The clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nearly 4,000 members demonstrate their dedication to the university by giving a minimum of $1,000 annually. These gifts impact virtually every college and unit in the OSU System.

To show our appreciation, the OSU Foundation will host the annual Presidents Club Event on Saturday, Nov. 6, prior to or immediately following the OSU vs. Baylor football game. Members will receive a formal invitation closer to the event. For more information about the Presidents Club or to learn how to become a member, visit OSUgiving.com/PresidentsClub.

OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION 400 South Monroe / Stillwater, OK 74074 / Ph. 800.622.4678 Fax 405.385.5102 / info@OSUgiving.com / OSUgiving.com

s tat e

Dear OSU Alumni and Friends, Football and new classes always stir up excitement on campus. But they are just part of this thrilling season with its record numbers of freshmen, graduate students and system-wide enrollment. OSU’s freshman class set a record for the largest enrollment increase since 1981 and the highest average ACT score for a freshman class. And OSU hit an all-time high in the amount of grants and contracts awarded to faculty and programs (read more on page 10). OSU just reached an amazing $600 million for the $1 billion Branding Success campaign. Raising funds for endowed faculty chairs and professorships will reward existing high-performing faculty, recruit other nationally-recognized faculty to OSU and increase average faculty salaries and research grants. Pages 18–19 share OSU’s faculty support goals and the $173.2 million raised so far. Visit OSUgiving.com to learn more. Nothing generates more campus excitement than “America’s Greatest Homecoming Celebration.” This year the OSU Alumni Association welcomes the “Cowboy Nation” to Homecoming 2010 on Oct. 22–23 and encourages all alumni, family and friends to support the Homecoming and Student Programs Endowment. OSU is one of the only schools in the nation that still hosts an event like Walkaround. Support from alumni and friends will preserve this awesome tradition for the next generation of Cowboys. Giving is as easy as texting the word “PETE” to 50555 from your cell phone to automatically donate $10 or going online at orangeconnection.org/give. We hope you’ll enjoy all the OSU excitement this fall, and better yet, bring along a future Cowboy or Cowgirl to experience OSU’s endearing traditions.

Kirk A. Jewell President and CEO OSU Foundation

Larry Shell President OSU Alumni Association

Kyle Wray Associate VP for Enrollment Management & Marketing

Thank You for answering the call Thousands of OSU alumni and friends have answered the call and updated their information with the Alumni Association. We want to thank the more than 49,000 of you that participated in the update for allowing us to continue to keep the OSU family connected with updated information. Please remember to share your latest changes, from a new little Cowboy to a career change anytime at orangeconnection.org. If you would like to purchase an Alumni Directory, contact us at 405.744.5368 or at info@orangeconnection.org.

201 ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center Stillwater, OK 74078-7043 TEL 405.744.5368 â&#x20AC;˘ FAX 405.744.6722 orangeconnection.org

UniverSity mArketing Kyle Wray / ASSOCiAtE ViCE PrESidEnt OF EnrOLLMEnt MAnAgEMEnt & MArKEting

Janet Varnum, Eileen Mustain & Matt Elliott / EditOriAL Valerie Kisling & Mark Pennie / dESign Phil Shockley & Gary Lawson / PHOtOgrAPHy Jessa Zapor-Gray / PHOtO COOrdinAtOr University Marketing Office / 121 Cordell, Stillwater, OK 740788031 / 405.744.6262 / www.okstate.edu (web) / editor@okstate. edu, osu.advertising@okstate.edu (email) O S U A l U m n i A S S O c i At i O n Paul Cornell / CHAirMAn Dan Gilliam / ViCE CHAirMAn Rex Horning / iMMEdiAtE PASt CHAirMAn Ron Ward / trEASUrEr Burns Hargis / OSU PrESidEnt, nOn-VOting MEMBEr Larry Shell / PrESidEnt, OSU ALUMni ASSOCiAtiOn, nOn-VOting MEMBEr

Kirk Jewell / PrESidEnt, OSU FOUndAtiOn, nOn-VOting MEMBEr John Allford, Cindy Batt, Larry Briggs, Ron Bussert, Brian Diener, Jennifer Grigsby, Dave Kollman, Jami Longacre, Pam Martin, Ronda McKown, Joe Merrifield & Nichole Trantham / BOArd OF dirECtOrS Pattie Haga / ViCE PrESidEnt And COO Chase Carter / dirECtOr OF COMMUniCAtiOnS Melissa Mourer & Kathryn Bolay-Staude / COMMUniCAtiOnS COMMittEE

201 ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center / Stillwater, OK 74078-7043 / 405.744.5368 / orangeconnection.org (web) / info@ orangeconnection.org (email) O S U F O U n DAt i O n Barry Pollard / CHAirMAn OF tHE BOArd Kirk A. Jewell / PrESidEnt And CHiEF ExECUtiVE OFFiCEr Patricia Moline / ViCE PrESidEnt FOr dEVELOPMEnt Brandon Meyer / ViCE PrESidEnt & gEnErAL COUnSEL Donna Koeppe / ViCE PrESidEnt OF AdMiniStrAtiOn & trEASUrEr Jamie Payne / SEniOr dirECtOr OF HUMAn rESOUrCES Gene Batchelder, Monty Butts, Jerry Clack, Bryan Close, Charlie Eitel, Ellen Fleming, Michael Greenwood, Jennifer Grigsby, David Holsted, Rex Horning, Don Humphreys, Kirk A. Jewell, Griffin Jones, Steven Jorns, David Kyle, John Linehan, Ross McKnight, Bill Patterson, Bond Payne Jr., Barry Pollard, Scott Sewell, Larry Shell, William S. Spears, Jack Stuteville, Kim Watson & Dennis White / BOArd OF trUStEES B e c k y E n d i c o t t / S En i O r d i r ECtO r O F M A r K E t i n g & COMMUniCAtiOnS

Jacob Longan, Chris Lewis, Jonathan McCoy, Leesa Wyzard, & Katie Ann Robinson / COMMUniCAtiOnS OSU Foundation / 400 South Monroe, P.O. Box 1749 / Stillwater, OK 74076-1749 / 800.622.4678 / OSUgiving.com (web) / info@ OSUgiving.com (email)

STATE magazine is published three times a year by Oklahoma State University, the OSU Alumni Association and the OSU Foundation, and is mailed to current members of the OSU Alumni Association. Magazine subscriptions available by membership in the OSU Alumni Association only. Membership cost is $45. Postage paid at Stillwater, OK, and additional mailing ofﬁces. Oklahoma State University, in compliance with the title Vi and Vii of the Civil rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 11246 as amended, title ix of the Education Amendments of 1972, Americans with disabilities Act of 1990, and other federal laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age religion, disability or status as a veteran in any of its policies, practices, or procedures. this includes but is not limited to admissions, employment, financial aid, and educational services. title ix of the Education Amendments and Oklahoma State University policy prohibit discrimination in the provision or services or beliefs offered by the University based on gender. Any person (student, faculty of staff) who believes that discriminatory practices have been engaged in based on gender may discuss their concerns and file informal or formal complaints of possible violations of the title ix with the OSU title ix Coordinator, the director of Affirmative Action, 408 Whitehurst, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, (405) 744-5371 or (405) 744-5576 (fax).

PHOTO COURTESy RACHEL CHiLLAS

Animal science alumna Rachel Chillas shows her OSU spirit in a big way with the creation of a giant maze located south of Stillwater’s Lake McMurtry. Chillas says the company that mowed the football helmet and “Go Pokes” into her hayfield used GPS technology to position people at specific points during the mowing process. The maze remains open to the public through approximately Nov. 1. For more information, visit www.rockinstarfarm.com.

this publication, issued by Oklahoma State University as authorized by the Assistant director University Marketing, was printed by Progress Printing at a cost of $.98 per issue. 35,900/Sept. ’10/#3374. Copyright © 2010, STATE magazine . All rights reserved.

Campus news

Breaking Records

New Student Convocation 2010

photo / Gary lawson

Freshman class takes the lead in enrollment and ACT scores. OSU’s freshman class is making quite an impression as one of the largest and smartest classes on record. • Largest

freshman class since 1981 — 3,554 students

• Highest

average ACT score for a freshman class — 25.2 (Almost one-third of the class has an ACT of 27 or higher.)

• More

than 500 freshmen have a 4.0 high-school grade-point average. (This makes OSU’s second consecutive year to have

Grant funding soars Grants and contracts awarded to OSU in fiscal year 2010 reached a record $136.3 million, a 10-percent increase over the previous year. Stillwater’s campus received $106.4 million and the branch campuses received $29.9 million. The most dramatic increase occurred in research-only awards, which exceeded $79 million. This 40-percent increase over last year is the largest single-year increase in OSU’s history. OSU’s University Multispectral Laboratories in nearby Ponca City also posted record numbers, acquiring more than $14 million in contracts. That’s more than triple its 2009 revenue of $4.4 million and a 40-percent increase over projections. “These record numbers demonstrate the wonderful efforts of OSU’s faculty and partners in difficult economic times,” says Steve McKeever, vice president for research and technology transfer. “Grants and contracts help OSU provide students with the first-class education and research opportunities they expect.” K e l ly G r e e n

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the most 4.0 freshmen of any public research university in Oklahoma.) • Freshman

class represents 40 states and 25 countries.

• 23

percent of incoming freshmen are Native American, African American, Hispanic, Asian American or international students.

• 643

of incoming freshmen are first-generation students.

• Record

OSU-system enrollment — 35,073 students

• Record

graduate student enrollment (OSU-Stillwater/Tulsa) — 4,981 students

New Name Reflects the Times The School of Journalism and Broadcasting has a new name — the OSU School of Media and Strategic Communications. “The new name more accurately describes our mission, and our curriculum changes will better prepare students for successful careers in today’s rapidly evolving media landscape,” says Derina Holtzhausen, professor and director of the school. The bachelor’s degrees in journalism and broadcasting will be replaced with options in multimedia journalism, sports media and strategic communication. Multimedia journalism majors will specialize in multimedia news reporting, multimedia production or multimedia editing. Sports media majors will specialize in multimedia reporting, broadcast production or public relations. Strategic communication majors will specialize in public relations or advertising.

I am a member of the OSU Alumni Association to gain access to member only benefits, including discounted OSU Career Services rates and merchant discounts across the country as well as online at shopokstate.com.

I am OSU. Monica Dudley â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;05

201 ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center Stillwater, OK 74078-7043 Tel: 405.744.5368 â&#x20AC;˘ fAx: 405.744.6722 orangeconnection.org/join

3X ALUMNUS T. BOONE PICKENS loves creating opportunities for donors to join him in leveraging their gifts to have maximum impact. That is why he announced a generous $100 million estate gift to establish the Pickens Legacy Scholarship Match. This initiative has led to more than $20 million in commitments to scholarships with more than 900 donors taking advantage of this opportunity to double their impact. But Pickens’ generosity does not stop there, as an expansion to the program was recently announced so that even more OSU students can benefit from this gift, while providing donors opportunities to triple their contributions. These changes are effective immediately for every Pickens Match gift – including those already committed. Additionally, Pickens has agreed to extend the deadline to Feb. 26, 2011, providing nearly four additional months to take advantage of this incredible opportunity. Qualifying gifts for scholarships and graduate fellowships will be matched as follows:

2:1

OUTRIGHT GIFTS - MATCHED Outright gifts of at least $50,000 paid in full by the deadline now qualify for a 2:1 match, meaning a $50,000 gift will lead to an endowment of at least $150,000 once Pickens’ match is added.

1.5:1

PLEDGE OF UP TO 5 YEARS – MATCHED Qualifying pledges of at least $50,000 paid in full within at least five years will be matched 1.5:1, so a $250,000 pledge will become an endowment of at least $625,000.

1:1

DEFERRED GIFT + JUMPSTART GIFT – MATCHED Deferred gifts paired with annual gift commitments are matched 1:1 – both amounts will now be matched. Thus, a $500,000 estate gift and an annual jumpstart commitment of $250,000 pledged over 10 years, will realize a total future impact of $1.5 million.

FOR MORE INFORMATION on the program or to start your impact today, visit OSUgiving.com/PickensMatch.aspx or contact a member of the OSU Foundation Development Staff at 800-622-4678 or info@OSUgiving.com.

Smiles for All!

Stillwater- World Headquarters Tulsa- Woodland Hills • OKC- Penn Square 800-256-JOES (5637) • eskimojoes.com

Iguana and friends benefit from a donor’s generosity to zoology.

Elvis the Iguana is quite the celebrity around the OSU campus. He’s been known to roam the labs in the zoology department, make appearances at community events and visit science classrooms around Stillwater. He also plays a significant role in raising funds for animals in the department’s Learning Resources Center. In the past few years, zoology students have scraped together funds with bake sales, cook-offs and car washes to raise money for food and maintenance of the animals and their cages. This year, Deloris Wright saw the need for a supportive donor in this department and gave $25,000 to ensure the overall care of each animal for the academic year. Wright, a 1969 economics graduate, lives in Golden, Colo., where she started her company, Wright Economics. She is an independent woman who hopes through her long-term and annual giving to encourage students to pursue higher education.

“I have no dependents, so I decided whatever I was able to earn in this life I would contribute to education,” Wright says. “I have made long-term commitcommit ments through my will to ensure my assets will support education.” She has been an active donor to Iowa State University, where she received a Ph.D. in economics, but when she saw the opportunity to give to her first alma mater, she couldn’t refuse. She considers it a great opportunity to help OSU students and the future of research and zoology. “I believe the way to solve a lot of our social problems is through education,” Wright says. “People who are economically disadvantaged are going to be able to pull themselves up by their boot straps if they get a good education. Elvis is an educational instrument, and I am so happy to give to a fund that meets a real educational need.” Wright’s personality enables her to search for opportunities that not only

“Elvis is an educational instrument, and I am so happy to give to a fund that meets a real educational need.”

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— Deloris Wright

enhance educational purposes but are also unique and quirky. “Through my annual giving, I wanted to find something I think is fun,” she says. “I wanted to find a need that exists but is a little offbeat. And that’s when I found out about Elvis.” Jason Caniglia, assistant vice president of development for the college, says Wright’s gift impacts the entire department, including students.

“This gift is very important,” Caniglia says. “It frees the time students would use for fundraising events and lets them focus more on their studies and the animals.” Zoology faculty and staff are also thankful because this gift reduces the inevitable pressure of lean budget times, and they hope it will create awareness and inspire others to give. “It’s a terrific gift,” says Loren Smith, professor and head of the department of

zoology. “People don’t really think about giving to these types of areas, and we are so thankful that Deloris found us.” Wright responded to a proposal seeking funds to support Elvis and his friends. In it, Elvis promised to send pictures and a painting made by his very own tail to express his gratitude. “I couldn’t stop laughing,” Wright says. “It was a very cool gift. I framed the pictures along with his artwork, and I put them up in our conference room here. We call it ‘Elvis’ Studio.’” Although this gift will play a significant role throughout this academic year, there is a possibility there will be a need for the same donation next year. Wright hopes this gift will help increase awareness for the department of zoology and hopes to inspire others to fulfill uncommon needs. “Hopefully other people will look into this and see the opportunity that I saw for this department,” Wright says. “I am truly honored that I get to help students through this donation to Elvis. I know students will definitely benefit from this because they are all very passionate and enthusiastic about Elvis. I am very happy to give back to OSU and hope to find something just as funky in the future.” K at i e a n n R o b i n s o n

photo / phil shockley

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Photo / Gary Lawson

Home Sweet Home.

Introducing the 2010 Homecoming Design

Short Sleeve Tees * Long Sleeve Tees * Hoodies * Crews Available in a selection of every OSU fanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favorite colors ... orange, black and white.

Shop a variety of ways: * Shopokstate.com * 1-800-831-4OSU * Utoo Student Union temp facility * Student Store at the Stadium * ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center (On home football game days only.)

* Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget, OSU Alumni Association members receive a 10% discount! You must have your OSU Alumni Association membership number (located on your membership card) at the time you place your order to receive the member discount.

OSU’s faculty support goal is now 86.6 percent complete. Donors have given $173.2 million to attract and retain the best professors and researchers.

While Branding Success’s $1 billion campaign goal is audacious, it was the faculty support portion that gave the campaign its thunderous start. In just 40 days during the summer of 2008, more than 900 donors gave an astounding $168 million — matched by $168 million in public funds — for endowed chairs and professorships. This surge of gifts, triggered by a $100 million giftmatching challenge from alumnus Boone Pickens, increased the number of endowed chairs and professorships at OSU by more than 114, to a total of 274.

The best and brightest academic minds in the world are attracted by the prestige and academic empowerment provided by these designations. And OSU’s finest professors are rewarded with these benefits, which helps retain these stars so they can maximize the benefit to OSU students and the state.

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“This campaign is very exciting to all of the faculty, particularly in the area of animal health research,” Confer says. “It is difficult to find funding sources for cattle disease research. So

Anthony Confer Sitlington Endowed Chair for Animal Health Research

Every great university is distinguished by prized teachers and knowledge leaders. Reaching the $200 million goal to endow faculty positions will strengthen the brain power of Oklahoma State. Endowed chairs and professorships are the highest academic designations, with the interest generated by the endowment providing a steady stream of income that grows each year. Faculty use this income to pay for research assistants, equipment, materials, travel and other professional expenses.

One faculty member who understands the value of an endowed chair is Regents Professor Anthony Confer, who holds the Sitlington Endowed Chair for Animal Health Research. This endowed position allows him to work closely with veterinary medicine and molecular science faculty in his study of shipping fever, a bovine respiratory disease.

funds from this campaign allow us to carry the research forward.” Another is Khaled Gasem, head of the department of chemical engineering and holder of the Edward E. Bartlett Endowed Chair. Gasem and his team are studying the properties of “coal seams” — strata in the earth where coal deposits are abundant. Not only do these coal seams have the capacity to absorb carbon dioxide emissions, but they release valuable methane gas in exchange for the carbon dioxide. This keeps carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere where it is believed to contribute to global warming. And it carries the added benefit of supplying natural methane gas.

As a chair holder, Gasem has extra resources to study this phenomenon, which uniquely qualifies him to see the benefits of adding more chairs and professorships to positively impact the university.

“Every crop is valuable — and vulnerable,” Fletcher says. “Protecting plants safeguards Oklahoma’s health and economy. At home and abroad, we can help crops thrive, while protecting consumers from food-borne illness and bioterrorism.”

“If OSU is endowed with additional resources — significant resources — I’m sure that would catalyze a growth that will be hugely beneficial to the state, to the nation and to the world,” Gasem says. “The more resources we have, the faster we can generate the knowledge needed.”

OSU faculty understand the value of these endowed chairs and professorships. These incredible donors have helped OSU reach 86.6 percent of the faculty support goal, totaling $173.2 million in commitments during the Branding Success campaign.

Regents Professor and Sarkeys Distinguished Professor Jacqueline Fletcher enjoys the opportunities provided by her chair as she directs the National Institute for Microbial Forensics and Food and Agricultural Biosecurity.

OSU is still working to fill the new chairs and professorships, and as each is filled, those endowments will supplement faculty salaries and indirectly support research efforts. Even before these endowed funds fulfill their potential, both areas have improved since fiscal year

Khaled Gasem Edward E. Bartlett Endowed Chair

2006. In that span, OSU has increased its research expenditures more than 57 percent, from $103.8 million to $163.1 million, and raised its average faculty salary from $91,185 to $104,094, an increase of more than 14 percent. Nonetheless, OSU still has a ways to go, and these endowments will be invaluable in that effort. With the spending amounts made available by these endowed funds, the university plans to further raise its average faculty salary as well as support research efforts. This is just one step in the quest to propel OSU to its rightful place among the nation’s top land-grant institutions. Read more about what will be accomplished with Branding Success at OSUgiving.com.

Jacqueline Fletcher Sarkeys Distinguished Professor

Faculty Support opportunitieS Distinguished Chair — a named honor bestowed to distin-

master classes and provide enrichment opportunities for OSU

guished faculty members as a recognition and reward for their

students, established at the $200,000 minimum

exceptional achievements, established at the $1 million minimum

Faculty Fellow — a named honor used to retain faculty

Chair — a named prestigious honor bestowed to faculty

members who demonstrate teaching and research expertise

members in an effort to recruit or retain individuals who are

and provide clear evidence of high level productivity potential,

highly productive and nationally known in their academic

established at the $100,000 minimum

discipline, established at the $500,000 minimum Professorship — a named honor to recognize distinguished faculty, established at the $250,000 minimum Visiting Scholar in Residence — a named honor to bring visiting

Lectureship — a named lecture or speaker brought to the campus to share special expertise or knowledge with students, faculty, staff and the community, established at the $50,000 minimum

scholars, industry and government leaders, artists/musicians and other distinguished guests to the campus to speak, teach

OutStaNdiNg SENiORS

The Outstanding Senior Award recognizes students who distinguish themselves through academic achievement; campus and communit y activities; academic, athletic or extracurricular honors or awards; scholarships and work ethic during their time at OSU. After reviewing their applications, the OSU Alumni Association Student Awards and Selection Committee met with the 45 Seniors of Significance who were honored in the fall of 2009 and selected 13 to receive this prestigious honor. The 2010 Outstanding Seniors were honored at a public banquet April 26 at the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center.

Stacey Brandhorst, public relations and Spanish, Honors College

“From hosting celebrities and dignitaries to publishing my own thesis research, I have done things at OSU that I never dreamed I would have the opportunity or the credentials to do. My parents always said, ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way.’ This lesson has proven itself true. I have merely provided the will, and OSU has provided the way.” Speakers Board chair for Student Government Association Executive

William N. Collins, chemical engineering “I am very thankful for the generosity and hospitality of the OSU community. Though I plan to continue my studies elsewhere, I will always remain proud to call myself an OSU Cowboy.” President and treasurer of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, campus promotions chair for the OSU Student Foundation, Omega Chi Epsilon Engineering Honor Society and CEAT Student Council, ConocoPhillips SPIRIT Scholar, Top 10 Freshman, recipient of the Donald

Council, vice president of Fraternity Relations and Philanthropy for

F. and Mildred Topp Othmer national scholarship and the College of

Alpha Chi Omega, Mortar Board Honor Society, president of Sigma

Engineering and Agricultural Technology St. Patrick’s Award. He also

Delta Pi Spanish Honor Society, Campus Life Advisory Council, Greek

studied philosophy at Cambridge University through OSU’s Arts and

Fashion Week organizer, top 5 finalist for OSU Student Employee of

Outreach program. After an internship with Sandia National Labs as a

the Year, College of Arts and Sciences Top 10 Senior, a Model Member

nuclear weapons engineer, he plans to study intellectual property law

for Alpha Chi Omega and a Lew Wentz Leadership Scholar. After a

at the University of Notre Dame.

six-week study abroad program at OSU’s exchange campus in Puebla, Mexico, Brandhorst will pursue a dual master’s degree in management organizations at Puebla and a master’s in business administration at OSU.

Brady E. Brewer, agricultural economics and accounting

“OSU is a special place that I will always be proud of. It has provided me with many opportunities that have made a big impact on me. I will always be thankful and orange at heart. Go Pokes!”

Manny Cortez, mechanical engineering “OSU has provided me with so many opportunities. I am especially thankful for the life-long friendships I have made with the faculty, staff and my fellow students. OSU will forever be my extended family, and I will be proud to call myself an OSU Cowboy.” President, Pi Tau Sigma, a mechanical engineering honor society; vice president of finance for the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology Student Council; CEAT Freshman Council coordinator;

Homecoming Executive two years, president and vice president of

president, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers; Multicultural

finance for FarmHouse Fraternity, President’s Posse, Student Alumni

Engineering Program Student Advisory Board; Multicultural Engineering

Board, Mortar Board Honor Society, Agricultural Econ Quiz Bowl, Top

Program K-12 Outreach; ConocoPhillips SPIRIT Scholar; ExxonMobil

10 Freshman Man, Top 14 College of Agricultural Sciences graduate,

Technical Scholar; HENAAC Scholar; CEAT Dean’s Outstanding Student

Alpha Zeta Honor Society and Phi Kappa Pi honor society. Brewer

Award nominee and recipient of the CEAT St. Patrick’s Award. After

plans to attend graduate school at Kansas State University and study

graduation, Cortez will move to Houston to begin work as field or project

agricultural economics.

engineer for ExxonMobil.

Race Clark, chemical engineering “When I grow up, I hope to never miss the waving wheat at Boone Pickens Stadium.” Student Government Association Senate chair, Student Alumni Board membership executive,

Jared Crain, plant and soil science “OSU has given me numerous opportunities to learn more about myself, what my passions are, and how I can use my talents to serve my fellow citizens, while making friends for life.”

Camp Cowboy wrangler, President’s Leadership Council, Phi Gamma

Oklahoma FFA Association vice president, 2006-2007; College of

Delta, Top 10 Freshman, Top Greek Sophomore, ConocoPhillips SPIRIT

Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Ambassador, 2008-2009;

Scholar, Outstanding SGA Scholar and Top 5 Homecoming royalty. Clark

Agronomy Club treasurer; Ag Council representative; CFFA member; Lew

plans to pursue a master’s in meteorology at the University of Oklahoma.

Wentz Scholar; Top 10 Freshman; Top 5 senior, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources; Oklahoma Agricultural Leadership

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Encounter Class V; and Outstanding Senior, American Society of

student liaison to the College of Education Scholarship and Awards

Agronomy National Student Recognition Program. After graduation,

banquet, College of Education’s Outstanding Graduate for Fall 2009,

Crain will begin research as a Fulbright Scholar in Mexico and then

Phi Kappa Phi, Golden Key International Honor Society “Outstanding

pursue a master’s degree in plant and soil science at OSU.

Senior” for 2008-2009, National Society of Collegiate Scholars “Most Distinguished Scholar” in 2006-’07 and 2007-’08, and a College of

Renee Hale, chemical engineering “OSU has been a wonderful place to discover new things, make friends for life and expand my horizons. I have really been able to come into my own, and I am grateful to OSU for preparing me so well for a successful future.”

Education Top 10 Senior and Outstanding Graduate. After completing the College of Education Teaching, Learning, and Leadership graduate program, Spalvieri plans to work with special-needs students in pre-K through third grade.

Sadie Stockdale, political science “OSU is a place you can be yourself. Like the winning Super Bowl quarterbacks who say they are going to Disney World, one day if I win a big award, I’ll say I’m going to Stillwater.”

OSU Symphony, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Tau Beta Pi president, Goldwater Scholar, W.W. Allen Scholar, Wentz Scholar, Tau Beta Scholarship, Phi Kappa Phi, Freshman Research Program and study abroad participant in Japan and England. After graduation, Hale will intern with ConocoPhillips in Bartlesville, Okla., and then pursue a master’s in chemical engineering at the University of Cambridge.

Chi Omega, Greek Week chair, Campus Life Advisory Council, Arts and Sciences Student Council president, Phi Alpha Delta president, Student

tyler Powell, agribusiness “My time at OSU has allowed me to see new frontiers and gain close friends, all in an orange hue.” Student Government Association chair, Student Alumni Board Leadership Development Executive, Ag legislative intern, vice president of the Ag Student Association, Oklahoma Ag Leadership

Government Association attorney general, Pi Sigma Alpha vice president, Top 10 Freshman Woman; Top Greek Sophomore, Junior and Senior Woman; Truman Scholarship nominee; National Science Foundation research scholar; Arts and Sciences Don Welsey Outstanding Junior; Art and Sciences Top 10 Senior; Top 15 Homecoming royalty. After graduation, Stockdale will join the 2010 Teach for America Corporation while pursuing a master’s in education, and then she plans to pursue a law school with an emphasis in elder law.

Encounter, Oklahoma FFA Alumni Leadership camp, assistant coordinator

Jared Robert Whittington, applied sociology

for Lights on Stillwater, video director for the Oklahoma FFA Convention, 2009 Homecoming King, Top 10 Freshman Man, Top 5 graduate of

“I attribute all success, my commission and graduation to the faculty and staff of OSU.”

CASNR, President’s Honor Roll and national finalist for the Farm Bureau Collegiate Meet. Powell plans to pursue a master’s of agriculture and

Phi Kappa Phi, Alpha Kappa Delta, Sociology

then attend law school.

Honor Society, Lew Wentz Scholar, Henry Clay

travis L. Schnaithman, agribusiness “My OSU experience has been invaluable in preparing me for the next phase of my life by providing me with an outstanding education and a great network of relationships.” Oklahoma State FFA president, Homecoming Steering chair, Student Government Association Supreme Court Justice, Oklahoma Agriculture

Scholarship for Statesmanship, Elie Weisel Essay in Ethics finalist, Marshall Scholar finalist, Top 10 Senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, Distinguished Military Graduate; Army ROTC Leadership Development and Assessment Course at Fort Lewis, Wash. Whittington transferred to OSU after his military service and established the “Forgotten Warriors Program.” Whittington is the nation’s top reserve soldier selected to attend the Army Medical Department at Fort Sam Houston where he will earn a master’s in social work through Fayetteville State University.

Leadership Encounter, President’s Leadership Council, Ag Student

Hayley Zimmerman, international business and

Association vice president and student spokesperson, Oklahoma FFA Alumni Camp, the National FFA’s Star Farmer of America, Top 10 Freshman, CASNR Outstanding Senior and OSU Homecoming royalty. After graduation, Schnaithman plans to become involved in production agriculture as a fifth-generation farmer.

Kayla Marie Spalvieri, elementary education, Dec. ’09

Spanish, Honors College

“OSU has presented me with countless, priceless opportunities — from scholarships to campus involvement to study abroad — and Stillwater has become my home away from home.” Pi Beta Phi president, Business Student Council, Business Ambassador, Greek Ambassador, Mortar Board Honor Society, men’s basketball

“I am extremely grateful for all the wonderful opportunities OSU has provided me. Family encouragement, faculty support and countless memorable experiences have shaped me into the motivated person I am today.”

SPURS, Toys to the Game executive director, Top 10 Spears School of

Second vice president for Education Student Council, secretary

For more information, visit orangeconnection.org/ studentawards.

and vice president for the Student Oklahoma Education Association,

Business Outstanding Senior, Top 10 Freshman, Top 15 Homecoming royalty, Top 3 finalist for the Panhellenic Outstanding New Member and Outstanding Junior. Zimmerman hopes to eventually pursue an international MBA.

$1 million gift ensures popular program continues to serve generations of learners. Professor Larry Perkins spent a 32-year career learning and teaching, so it only seems fitting that after retiring from OSU’s sociology department in 1995, he continues to learn and teach. He’s both teacher and student in the OSU chapter of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, which hosts classes designed for people 50 and older on numerous topics of interest. “You’ve got a lot of time on your hands,” Perkins says of retirement. “What are you going to do? You can sit in the rocking chair and do that bit, but it’s much more fun to get out there and meet your fellow conspirators, so to speak.”

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Perkins has taught a pair of courses for OLLI at OSU — “Life after Death,” which focused on different religious teachings about the afterlife, and “Great Decisions,” which explored foreign policy. His wife, Beverly, took both classes. The couple has also taken classes together, including a pair taught by their son, Stephen, an OSU associate professor of anthropology. Stephen says it was fun to have his parents in “Aztec Empire” and “Oklahoma Pre-history.” The Bernard Osher Foundation originally funded OLLI at OSU with three annual grants of $100,000 and recently endowed the OSU chapter with a $1 million gift. “I couldn’t imagine working with a better organization,” says RuthAnn McCarthy Sirbaugh, director of OLLI at OSU.

“The Osher Foundation is very committed to putting lifelong learning in place throughout the United States,” she says. “If I have any questions or need guidance, I can call the Osher Foundation and they are more than happy to help because they genuinely want us to succeed.” The entire OLLI organization is about helping people. All the teachers are volunteers, and the curriculum committee designs classes around OLLI participants’ interests. “The committee that sets up the programs is outstanding,” Beverly says. “They really work hard and they have a nice variety of classes. We have a large population of people who come to classes, eat lunch there and stay all day. It’s real nice to meet other people at classes.” Participants gain knowledge, make new friends and share camaraderie with people they’ve known for years. “I enjoy

Retired professor Larry Perkins, above, not only teaches classes for OLLI at OSU, he and his wife, Beverly, enroll in OLLI classes, including two taught by their son, Stephen, far left. photo / Gary Lawson

being in class and learning new things,” Beverly says. “The Native American classes were wonderful. We’ve lived here 40 years but had never been to any of the places our classes visited.” Kali Lightfoot, executive director of the National Resource Center for Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes, praises OLLI at OSU. Learning for the sheer joy of learning is the vision of all Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes across the country, she says. “On a recent visit to the OLLI celebration at OSU, I found an excellent staff, committed and skilled volunteers and a great setting for both the intellectual and social activities of OLLI that are so important to the health and joyfulness of people over age 50.” OLLI at OSU offers classes in Stillwater, Tulsa and Oklahoma City. During the last academic year, 608

students attended a total of 94 classes among the three sites. The program continues to grow and could qualify for another $1 million endowment from the Osher Foundation if it reaches 1,000 members. Participants can enroll for $150 a year and take unlimited classes, or they can pay $50 a year and then $25 per class. Stephen says these six-week courses are similar academically to the level of his undergraduate classes. “People take notes and are really engaged,” he says. “There are no tests, so they aren’t doing it to study for a test. They are doing it for pure interest. “One of the beautiful things about OLLI is the audience of retired folks or older individuals who generally have a better

perspective about learning what some people might consider esoteric topics, such as the Aztecs,” Stephen says. “OLLI students are more open-minded in some respects, more ready to absorb that kind of information. It’s a totally different cohort of people than the 18-to-22-yearolds I usually teach. It’s just a different experience and a lot of fun.” OSU at OllI has expenses that will not be covered by the $1 million endowment, so donations are always appreciated. To give, contact Brenda Solomon, senior director of development, at 405-385-5156 or BSolomon@OSUgiving.com. For more information, visit www.okstate.edu/olli or call 800-765-8933.

Committing to Education OSU-Tulsa’s scholarship program for teachers leads to career advancement

enniffer Callaway says her father always knew she would grow up to be a teacher, even though she wasn’t so sure. After discovering her first two college majors weren’t a good fit, she finally decided to try teaching. “I found my place and my calling in teaching,” Callaway says. “I love the interaction with the students. The classroom synergy and the challenges that occur through the learning process offer excitement and rewards each day.” As her love of teaching grew, so did her dreams of earning an advanced degree. Callaway, a teacher at Jenks Public Schools, is working toward a Ph.D. in educational psychology at OSU-Tulsa with hopes of becoming a university professor in the future. And she’s getting a little help to reach her goal. In May, OSU-Tulsa launched a new scholarship program for Tulsa-area professionals interested in an advanced degree in education. The OSU-Tulsa Graduate Education Scholarship is designed for those working in public schools, technology centers, early learning centers, higher education and other educational settings. Callaway is one of the first recipients of the new scholarship and is grateful for the opportunity to further her commitment to education. “The field of education has many benefits. However, the pay scale can be a limitation overall,” Callaway says. “As a single mom, I look to manage all of my assets

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OSU-Tulsa’s Graduate Education Scholarship is helping teachers like Jenniffer Callaway enhance their teaching techniques and advance their careers in education. to the best of my ability. This scholarship allows me to reach my goal with less stress and with more confidence. As a recipient, I am driven to work harder and to be more successful.” Howard Barnett, president of OSU-Tulsa and OSU Center for Health Sciences, says the new scholarship is a tuition waiver designed to help teachers and education personnel enhance their teaching techniques or advance their careers to administrative or leadership roles. “We all know the critical role that teachers and education leaders play in the lives of our students and the development of our community,” Barnett says. “OSU-Tulsa is making it a priority to provide resources to assist those who are dedicated to educating our young people

“Highly qualified and educated professionals will teach our students and lead our schools and universities.” — Howard Barnett

while achieving their own goal of education and career advancement.” OSU-Tulsa is offering $750 scholarships per semester to new, fully admitted students in OSU master’s and doctoral degree programs in education, counseling, educational leadership studies, educational leadership and policy studies, educational psychology, educational technology, higher education, school administration, human development and family science, and teaching, learning and leadership. Eligible students must have a 3.00 grade-point average or higher and enroll in at least six credit hours per semester at OSU-Tulsa. Students may receive the scholarship for a maximum of three semesters starting with the fall 2010, spring 2011 or summer 2011 semesters, for a total scholarship of $2,250. “We’re all well aware of how the economic downturn is affecting our state’s resources, including teacher layoffs,” Barnett says. “This is OSU-Tulsa’s opportunity to help local educators, like Jenniffer, earn a high-quality advanced degree from a comprehensive university without the constraint of funding concerns. In turn, highly qualified and educated professionals will teach our students and lead our schools and universities.” T r i s h M c B e aT h

Tomorrow begins today.

We’re defined by what we pass on to the next generation. That’s why ConocoPhillips is working with National Energy Education Development to provide America’s teachers with the training and resources they need to bring energy to life for students. Through this program, we’re getting our kids interested in math and science and teaching them about the importance of conservation. So we can pass on what matters … to the ones who matter most.

www.conocophillips.com

Branding Success Scholarship for medical students pays tribute to a giving lady.

hen Boone Pickens announced a $100 million planned gift that will match qualifying scholarship donations dollar-for-dollar, Dr. Mark Snell knew it was the perfect time to make a Branding Success gift. After earning his economics degree from OSU in 1974, Snell attended the Oklahoma College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery in Tulsa, now known as the OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine. He graduated in 1979 and is a family practice physician in Clinton, Mo. The Altus, Okla., native and his mother, Virginia Snell, a 1948 home economics (HEECS) alumna, created and funded the Hettie Griggs – Bridge Medical Scholarship, a $50,000 scholarship to OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Bridge Program. The scholarship will be used to help students who want to become physicians but have limited opportunities. The Bridge Program promotes entry and retention of underrepresented medical

student applicants who have been unsuccessful in gaining entry into medical school. It allows students to take a reduced course load, completing the first year of medical school curriculum in two years. “I wanted to do something for the medical school that gave me a livelihood and a profession. It all just fell together perfectly,” he says. “With the Pickens Match, and mom joining me in making a gift, it was a win-win situation.” Snell says the scholarship pays tribute to the late Hettie Griggs. “She was an important person in my childhood. She baby-sat for us and helped my mom with housekeeping. She was a wonderful lady — kind, loving and giving.” Mrs. Griggs was a single mother whose children also became professionals in areas of health and education. Snell is especially pleased the scholarship will honor her by helping students in OSU’s Bridge Program.

“I wanted to do something for the medical school that gave me a livelihood and a profession.” — Dr. Mark Snell

Snell and his mother kept in touch with Mrs. Griggs until her death in the early 1980s. “I just loved her, and my mom did, too. She always did so much for others and was such a loving person to all of us and to anyone around us. We both wanted to honor her.”

The Hettie Griggs — Bridge Medical Scholarship established by Dr. Mark Snell, above, and his mother, Virginia, honors a family friend and supports future medical professionals.

photo / Istock

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Fine Dining Ranchers Club chef Marc Dunham showcases Oklahoma’s haute cuisine at the James Beard House in New York City.

James Beard, known as the “dean of American cookery,”

welcomed students, authors,

ssisted by OSU students and

“As only the second university to be invited to the James Beard House, we restaurant staff, Ranchers Club were honored and humbled to be reprechef Marc Dunham demonstrated senting the Ranchers Club, the Atherton his culinary skills and Oklahoma’s finest Hotel, the School of Hotel and Restaurant foods for guests at the James Beard House Administration, the College of Human in New York City this summer. Environmental Sciences and Oklahoma “Just to receive the invitation to be State University,” Dunham says. a guest chef there speaks to the reputaThe internationally renowned James tion and quality programs of the School Beard Foundation hosts a variety of events of Hotel and Restaurant Administration to educate, inspire, entertain and foster and the College of Human Environmental appreciation for American cuisine. Sciences,” says Bill Ryan, school director. Dunham’s unique menu featured beef, “This is a tremendous accomplishment, and but with a twist. Marc is to be congratulated.” “We wanted to make sure we focused Dunham, who joined the Ranchers on the importance of beef to the Ranchers Club in 2008 as chef de cuisine, began Club and OSU, but we had some fun with planning the five-course meal last it,” Dunham says. January with a team of three assistant “Hay and Grain,” “Tongue and Cheek,” chefs and three students. They wanted to “Cowboy BBQ” and “Steak and Potatoes” demonstrate Oklahoma’s culinary scene described menu items of the five-course and showcase the School of Hotel and meal, which included beef tongue and Restaurant Administration’s reputation to cheek, veal brisket serious food aficionados. and prime rib-eye steaks. “Malted Brown Cow Shakes” provided a fitting end to the meal. Wines with a connection to Oklahoma were served with each course. OSU More than 50 alumni and OSU representaalumni Marilynn and Carl Thoma of tives attended the New York City dinner, VanDuzer Vineyards, Jeannette and Dick including Oregon vintners Carl Thoma, Sias of Joullian and Larry Bump of Darms left, and Marilynn Thoma, right; and Rita Lane provided wines from their vineyards Ryan and Bill Ryan, head of the School of in addition to the wines offered by Stone Hotel and Restaurant Administration. Bluff Cellars of Haskell, Okla., and 32 Winds owned by Tulsan Ed Mascarin.

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chefs, and other food and beverage professionals into his home, putting his kitchen at the heart of the 20th century food scene in America. After Beard’s death in 1985, a group of his friends purchased his townhouse, and in 1986 the James Beard Foundation held the official opening of the James Beard House. It continues to be a center for the culinary arts and to inspire interest in all aspects of food preparation, presentation and enjoyment. The James Beard Foundation hosts food-related workshops, classes, conferences and other educational experiences and invites chefs from around the world to participate. It also administers the James Beard Foundation Awards to honor professionals in the food and beverage industry.

Dunham’s experience at the Beard House places him in an elite circle of chefs, just as HRAD students gain an elite educational advantage by working at the Ranchers Club. “The Ranchers Club is an important component of the integration of facilities, professionals and curriculum that students experience in the School of

Hotel and Restaurant Administration,” Ryan says. Dunham says he’s blessed to work in OSU’s supportive atmosphere. “The opportunities that have been presented to me are extraordinary. I could not be more thankful.”

From left, Phil Wheeler and Chris Becker help chef de cuisine Marc Dunham of OSU’s Ranchers Club prepare Oklahoma specialties for food aficionados at the James Beard House in New York City this summer.

JulIe BArnArd

Shared Success Generous alumnus remembers life as a poor, hard-working college student and gives back to help current and future Cowboys. Ron Hoffman knows what it’s like to be a student working full time to pay for college. As a student in the late 1960s, Hoffman worked 40 hours a week on top of a full class schedule. The days were long, with classes starting as early as 7:30 a.m., and the nights even longer, with Hoffman finishing work around 10 p.m. and dedicating the rest of the night to studying. For the first two years, he worked as a cook in one of the women’s dorms, and his final two years he worked at a grocery store. However, he did not permit his busy work schedule to conflict with his academic work. He graduated from OSU in four years, earning an associate’s degree in aeronautical technology and a bachelor’s degree in engineering technology. Both degrees ensured Hoffman a job at Allis-Chalmers Corporation in Milwaukee upon graduation in 1970. The Collinsville native couldn’t stay away from Oklahoma for long, landing a job at Tulsa Winch in 1972. He worked there 14 years until he and two other OSU grads led a management buyout of the company in 1986. As president, Hoffman guided the company through a period of significant growth. In 1996, the Tulsa Winch owners sold the company to Dover Resources. Hoffman led the acquisition and merger of a number of winch companies and progressed through the ranks within Dover Corporation. He and his wife, Cynthia, moved to New York City in 2003 when Hoffman was named president and eventually CEO. During Hoffman’s tenure, Dover grew from $4.2 billion to $7.6 billion through a period of significant acquisitions. He says it was a wild ride from restarting Tulsa Winch with only 13 employees to eventually running a global corporation with 34,000 employees.

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“I wasn’t successful because I was the smartest guy in the world,” Hoffman says. “I just don’t think you can really outwork me. You might be smarter than I am, but I had a very strong work ethic. I put in the time and energy to learn whatever deficiencies I thought I had and make certain I could always compete and keep up.”

With the Pickens Match, the endowment will be worth $150,000 and produce $7,500 in annual scholarships. “The Pickens Match is a unique opportunity for people who want to support the university,” Hoffman says. “It gives people a chance to make a contribution in their name, and it also gives them a matching opportunity from the Pickens fund to create larger funding for the future.” The Pickens Match has opened a window of opportunities for donors, students and faculty and staff. Hoffman says he is proud to be an alumnus of the only school in the nation with this wonderful opportunity. “It’s pretty unique,” Hoffman says. “Not too many schools have a donor at Boone Pickens’ magnitude who will offer a matching opportunity like this. I can’t think of another opportunity that would be that lucrative for a university.” Karl Reid, dean of the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology,

“Not too many schools have a donor at Boone Pickens’ magnitude who will offer a matching opportunity like this.” — Ron Hoffman Hoffman believes working throughout college shaped his work ethic. “It helped me understand that you can’t make excuses. When you’re supposed to work, you have to be at work. I’ve always felt a sense of responsibility that someone was counting on me.” The couple retired in Tulsa in 2009 to escape the hustle and bustle of New York City. After visiting with OSU leaders and learning about the Pickens Legacy Scholarship Match, Hoffman decided to take advantage of this opportunity to triple his gift to the school that prepared him for success. He donated $50,000 to the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology, creating the Hoffman Engineering Technology Scholarship.

says Hoffman’s gift will have an amazing impact on students. “We are thankful for his contribution and hope this will help others get involved with this incredible opportunity,” he says. Hoffman says he didn’t want students to be held back from a college education strictly because of financial issues. “You never know what kind of financial obligations arise,” he says. “I wanted to support a scholarship to assist the selected students who have academic ability but need additional financial support to complete their education.” K at i e a n n R o b i n s o n

We are members of the OSU Alumni Association to support family programs, including Homecoming and the legacy Program. Getting our children involved with OSU at an early age is important to us and the Alumni Association provides us a way to stay connected.

John Castro II ‘03 Heidi Castro ‘01 emma and evan Castro

We are OSU.

201 ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center Stillwater, OK 74078-7043 Tel: 405.744.5368 • fAx: 405.744.6722 orangeconnection.org/join

Caleb Spady before treatment in April 2008

n perfect stance, the crimson-clad pitcher throws a fast pitch to home plate. As the crack of the bat echoes through the spring air, the announcer shouts, “HOME RUN!” The crowd erupts as Caleb Spady scores another home run for his beloved team, and the OSU Cowboys win in Bedlam. While many young boys dream of being professional ball players, Caleb’s dream will never come true. Ken and Kim (Taggart) Spady have a deep passion for OSU and for baseball. Both 1990 OSU agricultural economic graduates, they have shared their passions with their sons: Jacob, 13; Caleb, 11; Luke, 8; and Seth, 6. But as the 2008 baseball season began, life changed for the Spadys. “On April 1, the boys were out playing catch,” Kim says. “Caleb was a phenomenal ball player but was making bad throws.” Caleb would swing and miss, Kim says. “I asked Caleb if there was something wrong,” Ken says. “Caleb responded, ‘I am seeing two of you and don’t know which ball to hit, dad.’”

A boy enamored with baseball and the OSU Cowboys reminds us the fight to cure cancer must continue.

Photos courtesy Beth Jansen PhotograPhy

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The Hinton, Okla., family knew something was not right. Kim scheduled an eye doctor appointment for the next day. Caleb’s eye appointment was at 10 a.m., and later the doctor scheduled an MRI for noon. The test results identified an inoperable brain tumor located on the pons of Caleb’s brain stem. “I told Caleb what the doctor said, and he responded cheerfully, ‘Chemo or radiation first?’” Ken says. Caleb’s diagnosis was not the Spadys’ first battle with cancer. In March 2007, Kim was diagnosed in the early stages of breast cancer. “Our family had been through cancer treatment before, so Caleb knew the process,” Kim says. Caleb’s cancer was diffuse intrinsic pontine glimoa, or DIPG, which targets the brain stem affecting motor skills, coordination and bodily functions. “Caleb’s primary symptom was double vision,” Kim says. “His vision never improved, but we got him glasses with prisms and made other adjustments.”

Treatment began with radiation, and Caleb developed painful blisters on his hands, arms and face. “I would be on call from the dugout,” Ken says. “Each game there would be a chest full of hot wraps and gauze in case Caleb’s pain became unbearable.” Despite these circumstances, Caleb played baseball as if nothing was wrong. “He would wear football lineman gloves while batting so the bat would not hurt his hands,” Kim says. “The treatment affected his coordination and athletic ability, but he played ball through it all.” Caleb finished radiotherapy in June. Just a month later, the Spady family departed on a quest for medical trials in the Northeast. “We drove to Baltimore and enrolled Caleb in a clinical study,” Kim says. “On our way, we stopped at the funeral of a little girl who died of DIPG. “Imagine being told your 10-year-old or 6-year-old would die in the next year. It is a difficult road. It is amazing the heart people have. We were only two months

into the battle and developed so many family friends. It was amazing to find so much love and caring spirit in a world so full of sadness.” Throughout Caleb’s medical trials, the Spadys continued to enjoy their favorite sporting venue. “We stopped at every baseball game we could,” Kim says. “It was important for us to focus on family time. We knew the time was short, and we needed to make memories.” Five-and-a-half months after the diagnosis, Caleb returned to the hospital for another MRI. His sickness again was advancing, Kim says. “I remember so vividly that basketball season,” Kim says. “Caleb started another round of chemo on Nov. 19, and he played his first basketball game of the season that evening.” (continues on next page)

Ken and Kim Spady and their sons, from left, Jacob, Luke, Seth and Caleb

After the game was over, the team came out of the locker room. Caleb was nowhere to be found. “I found him shooting free throws, dribbling and running laps around the old gym,” Ken says. “Caleb knew that he did not perform at his best and was working on his game.” Caleb did not realize the effects chemotherapy had on his body, Kim says. He just thought he played poorly. “Caleb was an amazing guy and was quite a fighter,” Kim says. “He was such a competitor and factual go-getter. “In March [2009], the chemo had stopped working. We were treating the untreatable.” Caleb’s health prevented him from playing in the 2009 baseball season. “There came a point when Caleb could no longer play baseball,” Ken says. “He could not swing a bat, run the bases or throw the ball. He never gave up, though. He would work out and lift weights but could not play.” Strict treatment procedures prevented Caleb from starting a different treatment option. “It is hard to know what to do with your day,” Kim says. “I had laundry to do, meals to cook and toilets to clean, but I had to do it with the boys.” To cope with life’s struggles, the Spadys put their situation “in God’s hands” and used baseball to spend time together.

t the 2009 Bedlam baseball game in Oklahoma City’s Bricktown, Frank Anderson and his Cowboys baseball team honored Caleb, and each player sported a “Pray for Caleb” bracelet. “Coach Anderson was such a minister to Caleb,” Kim says. “He changed Caleb’s life. Coach Anderson reached out to our family.” Caleb had to write a short biography to introduce himself before one of his appearances at an OSU Coaches vs. Cancer event. He kept his speech short and to the point. “Caleb firmly said, ‘I am going to kick this cancer in the rear, play baseball for the OSU Cowboys and then play baseball for the Texas Rangers. That is all these people need to know about me,’” Kim says.

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n the midst of Caleb’s battle, Kim OSU’S COAChe S was diagnosed with colon cancer in vS. CA nCe r July 2009. At the same time, Caleb CA mpA ign ranks first in the was in need of urgent medical attention Big 12, first in the High Plains division and only found at St. Jude Children’s Hospital in the top 10 nationally in dollars raised. in Memphis. Coaches vs. Cancer is a nationwide “Caleb’s health was declining rapidly,” collaboration between the American Ken says. “Just after Kim finished her first Cancer Society and the National surgery, Caleb and I left for Tennessee. By Association of Basketball Coaches that the time we made it to Memphis, Caleb empowers basketball coaches, their was very weak.” teams, and local communiDoctors said Caleb’s ties to make a difference in health was not stable the fight against cancer. enough to treat him. “I remember Caleb Both the OSU Coaches wanted an Oreo cookie, but vs. Cancer campaign and he could hardly eat it,” Ken former coach Eddie Sutton says. “We knew the end have been nationally recogwas near, and the clear goal nized with awards from the Caleb Spady and OSU basewas to get him home.” American Cancer Society. ball Coach Frank Anderson They returned home, The program leverages before the first pitch of the and Kim arranged to be the personal experiences, 2009 Bedlam baseball game in the same hospital room community leadership and as Caleb. professional excellence “The doctors moved me to Caleb’s of basketball coaches nationwide to hospital room so we could be together,” increase cancer awareness and promote Kim says. “I did my recovery in healthy living through year-round awarepediatrics ICU.” ness efforts, fundraising activities and Later in July, Caleb took his last breath advocacy programs. and completed his short life in Ken’s arms In the past six years, OSU’s Coaches vs. while Kim underwent emergency surgery. Cancer has raised more than $800,000 “Between family and faith, we got for the fight against cancer. For more through it,” Kim says. information or to contribute, contact “Our family was so blessed by Caleb in Kendria Cost at 405-744-5351 or kendria. the last months of his life,” she says. “All cost@okstate.edu. we have is his memory, and it makes it all that much more special.” Caleb was laid to rest clad in his orange and black. “He reminds me of all the things good “He wore an OSU ball cap and was and right in this world. wrapped in an OSU blanket,” Kim says. “Caleb reminds me that we have to “He bled orange, for sure.” keep fighting for a cure.” Caleb’s admiration for Oklahoma State A signed portrait of Caleb also peers was known by all who knew him and by across Anderson’s desk. many who did not, says Kendria Cost, “When Caleb was very sick, he was OSU Seretean Wellness Center marketbusy doing the thing he loved — playing ing coordinator and Coaches vs. Cancer baseball,” Anderson says. “Caleb touched coordinator. more lives than I have in my 50 years “Caleb loved OSU so much,” Cost says. of existence.” “There was no greater OSU fan than Caleb. “Not a day goes by that I don’t think of This story by Kylee Willard, a 2010 agriculhim in some way,” Cost says. “I still wear tural communications graduate, is reprinted with permission from the Cowboy Journal my ‘Pray for Caleb’ bracelet and keep his magazine (Volume 12 Number 2). For more picture and the signed baseball by my bed. information, visit cowboyjournal.okstate.edu.

Tradit ions Societ y The Alumni Association acknowledges the following members of the Traditions Society whose generous support helps the association achieve excellence in programming and fulfill its mission of service to alumni and OSU. Wayne Allen

Cheryl Key

John & Nancy Allford

Bill Kosanke

William & Karen Anderson

Tony Kouba

Calvin & Linda Anthony

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Patricia Bartheld

John Maxwell

Bruce & Sheryl Benbrook

Katherine McCollom

Andrea Bryant & Charles Rohla

Ronda McKown

Bryan Close

Frank & Nadine McPherson

ConocoPhillips Company

Larry & Sandy Mocha

Steve & Donna Cropper

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Philip Dreessen

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Cooke & Elizabeth Newman

Tom & Shelly Duff

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Randall Simons

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Rick & Rodette Green

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Steven & Jennifer Grigsby

Rex Stockard

Natalie Shirley & Russ Harrison

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Richard Thompson

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Robert & Nellie Totusek

James Hurt

Ron & Cindy Ward

Robin Irving

Wayne C. Williams

T. Steve Ivan

Jerry & Rae Winchester

Steven Jorns

Thomas Yang

Larry & Linda Kester

201 ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center Stillwater, OK 74078-7043 TEL 405.744.5368 â&#x20AC;˘ FAX 405.744.6722 orangeconnection.org

Orange heartstrings weave through Ernst & Young, tying together Cowboy donors.

“Hello, sir. How can I help you today?” The young man who just entered the store front turned around and smiled. “Well, I’m looking for a new suit,” the young man said. “I’ve got a big interview next week.” The clerk nodded in understanding. “You have come to the right place.”

n the ’70s, scenes like this were commonplace for Joe Haney, who worked part time at the Men’s Clothing Store in Stillwater when he was a college student. Today, Haney is associate vice president of development for the Spears School of Business. But his college job is where he met a co-worker who would become one of the most prominent alumni supporters of the school — Brad Williams. Even after graduation caps have been tossed and goodbyes have been said, the orange blood that courses through the veins of all true Cowboys ties them back to the home of Eskimo Joe’s, Pistol Pete and America’s Greatest Homecoming Celebration. Williams, an alumnus who has lived in Texas for nearly half a decade, is no exception. “He’s been a consistent donor to OSU for more than 30 years,” Haney says of the Ernst & Young tax-practice partner. Williams, Spears School Hall of Fame member and chairman of the Accounting Advisory Board, immediately began giving back to his alma mater upon earning his master’s degree in accounting in 1979. What began as a personal $50 per year

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donation has grown into the Ernst & Young Professional Program in Accounting scholarship program. The scholarship program began in 2005 after Williams approached several company alumni about consolidating their supporting efforts toward the school’s Professional Program in Accounting, a tangible cause he refers to as the “cornerstone of the accounting program.” “All I’ve done is just spread the word,” Williams says. “We’ve got such a great group of people within this firm from OSU. As soon as they see things like this and get the information, they jump on it.” Most recently, Williams and 20 other Cowboy alumni at Ernst & Young rallied together to pledge an additional $125,000 to expand the program while continuing the current scholarships. Ernst & Young will match their pledge, making the total $250,000. This combined gift will be matched one-and-a-half times again by the Pickens Legacy Scholarship Matching Program, resulting in an impressive $625,000 endowed scholarship. Ann Bradshaw, state and local tax partner at Ernst & Young’s Houston office and fellow scholarship contributor, says she and other alumni bought into

PhOTO / GaRY LaWSOn

Cowboy Country Roots Brad Williams, OSU alumnus and tax-practice partner for Ernst & Young, grew up in Ponca City, Okla., where he met his wife, Denise. The high school sweethearts attended OSU in 1973 — Brad as an agricultural economics major and Denise as a student in clothing textiles and merchandising — before moving to Dallas to begin their careers. The couple of 33 years has two daughters, Jennifer and Kelsey. Jennifer, 27, is stationed in Beirut, Lebanon, working with the State Department as a public affairs attaché, and Kelsey, 25, teaches elementary school in Houston.

Williams’ “brainchild” idea because they are grateful for the foundation OSU provided them. “We believe it’s our responsibility to make sure we’re doing what we can to help support and produce the next generation of tax professionals,” Bradshaw says. “OSU has always been an outstanding program that educates people who have become highly successful in our profession.” Around 80 Ernst & Young employees, 15 of whom are firm partners, graduated from OSU, Williams says, and the company has a track record of hiring 12 to 15 OSU graduates each year. The firm’s scholarships have been awarded to 127 master’s students since the program’s initiation, and many recipients have received funds throughout multiple semesters. “Witnessing alumni and accounting firms show interest in OSU’s accounting program has been an encouragement to me to continue to succeed in school,” says scholarship recipient Kyle Freeman. “The alumni are a reminder of the goals I want to obtain for myself,” he says. “Brad’s compassion for OSU is shown through his dedication to the school years after he has succeeded in achieving his goals.” Williams offers a word of encouragement to scholarship recipients like Freeman, saying he has seen many successful people in many important places throughout his time with Ernst & Young. “Every one of our OSU students can run with the best of them,” Williams says. “They can compete with any student from any of the fanciest schools we hire from.” Leah Kuehn

“Dr. Klabenes has been an innovative leader who has significantly advanced higher education opportunities within the state and the region. His contributions to Oklahoma’s students will last for generations.”

Visionary Leader

The retiring president of OSU Institute of Technology looks back on the successful transformation of a small, rural campus into one of Oklahoma’s premier higher education institutions.

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— Glen D. Johnson, chancellor, Oklahoma State System of Higher Education

e grew up working hard on the family farm in north central Nebraska managing livestock, working most of every summer in prairie hay fields, planting and harvesting row crops and small grains. Even today, he returns several times a year to help his 91-year-old mother run the home place where she’s lived since 1939. Now, after 27 years as president of OSU Institute of Technology, Bob Klabenes is retiring, even though he will continue working on his own farm acreage with four Tennessee Walking Horses in rural Okmulgee County and making frequent trips north to help his mother. Looking Forward

hat work ethic and determination Klabenes learned as a young man was needed in 1983 when he left his job as director of Southeast Community College’s Milford and Beatrice campuses in Nebraska and came to the “Okmulgee Tech” campus, as it was called. He found himself faced with row upon row of wooden barracks with connecting ramps, left over from the U.S. Army’s Glennan General Hospital built 37 years earlier to provide care for wounded World War II veterans. Change was taking place at the institution, but it wasn’t catching up to a society producing women astronauts, Global Positioning Systems and the minivan. “I found that the infrastructure was much poorer than I knew at first, so I was distraught about that,” Klabenes says. “The energy bill ran about a million dollars a year because of the single course concrete block buildings, single pane warehouse windows and lack of insulation in the walls and ceilings. We don’t even pay that much today. We had hundreds of students housed in barracks with yellow pine floors and no sprinkler

system, so I was always very concerned about fire.” Within a number of years, the old barracks gave way to the more upscale Hannigan Hall and England Hall. But first, Klabenes completed construction of the Noble Center for Advancing Technology, emphasizing a much-needed focus on technology. Many more construction projects were to follow under his leadership. Bob Seebeck, director of Physical Plant Services, says there were few resources before Klabenes’ arrival. “Dr. Klabenes isn’t one to settle for status quo. He found ways to get the funding necessary to transform the old barracks into a modern university,” Seebeck says. “Rallying support from the Okmulgee community to help fund a new Student Union is another perfect example.” Klabenes is thankful for the Okmulgee community, which has generously assisted in upgrading and modernizing the campus

Bob Klabenes speaks at a 2008 dedication ceremony for the university’s new name, “OSU Institute of Technology.” Behind him is the Donald W. Reynolds Technology Center and the Allied Health Sciences Center under construction (now completed). over the decades. “I give the community extremely high marks for its support. Each time the institution needed a major fund drive — for the Student Union, the endowment for the Donald W. Reynolds Technology Center or the State Room remodeling — the community came through.” OSUIT also received several sizeable grants from the private sector, including a major grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation that became the linchpin contribution to the university. “The Donald W. Reynolds Technology Center is without question the crown jewel for this campus,” Klabenes says. “It set us apart in several ways. It says, ‘Here’s a little, rural technical college that can get a major grant.’ It also helped us push the envelope to become a leader in new and emerging technologies.” The facility enhanced OSUIT’s reputation within higher education for being a specialized institution that graduates highperformance technicians who become employed immediately upon graduation in (continues on next page)

Bob Klabenes and Brazilian international students watch as precision agriculture instructor Carlos Augusto shows how a global positioning device automatically steers a demonstration agricultural vehicle.

Some partnerships OSUIT has developed: • OSUIT was the first institution in the world to have exclusive technical training partnerships between OSUIT’s Heavy Equipment and Vehicle Institute program and Caterpillar, Komatsu, Aggreko North America, Manitowoc LIFT, MHC Kenworth Truck Technology, and Southwestern Association.

excellent-paying jobs with career advancement opportunities. Glen D. Johnson, chancellor of the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education, says Klabenes’ visionary leadership transformed OSUIT into the pacesetting institution it is today. “I have had the privilege to work with Dr. Bob Klabenes for over 27 years,” says Johnson, a former legislator and former

• One of three institutions in North America to have a technical training partnership with ROLEX for OSUIT’s Watchmaking program.

• Facilitated the establishment of Green Country Technology Center

• Facilitated the establishment of College of the Muscogee Nation

• Facilitated the establishment of OSUIT – Sanders Mitchell Training Center in Pryor

Buildings and facilities built or improved under Klabenes’ presidency: • Allied Health Sciences Center • Noble Center for Advancing Technology, Phase I and Phase II

• Hannigan Hall • England Hall • Student Union • Grady Clack Center • Donald W. Reynolds Technology Center

• Alexander North Hall and South Hall • Miller-Kamm North Hall and South Hall

• Wilson Commons • Racquetball courts • Walking trails • Day Care Center • High Voltage Classrooms and Laboratory

• Campus Storage Buildings • New Greenhouse • State Room Restaurant • Remodeled Culinary Kitchens • Library addition • Campus beautification project • Multiple facilities remodeled

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Bob and Jeri Klabenes president of Southeastern Oklahoma State University. “Dr. Klabenes has been an innovative leader who has significantly advanced higher education opportunities within the state and the region. His contributions to Oklahoma’s students will last for generations, and he will most certainly be missed.” Ahead of the Game

hen Klabenes arrived in Okmulgee 27 years ago, he envisioned a campus that would provide superior hands-on education in what were new and emerging advanced technologies such as automotive, heavy equipment, manufacturing including CAD/CAM, visual communications, culinary arts, electrical/ electronics, construction, high voltage and luxury watches. “To fulfill this niche, we had to establish significant corporate partnerships,” Klabenes says. “Our success was beyond what I ever imagined, and it’s still happening today. Preparing highly skilled technicians for a modern workforce and getting multinational corporate partnerships to buy into it — that provided the real power for OSUIT to stay with its vision.” Steve Doede, division chair for Automotive Services Technologies, says

Klabenes leads by example. “He frequently pushes the boundaries to further elevate the quality of technological education provided by OSUIT. His ability to mesh the current and future needs of employers with programs that produce high-performance graduates is unparalleled.” When the school was established in 1946, degrees were not offered. Instead, students earned certificates in courses taught at the “vo-tech” or “trade school” level. They ranged from auto body and fender repair to dry cleaning to radio and small appliance repair, production agriculture and farm mechanics. OSUIT opened with 500 veterans and received no state appropriations during its first 10 years of operation. The institution was funded by veterans’ benefits and the veterans administration. Oklahoma A&M College President Henry G. Bennett acquired the Okmulgee facility shortly after World War II because the Stillwater campus could not accommodate all the veterans eager to use the GI Bill for their postsecondary education. Klabenes credits his school’s first director, Keith Covelle, as one of the true pioneers of postsecondary vocational and technical education in the U.S. and for shaping his own vision for OSUIT. Besides facility and infrastructure upgrades, Klabenes says the addition of bachelor’s degrees have been significant to students and their future employers. “It’s important to our industry partners that we were able to achieve the bachelor of technology in civil engineering technology, instrumentation technology and information technologies.” Klabenes anticipates state approval soon for a bachelor of technology degree in advanced manufacturing technology and, within several years, a bachelor’s in visual communications. Another huge opportunity exists in health care, and OSUIT’s professional health programs have experienced monumental growth. “We have an excellent registered nurse program and an outstanding orthotics and prosthetics program,” he says, “and we are expanding into respiratory therapy and programs that deal with noninvasive imaging.”

OSUIT is well prepared with its new $7 million Allied Health Sciences Center and, thanks to two grants from the Sam Viersen Family Foundation, an advanced nursing lab with the latest in high definition patient simulators. “It may be the most advanced center in the state,” Klabenes says. “We wanted a state-of-the-art facility with the best equipment. Those are the kind of initiatives that set this institution apart.” People Partnerships

he partnership between the Okmulgee community and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation is important to Klabenes. For several years, OSU and OSUIT have sponsored and provided classroom space for the College of the Muscogee Nation. Recently, OSUIT sold 15 acres of

land to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation to build its own facilities for its campus. “The development of the College of the Muscogee Nation has been a real achievement,” Klabenes says. “I’m confident it has the largest enrollment of all tribal colleges in Oklahoma, and after the new building is completed, it will be one of the premier facilities of all the tribal colleges.” Klabenes also considers the long-term sustainability of the institution to be one of his major accomplishments. “The academic technical programs, with support from the Arts and Sciences division, and the way we’ve been able to shape these programs will continue to be the key to OSUIT’s future,” he says, “as well as providing highly skilled workers for the workforce and linkages to employers.”

Incorporating internships into every student’s program of study and providing graduates with a Graduate Performance Guarantee has allowed OSUIT to create a special niche in Oklahoma. “We love being publicly accountable for providing our students with an education that ends with employment upon graduation.” Still, Klabenes’ most gratifying accomplishment is the ability to offer students a life-changing experience. “We get really excellent students today. Some have significant socioeconomic challenges, but the reward of working with those students is much more because they appreciate it more. If we weren’t here for them, they would never, ever complete a degree of higher education anyplace. What more could I want?” R E X DAU G H E R T y

PHOTO / KELLy KERR

Bob and Jeri Klabenes feed Max, Penny and Ebony, three of their Tennessee Walking Horses.

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2006 landscape architecture graduate Mike Albert didn’t wait to start giving back to his alma mater. Already, he has created a student scholarship, is active with his department’s advisory council and provides design students with real-world projects each year.

ypically, new college graduates are most concerned with finding a secure job and establishing themselves as adults. And while many would agree giving back to their alma mater is important, few actually get involved until years later. But that profile doesn’t fit Mike Albert, a 2006 landscape architecture graduate who’s adamant about giving back to his alma mater, right now, in whatever ways he can. “I think many times when recent graduates hear the phrase ‘giving back,’ they automatically connect it to (continues on next page)

something they plan to do in the future. That’s important, but I also think giving back can be immediate and can take many different forms.” When looking for his first professional job, Albert searched for a company where he could do more than use his degree. “It was important to find a firm that strongly believes in connecting with universities through philanthropic activities,” Albert says. “Design Workshop was that fit.” Located in Aspen, Colo., Design Workshop specializes in providing landscape architecture, urban design and strategic services to clients in North America and throughout the world. Started in 1969 under the direction of two professors from North Carolina State University, the company focuses on creating “built environments” that meet today’s needs while remaining sustainable and environmentally friendly. Albert, who joined Design Workshop after graduation, recently became the office’s operations manager. His oversight ranges from hiring and personnel issues to resource scheduling and financial reporting.

G E T T I N G I N V O LV E D

n the midst of his success with Design Workshop, Albert has found a number of ways to remain involved with his alma mater and stay connected to OSU faculty and students. “One of my goals upon graduating was

finding opportunities to immediately give back,” he says. “Everyone, regardless of where they graduate from, owes a lot of their success to their alma mater.” Albert says the alumni-supported scholarships he received as a student enabled him to focus more on his studies and to explore the world through internships and study abroad programs. Now he’s established a scholar-leader scholarship to give current landscape architecture students similar opportunities. Besides financial giving, Albert also supports OSU with his time and energy. He recalls many alumni who returned to campus when he was student to provide reviews, project critiques and presentations. He says those interactions better prepared him for his future career. “Our landscape architecture graduates have created a self-sustaining educational system that’s grounded in the spirit of its alumni,” he says. Since 2007, Design Workshop, through the combined efforts of Albert and fellow OSU alumna and Design Workshop colleague Darla Callaway, has provided annual projects to students in the landscape architecture Design III class. Albert’s former academic adviser, Associate Professor John Ritter, invited Albert to bring the real-world work projects to the program. “Mike has the ability to lead people,” Ritter says. “He is a very enthusiastic person, and his enthusiasm permeates the whole program during the semester he is here.”

This fall, Albert and Callaway are working with OSU students to develop strategies for a residential landscape design, which takes a unique, contemporary home and places it within four very different and distinct geographic locations across the U.S. The goal is to find strategies for rooting the landscape architecture into its regional context and observing how regional conditions influence design. “It’s a great learning experience,” Ritter says. “I learn a lot myself.” Albert also serves on the OSU Landscape Architecture Professional/ Advisory Council, a group of alumni that advises the program on current trends in the industry. “This advisory council is a unique asset to our program,” Albert says. “It allows professionals and students to interact on a biannual basis and allows us to convey to students what is occurring within the profession. Ultimately, it helps OSU graduates become the most competitive upon entering the job search.” Charles Leider, director and professor in OSU’s landscape architecture program, appointed Albert to the council. “Mike is a strong recent grad with an excellent range of internship experience who now works with one of the leading design companies in the country,” he says. Mike Albert says alumni-supported scholarships he received as a student enabled him to explore the world, including study abroad in Australia. Today, he has established a scholarship for OSU students and also mentors them each year on real-world class projects.

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LE A DI NG BY DESIGN

ne example of Design Workshop’s innovation is a current project to create an eco-resort on Isla Palenque, a 434-acre Panamanian island. As project manager, Albert and Design Workshop principal Richard Shaw, along with a number of other architectural, engineering and environmental consultants, are striving to redefine tourism in Central America by drawing upon the area’s natural, human-made and cultural patterns for this project. “The goal is to balance development with the uniqueness of the island and to make a world-class travel destination,” Albert says. As the leading site planner, Design Workshop is responsible for bringing everything together with the help of other participating consulting firms to create a resort that embraces the history, culture, art and cuisine of the region. “The island’s environmental attributes lead the design choices,” Albert says. “It’s about living with nature rather than imposing on it.” Design Workshop was approached with the idea of building an eco-resort by Amble Resorts, whose owner was also an architect and developer who had dreamed of an eco-resort since he was in college. While there are hundreds of islands surrounding Isla Palenque, all are designated as national parks. “Isla Palenque was the only island in the area without that designation,” Albert says. “This project invites people to basically live in a national park.” In the beginning stages, each of the teams conducted research by touring

Arrival Dock

the island, visiting with nearby indigenous tribes and learning about the culture. Finally, the teams developed a master plan that includes villas, a resort and educational nature trails. Amble Resorts gave the go ahead with Phase I of the project, which will include a handful of villas and a boutique hotel, set to be finished in 2012. In addition to preserving the local im ag eS co ur te Sy am bl e re So rt S, De Sig culture, the project n Wo rKSh op an D mi Ke al be rt conserves land by preserving sanc85 percent of the island as a “nature sanc vision to make the most environmentally tuary,” Albert says. It achieves sustainabilresponsible resort.” ity by exploring methods of agri-tourism Albert has a lot of advice for landscape that could decrease imports and by architecture students, especially those nearproposing water and energy management ing graduation. plans to reduce dependency on non-renew“One of the points I always make is the able resources. importance of finding a firm and a group “Travelers are becoming more selecof individuals who are going to mentor and tive on where they will spend their time challenge you in the first few years out of and money,” Albert says. “Not only are school,” Albert says. they becoming more environmentally Albert encourages other OSU alumni to conscious, they expect to have an experigive back to the university and their respecence that can’t be replicated elsewhere.” tive academic programs. Whether hiring In September, the project at Isla OSU students for internships, speaking at Palenque will receive a 2010 National workshops or giving a financial gift, Albert Honor Award in Analysis and Planning says all alumni have the ability to give back from the American Society of Landscape the day they receive their diplomas. Architects. Only a select few of the more “I believe in instilling a sense of than 600 applicants receive this prestigiving in current OSU students,” he says. gious honor. “Reconnecting OSU graduates with their “This award means a great deal to alma mater is something truly special.” our team, but we want to give credit S t e p h a n i e K . tay l o r to our client,” Albert says. “From the project’s inception, Amble Resorts had a

Sidney and Margaret Ewing created a lecture series endowment to inspire students and others to consider the link between science and art.

photo / Gary Lawson

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iologist Margaret Ewing points excitedly to the woodland musician in a painting titled Solar Music by surrealist Remedios Varo. “See how her androgynous figure plays rays of sunlight as if they were strings of a bass violin,” Ewing says. “See how the music she makes in the forest clearing goes up into the treetops and releases birds — from what look like cocoons. None of this is possible without the sunlight.” The 1955 painting shows the powers of nature and art intertwined and inspired zoology professor emerita Margaret Ewing and her husband, veterinary parasitology professor emeritus Sidney Ewing, to establish the first endowed distinguished lecture series in the zoology department. The Margaret S. Ewing Distinguished Lecture Series: Bridges Between Biology and the Arts and Humanities will enable the department to host at least one speaker each year. “I wanted to create the series because I’m interested in seeing how biologists see, artists see and historians see,” she says. “I wanted to introduce students to the interplay among the arts, humanities and biology.” The daughter of a food co-op activist and a mechanical engineer, Ewing became fascinated with water and its inhabitants at a young age. “I loved wading in ponds,” she says. “So why not choose wading in ponds as a career?” She graduated cum laude in zoology from Oberlin College (Ohio) in 1962, taking advantage of strong programs in two of her major interests, zoology and music. “But as much as I liked music, I didn’t think I would flourish in that area.” More than four decades later, Ewing knows she made the right decision and has flourished in her profession, becoming in 1994 the first female full professor in zoology at Oklahoma State. She says she never imagined she would be a trailblazer. In 1961, she enrolled in a summer course at the University of Michigan Biological Station, studying algae while knee-deep in northern Michigan’s Douglas Lake.

“The Michigan field station was where I first met people who worked extraordinarily hard at their science but were not thinking only of competition. They simply worked hard, did good work and enjoyed themselves,” she says. “That summer, I learned people could earn a living wading in lakes and ponds. I really liked that.” That summer, she also met Georgia native Sidney Ewing, a doctoral student in Oklahoma State’s veterinary college. “Not too surprisingly, he influenced my choice of a graduate institution. Because, well, I liked him a lot.” At OSU, she studied water quality and contaminants, sometimes wading in waters near Ponca City refineries, while working toward a master’s degree in 1964 and doctorate in 1966, both in zoology. During this time, her husband, Sidney, earned his doctorate in veterinary parasitology in 1964. The couple lived in Oklahoma, Kansas, Mississippi and Minnesota before settling in Stillwater in 1979. “Sidney kept getting better jobs, so we just kept going,” she says, and each of their three daughters was born in a different state. Ewing loved her temporary teaching positions but realized she needed to devote more time to research to progress in higher education. “I had been doing childcare and teaching, but a tenure-track position requires you to engage in more extensive research, so that meant I had to retool,” she says. When she returned to Stillwater, she established a research program that extended her earlier work in water quality to parasites of fish. Year after year, however, she became more fascinated by the parasite Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, or ich for short, that causes white spot disease in fish. Ewing knew she had found her niche. Over the next 20 years she wrote many academic papers focusing on the parasite in North American channel catfish. “Channel catfish are really quite beautiful,” she says. “And even more beautiful is the parasite.” Over the next several decades, Ewing taught courses that included the topic of parasitology to undergraduates, while her

“I believe students who understand the relationship between their disciplines and those beyond the sciences will have greater capacity for creativity. They will enjoy a wider view of the world.” — Margaret Ewing

husband taught it to veterinary students studying parasites in domestic animals. The couple recently teamed up to teach “Parasite Drama: Eat and Be Eaten” for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute on the Stillwater campus. During her career, Ewing received the OSU Regents Distinguished Teaching Award, the AMOCO Foundation Outstanding Teaching Award, the Phi Eta Sigma Award for Outstanding Instruction for Freshmen and the Women to Watch Award from the Women’s Council. Does it matter in her work as a scientist that she is female? “When I started teaching, I was the first female professor in the sciences that many of my students ever had in a classroom. “Even today few women hold academic leadership positions in the natural sciences nationwide. At OSU, I am glad to see zoology has more women faculty members now than ever before.” The Ewings hope the new lectureship they established will inspire students to examine the relationship between science and other areas of life. “This is something that could be important to graduate students — the link between arts and humanities and biology,” she says. “In this age of increasing specialization in the sciences, I believe students who understand the relationship between their disciplines and those beyond the sciences will have greater capacity for creativity. They will enjoy a wider view of the world. This lectureship comes down to that.” Lorene roberson hickey

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The Language of Music

Music education alum Barry Epperley conducts Polandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Torun Symphony in a special performance of the Mozart Requiem in tribute to the thousands of Polish citizens killed by Russian troops in the 1940s. Large screens and sound equipequip ment extend the concert to the packed plaza outside the Cathedral Basilica of St. John in Torun as state television broadcasts the concert across Poland.

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When a national tragedy plunged Poland into mourning last April, Barry Epperley accepted the sudden challenge of conducting Mozart’s Requiem for the grieving country.

While conducting Mozart’s Requiem in one of Poland’s grand cathedrals, Barry Epperley noticed an elderly woman quietly sobbing near the front of the crowd. She was one of 4,000 mourners filling the pews and aisles who had arrived hours earlier for a special memorial service at Cathedral Basilica of St. John in Torun, Poland. “Seeing her crying stopped me right there,” says Epperley, director of the Signature Symphony at Tulsa Community College who travels to Poland each year for a musical exchange. “I couldn’t look again or I knew it would do more than stop me.”

concert of American music to kick off a festival for the popular tourist town. But the plane crash on the night of his arrival shut down all government offices and planned events, as he learned halfway through the first rehearsal the following morning. Yet, within the hour, the orchestra administrator asked Epperley to conduct a special performance of Mozart’s Requiem instead. “At first, I was taken aback because I hadn’t planned on that,” he says. “But I knew the music and had directed it about 10 years ago.” The Requiem is one of a handful of

“Seeing her crying stopped me right there. I couldn’t look again or I knew it would do more than stop me.” — Barry Epperley In that brief glance, Poland’s 70-year sorrow over the Katyn Forest massacre of World War II and the acute pain caused just days earlier by a plane crash that killed the Polish president and 94 other government and military leaders became as vivid and poignant to Epperley as the scene of mourners around him. The presidential delegation had been en route to a memorial service to commemorate the estimated 25,000 Poles massacred by Russian soldiers in the Katyn Forest in 1940. It would have been one of the first official acts of reconciliation between the two countries. “Resentment in Poland runs deep toward the Russians,” says Epperley, who holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education from OSU. “So when the president’s plane crashed on Russian soil, it was another deep wound for the Polish people.” Epperley’s arrival in Poland a week earlier came under happier circumstances — to lead the Torun Symphony in a

major requiems appropriate for both a church service and a concert, Epperley says, and has become a standard for times of mourning. Though Torun’s professional symphonists had only two days to rehearse for the concert, which evolved into a national event, they had no difficulty performing the complex piece. Four nationally known soloists from Warsaw volunteered to sing the arias, and overnight the chorus expanded from about 60 musicians to 100. “Mozart’s Requiem is just tremendous. It’s been one of my favorite major choral works since I learned it some 40 years ago,” says Epperley, who grew up in Stillwater where he “caught the conducting bug” from his father, Stillwater High School’s vocal music director for 26 years. After graduating from OSU and earning a doctorate of musical arts from the University of Southern California, Epperley arranged and produced music for Disney Corporation, conducted the U.S.

Army Chamber Orchestra for inaugurations and other White House events and also taught at Oral Roberts University. In 1995, Epperley became founding director of the Performing Arts Institute at Tulsa Community College and a leader of music education and live symphonic music in Oklahoma. As artistic director and conductor of the Signature Symphony, which he founded in 1978 as the Tulsa Little Symphony Orchestra, Epperley annually invites Polish conductor Piotr Sulkowski, “one of the fine, young European conductors,” to be principal guest conductor. “I enjoy the people in Poland a great deal,” says Epperley, who at Sulkowski’s invitation conducts symphonies and operas in Krakow and Torun each year. So when it seemed there was no way to comfort a country mourning two tragic events, Epperley did what he could. “In a way, I felt like I was supposed to be there to conduct the Mozart Requiem,” he says. “It was an opportunity to show them our country cares about them.” A couple of days later, Epperley attended the state funeral for President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, Maria, at Saint Mary’s Basilica in Krakow, where four large screens displayed the service to the tens of thousands in the outdoor plaza. Epperley was thankful to again represent America, especially since the Icelandic volcano had halted air travel and prevented many international dignitaries including President Obama from attending. As the caskets left St. Mary’s for burial in nearby Wawel Cathedral, the crowd began to sing. “It was so moving to hear a crowd of 150,000 people singing their national hymn in unison,” Epperley says. “It was meaningful to be able to reach out on behalf of our country to theirs.” Ja n e t Va r n u m

Leave a Legacy. Change a Life. Scholarships ease student-athletes’ financial burdens while they play hard for OSU and prepare themselves for success after college.

reshman golfer Ian Davis hopes to one day play on the PGA tour. His OSU athletic scholarship is moving him closer to that dream. The Deer Creek, Okla., high school graduate came to OSU this fall to pursue a degree in business management and contribute his talent to the OSU golf team as it seeks another NCAA championship. “This young man mowed 10 lawns on Mondays and Tuesdays to pay for golf tournaments in the balance of the week,” says OSU golf coach Mike McGraw. “It was this incredible commitment to the sport, in addition to shooting under par in each tournament I visited, that grabbed my attention.” Davis’ scholarship is changing his life. “It’s an incredible opportunity,” Davis says. “I am so fortunate to play for one of the

best intercollegiate programs in America while receiving partial funding toward a fouryear degree.” Davis chose OSU over the University of Oklahoma and several other competitive institutions. “I liked the people here,” he says. “Individuals at Karsten Creek, my department counselors and the coaching staff are friendly and helpful. It’s a big school, but it’s a close-knit kind of place like where I grew up.” No dollar amount can measure the impact of a lifechanging scholarship. Far from just paying the bills, scholarships provide a way for young adults to reach their potential. This is the primary goal of the OSU Athletics Scholarship Endowment initiative. The program began in summer 2006 after the OSU athletic department development team researched many other Division I colleges from

Just as student-athlete Kevin Tway, right, and his father, legendary Cowboy and PGA golfer Bob Tway, inspire other talented athletes to discover success at OSU, so will the athletic department’s $115 million scholarship endowment. Once fully funded, it will cover all 470 OSU athletic scholarships.

Photo / Phil Shockley

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various conferences nationwide. Several meetings later and with full support from Director of Athletics Mike Holder, a game plan emerged that ultimately affects the bottom-line of the annual budget and assists studentathletes in each sport. “This endowment campaign is the gift that keeps on giving,” says Craig Clemons, associate athletic director. “We’ve had a 90-percent ‘yes’ rate. Our donors find it very appealing as it’s a blend of athletic and academic philanthropic support.” Clemons says many supporters find this campaign more attractive than building a sports venue or resurfacing a field. “Donors are literally providing funding for a young woman or young man’s scholastic pursuit so whether or not the graduate goes into

professional sports, he or she will have a college education and the opportunity for success in the marketplace. This is a great way to leave an ongoing legacy at Oklahoma State in the name of a donor, a donor’s family or business.” Incorporated into OSU’s $1 billion Branding Success campaign, the athletic department’s $115 million goal would endow all 470 athletic scholarships. “We’re making significant progress,” Clemons says. “We’ve gone from $2 million to $35 million in commitments within several years.” Before the campaign’s launch in 2006, OSU placed last in Big 12 endowments, while Texas A&M led athletic endowment funds with $60 million. A secondary benefit related to endowing all athletic scholarships is the athletic department can then re-direct

funding toward specific needs such as coaching, support staff, travel, recruiting and facilities – all elements leading to being more competitive in every sport. “Fully endowing each scholarship would currently free up $4 million to $5 million of our annual operating budget,” Holder says. “Our coaches are involved in the campaign and understand how scholarships for their sports benefit their programs.” There are three levels of endowments: the Position Scholarship Endowment ($500,000); the Team Scholarship Endowment ($250,000); and the First Quarter Scholarship Endowment (*see sidebar). At certain levels, donors choose which sport and even which position their endowment will fund. “There are several twists in athletic giving within

this campaign,” says Larry Reece, senior executive director of athletic development. “Along with tax deductions and POSSE Priority Points awarded for cash or stock gifts, we are awarding POSSE Priority Points for planned (testamentary) gifts. Donors can also use Boone Pickens’ matching gift because this initiative is directly tied to student scholarships. Donors use related points for premium seat upgrades, post-season ticket requests and so on.” The university plans to commemorate each donor’s contribution in special ways. “The Cowboy family is extremely humble,” Reece says. “Supporters typically don’t ask for major recognition, but we have plans to recognize campaign supporters in a significant and creative way. They understand their gifts make a big impact on the school they love.”

“I am so fortunate to play for one of the best intercollegiate programs in America while receiving partial funding toward a four-year degree. OSU is a big school, but it’s a close-knit kind of place like where I grew up.” — Ian DavIs, freshman Bruce Smith (’75, civil engineering, M.S. ’77) is such a donor. He and his wife, Nancy, contributed a Half Scholarship Endowment to the wrestling program. Smith remembers many exciting wrestling matches in Gallagher-Iba when he was an undergraduate, and he continues to attend as many as he can. “They have a tradition of excellence and the best coach in the country, if not the world,” Smith says. “I wanted to do something for the school and to assist the wrestling program in continuing to compete at the highest level. Wrestling only has nine and a half scholarships and 10 guys on the team. Then there are 30 or 40 more student-athletes in the practice room.” “Budgets being what they are, endowments are a no-brainer,” Smith says. “They ensure the future, the tradition and the success of our athletic programs.”

Join the Team! To provide greater opportunities for supporters to participate in this historic fundraising campaign, three prominent donor categories have been created. Endowment gifts are payable up to 10 years. Full Scholarship Endowment ($500,000) This gift opportunity allows a donor to name a scholarship for a specific position on the Cowboy or Cowgirl team of his or her choice. Associated earnings will cover the full scholarship cost for the student-athlete in a specific sport. The endowment will be forever named in honor of the donor. Half Scholarship Endowment ($250,000) With this endowment gift, the donor will name half of a scholarship on a Cowboy or Cowgirl team of his or her choice. Associated earnings will cover half of the scholarship cost for the student-athlete in a specific sport. The endowment will be forever named in honor of the donor, donor’s family or other individual designated by the donor. First Quarter Scholarship Endowment ($125,000) The donor of this endowment gift will name a partial scholarship on a Cowboy or Cowgirl team of his or her choice. Associated earnings will cover the partial scholarship cost for an OSU student-athlete in a specific sport. The endowment will be forever named in honor of the donor, donor’s family or another individual designated by the donor.

OSU is a long way from the Gulf of Mexico, but youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d never know it judging from the quick response of alumni, faculty and students to the worst oil spill in American history. It began April 20, 2010, when an explosion destroyed the BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig, killing 11 of the 126 people on board. Millions of gallons of oil spewed from a blown-out well for nearly three months, poisoning some of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most productive fisheries and sensitive ecosystems before BP succeeded in capping the well on July 15. Thousands of experts and volunteers traveled to the gulf to help mitigate the damage, clean up hazardous chemicals, rescue wildlife and analyze the immediate and long-term effects on the region. Many OSU alumni, faculty and students tackled the ecological disaster with knowledge and skills that range from emergency management to veterinary medicine to sociological and environmental analyses.

photo / Scott McMurry

The following pages tell some of their stories.

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Environmental Concerns Zoologist authors national scientific group’s recommendations concerning the oil spill’s ecological impact.

photo / iStock

he spill hits home professionally and personally for one OSU faculty member. Loren Smith, ecologist and head of OSU’s zoology department, is a member of the Society of Wetland Scientists Environmental Concerns Committee. The group is one of a host of scientific bodies monitoring the catastrophe. Smith, an expert on wetlands in coastal Texas and the Great Plains, is a co-author of the society’s statement in May that outlined to government leaders, the public and the scientific community the tremendous importance of the region. The report also suggests a moratorium on deepwater offshore drilling until the technology is available to fight blowouts deep under the ocean. “I don’t like to sensationalize things, but especially following devastating hurricanes, this area doesn’t need this,” says Smith, who has fished near the mouth of the Mississippi River just west of the Deepwater Horizon and its wetlands already stressed from habitat loss and climate change. Hundreds of thousands of migratory birds from North, South and Central America use the wetlands there each year. In addition to much of the seafood caught in the United States, the area is home to endangered species and the basic components of a complex food chain — small organisms such as plankton. Breaking that food chain would be a disaster. Species such as the brown pelican, imperiled 40 years ago due to pesticide use, are now facing another risk. Removed from the Endangered Species list in 2009, they had become common again along the Gulf Coast, but now the spill is causing more loss of life.

“If you think the previous storm surges were bad, the next time another one hits — and there will be a next time — the effects if nothing changes are going to be worse.” — Loren Smith It’s almost impossible to imagine, but the effects of the oil spill could be even more far-reaching. “Those wetlands buffer cities like New Orleans from a tidal surge — the flooding that comes along with big storms,” Smith says. “When wetland plants die from oil, you’re going to lose marsh. When you lose any marsh, the next time there’s a hurricane or flood it’s not going to be buffered as well.” It also takes longer for the Mississippi to build marshes these days due to

channelization and water-carrying sediments being diverted from coastal wetlands. “If you think the previous storm surges were bad, the next time another one hits — and there will be a next time — the effects if nothing changes are going to be worse,” he says. However, plans are being developed to restore wetlands along the Louisiana coast, which, if implemented, he says will be a bright spot following this catastrophe. M at t E l l i o t t

The Deepwater Horizon incident spurred emergency responders into immediate action as well as faculty researchers interested in long-term implications for the area’s ecosystem and residents.

Emergency Management Engineering alum leads team of BP employees to prepare staging locations for Gulf Coast protection and cleanup.

Randall Kenny, ’02, fire protection and safety technology, initiated BP’s shoreline emergency response.

photo courtESy Bp

s a massive, unrelenting oil spill veered toward Louisiana, Randall Kenny, a 2002 fire protection and safety technology graduate, was charged with initiating BP’s shoreline emergency response in the coastal towns of Venice and Grand Isle. Kenny, appointed shoreline branch director as part of the company’s gulf response, led a team of BP employees and contractors in setting up staging areas for booming and skimming operations as well as cleanup of beaches and marshes. When an emergency such as a spill or hurricane occurs, BP employees leave their regular jobs, in Kenny’s case as activity planning team leader for offshore operations, and take on new roles in the incident command system. As shoreline branch director, Kenny

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worked with BP contracted oil spill response agencies, local governments, state and federal wildlife experts, Coast Guard staff and others regarding the area’s topography, currents and water depths, and led the local development of a strategy for positioning the booms and skimmers. He made sure equipment and vessels were in place, coordinated aircraft and ground support, set up communications and helped procure boats for wildlife rescuers. After several weeks of 14- to 18-hour workdays, he returned to BP’s Houston Crisis Center to work with other process safety engineers evaluating the safety risks of numerous oil containment proposals. “My current assignment is not any less stressful than the field operation,” Kenny says. “There’s a high level of activity and

design engineering going on and under consideration. It’s mind boggling to see the massive engineering effort underway. It’s amazing.” BP brought top engineers, advisers and even retired experts into the Houston Crisis Center and also welcomed ideas from representatives of other oil companies and government agencies. Still, the public perception that BP isn’t moving fast enough endures. “There’s a lot of pressure because the general public doesn’t think we’re doing enough,” Kenny says, even though BP executed multiple options, including some that had never been tried at these depths, while it drilled two relief wells. “The underwater environment is extremely challenging. We don’t want to rush. We need to go through all the proper

procedures and signoffs before we implement an idea,” Kenny says. “It takes a certain amount of time to make sure we design things safely.” Kenny credits his OSU education with equipping him to lead part of BP’s emergency response efforts. “The OSU fire protection and safety faculty realize no one can predict every hazardous scenario, so they take a very practical approach to emergency management,” says the New York native who originally came to OSU to pursue a career as a fire chief. His interest shifted to loss prevention and emergency management during an internship in Sugarland, Texas, in which he helped lead the city’s emergency preparation plan in advance of the Y2K (Year 2000) scare.

“There’s a high level of activity and design engineering going on and under consideration. It’s mind boggling to see the massive engineering effort underway. It’s amazing.” — Randall Kenny He says OSU’s emphasis on problemsolving and teamwork taught him how to manage people and resources during emergencies. Working part time for Fire Protection Publications at OSU and extensive exposure to various International Fire Service Training Association manuals gave him insight into command post operations and the types of questions and information responders would ask and need to know. The cause of the drilling rig explosion is still unknown, but Kenny believes the

incident will eventually yield beneficial information for the field of emergency management. “Undoubtedly we will learn many lessons from this,” he says. “Industrywide there will be an intense review of emergency response plans and new procedures will be implemented. “As fire protection and safety technology graduates, our main focus is on prevention. We hope to prevent situations like this from ever occurring.” Ja n E t Va r n u M

Societal Stress A sociologist hopes his study of a small Gulf Coast community won’t mirror what he discovered about an Alaskan town affected by the 1989 Valdez oil spill.

vents surrounding the oil spill have been all too familiar to one OSU sociology professor, who spent 21 years studying the Exxon Valdez’s effect on a small Alaskan fishing community. “It’s just inane to see the same things happen all over again,” says Duane Gill, head of OSU’s sociology department. “It’s a little troubling that we haven’t really progressed from where we were 21 years ago.” Gill says BP’s claims to redress the wrongs caused by the spill were made in the exact words used by Exxon following the March 1989 spill, when the 987-foot tanker struck a reef and spilled 10.8 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound. Exxon agreed to pay the largest federal fine ever imposed at the time for an environmental crime, $150 million, as well as restitution fees and a civil settlement with the government. Gill, an environmental sociologist, traveled to Cordova, Alaska, on the edge

of the sound. He surveyed its inhabitants and found them devastated by losses in their fishing industry. These losses, he says, contributed to a breakdown in “social capital,” which are the contracts, trust, interactions and behaviors that make society run. He found resurfacing ethnic tensions as well as rising rates of domestic violence, depression, suicide and substance abuse. Today, the region’s economy hasn’t fully recovered, despite the money paid by Exxon, now called Exxon Mobil. He hopes he doesn’t find the same things in the small Alabama town of Bayou La Batre, which was the setting for the film Forrest Gump. Gill and two other professors, Steve Picou from the University of South Alabama and Liesel Ritchie from the University of Colorado, have a National Science Foundation grant to study the spill’s effects on the coastal town already suffering with more than a quarter of its population living in poverty.

Although the Deepwater Horizon exploded almost 100 miles to the southwest, the community is situated on Portersville Bay, just off the areas affected by the spill. Like Cordova’s residents, its people depend on the region’s natural resources imperiled by the spill, such as shrimp, shellfish and other aquatic life. Gill says his group will meet with community leaders and vulnerable populations before surveying the community. Those groups span a wide range of economic and ethnic diversity, including blacks, Laotians, Cambodians and Vietnamese shrimpers whose livelihoods are in jeopardy. The researchers will then publish their results. He hopes the spill is a wake-up call that provides the impetus for reforms to move the nation away from its reliance on fossil fuels. “There’s got to be a tipping point of diminishing returns,” he says. “If this isn’t it, I’d hate to see what is.” M at t E l l i o t t

For the birds This veterinarian specializes in rescuing birds affected by oil spills.

“OSU’s School of Fire Protection and Safety trains students and professionals to respond to the exact type of incident happening in the gulf.” — Michael Larrañaga

il spill response veterinarian Erica Miller, a 1989 graduate of OSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, has worked for Delaware-based Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research Inc. nearly 17 years and was among the first veterinarians called to the gulf to set up a wildlife hospital and oversee cleanup and medical care of the oiled birds. “Our organization has done considerable training and contingency response planning with BP, so when the spill occurred, they contracted us to care for any wildlife that might become contaminated,” says Miller, whose Tri-State job includes supervising research projects such as new techniques for cleaning oiled birds. Because of the enormity of the spill, Tri-State brought in another rescue organization to help wash, stabilize, feed and care for the birds until they were well enough to be released. Tri-State also collected and catalogued dead birds to evaluate the impact on various species. D E r i n Da l o w E

photo / iStock

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photo / FirE protEction puBlicationS

On-the-job training OSU fire protection and safety technology students who assisted with the Gulf Coast emergency gained professional insight that will help protect future responders and society.

Industrial firefighters routinely conduct training exercises to combat flammable liquid spills that result in fires.

considerations that must be accounted for in an incident of this magnitude. This experience will give these students tremendous appreciation for the career path they have chosen.” All of the participating students are certified at the technician level in Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response, Larrañaga says. Students earn this certification, a necessity for working with hazardous materials, during a senior-level class. Larrañaga says many OSU alumni also participated in the emergency response, including employees of Boots & Coots, a company that provides pressure control services for the petroleum industry. The international company based in Houston, Texas, is drilling the relief well to re-route the oil flow from the capped well. Boots and Coots CEO and President Jerry Winchester, an alumnus of OSU’s mechanical power technology program, OSU fire protection helped establish the and safety technology Boots & Coots Center for students are trained in Fire Safety and Pressure multiple types of rescue Control within the operations such as this School of Fire Protection simulated rescue of an and Safety at OSU unconscious worker who this year. fell into a confined space. The center will allow students to learn state-ofthe-art technologies used by Boots & Coots and apply these technologies to real-world problems. The company will benefit by developing students and expanding its knowledge base in fire safety, pressure control and energy risk operations. “OSU’s School of Fire Protection and Safety trains students and professionals to respond to the exact type of incident happening in the gulf,” Larrañaga says. photo / FirE protEction puBlicationS

ichael Larrañaga’s phone began ringing as soon as the oil spill started. Three companies subcontracted by BP immediately called Larrañaga, head of OSU’s School of Fire Protection and Safety Technology, seeking students to help protect those dealing with the hazardous liquids and fumes. OSU’s reputation for equipping students with a broad spectrum of knowledge about emergency response, industrial hygiene, safety, incident prevention and fire protection is unsurpassed. “OSU’s fire protection and safety program prepares students to deal with all kinds of hazards,” Larrañaga says. “That’s why employers love our students. Other schools offer separate degree programs in fire protection, safety and industrial hygiene. But our graduates receive an education in all three areas in one degree program. You can’t get that combination anywhere else.” Eight fire protection and safety students, mostly seniors, headed to the gulf states, Larrañaga says. Their work ranged from equipping responders with monitors that detect hazardous vapors to serving as safety officers for cleanup crews. Some also worked as research clerks for engineers in the crisis and communications centers who needed specific technical information. “Our students understand the terminology, so that makes them an excellent fit for this type of work,” Larrañaga says. During regular internships, students typically help engineers test fire pumps and conduct industrial hygiene monitoring and safety inspections, but those responding to this unprecedented environmental incident are gaining a unique education. “This will be one of the most beneficial experiences of these students’ careers,” Larrañaga says. “One, it’s a major historical event. Two, the response time lasted at least three months; and three, students will have stories and firsthand observations related to the safety and health

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“We were always expected to help on the farm, and just like OSU, once it is in your blood you would not want it any other way.” — Amanda Stewart Tye

PHOTO / PHil sHOckley

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Traveling a New Road It was always OSU for Amanda Stewart Tye, who was driving a tractor by age 12. By Natalea Brown Watkins

PHOTO cOURTesy AMANDA sTeWART Tye

either a six-hour drive from her Panhandle home in tiny Keyes, Okla., nor an accident at age 15 that landed her in a wheelchair could dent Amanda Stewart Tye’s determination to study agriculture at OSU. When the intrepid freshman arrived on campus in 1993, the roll-in shower she was promised in Kerr-Drummond was there but filled with mops and buckets. Tye just rolled them out and rolled on. After all, she had visited her older brother during his student days. As fifthgeneration panhandle wheat farmers, they both intended careers in agriculture. “We share a love of the land that has been instilled in us from an early age.

“We were always expected to help on the farm,” she says, “and just like OSU, once it is in your blood you would not want it any other way.” Tye says after falling in love with OSU, there was never any other choice. “The fact that OSU offered all the agricultural courses I wanted was just an added bonus.” As a student majoring in agricultural communications with a minor in animal science, she helped develop the first maps of accessible entrances to campus buildings as she traveled from Ag Hall to the journalism building. She convinced her parents she was capable of college life on her own by driving the combine at harvest, going off the diving board and generally managing life after the foolish decision to ride with a (continues on next page)

Amanda Stewart Tye had no trouble leading 1,200-pound show steers into sandy arenas without bogging down thanks to a chunky third wheel her dad devised for the front of her wheelchair. Growing up on the family farm in Keyes, Okla., she fell in love with OSU while visiting the campus during high school 4-H Round-Up events. In 4-H, she served as Keyes chapter president and president of the Tri-County Region.

PHOTOs cOURTesy AMANDA sTeWART Tye

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driver who’d been drinking. The $30,000 Discover Card Tribute Scholarship she won as a high school junior to help pay tuition cinched it. She did leave campus briefly as a sophomore to travel to Washington, D.C., where President Bill Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno praised her as an inspiration and presented her with the Young American Service Medal for the three-state speaking tour she launched to convince other high school students to buckle up and never drive or ride drunk. She stopped counting her audiences when the tally hit 300,000. Tye made the most of her OSU experience in and out of the classroom. She shot pool at George’s Stables but also followed the advice of academic adviser Joe Williams to get involved in the community. She joined the Exchange Club to advocate against child abuse, and she’s still in touch with the “sister” she mentored through Big Brothers, Big Sisters as an undergrad. In fact, in 1999, she was named Big Sister of the Year in Stillwater. She nearly wore out her all-sports ticket attending as many football, basketball and baseball games as possible. And she still does. Tye says her life was changed forever during an international studies tour of agriculture-related facilities in Ecuador and Costa Rica. The rocky conditions were so inaccessible she had to be carried piggyback by fellow students. But what she remembers most is her first encounter with abject poverty. “I’ll never forget seeing a little girl about 9 or 10 with a baby on her back — obviously a younger brother or sister — and carrying a huge load of wet laundry,” Tye says. “She smiled and waved at our group as if she was having the best day. It certainly put things into perspective.” Classmate Shannon Ferrell, who became a Truman Scholar and today teaches in OSU’s agricultural economics department, carried her through Central America. He says the adventures he shared with Tye are typical of what OSU offers students — lifelong connections, life-changing experiences and a conviction that your life can make a difference.

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LAND-GRANT VALUES Tye graduated from OSU in 1997 and began selling fertilizer at farms and ranches across Oklahoma. “Sometimes it was hard to tell if the customers were more shocked that a woman hopped out of the big, red Jeep or that she hopped into a wheelchair,” Tye laughs. Despite Tye’s expertise in application rates, she’s the first to admit that sales were not her forte. In 2000 she put her land-grant education to work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, first as a land appraiser. In 2004, she began working as a county executive director for USDA in Cleveland County, and today is executive director for Caddo County, based in Anadarko, Okla., where she continues to make a living keeping other farmers afloat. Tye serves as a conduit to expert advice and federal funds for farmers wobbling on the tightrope between judgment and luck, the bank and the weather. She’s one of the state’s youngest county executive directors for the Farm Service Agency and oversees a staff of six from her wheelchair. She’s convinced her disability gives her added credibility in traits that farming has always required — determination and ingenuity. Tye loves the diversity of traditional crops and new ones, she says, as well as the avalanche of applications their challenges produce. Even when wheat’s having a banner year, the winemakers in Caddo County are facing difficulties, or the guy who grows peppers used in making mace is on the phone, or the peanut crop is being threatened by pests, or flood-based erosion has legislators taking a tour. One long-time county resident describes her approach: “The other executives would let you know about programs if you came in, but she calls you up and tells you, ‘Get in here! I’ve just found a program that’s perfect for you.’”

1.) Not even motherhood slows Amanda Stewart Tye, who fashioned a pouch for daughter MaKenna and began wheeling with a baby on board. By 6 months old, MaKenna (pictured) knew which way to lean going up and down ramps. Recently the Tyes adopted a second daughter, Kinley Grace, born Aug. 2, 2010, and the baby pouch is back in action. 2.) Football game days bring the OSU family even closer. Clockwise, from lower right, Amanda Stewart Tye, 1997, ag communications; brother Jarrod Stewart, 1993, agronomy; father Bert Stewart, who attended OSU before Amanda was born; and sister Andrea Stewart, 2003, family relations and child development with an emphasis on individual, family and community services. Amanda’s mother, Carol, not pictured, favors babysitting grandchildren over football. 3.) As USDA county executive director for Caddo County, Okla., Amanda Tye makes a living keeping farmers afloat by connecting them with federal lending programs when Mother Nature destroys their crops and income. 4.) As a fifth-generation Oklahoma wheat farmer, Amanda Stewart Tye plans to continue the legacy with daughters MaKenna and newborn Kinley.

Young American Service Medal presented by President Bill Clinton in 1994: “Our final recipient is Amanda Stewart of Keyes, Oklahoma. In 1990 Amanda was paralyzed in a car accident. She began a three-state campaign to raise consciousness regarding the dangers of drinking and driving. She told her peers they should think first about getting into a car with someone who had been drinking. She asked them to think before driving off first without fastening a seat belt. After an experience which would have crushed the spirits and broken the will of many people, even people two or three times her age, this brave and beautiful young woman has doubtless inspired countless young people to change their behavior, to secure a better future for themselves. And in the process, she has exercised influence, power and goodness far beyond anything that anyone might have imagined. Thank you, Amanda, for your commitment and your courage.”

NURTURING THE NEXT GENERATION As it turned out, Tye started two new careers in 2004. The second, parenthood, was an odyssey that began for Tye and her husband, Kyle, on Easter Sunday. A couple the Tyes met at OSU asked if they’d ever considered adopting — a brother’s teenage girlfriend was seven months pregnant. The answer was yes, they’d love a family, but no, they’d not pursued it because of the plateful they already had. That conversation led to the private adoption of a baby girl. Tye says she knew it was meant to be when the baby’s due date turned out to be the anniversary of her accident. The Tyes were in the delivery room when MaKenna arrived, and brought her home to their new house filled with unpacked boxes the same day. Tye gets occasional calls to speak to someone who’s just been injured and can’t imagine what life in a chair holds. She remembers her changed life right after the accident and says, “It’s not what you say, it’s what they see.” When she drives up in a truck with her daughter, talking to her office on a cell phone, the wheelchair nearly disappears behind the possibilities. She’s convinced her disability has opened many more doors than it has closed. In her capacity as a Farm Service Agency executive, Tye offers empathy and federal lending programs to young couples dreaming of their own farm. It’s close to impossible for new farmers to afford land, a home and the hundreds of thousands of dollars needed for equipment, seed or livestock without inheriting either land or money. That’s why the average age of most farm owners is 65. The Tyes just bought their first 80 acres, but they’re leasing it out for now. Building an accessible home and their own farming operation will have to wait on cash flow. But when it’s in your blood, especially when that blood is orange, as Tye puts it, “At the end of the day, there’s nothing quite like the smell of fresh hay and dirt from your own land.” N ATA l e A B R O W N WAT k i N s i s A 19 7 3 R A D i O/ T V N e W s g R A D UAT e A N D f O R M e R A s s i s TA N T V i c e P R e s i D e N T f O R c O M M U N i cAT i O N s AT O s U.

OSU classmates willingly carried Amanda Stewart Tye through inaccessible areas of Central America during an international studies tour in the mid-’90s. Shannon Ferrell, above left, a student at the time who now teaches in OSU’s agricultural economics department, remembers: “One day in Ecuador we crossed a 17,000-foot summit en route to a small cooperative community nestled in a niche of the Andes Mountains. Amanda wanted to get out and explore, so she hopped on my back and we climbed upward from the road where the elevation was so high nothing but short grasses grew in the eerily silent, thin atmosphere. I was able to make it higher than the rest of the crew, but since Amanda was on my back, technically she made it higher than I did! On the other hand, we were in Costa Rica’s rainforest making our way down a slope with Amanda again on my back, and I lost traction on the mud. We both plopped to our respective posteriors and slid down the hill. It wasn’t the most dignified moment of our trip, but it was good for a laugh or two. Even in an unfamiliar, and at times unforgiving, environment, nothing slowed her down. Amanda was always leading the charge. She’s the perfect embodiment of the Cowboy virtue of leading by example.”

The Thomas E. Berry Professorship upholds and extends the ideals of a pioneering water conservationist.

By Donald Stotts

Malinda Berry Fischer and her husband, Dick, have established an endowed professorship in water research and management to honor of the visionary work of her father, Thomas E. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Wildcatterâ&#x20AC;? Berry, who was featured in the Nov. 6, 1949, issue of Parade magazine, opposite page.

PHOTOS / TODD JOHNSON

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gricultural and rural community efforts to manage existing water supplies more efficiently are getting a much-needed boost from OSU’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, thanks in no small part to the Thomas E. Berry Endowed Professorship in Water Research and Management. “Oklahoma and the region need innovative, sustainable and, most importantly, the right solutions when it comes to our water resources,” says photo courtesy parade Magazine

Dave Engle, holder of the professorship and director of the division’s Water Research and Extension Center. “Water is an increasingly pressing issue for society, whether the specific issue is a matter of policy, conservation, hydrology or plant breeding and genetics.”

Malinda Berry Fischer and Dick Fischer of Stillwater, Thomas Berry’s daughter and son-in-law, established the endowed professorship to honor the visionary work of her father, a noted oilman in northcentral Oklahoma. Born in Ripley in 1906, he was known as “Wildcatter” Berry because he drilled for oil where the large companies would not. But his farsightedness and adventurous spirit extended beyond the oil fields. Berry was an agricultural pioneer in the use of municipal wastewater treatment effluent to water crop fields, buying rights to treated wastewater from the Stillwater treatment facility. “My father believed treated wastewater could be good for crops, and he was right,” Mrs. Fischer says. “He irrigated crops with it. He had the thickest grass in Payne County. He was a practicing conservationist long before the term became trendy.” Mrs. Fischer, who graduated from OSU with a degree in secondary education before earning a degree from the Harvard Business School, has ties to the orange and black that go back to her grandmother, the second woman graduate from what was Oklahoma A&M in 1898. Desiring to give back to the university, Fischer and her husband maximized their investment by contributing to OSU while Boone Pickens was offering his $100 million chair match commitment. Once fully matched dollar-for-dollar by Pickens and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, their gift will have the impact of $1 million in endowed funds toward her father’s namesake professorship. “It’s a very prestigious honor to be named the initial holder of the Thomas E. Berry Endowed Professorship,” Engle says. “The Fischers’ investment vividly illustrates a public belief that water issues are important to Oklahoma and the region. It also shows their belief that the division has a great deal to offer in helping individuals and organizations solve pressing water-related concerns.”

Water issues in agriculture have been identified as high-priority areas of emphasis for all three aspects of the division, which is comprised of the OSU College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and two statewide agencies: the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station system and Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service.

Dave Engle The division has more investment in water research, education and public service than any other entity in the state, says Robert E. Whitson, DASNR dean and director and vice president of agricultural programs at OSU. “Our ultimate goal is to help Oklahomans make improved wateruse decisions, provide a more dependable water supply and maintain or promote water quality,” Whitson says. “The Thomas E. Berry Endowed Professorship is helping to make that possible, while at the same time honoring the legacy of Mr. Berry, a longtime Payne County resident who firmly believed that water research was as important as oil research.” Engle feels the endowed professorship honors Berry’s belief in the importance of and commitment to water quality, use and management. “Today’s complex water issues require that research and extension work together more closely than ever, all the while adjusting to the intricacies of public decision-making,” he says. “We’re trying to make it as easy as possible for division scientists to integrate their expertise, a process very much in keeping with the ideas and ideals of Mr. Berry.”

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Sowing Seeds The work of Conrad Evans and other OSU personnel to build schools and colleges in developing countries a halfcentury ago is producing some the greatest minds in the world today.

urdue agronomist Gebisa Ejeta’s visit to the OSU campus last February was a special treat for one former OSU staff member. Ejeta thanked Conrad Evans personally for his and others’ service to Ethiopia in the 1950s and ’60s as part of the United States’ Technical Cooperation Administration. Evans was one of dozens of OSU personnel who helped set up the East African nation’s educational system according to the land-grant university model of agricultural extension, service and research, a program tailor-made for the nation beset by troubled crops and a lack of technological development. They helped built schools and clinics from the ground up while also teaching students, working with farmers and the government in crop and land management and setting up lasting contributions such as the development of Ethiopia’s renowned coffee crop. Evans worked at the Jimma Agricultural Technical School (today’s Jimma University), established in 1952. He also worked at the college of agriculture, then a part of Haile Selassie I University. The college is now where (see Evans page 70)

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One of the world’s top scientists began his education in a modest Ethiopian high school and college built and staffed by OSU.

ine hundred and sixty-three million people in the world went hungry in 2008, according to the United Nations World Food Programme. Hundreds of millions of those people were in the sub-Saharan region of Africa, where nations such as Ethiopia, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Sudan and the Côte d’Ivoire battle famine and other problems. It’s a part of the world where a huge portion of the population practices subsistence agriculture, surviving on the food they grow. But thanks to charities, governmental organizations and people like Gebisa Ejeta, the 2009 winner of the World Food Prize, millions less are going hungry today. Ejeta, an Ethiopian agronomist, has developed new, hardier strains of sorghum, one of the leading cereal grains produced in Africa, and pioneered more effective ways to fight a parasitic weed that harms them. “I wish I could tell you it’s effortless,” says Ejeta, during a visit to OSU in February to accept his Henry G. Bennett Distinguished Fellowship award and to give a presentation during Research Week. “I think it’s more the persistence and resilience to roll with the punches and move on, staying true to the mission you have in mind. And that mission is about serving humanity.” When he’s not working with his graduate students at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., Ejeta travels the world, working (see Ejeta page 70)

S T O R I E S By M aT T E l l I O T T

“The most important value we picked up was the element of service.” — Gebisa Ejeta

On campus to accept a Henry G. Bennett Award, Gebisa Ejeta thanks OSU for shaping Ethiopia’s educational system when he was a youngster.

PhOTO By PhIl ShOcklEy 69

Ejeta —

photoS / oSU Special collectionS & UniverSity archiveS

Evans —

SU President Henry Bennett was tapped Haramaya University is today, to lead the TCA, more than 500 miles to the east. which he did until his Many of the nation’s greatest untimely death in 1951. minds in science and governNevertheless, OSU carried on ment went through those and used its faculty’s technical schools, Evans says. That and scientific expertise to help includes Ejeta, whose sorghum nations become permanently hybrids feed millions of people viable. The program began in in sub-Saharan Africa. Ethiopia and spread later to “When he met me, the first other nations in the Far East thing he did was thank me and South America. profusely for being a part of Evans signed up because creating a school that he could he was always fascinated with go to that allowed him to be Ethiopia. He grew up the son what he is today,” says Evans, of a poor Dust Bowl farmer in who was in Ethiopia from the tiny farming community 1956 until the program ended of Nash, Okla. Evans, his in 1968. four sisters, two brothers and “I can’t describe the feeling I get to think I was a part of who parents lived off what they could coax out of the unforgivhe is. And I guess all of us in ing Oklahoma clay. the program were.” They had no running water, The Technical Cooperation electricity or indoor plumbAdministration implemented ing. Mornings and nights were President Harry Truman’s spent doing chores when they initiative, the Point Four weren’t at school. But they Program, outlined in his 1949 had an orchard, dairy barn, inaugural address, to improve vegetables, cows, sheep, hogs the quality of life in underdeand chickens. Nor did they veloped countries by sharing want for food for thought with modern scientific knowledge.

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with African leaders, giving lectures on his life’s work and rubbing elbows with politicians and subsistence farmers alike. But Ejeta’s connection to OSU runs much deeper than a medal. The towering 6-foot, 7-inch scientist was a gangly poor kid in the 1960s, growing up in a remote Ethiopian village where most of his peers didn’t receive education beyond grade school. Every Sunday, spurred on by his mother’s fierce belief in his education, Ejeta left his family’s dirt-floor, one-room thatched hut to walk 12 miles to primary school, returning home on Fridays. The nearest Ethiopian high school was nearly 80 miles away. But thanks to the U.S. government, OSU and the university’s iconic former president Henry G. Bennett, there was an American high school, an

books like encyclopedias and magazines such as National Geographic. The dining room table was the center of their family, he says. Each night, by the light of kerosene lamps, they’d sit up and read after homework. They always subscribed to a major newspaper, and Evans recalls his father was alarmed by the Italian invasion and occupation of Ethiopia during the 1930s and 1940s. Naturally, that made Evans take an interest in it, too. He read everything he could find on Ethiopia. “My father was concerned because Ethiopia was a deprived society and Italy was a technologically advanced society, and the two were conducting warfare. There was a tremendous disadvantage for one and an advantage for the other. Also, the Italians were using gas warfare and so forth.” After high school, Evans attended several colleges, including Rensselaer Polytechnic in Troy, N.Y. He

graduated from OSU in 1950 with a degree in agronomy and he also picked up a background in civil engineering. He went back home to farm, to work construction and eventually take up teaching after meeting his wife, Joy, whom he married 1955. A year later, Evans ran into Professor Hugh Rouk at an OSU Agronomy Club dinner. Rouk was part of OSU’s Ethiopia program and would later help establish the nation’s coffee industry. Evans asked him about the program and indicated he was interested. Before he and Joy knew it, they were in the small town of Jimma in the verdant and fertile hills about 220 miles southwest of the capital of Addis Ababa. His engineering background was in immediate demand, as he was entrusted with overseeing water and electricity for the high school and the college. Also, crews there were still renovating the old Italian buildings on the campus, (see Evans page 72)

agricultural and technical school, being built nearby in the southwestern city of Jimma under the Americans’ Point Four Program.

he Point Four Program, initiated by President Harry Truman, and its implementing government agency, the Technical Cooperation Administration, of which Bennett was appointed administrator, was an effort to spread democracy and counter Soviet influence by sharing America’s technological prowess with underdeveloped nations. Even though Bennett died in a plane crash in Iran in 1951, OSU continued to fulfill his mission for decades in Ethiopia and other developing nations. Teams of OSU researchers bounced across Ethiopia on treacherous roads, conducting soil surveys, studying its climate and noting its wildlife and geography. Others set up Ejeta’s high school, the Jimma Agricultural and Technical School in 1952, piecing it together out of crumbling buildings left over from the Italian occupation prior to World War II and carving it out of land overgrown with vegetation and

crops. They repaired buildings, set up a physical plant and built housing, classrooms and a cafeteria for students, staff and faculty. “We had a host of problems, such as insufficient utilities and no dependable water supply,” says retired OSU agronomist and civil engineer Conrad Evans, one of many OSU staff and professors who brought their families with them and raised their children while working at the school in Jimma. Students began arriving the year it opened despite its remote location more than 220 miles south of the capital, Addis Ababa.

“The discipline and education were very good, and more importantly, the counseling and mentoring were there. In terms of professional development, both schools were excellent.”

Besides building schools and sharing modern agricultural technology with Ethiopians in the 1950s and ’60s, OSU educators developed lifelong friendships with students and colleagues.

OSU officials had to construct a curriculum that prepared students for agricultural work that they weren’t exposed to in the cities, while also assisting students who lacked a background in math, science and languages. Most of the classes were in English and not Amharic, the official language spoken by Ethiopians. By the time Ejeta arrived, the school was still experiencing the same problems with water and utilities, but its educational efforts were going strong. Ejeta says he was simply happy to be learning and not worrying about where he would get his next meal. The adjustment “was easy really, because we knew what we left behind and were given this great opportunity,” says Ejeta, who lauds the school for its emphasis on professional development. “We knew we were privileged to get a high school education and later a college education. We knew there were so many others who could qualify if more opportunities were available.”

n 1968, he graduated and attended Alemaya University (now called Haramaya University), more than 500 miles to the east, where he studied plant science. Alemaya was also set up by OSU and the Point Four Program to be similar to a land-grant university. OSU staff founded an outreach service, extension, 4-H groups and co-ops for farmers to sell their crops. They also helped establish Ethiopia’s coffee crop, which today is a multi-million dollar commodity for the nation. “The discipline and education were very good, and more importantly, the counseling and mentoring were there. In terms of professional development, both schools were excellent,” Ejeta says. “The most important value we picked up was the element of service. We were kids getting an education, enjoying the opportunities we had. But we were also focused and had a good sense of purpose about why we were in college.” By 1973, Ejeta had finished his bachelor’s degree and was working on sorghum crop improvement research under a professor there. Some months later, John Axtell, a Purdue agronomist and sorghum (see Ejeta page 73)

Evans —

and Evans oversaw the contractors doing the work. When faced with one of its frequent power outages, the campus made do with an ancient Fiat diesel engine as a generator, Evans says. The faculty and staff lived in full-masonry buildings left by the Italians. He spent eight years at the high school and four at the college. Evans remembers the students fondly, as well as their eagerness to learn English. That increased their chances of getting good scholarships to study abroad. “They were so anxious to have an experience with these foreigners that they wanted to be your interpreters and go with you if you went to the market, camping or on a picnic or whatever. That gave them a chance to practice their English.” The Evans’ four sons were born during those 12 years. On visits back to the States, Evans was struck by the misconceptions people had of Africa and the Ethiopians. “One of the elder farmers came up to me and said, ‘Are you teaching those savages anything?’ That was part of the misconception,” Evans says. Others thought Ethiopia was undeveloped. “And it is, to an extent. Compared to our society, it is a developing area. But there’s no need to be fearful. I was never, ever in a situation where I felt really in danger.”

fter returning from Ethiopia, Evans went back to OSU as an agronomist and finished a master’s degree in plant breeding. He later spent several years as vice president of the Dennison Peanut Company. In 1973, he joined OSU’s Office of International Programs to develop education programs and retired in 1993 as associate director. He’ll never forget his time overseas, meeting with farmers, dignitaries and other scientists. Several times he met Ethiopia’s ruler, Emperor Selassie, a war hero who began reforms in the country and sparked the effort to involve OSU in helping set up its institutions. In 1954, Selassie traveled to Stillwater to thank the university personally. “Selassie was a very imposing small man. He was as short as I am, but he was tall in every other respect. A very dignified person, and in a group he demanded photo coUrteSy conrad evanS

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formality in a manner that I guess you would say is befitting a monarch.” Selassie was one of the founders of the predecessor of the African Union, the Organisation of African Unity, formed to unite its countries, end Apartheid and help its nations recover from colonialism. But he was not without his faults, Evans says. He was an autocratic ruler and headed a repressive and corrupt government. Also, banditry, violence and famines regularly took their toll under his watch. That boiled over during the 1974 revolution when the military took power and installed a Marxist-Leninist regime, imprisoned Selassie, executed members of his government and ruled for more than a decade of civil war and famine. Selassie died in 1975. Over the years Evans returned to Ethiopia several times, including the early 1990s to administer a World Bank project. He was last there in 2004 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the agriculture college, now Haramaya University, a full-fledged university. What he found was a far cry from what he left. “We left a contingent of 200 to 300 students. When I went back, they had 11,000 students and many more buildings and greater infrastructure. But they were plagued with some of the persistent problems we had: inadequate electricity and a shortage of water. “But that’s a part of the challenges of developing countries, to provide the infrastructure for social and economic advances.” Conrad Evans, left, instructs students and farmers at Jimma, Ethiopia, on the advantages of a Georgia Plow in this 1959 photo. Evans and dozens of other OSU personnel set up agricultural and technical schools in Ethiopia in the 1950s and ’60s under America’s Point Four program.

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expert, contacted Ejeta’s professor. Axtell was headed to the region on a collection trip and asked if anyone could help him during his trip. Ejeta’s professor volunteered him, and Ejeta traveled the Ethiopian backcountry for a week with Axtell, who was so impressed with his companion he later offered him a chance to study with him at Purdue. Ejeta left Ethiopia in 1974 just before a military revolution toppled Emperor Haile Selassie and set up a violent and repressive government that lasted more than a decade. At Purdue, Ejeta studied plant breeding and genetics, experimenting with hybrid strains of sorghum, while completing his master’s and doctoral degrees. Afterward, he worked for the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics in the Sudan, developing his first drought tolerant-hybrid, Hageen Dura-1, which increased production by 150 percent more than the local strains, and he started a seed industry. He went back to Purdue in 1984 and continued developing more hybrids as well as a genetic control for a devastating parasitic plant Striga, or witchweed.

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By 1999, one million acres of the new sorghum was feeding millions of Sudanese.

jeta is quick to deflect praise. Of greater importance, he says, were the mentors at Jimma and Alemaya. He uses his career in part to return the service they did him by giving his graduate students opportunities to make major discoveries within his research program. He also credits the U.S. and OSU for helping establish the educational system that gave him the tools to do his work. “After 35 years of practice in the field, I don’t know of any better contribution any government or any agency can make to a developing country than helping it build its own institutions,” Ejeta says. “The legacy that the Point Four Program and Oklahoma State University brought to Ethiopia is really laying the foundation for modern agriculture in the country. “Almost anyone with any significant skill in agriculture in Ethiopia was educated at either Alemaya or Jimma, or touched by someone who went through that system.”

Sit, Speak, Plan

OSU’s Cohn Shelter gives couple peace of mind about their dogs’ future.

where visitors and veterinary students can enjoy the animals. A he calls herself a “dog magnet.” Mary Hurley of Oklahoma City loves dogs. She and live-in attendant provides 24-hour care. “Of course, before committing any funds, I visited the Cohn her husband, Tom, have four — two purebred black Shelter,” Hurley says. “I am not going to sign off my babies withLabrador retrievers and two mixed breed strays that “found her.” out inspecting first. And I liked what I saw.” “We have no children,” she says. “I came to Oklahoma Hurley enjoys her dogs and takes great care in doing what’s in 2001. With tornadoes spinning destruction, I had to be best for them. sure my dogs were taken care of should something happen to “Chloe is a stray who was dumped, I believe, because she had Tom and me.” puppies. Why anyone would want to let her go is beyond me. Through a referral from her regular veterinarian and countChloe recently passed her canine good citizen test. I have every less other endorsements from acquaintances, she checked out the intention of continuing her training and making her a therapy OSU Center for Veterinary Health Sciences and decided to secure dog. She is wonderful and loves people.” her dogs’ future through the veterinary center’s Cohn Family Trace, one of Mary’s registered labs, has attended Shelter for Small Animals. K9 University. By establishing an endowment, the Hurleys were able to “Trace flunked out of an Oregon hunting school. He didn’t secure a home at the Cohn Shelter for their dogs if they were no care much for jumping out of boats, swimming in cold water or longer able to care for them. running through unfamiliar fields to retrieve dead animals,” she “After establishing an endowment for my dogs, the Labrador says. “He needed a little training when he came to live with me, retriever, Sam, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. OSU veterinarso we attended K9 University. He’s much happier here with me ians helped me through phone consultations and with offers to and now has his own testimonial on www.myk9u.com. assist my regular veterinarian in his treatment,” Hurley says. “OSU’s veterinary hospital is top notch and, from what I’ve “The development office was very helpful putting me in touch seen, so is the program at the Cohn Family Shelter. It gives me with faculty members and periodically checking in with me on great peace of mind to know my dogs will be well taken care of Sam’s progress. I felt like I had a team of people who had never if for any reason Tom and I are no longer able to do so. It’s what met Sam pulling for him.” every dog-lover needs — assurance that Three of Mary’s four dogs (Chloe, her babies are set for life at OSU.” Rachel and Trace) are endowed “It’s what every through the Cohn Shelter. Molly, the newest stray, has not yet been covered. To find out more about the OSU veteridog-lover needs — nary center or how to establish an Endowed funds cover the dogs’ sepaassurance that her endowment for your pet, visit www. rate kennel space, outdoor runs, food, cvm.okstate.edu or contact Ben babies are set for life routine veterinary examinations, treatStahmann with the OSU Foundation at at OSU.” ment and grooming, and a playroom — Mary Hurley

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405-385-5189.

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Signat ure of Success ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center Premier Naming Opportunities

Make your signature of success in OSUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s billion dollar campaign. The ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center has given our alumni their first visible home on campus. We must continue our efforts to secure the future of this campus landmark. With several premier naming opportunities available, a gift to the Alumni Center will ensure it is beautifully maintained for future generations of Cowboys. For more information or to make your signature of success, call 800.622.4678 or visit orangeconnection.org/give.

Pictured above: Emeriti Suite Additional opportunities include: Traditions Hall, Formal Gardens and Patio, Suite Entrance and more.

201 ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center Stillwater, OK 74078-7043 TEL 405.744.5368 â&#x20AC;˘ FAX 405.744.6722 orangeconnection.org

Your Guides The seven program directors for the OSU Alumni Association love keeping alumni connected to their orange heritage.

Meet the OSU Alumni Association’s seven program directors. This team of dedicated individuals is proud to serve the alumni of OSU. Each director interacts with dozens

of alumni on a daily basis and enjoys hearing stories from former students about their

time at OSU and what they’re achieving today. To learn more about the entire staff, visit orangeconnection.org/staff.

Membership and Marketing

As a dues-based organization, the Alumni Association’s most

Kathryn Bolay-Staude,

Alumni Association programs such as homecoming and

’07, agricultural communications

chapters would not be possible.

Hometown: Perry, Okla.

Membership and Marketing Director Kathryn Bolay-Staude

Fourth-generation OSU graduate

important program is membership. Without it, all of the other

interned at the Alumni Association during college and returned in 2008 after working for the Oklahoma Pork Council. She says her family’s long history with OSU is helpful as she works to develop and increase membership. “We all consider ourselves part of a larger Cowboy family,” says Bolay-Staude. “It’s great to be able to provide a connection to our alma mater and to each other.” Bolay-Staude, an avid wrestling fan, works hard pinning down membership services and benefits, including STATE magazine and merchant discounts. For her, there is nothing more exciting than a Cowboy takedown or a well-designed STATE magazine ad. “Coming up with new and creative marketing to showcase our programs and benefits is the highlight of my responsibilities,” she says. “It’s exciting to be able to reach such a diverse audience that shares a love for OSU.”

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Communications Chase Carter, ’07 broadcast journalism, ’09 mass communications Hometown: Edmond, Okla. Third-generation OSU graduate

The Alumni Association’s communications efforts focus on creating connections for alumni through a variety of means, from websites, emails and social networks to other endeavors such as the STATE magazine and media relations. Director of Communications Chase Carter is a self-proclaimed Cowboy from birth whose earliest memories are of attending OSU football games as a toddler. As the youngest member of the Alumni Association’s team, Carter’s knowledge of OSU traditions and history coupled with his expertise in social media suit him well for the job. “It’s a passion of mine to share not only our school’s incredible history but also the history being made by today’s students and alumni,” Carter says. “I feel like I’m giving back to my alma mater by keeping its alumni connected to OSU.” In addition to distributing information and messages about the Alumni Association’s programs, Carter keeps alumni engaged with the different colleges, departments and athletic teams — a task he says is ongoing. “It’s not uncommon for me to be updating our website or Facebook pages at 11 o’clock at night,” Carter says. “But I love knowing I can keep OSU alumni informed and engaged anytime, anywhere.”

Student Programs Melisa Parkerson, ’97, zoology Hometown: Jones, Okla. Second-generation OSU graduate

It takes a “kid at heart” with a never-ending supply of energy to corral hundreds of engaged and lively undergraduates. Student Programs Director Melisa Parkerson succeeds with that tall order every day as she leads several of the Alumni Association’s award-winning student programs. The Legacy Program for children builds relationships with future alumni long before they set foot on campus. Other programs she directs, such as the Student Alumni Board and “America’s Greatest Homecoming Celebration,” provide leadership opportunities for current OSU students working toward graduation and honors them with Seniors of Significance and Outstanding Seniors awards. “I am continually impressed with the commitment and dedication our students have for promoting OSU’s traditions and excelling academically,” Parkerson says. “They make my job not only enjoyable but rewarding as I get to see them grow and prepare themselves for life after college.” Through events like homecoming and Grandparent University, Parkerson works with both students and alumni to cultivate connections between the two groups. “Every day I get to interact with the past, present and future of OSU,” Parkerson says. “I feel fortunate to have been awarded my dream job at this point in my career.”

Alumni Center John Moore, ’07, Hotel and Restaurant Administration Hometown: Oklahoma City

The ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center is not just the home on campus for all alumni. It’s also the first stop for prospective students taking campus tours, and Stillwater’s premier location for meetings and special events. It’s only fitting that John Moore, director of Alumni Center

Fourth-generation OSU

marketing and operations, shares the same school spirit as

graduate

the thousands of others who pass through the building’s doors every year. “After I graduated, my wife and I moved back to our hometown, but it only took a few months before we wanted to move back to Stillwater,” Moore says. “I wanted the opportunity to work on campus and be a part of the OSU family again, and the Alumni Center is a great place to do that.” The building hosts a variety of events from game days at the Cowboy Corral to seminars, banquets and wedding receptions. More than half of the building’s interior space is rentable to the public — not just alumni. “Many statewide agencies and companies looking for central meeting locations come here because of our proximity to Oklahoma City and Tulsa, plus our outstanding amenities,” Moore says. “Whether you’re a visitor walking through the building or a new client here for a meeting, everyone is treated with the same level of respect. You will always find someone who is genuinely interested in assisting you.”

Alumni Programs Melissa Mourer, ’04, agricultural communications & animal science Hometown: Sutton, Neb.

OSU alumni have been improving themselves and their communities since the first graduating class in 1896. The Alumni Association celebrates the university’s 200,000-plus graduates through an assortment of alumni awards programs, exhibits and recruitment activities for future Cowboys. Although Alumni Programs Director Melissa Mourer was born

First-generation OSU

in the heart of Cornhusker country, she has become a proud

graduate

supporter of orange. Mourer oversees the Distinguished Alumni and Hall of Fame awards programs, which recognize some of OSU’s most accomplished alumni. “The most rewarding part of my job is getting to learn how OSU played a part in the life stories of our outstanding alumni,” Mourer says. In addition to honoring OSU alumni with awards, Mourer also creates and maintains all the exhibit panels inside the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center that recognize them. She also coordinates the Alumni Recruiting Students program, harnessing the power and passion of alumni to introduce OSU to prospective students. “The enthusiasm and loyalty our alumni have for their alma mater is unmatched,” Mourer says. “This program provides opportunities for alumni to share their OSU experiences with younger generations and encourage them to attend OSU.”

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Chapters Josh Pulver, ’05, leisure studies

The feeling of family that everyone experiences at OSU doesn’t end the moment they graduate and leave campus, which is why the Alumni Association started its Chapters Program in 1920. Today, there are more than 40 OSU chapters and watch

Hometown: Elk City, Okla.

clubs across the nation helping to connect alumni and fans to

First-generation OSU

OSU no matter where they live.

graduate

Alumni Association staff joke that there aren’t many alumni who haven’t met or heard of Chapters Director Josh Pulver. The former two-time Pistol Pete joined the association in 2006 and has been cultivating the program ever since. “Working with the different alumni groups gives me an opportunity to meet people from different eras and backgrounds,” Pulver says. “Each person has a different story and memory to share; however, the y all have the same passion for our alma mater.” Pulver works with each individual chapter to organize and promote events, to assist in raising scholarship money for local students and to make alumni aware of opportunities available in their area. He also serves as the face of the Alumni Association during football season at each Cowboy Corral. “The one thing that stands out to me during my time at OSU is the sense of family among OSU students and alumni,” Pulver says. “It doesn’t matter where you go — if you run into people wearing OSU orange, it seems like you’ve known them for years.”

Board Relations and Special Projects Deborah Shields, ’12, marketing Hometown: Stillwater, Okla. First-generation OSU graduate

Many of the Alumni Association initiatives are guided by its board and leadership council — two groups of passionate volunteers representing OSU alumni from all backgrounds. The job of training and managing these “enthusiastic and often rowdy” alums is achieved by a woman who has worked for the university in one capacity or another for more than 25 years. “I enjoy the opportunity to work with and assist alumni volunteers who bring so much experience, expertise and talent to the association,” says Deborah Shields, director of board relations and human resources. “Giving them an opportunity to give back by serving the Alumni Association is most rewarding.” Shields also coordinates many of the association’s special projects like the Alumni Center brick paver program and game-day parking, which is especially fitting considering her second date with her husband was to an OSU football game. “Each program is different and unique, but they all give me the opportunity to meet and work with alumni who love this university,” Shields says. “Having lived here all my life, I appreciate the wonderful memories OSU has given to me and my family.”

The OSU family lost a colleague, a leader in the food science and food industries, and a dear friend this year.

tanley E. Gilliland, former food microbiologist for OSU’s Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Products Center and a Regents Professor and Sitlington Endowed Chair in the department of animal science, lost his fight with cancer on Jan. 6, 2010. But it was Gilliland’s desire to continue to impact the lives of food science students, says Chuck Willoughby, FAPC manager of client relations. “He specified a memorial fund be established in his name to provide scholarships for students of food sciences,” Willoughby says. “Thus, his family has initiated the Stanley E. Gilliland Memorial Fellowship in Food Science.” Sometime near mid-year of 2009, Gilliland was diagnosed with lung cancer and was hospitalized immediately for treatments, says Roy Escoubas, FAPC director. “There was a time when it appeared he was improving, but it was temporary,” Escoubas says. “We are saddened at this loss. Many people had great respect for him.” Gilliland, born and raised in Minco, Okla., attended OSU from 1958 to 1963 and

Remem Stanley E. Gilliland influenced countless students during 33 years as an OSU professor. His legacy continues with the Stanley E. Gilliland Memorial Fellowship in Food Science to support graduate students at the Food and Agricultural Products Center.

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received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in dairy manufacturing before earning a doctorate in food science at North Carolina State University in 1966. He stayed there as an instructor and later accepted a position as assistant professor of food microbiology. By 1972, he earned a promotion to associate professor with tenure. Gilliland returned to Oklahoma in 1976 and joined OSU’s department of animal science as a dairy and food microbiologist and associate professor with tenure. He went on to earn the titles of professor, Regents Professor and Sitlington Endowed Chair in Food Microbiology. He held this endowed chair until his retirement, Dec. 31, 2009.

Gilliland taught both upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses, in addition to serving as coordinator of the food science graduate program. In recent years, Gilliland used more than $500,000 of intellectual properties royalty to fund graduate assistantships and purchase laboratory equipment. Because of his expertise in the areas of lactobacilli and probiotics, Gilliland traveled to seven countries outside of the U.S. to present lectures and symposia papers, including a presentation to the World Health Organization. He published more than 115 peerreviewed journal articles, authored 24 book chapters, presented 114 papers at scientific meetings and received 24 extramural grants worth millions of dollars. An active scientist with national associations, Gilliland held officer and board positions in the American Dairy Science Association, Federation of American Societies of Food Animal Science, American Society for Microbiology, Institute of Food Technologists, Oklahoma Section of the IFT, Oklahoma Food Processors Association and the Society of Sigma Xi. He also received many OSU faculty awards and awards from national

societies. “Dr. Gilliland had more than 21 prestigious local and national awards displayed in his office,” Escoubas says. “He earned these awards because of hard work and an attitude of giving back for being blessed.” In addition to his outstanding academic accomplishments, Gilliland assisted in the development of the FAPC and served as interim director when it opened. “Dr. Gilliland was an essential contributor to our research efforts,” Escoubas says. “His involvement in multiple research projects demonstrated the strength of his research capabilities and the value of his research laboratory to the FAPC, the department of animal science and the OSU Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.” While at the FAPC, Gilliland served as an adviser to his 65th M.S. and Ph.D. candidate, and he also served on numerous candidate committees. “Gilliland impacted the lives of hundreds of students,” Willoughby says. “The food industry also benefited from his many accomplishments, including his pioneering efforts toward the establishment of the FAPC, where he worked the final 12 years of his life.”

Tom Black, director of quality supplier conformance for The BAMA Companies in Tulsa, Okla., is a food science graduate and one of Gilliland’s former students. “I first had classes under Dr. Gilliland in 1977, and since graduating in 1979, I maintained contact with him,” Black says. “It is hard to fathom that I am but one of hundreds of students whose lives were touched by Stan.” Gifts to the Stanley E. Gilliland Memorial Fellowship in Food Science will support graduate students in food science at the FAPC, where a plaque honoring Gilliland and listing all donors, regardless of their level of giving, will be displayed. “This is a wonderful opportunity to fund an ongoing memorial to the legacy of Dr. Gilliland,” Black says. “Dr. Gilliland set high standards for faculty, staff and students,” Escoubas says. “He will be remembered for his contributions and respected for his impact on lives.” M a n dy G r o s s

For more information or to donate to the Stanley E. Gilliland Memorial Fellowship in Food Science, contact Chuck Willoughby at 405-744-6071 or chuck.willoughby@okstate. edu.

bering the Legacy “Dr. Gilliland’s involvement in multiple research projects demonstrated the strength of his research capabilities and the value of his research laboratory to the Food & Agricultural Products Center, the animal science department and the OSU Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.”

Keeping Rural Hospitals Open Besides providing health care, rural hospitals also generate millions of dollars annually within their communities. When Drumright, Okla.’s, hospital closed in 2001, city officials sought help from OSU and its Oklahoma Office of Rural Health, which paid for a feasibility study and began community engagement. A 2007 study by the OSU Cooperative Extension Service and the Office of Rural Health showed the hospital had provided 75 jobs with a $3.5 million payroll. In addition, the hospital created a secondary benefit resulting in 112 jobs and an annual payroll of $4.7 million, with $1.2 million of that spent in Drumright retail stores. In the rural community of Prague, Okla., Joan Walters, a registered nurse and chief operating officer of Prague Community Hospital, also turned to OSU’s Center for Rural Health and its sponsored programs when the hospital faced hard times. Both communities found help from OSU rural health experts William Pettit, D.O., associate dean for rural health at the OSU Center for Health Sciences, and Val Schott, director of the Oklahoma Office of Rural Health and Rural Health Policy and Advocacy for the Center for Rural Health. They have an in-depth understanding of rural health needs. Schott, a former hospital administrator and a specialist on rural health policy, offered expertise tailored for the affected communities. The Prague hospital needed a physician, and Pettit, who oversees OSU’s rural physician training, recruited OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine alumnus Darryl Jackson, D.O., to become the new

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doctor in the town of approximately 2,100 residents. It was a perfect fit for Jackson, who grew up in rural Enos, Okla. He likes working in a small community, where patients who have to wait as he tends to an emergency take it in stride. “They greet me with a smile and express concern about the other person,” Jackson says. “The appreciation you get is just great.” Prague now has two OSU alumni as local physicians with the addition of Scott Fowler, D.O., who joined Jackson in practice this summer. Prague’s new hospital facility will break ground this fall, the result of an effort that included an economic impact study to show what the community had to gain or lose in replacing the aging hospital. Feasibility studies, planning, expertise and support were part of the decision-making process. Then, local interests invested money in the project, and the Office of Rural Health helped find a buyer. Walters says OSU’s help also made possible a national expert’s review of

quality programs and training for staff, development and improvement of current quality programs, and access to ongoing training through webinars. Plans include restarting general surgery and other services lost through the years. “If it were not for the Office of Rural Health, it would have been difficult to get where we are,” she says. “They helped us gain community support. They are our cheerleaders.” The Drumright hospital is supported by its own revenue and is not a tax burden for the city. “We didn’t have the volume to maintain a fee-for-service hospital,” Drumright hospital administrator Darrel Morris says. OSU assisted the community in qualifying as a critical access hospital and helped with the HUD mortgage insurance process to secure financing so construction could begin for the new hospital, which opened in 2005. Assistance from OSU has extended far beyond the initial study and includes an additional economic impact study by OSU cooperative extension, he says, and an Office of Rural Health feasibility study. The OSU Center for Rural Health also helped with grant applications to buy and implement electronic medical records systems for the hospitals in Drumright, Prague and two other rural communities. OSU continually strives to ensure access to quality health care through programs for medical students, and OSU encourages students early on to practice in rural Oklahoma, Walters says. “Oklahomans are definitely reaping the benefits of this.”

The rural community of Prague, Okla., now has two OSU alumni working locally as physicians. Scott Fowler, D.O., right, shown with his wife, Diane, and daughter, Isabel, joins Darryl Jackson, D.O., ’04, left, in family practice.

Rick and Dawn Patterson along with their daughters, Kristina, left, and Brooke, show their OSU spirit with a personalized Texas OSU car tag, 4OSURU.

A License to Brag OSU license plates aren’t just for Oklahomans anymore. Texans are sporting the OSU car tags to show their allegiance to OSU’s brighter orange. Since 2001, OSU car tag sales have generated thousands of dollars for OSU student scholarships. The OSU Alumni Association receives a portion of the cost of each OSU car tag from the Oklahoma Tax Commission and applies the money toward student scholarships. Over the past decade, more than 17,000 OSU tags have been purchased or renewed in Oklahoma, generating nearly $350,000 to match alumni chapter scholarships and provide fee waivers for freshmen attending Camp Cowboy. Now the program has expanded to Texas, where nearly 30,000 OSU alumni reside. “Our OSU license plate in Oklahoma has been a tremendous success,” says Larry Shell, OSU Alumni Association president. “We’re excited to offer our Texas alumni this new opportunity to show their affinity for OSU and support their alma mater.” The company MyPlates began selling OSU car tags in Texas last June. Exactly 100 plates were sold the first day, topping MyPlates’ previous record for first-day sales of any collegiate plate. More than 125 have sold since then, generating several thousand

dollars in additional support for OSU student scholarships and programs. “It’s a win-win situation for our alumni in Texas,” Shell says. “They can give back to OSU by purchasing an OSU license plate and also share their orange pride in the Lone Star state.” Alumni Rick Patterson, ’89, and Dawn Patterson, ’92, of Rockwall, Texas, purchased two OSU plates for their vehicles and won a promotional contest for the most creative personalized plate ordered during the first month of sales. “We were excited to learn an OSU plate was going to be offered in Texas,” Dawn says. “Our first picks for a personalized plate were already gone so we listed all our combinations and started asking family members what they liked. We were so surprised to hear that we’d won the contest!” Friends and family have already commented on the Pattersons’ OSU plates, Dawn says. In fact, one gentleman in Plano even flashed Pistol Pete’s “Go Pokes guns” as he drove by. “He had an OSU spare tire cover on the back of his car, so we knew he appreciated our new OSU plate,” Dawn says.

Oklahoma OSU car tags can be ordered online at orangeconnection.org/cartag or at any Oklahoma tag agency. Texas OSU car tags can be ordered online at MyPlates.com, by phone at 888-7MY-PlaTES and at any Texas county tax assessor office.

“I see clearly that I want to spend the rest of my life writing stories.” — Ann Patton

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Never Too Late for Success

Great-grandmother finally has time to finish her degree in liberal studies and to write books.

hen it comes to receiving a college education, age has no limit. At 72, Ann Patton is as ambitious and eager as any other college student. With her goal to dedicate the rest of her professional life to writing, a scholarship was the last thing Patton thought she would receive. However, the Michael and Suzanne Wallis Endowed Scholarship provided the final encouragement to accomplish her goals. Patton was amazed and speechless, and a little embarrassed, when she received the scholarship. Her first thought was to decline it so it could go to a young student just starting a career, but the honor of receiving a scholarship was encouraging to her. Financial concerns meant college was not an option for the Tulsa native after graduating high school in 1955. After marriage and sending her four children to school, Patton started working and, over the years, managed to piece together an associate’s degree from thenTulsa Junior College. However, as her family expanded and her job became more demanding, a busy schedule did not permit her to finish college. After Patton retired a few years ago, she was inspired to go back and finish her degree.

OSU-Tulsa liberal studies junior Ann Patton says receiving the Michael and Suzanne Wallis Endowed Scholarship gave her the boost she needed to continue pursuing her educational and career goals.

Now she is balancing a part-time job, spending time with her 14 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, taking classes at OSU-Tulsa and still managing to find time to travel and write her third book. “The days are never long enough,” Patton says. “Life is so full of wonderful things to do. At this age, life priorities just seem to snap out clearly in a different way. I am focused in a new way, and I see clearly that I want to spend the rest of my life writing stories.” Finishing her junior year, Patton declared her major in liberal studies with an emphasis in English and American studies. She calls herself a late bloomer with career goals and aspirations that keep her feeling young. “I am no doubt the oldest junior ever at OSU, but no one could be enjoying it more than I am,” Patton says. “I tell people this is my anti-Alzheimer’s brain exercise.” Her teachers and advisers say Patton embodies the qualities that liberal arts students should have. Sandra Leppin, her adviser, says Patton’s level of education and challenging classes, her approach to learning and her ability to garner information is unlike any student she has encountered. “Ann is a writer and has taken this learning opportunity to better her own knowledge and experience,” Leppin says. “She has approached her studies with high enthusiasm and makes it easy for me as an adviser because she comes in willing to do whatever is needed to keep moving forward in her studies. She views every class as a learning experience.” Teresa Miller, a writing teacher at OSU-Tulsa and head of the Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers, says there was no better candidate for this scholarship.

“Ann works with an extraordinary combination of passion and discipline,” Miller says. “She is creative and unique in her approach to her work, yet she has the follow-through to actually get things done and inspire others at the same time. She is relentlessly curious and compassionate.” As for her future goals, Patton plans to write multiple non-fiction books about inspirational historic figures. Her books will tell stories of remarkable people and their impact on important issues. After graduation she plans to continue her education. “Of course, if I have the time, I want my Ph.D.,” Patton says, “even if somebody has to push my wheelchair across the stage.” Patton says going back to school was not only a gift to herself, but she is also setting a good example for her grandchildren. She believes that going back to school and receiving scholarships may be an incentive for them to seek after higher education. Patton is extremely thankful to be the first to receive the Wallis scholarship. She says it’s incredible to see that people are willing to support young and elderly people to get the education they need to enhance their lives and pursue their goals. “I think of several people over many years who have worked so hard to give students these great opportunities,” says Patton. “Suzanne and Michael Wallis are major heroes of mine. I have been watching them from afar for many years and so much appreciate all their contributions to Tulsa and Oklahoma. They have inspired me and so many others, making their scholarship award all the sweeter and I am so grateful.” K at i e a n n R o b i n s o n

A New Spin on Campus Tours Open the door to OSU-OKC’s virtual tour at www.InsideOSUOKC.com.

To give the world a closer look at the OSU-Oklahoma City campus, the university launched a virtual tour at www. insideOSUOKC.com. Created by New Spin 360, an Oklahoma-based company that specializes in innovative digital tours of state and regional hotspots, the virtual tour allows potential and current students along with faculty, staff and the community to explore the OSU-OKC campus from anywhere internet access is available. The tour is a valuable tool. New students can locate classrooms and view laboratories and facilities. Parents can tour the university without leaving home. Business and industry persons can explore conference locations and non-credit training venues for their employees. “We are the first university in Oklahoma City and surrounding areas to provide an all-encompassing, comprehensive look inside our campus,” says Jamie Davis, OSU-OKC assistant marketing manager. “The applications for prospective students, parents and visitors are endless. With 23 virtual tours — including 360-degree photos — anyone can learn about OSU-OKC before setting foot on campus.” Portions of the tour include state-ofthe-art lecture facilities, anatomy labs, veterinary technology labs, a five-hole golf course used for turfgrass management and, inside the Student Center, the Cyber Café, cafeteria, bookstore and Wellness Center. The tour also displays links to the OSU-OKC main website, schedule and course information, and social media outlets. The interactive tour has helped push OSU-OKC’s enrollment to the next level, allowing university recruiters and advisers to access the entire campus instantly. In addition to the enrollment area, OSU-OKC’s Alumni & Friends and the

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OSU Foundation office can use the site to demonstrate past and potential campus growth. Maps of the 110-acre campus can be printed from the website. Faculty and counselors are using the tour to give prospective students a look into academic programs. “Virtual tours allow students and their parents to see our campus without having to take a day off school or work to visit,” Davis says. “Plus, once students arrive on campus, they are already familiar with OSU-OKC, which helps them overcome anxiety about starting college.” The partnership between OSU-OKC and New Spin 360 began in March 2009 and is ongoing, as documentation of the

evolving campus is important for an accurate virtual tour. “The ability to update our tour as campus grows is one reason we were so attracted to the virtual tour,” Davis says. The new engineering building will be added to the tour soon, and Davis hopes to include video and voiceovers in the future. “This 21st-century tool allows OSU-OKC to reach out and show the world what we are capable of providing students and the community. The tour falls in line with OSU-OKC’s vision to be the preeminent educational resource in Oklahoma City.” K a n dac e d o d s o n

CO w BOY

OSU Alumni Association

C orra l COw BOY Sept. 04 vs. Washington State • Connections for Life

OSU Alumni Associati

Stop by to see the Association’s new programs and keep connected.

Sept. 11 vs. Troy • Military Appreciation Day

Recognize those serving our nation! Military personnel receive discounts.

Sept. 18 vs. Tulsa • Alumni Discounted Tickets

Take advantage of discounted game tickets with your membership!

Sept. 30 vs. Texas A&M • No Official Events

The ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center will be open prior to kick-off, but no food service or pep rally will occur.

Oct. 23 vs. Nebraska • Homecoming 2010

Come home for Homecoming 2010: ‘Cowboy Nation’!

Nov. 06 vs. Baylor • Legacy Day

Bring your legacies and have some fun!

Nov. 27 vs. Oklahoma • Bedlam Bash

Join the Bedlam festivities and show who’s the best in Oklahoma. Beginning three-and-a-half hours prior to kickoff, the Cowboy Corral at the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center will be fun for the whole family. Enjoy hot Hideaway Pizza and mouthwatering hamburgers, hotdogs and BBQ brisket from Freddie Paul’s. Pistol Pete, the OSU Spirit Squad and the OSU Cowboy Marching Band will also be there to hold a pep rally, plus get your picture taken with Bullet! More information at orangeconnection.org/cowboycorral 201 ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center Stillwater, OK 74078-7043 TEL 405.744.5368 • FAX 405.744.6722 orangeconnection.org

OSU’s veterinary teaching hospital saves the life of a Theta Pond resident.

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PHOTO PROVIdEd

SICK duCK: PHOTO PROVIdEd

Rudy receives a life-saving blood transfusion thanks to one of his fellow residents at Theta Pond. acorn and began a 10-day, anti-fungal treatment.” Thanks to some tender, loving care and antibiotics, two weeks later Rudy was returned to his home at Theta Pond. Rudy is among the many animals treated at OSU’s veterinary center, one of 28 veterinary colleges in the United States. The center’s Boren Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital is open to the public and provides routine and specialized care for small and large animals. It also offers 24-hour emergency care and is certified by the American Animal Hospital Association. For more information, visit www.cvhs.okstate. edu or call 405-744-7000. PHOTO / PHIL SHOCKLEY

Mention Theta Pond to an OSU alumnus and all kinds of memories come to mind. For a veterinarian and technician at OSU’s Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, memories of Rudy will come to mind. An OSU grounds keeper noticed one of the ducks at Theta Pond was looking ill. It wasn’t standing or eating, so he caught the duck and brought it to the zoo, exotic and wildlife veterinary medicine department at OSU’s Boren Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. The hospital is in the Center for Veterinary Health Sciences complex on the west end of campus, where Dr. Cornelia Ketz-Riley and her team began treating Rudy the duck. “Rudy was lethargic. His beak was pale, and he couldn’t stand on his own,” says Ketz-Riley. “We drew a blood sample and discovered that Rudy was anemic. So the first thing we needed to do was give him a blood transfusion.” Since there is no blood bank for ducks, they turned to a Theta Pond mate as a source for Rudy’s transfusion. “We brought one of the other ducks over and drew some blood,” says Ketz-Riley. “Then we transfused it to Rudy. “Once he was feeling better from the increase in red blood cells, we examined him further and found some acorns lodged in his crop, the sac in the esophagus where ducks store food. We then scoped Rudy and diagnosed a severe yeast infection in his crop and esophagus. We removed another

Above and Beyond The OSU Alumni Association’s e-newsletters, Hall of Fame, Cowboy Corral and Grandparent University win prestigious awards.

Ask OSU alumni which university hosts the best homecoming celebration and they always point to “America’s Greatest Homecoming Celebration!” at OSU. OSU alumni aren’t the only ones to recognize OSU’s excellence. Three additional OSU Alumni Association programs have received regional and national acclaim for outstanding achievements and success. The OSU Alumni Association won the four awards during this spring’s annual conference of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education’s Southwest District IV, comprised of 261 educational institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. GRAND AWARD OSU’s 2009 homecoming e-newsletter, sent to more than 50,000 alumni and friends last fall, received the Grand Award in its category for creative use of information and design. “It’s exciting to know not only do we have ‘America’s Greatest Homecoming Celebration,’ but we also have a great tool to inform and engage alumni who may not be able to return,” says Chase Carter, director of communications.

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE The induction of Garth Brooks, Barry Sanders and Robin Ventura into the OSU Alumni Hall of Fame during homecoming 2009 received the Award of Excellence in the alumni program, project or special event category. More than 50,000 witnessed the excitement at Boone Pickens Stadium. “We were honored to induct Garth, Barry and Robin for their lifetime achievements,” says Kathryn Bolay-Staude,

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director of membership and marketing. “The event was truly an accomplishment of the entire university. The award represents all the hard work that produced one of OSU’s most memorable homecomings in history.”

ACHIEVEMENT AWARD The Cowboy Corral, held at the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center before each home football game, received an Achievement Award for innovatively combining a pep rally and tailgate event with association programming. “Our staff does a great job of evaluating the program and making necessary changes to improve it each year,” says Josh Pulver, director of chapters. “We invite everyone, especially those who haven’t attended a Cowboy Corral yet, to join their fellow alumni and the Alumni Association for the pre-game fun and excitement.”

GRAND AWARD & CIRCLE OF EXCELLENCE AWARD The big winner this year was the Alumni Association’s Grandparent University event, which won not only the Grand Award at the CASE District IV conference but also the highlycoveted CASE Circle of Excellence Award given to only one of 90 other programs nationwide. Grandparent University is part of the Alumni Association’s Legacy Program, which also won a CASE Circle of Excellence Award in 2004. “Our alumni are well aware of our outstanding Legacy program and the benefits it provides to future Cowboys,” says Melisa Parkerson, director of student programs. “This award proves the program’s crowning event — Grandparent University — is recognized for its excellence by both attendees and our fellow associations nationwide.” To learn more about the Alumni Association’s award-winning programs for members, visit orangeconnection.org.

52.6%

$263M Thousands of OSU donors understand the value of scholarships and graduate fellowships, which is why student support makes up half of the $1 billion Branding Success campaign. Donors have responded by enthusiastically and loyally committing $263 million in student support, putting us at 52.6 percent of our student goal less than three years into this seven-year campaign.

+371

Those funds have translated into 371 new scholarships and graduate fellowships so far. As OSU alumni and friends continue to show their generosity, we will add more and larger endowments to support students for generations to come. With your support, we will continue to eliminate the financial barriers that stand between aspiring students and their degree.

Catch the vision for this historic initiative, hear stories of impact and learn more at OSUgiving.com.

chapters

OSU President Visits Chapters If you haven’t had the chance to meet OSU’s ambitious president and his first Cowgirl, your opportunity might be right around the corner. President Burns Hargis and his wife, Ann, have been crisscrossing the country making stops at several OSU alumni chapters to meet alumni and share the latest news from the university. Stops included New York City, Denver and Atlanta, where they were treated to a helping of southern hospitality, says Atlanta Chapter member Brad Little, ’95. “It was an honor to have them,” Little says. “Their visit helped illuminate the fact that we do have a chapter in Atlanta and that we have more events than just watch parties.” About 40 alumni traveled from throughout Georgia to meet the first couple at the June event, and all were charmed by the time they left, Little says. “I don’t think people knew just how down to earth and funny President Hargis is,” he says. Those sentiments echoed off the Rockies when the Hargises visited the Denver Chapter in May. Chapter President Jennifer Glenn, ’04, says she overheard one attendee saying, “I just fell in love with them!” “It was a great reminder of the Oklahoma State hospitality that made us feel so appreciated by the university,” Glenn says. “It inspired a lot of us to take part in what’s happening at our alma mater.” Not even rain and snow could put a damper on the occasion when the planned rooftop event had to be moved inside. Glenn says the 40 attendees renewed their connection to OSU nonetheless. “With Denver being about 10 hours from Stillwater, we naturally lose touch with the day-to-day events and presidential sightings around campus,” Glenn says. “The Hargises visit brought out a lot of new faces who have now been ‘poked’ into getting involved with our chapter.”

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In February, the Hargises visited the Big Apple and were hosted at the New York City Chapter’s watch party location, the Stillwater Bar and Grill. Immediate past president Mike Callaham, ’96, says the president’s visit to the newly formed chapter endorsed its authenticity and helped the group reach new people. “We have sought to provide opportunities beyond watch parties at which our area alumni can network and build relationships,” Callaham says. “The visit was a great acknowledgement that our efforts locally are both recognized and appreciated by our university.” Approximately 80 members of the OSU family attended the event, which Callaham says was a mix of regular chapter members and new faces eager to learn about the chapter’s programs. Former Cowboy and NBA star John Starks also attended the event.

“It was truly a remarkable evening,” Callaham says. “Now several months removed, we are still thoroughly energized to implement the president’s vision through efforts such as student recruitment at local high schools and spreading the ‘Cowboy’ message.” For President Hargis, nothing could be more worthwhile than strengthening OSU’s future by reconnecting with its past. “Ann and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting alumni in their hometowns and hearing their stories of success,” Hargis says. “The OSU family extends around the world and is special because of the personal connections and memories we share.” To view photos from each event, visit the Alumni Association’s Flickr page at flickr.com/ okstatealumni. For more information on chapter activities, visit orangeconnection.org/chapters.

“We’ll be able to provide $4,500 in scholarships each year with the money we raised,” says President Glen Winters, ’77. “And when Boone’s money kicks in, we’ll be able to provide $7,000 a year.” More than 400 people turned out for this year’s Cowboy Caravan in Altus, which included a steak dinner prepared by the “Cowboy Cooks.” Over the past 10 years, the event has generated more than $54,000 for student scholarships. “We always say, ‘If we’re going to do it, let’s really blow it out with steaks,’” Winters jokes. “Everybody always leaves happy and full.” The Cherokee Strip Chapter in Enid is raising money to fund an endow-

Cowboy Caravan The 2010 Cowboy Caravan made its finale, as it does every year, in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, where the highest concentrations of OSU alumni reside. But the Caravan’s biggest impact may have been on other OSU alumni chapters. Each year, alumni chapters in Altus, Bartlesville, Dallas, Enid, Houston and Woodward host the Cowboy Caravan and hold both live and silent auctions to raise scholarship money for OSU students in their communities. Attendees have an opportunity to hear from OSU coaches and preview the upcoming season of Cowboy football as well as purchase auction items to support student scholarships. J.J. Stevak, ’83, president of the Houston Chapter, says his chapter raised about $4,500 by auctioning items such as autographed basketballs, footballs and posters. “It’s always important for alumni who have the means, to give to potential students who may not have a chance to attend OSU,” says Stevak, whose son is a junior at OSU. “He is getting an exceptional education in the classroom, making life-long friends and taking part in all of the great OSU traditions that alumni so fondly remember and return to campus to be a part of. “One of our goals is to make sure as many good students as possible get the chance to experience an OSU education like we were fortunate enough to do.”

Dallas Chapter President Scott Waterbury, ’96, says the caravan’s visit to north Texas helped raise more than $4,500 for scholarships through a live auction of donated OSU items. “The alumni I speak with find that giving back in any form gives them a real sense of satisfaction,” Waterbury says. “Oklahoma State created a number of wonderful memories for the vast majority of our alumni, and they enjoy doing what they can to pass those experiences on to the next generation.” The Dallas Chapter will combine its caravan event proceeds with nearly $9,000 it raised during a January fundraising concert before the Cotton Bowl. Waterbury says the chapter also hopes to expand its scholarship program to include several non-freshman students in the future. Woodward Chapter President Scott Grunewald, ’87, says for the past 17 years their caravan event has included a live and silent auction of OSU items, raising more than $60,000 in the process. “Our alumni always step up and donate items for our auction,” Grunewald says. “We feel it’s important to show support to students in our area because many of our scholarship recipients have returned to northwest Oklahoma to settle and raise their families.” In southwest Oklahoma, the Altus Chapter raised more than $50,000 for scholarships in 10 days to take advantage of the Pickens Legacy Scholarship Match, which is part of OSU’s Branding Success campaign.

ment that will be matched by Pickens’ donations. The chapter raised $6,000 during this year’s Cowboy Caravan benefit dinner and auction of 40 donated items ranging from signed memorabilia to golf outings to luggage. “We want to promote and support OSU in attracting tomorrow’s leaders,” says John Smithson, ’92, former chapter president. “Our chapter has given away $12,000 in scholarships over the past several years, and we hope our future endowment will create a lasting legacy that promotes OSU in our area.” Bartlesville resident and ’47 graduate Paul Geymann attended the Washington County Chapter’s Cowboy Caravan in June along with more than 115 others. Geymann, a member of Henry Iba’s 1946 national championship team, entertained the crowd with stories of the victory while sporting his NCAA championship ring. The Washington County Chapter raised $1,000 with raffled items and donations, and at least $650 will be placed into a scholarship fund. “We intend to award a scholarship to a local, OSU-bound high school senior this year for the first time in recent history,” says Scot Harlow, ’93, chapter president. “Supporting our chapter is a great way to give back to OSU.” To learn more about OSU alumni chapters across the U.S., visit orangeconnection. org/chapters. For info about donating to OSU’s scholarship fund, visit OSUgiving. com.

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Soar Subtleties Be gloomy ___ Architecture Heat giver Paradise Heavy cloth Hint Baits With 23A, ___-___ University With 22A, ___-___ University Inscribed stone Pecan (2 wds.) Roman three Confidential Twist around With 86A, Stillwater Campus Feature Teacher's assistant, for short Man's title Rise ___ Abroad Groom's partner Road (abbr.) Roman two Canal

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67 Loose gown worn at mass 70 Dukes 71 Grace 72 Eating dish 73 Layers 75 Mess up 76 Homeless people 77 Australian bear 78 With 23D, Sorghum - a ___ ___ improved by Ethiopian scientist Gebisa Ejeta 79 ___-resort - New trend in tourism industry 80 With 1D and 30D, ___ ___ ___, Ejeta’s award 81 What is agreed on 82 Past times 83 Greek "N" 84 Sun god 85 European river 86 With 30A, Stillwater Campus Feature 87 Squash-like plant 88 Doctor (abbr.) 89 Like 90 What legs are attached to

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34 Couches 35 Neutral color 39 Thomas E. ___Endowed Professorship in Water Research and Management 40 OSUIT's ___ Equipment and Vehicle Institute 41 Former name of Jerez 43 Short rest 44 Asian country 45 Cohn Family Shelter for ___ Animals 46 Expert 48 Gin __ 49 Central 50 Zoo animals' homes 52 With 86D, ___ Four Program - Initiated by President ___in 1949 53 ___ Forest massacre --- World War II atrocity against Poland 54 ___ Low Library 55 Braid 56 Engine 57 Spooky 58 Rings 59 Angels' head wear 60 Gossiper 61 Upper body 62 Governing group 63 Enthusiasms 64 White 65 OSUIT, ___ Center for Advancing Technology 66 South American animal 67 Made public 68 Downwind 69 ___ Success 70 Green gem 71 Animal weapons 72 Docks 73 __ cotta (clay) 74 Drinks noisily 76 Homecoming & ___ 77 Lasts 78 Might 80 Snivel 81 Not this 82 ___ American Service Medal 85 Gone With the Wind's Mr. Butler 86 With 52D, ___ Four Program - Initiated by President ___in 1949 87 Dales 91 Khaki cotton twill 92 Awry 93 Yin's partner 95 North northeast 96 __ Lanka 97 Sight organs 98 Rib 101 Compass point 102 Quonset ___ 105 High-school subject 106 Tennessee (abbr.) 107 Loudness unit (abbr.)

Is this the of

future Homecoming?

An Ear for Radio KOSU’s general manager knows good storytelling attracts listeners and keeps them coming back for more. Her award-winning skills combined with her love for radio inspires the KOSU team, including students following in her footsteps to become professional broadcasters.

Listen to KOSU anytime, anywhere, through live audio streams at www.kosu.org. In central Oklahoma tune your radio dial to 91.7 FM or in northeastern Oklahoma to 107.5 FM.

Did you know? • Sign-on: 1955 • Owner: Oklahoma State University • Frequencies: 91.7, 107.5 • Internet: www.kosu.org • Format: News, classical and jazz music • Local news focus: State legislature, business, people • Awards: 16 national journalism awards • Funding: listener contributions • Membership: $55 • Tower Climbers Club: $550 annually

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KOSU Associate Director and General Manager Rachel Hubbard has always had an ear for the spoken word. “I’ve been in love with oral history since I was a kid,” she says. “I would sit at the dinner table for hours listening to my grandparents tell stories, and that’s truly what I love about radio — the stories.” Rachel’s passion for good storytelling has resulted in an impressive list of professional successes, all before the age of 30. Growing up in Dill City, Okla., Rachel took to the airwaves in her early teens as an announcer at KTJS Radio in Hobart, where she hosted the station’s popular “Tradio Radio,” a weekly program in which listeners bought and swapped items on the air. She also read on-air obituaries and answered phones for a popular Saturday morning show about train music. “I have a variety of embarRachel Hubbard rassing live radio moments,” Rachel says, “but most memorable was when I misread an announcement about a local pastor and said he graduated from a cemetery rather than a seminary. I misread the announcement all day.” Despite Rachel’s blooper reel, those early days behind the microphone in southwestern Oklahoma hooked her on radio. As an OSU student, she landed a part-time reporting job at KOSU. After graduating with a degree in agricultural communications in 2003, she landed a fulltime job at the station, serving as the state capitol reporter and news director. Rachel has received national recognition for radio journalism excellence, including awards from Public Radio News Directors Incorporated and the Scripps Howard Foundation and as Outstanding Beat Reporter by the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors. Promoted to KOSU general manager in 2007, Rachel is one of the youngest stars in the 900

station-strong public radio system. As day-to-day manager, she has been instrumental in revitalizing the station’s sound while embracing new processes and technologies to improve efficiency. And the results have been impressive. During the past two years, KOSU’s weekly audience has increased by nearly 50 percent and contributions have increased 40 percent. “My education at OSU and hands-on training at KOSU provided me with a powerful learning combination,” she says. “The student program is one of many reasons why KOSU is such a special place because students are treated as professionals and given opportunities for real reporting experience while learning theory in the classroom.” KOSU treated her as much a part of the team as anyone else on major breaking stories, including the OSU plane crash, for which the station won numerous national journalism awards. Because of her student experience, Rachel was offered numerous professional opportunities, but she chose to stay at KOSU because she believes in what public radio is doing for listeners and in what she can give back to students who come through the station today. Rachel’s accomplishments far exceed her years and are built largely on an inner strength that she will now be asked to draw upon in her personal life as her husband, Dustin Crawford, prepares for deployment to Afghanistan early next year. I know she’ll handle his temporary absence with the same humor, grace and wisdom that has benefitted her so well in leading KOSU to new heights.

Kelly Burley KOSU Executive Director

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secure the of

future Homecoming

OSU is nationally recognized as having “America’s Greatest Homecoming Celebration”. Its future is in the hands of OSU faithful like you. Without support for the Homecoming and Student Programs endowment, OSU’s Homecoming celebration could lack the color, excitement and pride you see here. For information about securing the future of Homecoming, call 800.622.4678 or visit orangeconnection.org/give. 201 ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center Stillwater, OK 74078-7043 TEL 405.744.5368 • FAX 405.744.6722 orangeconnection.org

C l a s s n o t e s

’40s Bob Diggs Brown ’41, mech eng, and his wife, Audrey, have a son running for Congress in Fort Collins, Colo. C. Dallas Cottrell ’42, chem eng, is 91 and still going strong. Billie H. Terrell ’45, is resident ambassador for her assisted living facility. She is proud to be an Aggie and has an OSU sticker on her door. She was married to the late G. Ed Terrell ’50, journ. Ellen Faye (Cole) Burris ’46, bus ed, says her grandson, Blaine A. Burris ’08, ath traing, earned a graduate degree in athletic training from Clemson University in May. Gail Fenderson ’48, agron, celebrated the birth of great-grandson Seth Neal Fenderson. Dallas F. Wadsworth ’48, plant health mgmt, ’49, M.S. plant path, and his wife, Claribel, moved from Rockport, Texas, to Highland Springs Retirement Home in Dallas. Morris Neighbors ’49, sec ed, ’64, M.S. pysch, celebrated the birth of his fifth great-grandchild, Nathan Stevenson, born Aug. 25, 2009, to Morris’ grandson Caleb Stevenson and wife Kari, both OSU alumni. Vernon Shockley ’49, acctg, and his wife, Dottie Sale Shockley ’47, Engl, say the OSU family tradition continues with the recent graduation of their granddaughter Jessica and her husband, Blake Kincannon. Dottie’s father, Claude Sale, graduated from OSU in 1922. Charles R. Spillman ’49, ag ed, and his wife, Mable (Sears) Spillman ’46, gen bus, are enjoying retirement and are taking one day at a time.

’50s

Richard C. Davis ’50 agron, is celebrating the 60 th anniversary of his graduation from Oklahoma A&M. He and his wife, Doris, hope to attend homecoming in October. They enjoy retirement and spending time with children and grandchildren. James G. Hamill ’50 mktg, and his wife, Dorothy (Jones) Hamill ’51 art, are staying active in the community. James was recently inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame for City and Town Officials for his 34 years of service to municipal government in Oklahoma City. Dorothy is active in the Colonial Dames XVII Century, Daughters of the American Revolution and other genealogical organizations. E m m a L o u ( H e n d e r s o n) Symonds ’50 Spanish, and her husband, Charles, have been married 54 years. They have three daughters, Christy, Cathey and Cha-Cha, and three grandchildren, Jack and Chandler Bjork and Christian Williams. Charles Lupsha ’50 ento, and his wife, Jo Lupsha, celebrated their 60 th anniversary in 2009. Hal Sowers ’50, physio sci, ’51 physics, “retired” from the aerospace industry and is married to Barbara. Anna Lee Sanders Stock ’50, home ec, lives in Inverness Village in Tulsa and is a tutor at Freedom Elementary School in the Sapulpa area. Barbara (Craig) Ames ’51, HEECS, is married to J. Alan “Bud” Ames. In 2011, she will celebrate 60 years since graduating from OSU. Bob G. Day ’51, ag eng, and his wife, Betty, have two new great-grandchildren born in 2009, bringing the total to eight. Catherine Ritchie ’51, HIDCS, has five grandchildren attending OSU. Her late husband, Tom, was a member of OSU’s first veterinary medicine class, 1951.

Robert L. Crudup ’50, ed, ’52, M.S., ed admin, is now a great-grandfather.

Editor’s Note: 2010 high school graduates Deborah Brown of Yale, Okla., and Valeria Lopez of Pawnee, Okla., were on campus this summer as Bridge Students for Upward Bound and assisted STATE magazine with Classnotes. Both plan to attend OSU in the near future.

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Richard L. Tredway ’59, arch, ’61, M.S., and, Cherry (Pyron) Tredway ’61, HEECS, ’92, Ph.D., interior desn, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a romantic dinner on the OSU campus where they met a half-century earlier. “Our first date was to see and hear a great Benny Goodman jazz concert in the ‘old’ Gallagher Hall on Nov. 3, 1958,” Richard says. Richard completed his bachelor’s degree in January 1959 and took a job with a Tulsa architect. After the couple married on Aug. 29, 1959, in Wewoka, Okla., they returned to Stillwater so Cherry could finish her bachelor’s in vocational home economics. Richard received a graduate teaching and research assistantship for the next three semesters that enabled him to pursue his master’s degree at the same time. “We finished our coursework together and moved to Oklahoma City in January 1961,” he says. Cherry joined the Oklahoma Christian University faculty, where she remained for 26 years, first teaching home economics and later establishing the university’s interior design program. Richard operates Tredway Associates in Oklahoma City. His many projects include serving as associate architect on a team of OSU alumni architects and engineers chosen to renovate the OSU Atherton Hotel and Ranchers Club restaurant. As the Tredways’ 50th anniversary approached, their sons, Tory Anthony and Tyler Garren, along with their wives, Kim and Jennifer, and five of their eight grandchildren honored them with a reception on Aug. 1, 2009, at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. Nearly 250 relatives and friends attended the celebration. “On our actual 50th wedding anniversary, Aug. 29, 2009, Cherry and I celebrated that beautiful evening in Stillwater with dinner at the Ranchers Club in OSU’s Atherton Hotel,” Richard says. “After dinner, as twilight fell, we reminisced about our dating days while walking the formal gardens and the paths of Theta Pond. “Appropriately, we witnessed the gathering of a well-dressed wedding party for a young couple (presumed to be students) as they prepared to exchange their vows under the tree canopy northeast of Theta Pond,” Richard says. “These events provided fitting reminders of our wedding 50 years earlier.”

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Order online at shopokstate.com or call 1-800-831-4OSU. * Don’t forget, OSU Alumni Association members receive a 10% discount! You must have your OSU Alumni Association membership number (located on your membership card) at the time you place your order to receive the member discount.

Classnotes

Oklahoma Hall of Fame

Inducts Three Cowboys The Oklahoma Hall of Fame inducted three OSU alumni in 2009 for their contributions to the state. They are entrepreneur Marlin G. “Ike” Glass Jr., OSU President V. Burns Hargis and Vice Chief Justice Steven W. Taylor. The Oklahoma Hall of Fame is located in the Gaylord-Pickens Oklahoma Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. Ike Glass ’61, bus admin, of Newkirk is CEO of a trucking business that operates throughout the Midwest. He has served as president of the Oklahoma Transportation Center and the Oklahoma Trucking Association, vice chair of the Governors Conference on Small Business and chair of the State Chamber of Commerce. Ike has encouraged numerous young people to pursue higher education and supported multiple scholarship programs. Burns Hargis ’67, acct, is only the second OSU graduate to serve as president of OSU, and he brings incredible enthusiasm and energy to OSU. He also holds a law degree from the University of Oklahoma and had a distinguished banking and legal career before becoming OSU’s president. He also led many active civic and philanthropic initiatives. Hargis was the first chair of the Oklahoma Creativity Project, which seeks to catalyze a culture of creativity in culture, commerce and education. Steven W. Taylor ’71, pol sci, of McAlester also holds a law degree from the University of Oklahoma. Steven served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1971 to 1978. He became the youngest judge in the U.S. Armed Forces in 1977 and was promoted to the rank of major. In 1982 he was elected mayor of McAlester and is recognized for his economic development efforts. Steven was a district judge for 21 years and presided over more than 500 jury trials, including the Terry Nichols Oklahoma City bombing case. In 2004, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Oklahoma.

Keep Us Posted! Whether you’ve changed jobs or last names or added a new Cowboy or Cowgirl to the mix, we want to hear about it! Members of the OSU Alumni Association can submit classnotes for publication in the STATE magazine and on the orangeconnection.org website. To submit information, visit orangeconnection.org and click on Update Your Information or contact us by phone at 405-744-5368 or by mail at 201 ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center, Stillwater, OK 74078-7043, c/o Classnotes.

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Mary Beth (Brown) Ross ’51 elem ed, and her husband, Edwin, are enjoying retirement. She volunteers in her community and with Air Force organizations. Their son, Greg, is an airline pilot. LaVernne H. (Burny) Whitnah ’51, hort and land arch, and her husband, Jack, married in 1953 and have two daughters, two sons, 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Edward L. Blevias ’52, DVM, retired from veterinary practice in April 2009. He and his wife, Helen, celebrated as their grandson Michael Blevins graduated from OSU, and their granddaughter Sarah Blevins enrolled as a freshman. Clara Perkins ’53, home econ, says one son George Perkins ’84, hort and land arch, manages the ORU account for Sodexho. Another son, Michael Perkins ’84, hort and land arch, is the urban forester for the city of Tulsa. Millard E. “Gene” Kuykendall ’54, an sci, is retired from Beefmasters Breeders United, where he served as vice president and was inducted into its hall of fame. As a student, Gene was a member of the 1953 OSU Livestock Judging Team and received the Graduate of Distinction Award. Ned Blass ’55 acct, ’79 sec ed, wrestled for the Cowboys and won NCAA championships in 1952 and 1953. Today he volunteers with the Valhalla High School wrestling team. His wife, Marjorie Sue Blass ’77 HEECS, is a successful watercolorist who works with a philanthropic arts organization and PEO. David Kirk Woodworth ’55, agron, and his wife, Marilyn, live in Battle Creek, Mich., and spend the winter in Mesa, Ariz. Gordon W. Schmidt ’56, agron, retired in 2009 after 10 years as a funeral associate in Georgia. In 1988, he retired from the Army Reserves as a colonel, and in 1992 he retired from the U.S. Department of Commerce. Raymond E. Tompkins ’56, mil sci, retired from Conner and Winters after more than 45 years as a litigator and has opened a practice in mediation, arbitration and community facilitation.

Robert H. Carlstead ’57, elec eng, and his wife, Mary, celebrated their 50th anniversary in January. They have lived in the Palo Alto, Calif., area for 52 years. They have three children. Robert retired from Schlumberger Ltd. in San Jose, Calif., in 1994. Donald D. Siler ’57, ind arts ed, and his wife, Peggy, live in Cherokee, Okla. Their daughter, Lori, is an OSU graduate. In college, Donald was a member of Tau Epsilon academic fraternity. Since retiring from Deere & Company in Illinois, Donald’s hobby is conservation farming. Arthur Peter Bieri ’58, sec ed, ’65 M.S., is currently working on several children’s books. His published works include Action Games and A Squirrel’s Dilemma. Jane Ann Niles ’58, HEECS, and her husband, Bob, are proud of their granddaughters. Bethany Niles of Fairview, Okla., won her local spelling bee and progressed to the next level in Weatherford, Okla. Ava Hobbs, 5, ice skates competitively in Dallas, Texas. Oleta Peters ’58, M.S., FRCD, is proud of her granddaughter who recently graduated with honors from Virginia Tech. Charles H. Smith ’58, art, is retired from the Federal Aviation Administration. He’s been executive director of the Oklahoma Rifle Association since 1995. Harvey D. Smith ’58, ag ed, is retired from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Larry Comstock ’59, fine arts, is owner of Comstock Design Communication and “semi-retired.” He and his wife, Marilyn, travel as often as possible to see their son, daughterin-law and grandchildren in California. Charles Heller ’59, civil eng, ’60, M.S., sits on eight boards of directors and is a writer. He has completed a soon to be published book, Out of Prague: A Memoir of Survival, Denial and Triumph. He is working on a second memoir, Cowboy from Prague, which will include his OSU experiences.

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wO r d s

Listen to audio excerpts of OSU alumni sharing their compelling life stories and college memories or read their interview transcripts at www.library.okstate.edu/oralhistory/ostate.

Bennett family legacy Inspired by her grandparents’ example, Vera Preston-Jaeger committed her life to education and service.

Vera Preston-Jaeger shares her childhood memories about her grandparents, President Henry G. Bennett and his wife, Vera, for the Oklahoma Oral History Research Program’s series of interviews with Bennett family members. Preston-Jaeger, who grew up in Stillwater, remembers when she and her mother, Liberty Bennett Preston, the Bennetts’ third child, lived with the Bennetts during World War II while her father, Joe Preston, served in the Navy. She recalls playing in her grandfather’s Whitehurst office and sliding down the laundry chute at the president’s home. Preston-Jaeger enrolled at OSU in 1958 and earned a bachelor’s degree in education with an emphasis in mathematics in 1962, becoming the first Bennett grandchild to graduate from OSU. Her grandparents’ legacy of international service influenced her decision to enter the newly formed Peace Corps after college. Preston-Jaeger became one of the early women volunteers and served in Ecuador from 1962 to 1964. Afterward, she married Bruce Callahan, and they had two children, Melissa and Mark. She continued her education, earning a master’s in mathematics from the University of Maine and a doctorate from the University of Texas and taught mathematics at high schools and colleges in a number of states, including Oklahoma. She published numerous articles and curricula, and her publications and conference presentations often focused on multicultural

approaches to teaching and on encouraging girls and young women to study mathematics. Preston-Jaeger held many national leadership positions in educational organizations and also received a National Science Foundation award to develop curricula for prospective middle school teachers. She capped her distinguished academic career at Austin Community College, Northridge Campus, from 1987 to 1998. Today, she and her husband, Alan Jaeger, live in Bastrop, Texas. Preston-Jaeger’s poignant memories about her grandparents include family gatherings in the president’s home, formal dinners and her grandfather making biscuits at 5:30 a.m. and then washing the dishes. “I don’t think my grandparents ever made a decision without praying about it,” says Preston-Jaeger, whose vivid stories provide an intimate glimpse into the private lives of the legendary president and his wife. She recalls her grandmother sharing biblical examples of faith with her and talking about “living your faith … and having a purpose in life where you were always helping others.” Vera Preston-Jaeger, above, recalls activities with her grandparents, Vera and President Henry G. Bennett, left. To hear more of Preston-Jaeger’s interview and read the full text, or to access other Bennett family interviews in the Oklahoma Oral History Research Program, visit www.library.okstate.edu/ oralhistory/ostate.

O-STATE Stories, a project of the OSU Library’s Oklahoma Oral History Research Program chronicles the rich history, heritage and traditions of OSU. For more information or to propose interviews, contact Jerry Gill at 405-744-1631 or email jerry.gill@okstate.edu.

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Classnotes

’60s

Clayton O. Dunnihoo ’62, elec eng, retired from Lockheed Martin in 2007. He and his wife, Elizabeth, live in Granbury, Texas, and enjoy time with grandchildren Johnathan and Alyson. Don Kirkland ’62, gen bus, retired after 22 years of cattle ranching in Creek County, Okla., and now stays active helping with his wife, Leslie’s, Right Path Riding Academy, a therapeutic horseback riding program for disabled children.

Ed Leslie ’60, mech eng, ’62, M.S., and Lucille Harris ’60, HES, met at OSU in January 1960 and married in Englewood, Colo., on July 1, 1960. Their daughter, Dana Helton ’86, sec ed, and son-in-law, Mark Helton ’86, geol, also met at OSU and now have two sons. They all live in Edmond, Okla.

Walker Russell ’62, trade indus ed, retired from the Cleveland, Ohio, school system and now lives with his wife, Carol, in Beavercreek, Ohio.

Pauline O’Neill ’60, bus ed, and her husband, Jim, are retired dairy farmers and enjoy their herd of beef cattle, flower garden and traveling. They have five children and 13 grandchildren.

Robert B. Bristow ’63, physics, and his wife, Mary-Em (Free) Bristow ’60, HEECS, are enjoying retirement. Both serve on the state executive council of AARP Oklahoma.

John Wesley Reynolds ’60 mech eng, ’61, M.S., and his wife, Charlene (Cook) Reynolds ’59, bus ed, celebrated their 50 th anniversary on Aug. 15, 2009. They have eight grandchildren.

Csaba Finta ’63, mech eng, has traveled to nearly every continent via cruises. Csaba loves to travel, garden and visit grandchildren and friends.

Anita Tackett ’60, HEECS, continues to sell real estate while developing fine art skills in pastels and oils. Her husband, Doyle, is in the cedar tree-cutting business. Robert Dunham ’61, mgmt, is retired. He moved from Muskogee to Stillwater in October 2009. Jean Lillard Dunn ’61, elem ed, has been teaching first-graders for 47 years. Joyia C Elinson ’61, bus adm, celebrated her mother’s 101st birthday with her in January. Norm Smola ’61, forestry, is retired and enjoys OSU sports and traveling with his wife, Jane. Betty Emery Acree ’62, FRCD, continues private practice as a licensed professional counselor and licensed marital and family therapist. Donna Birdsong ’62, HEECS, and her husband, Artie Birdsong ’61, bus ed, have three grown sons. Jeffrey and Russell are OSU graduates, and Brady graduated from the “other university.”

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James Brent Loy ’63, hort and land arch, is professor of plant biology at the University of New Hampshire. He won the 2009 “Breeders’ Cup” from All-America Selections for his internationally recognized work as a classical breeder of new, innovative vegetable varieties for home gardens and commercial use. He has developed more than 50 varieties of melons, squash, pumpkin, gourd and tomatoes. Reginold R. Collins ’64, physio, and his wife, Patricia, are co-owners of Quality Plating Co. Inc. They perform processing and painting on aircraft parts. Charles “Chuck” Davis ’64, an sci, continues to practice law. James Luetkemeyer ’64, RTVF, is retired and lives in San Diego, Calif. He enjoys traveling and recently returned from Southeast Asia. James Owens ’64, fire prot, and his wife, Donna, enjoy attending their grandchildren’s sports activities. A new grandson, Justinian James Owens, was born Nov. 18, 2009. James also attends East Coast fire protection reunions. Shirley Roberts ’65, soc, retired Jan. 1, 2010, as director of Osage County Department of Human Services,

where she spent 35 years of dedicated service. Eugene Sharp ’65, sec ed, has retired from teaching math at Enid High School and continues farming in the Carrier-Goltry area. He and his wife, Shirley, have a son, Shelby Sharp, who graduated from OSU-Okmulgee. Jimmy Coffman ’66, pol sci, has been chief federal judge in Savannah, Ga., since August 2009. John “Jack” Hess ’66, acct,’67, M.S., retired 10 years ago after 24 years as CFO at Baylor Heathcare System in Dallas. Since then, he has been a financial consultant. He and his wife, Pam, have three children and five grandchildren. Lynda Hillien ’66, gen ad, is selfemployed as a personal fashion consultant in Stillwater. Her daughter, Susan, has a law practice in Garden City, Kan., and three children. Her son, Robert “Brian,” lives in Frisco, Texas, and has two children. Dick Hollis ’66, chem eng, and his wife, Gloria, have a grandson, Andrew James Griffith, born to daughter Kathy (Hollis) Griffith, ’96 mktg, and her husband, Cory Griffith. Gale Wilkerson ’66, gen bus, retired Aug. 1, 2009, as president and CEO of the Alpha Sigma Phi Educational Foundation headquartered in Carmel, Ind. Wynona (Bryant) Powell ’67, elem ed, and her husband, Dwight, moved from Wichita, Kan., to Bryant, Ark. Wynona retired from teaching in Oklahoma and Kansas and now teaches for Head Start. Michael T. Agnew ’68, acct, and his wife, Karla, have two grandchildren living in Japan and three grandchildren living in Bryan, Texas. Walter H. Lipke ’68, M.S., physics, recently published the book Earned Schedule and was selected for Who’s Who in the World for 2010. In 2007 he received the Project Management Institute Metrics Specific Interest Group Scholar Award and the PMI Eric Jenett Award. Stan Shelden ’68, pol sci, retired in June 2009 after 23 years at Marsh USA Inc.

Michael S. Clewner’69, history, retired from Ford Motor Company in 2007 after 36 years, and has since worked as total resource manager for Manheim Auto Auctions in Houston, Texas. Tom Schmidt ’69, ag econ, and his son, John, opened Victory Lane Quick Oil Change in Zabulon, N.C., in 2009.

’70s Ronald Maust ’70, econ, and his wife, Brenda, have a new granddaughter, Lucy Cavanaugh, born in 2009. John McNitt ’70, civ eng, became senior program manager for Critigen LLC last September. Dan Northey ’70, biochem, retired from active practice as a physician in 2006. He and his wife, Jane ’75, psych, have two children and two grandchildren. Emily Ann Warner ’70, spch, is semi-retired while caring for her husband, Orvie Oates, and running a small family business. She also conducts ad hoc social science and education research projects. She enjoys participating in community theater, church choir and playing the marimba. Dennis Stocksen ’70, ag econ, now works at SolidTech Animal Health in Newcastle, Okla., as an autogenous sales/marketing manager. Carl O. Westbrook ’70, Ed.D., retired as president of Connors State College and Panhandle State University and now operates a cattle ranch at Delaware, Okla. Charles “Corry” Chitwood ’71, ag ed, is retired and enjoying family and friends. He likes to travel, fish and watch OSU football and basketball with his wife, Jackie, and three grandchildren. Donovan Moore ’71, Ed.D., and his wife, Miriam, celebrated their 50 th anniversary June 10, 2010. He retired 17 years ago as an elementary school principal for Wichita Public Schools. Enos L. Stover ’71, civil eng,’72, M.S., ’74, Ph.D., and his wife, Penny, have a daughter, Suzanna ’99, inter mktg, who is attending nursing school at

The OSU Family Nurtures At-Risk Youth Just as a particular Stillwater agency assists and nurtures at-risk youth, many in the OSU community assist and nurture the nonprofit agency as volunteers, board members and supporters. “Since becoming executive director of Payne County Youth Services three years ago, I have been amazed at how much OSU means to a nonprofit agency such as ours,” says Janet Fultz, who earned a master’s in counseling and student personnel from OSU in 1999 and a bachelor’s in psychology in 1996. Payne County Youth Services provides mental health and substance abuse counseling, parent education, crisis intervention and emergency youth shelter free of charge to area youth ages 11 through 17 and their families. “The OSU community is a big reason our agency can effectively make a difference in the lives of our youth and their families,” Fultz says. In addition to OSU alumni like herself who devote their professional expertise to the agency, there are many alumni who donate hundreds of volunteer hours to all facets of the organization. Not only do alumni provide leadership by serving on the governing board of directors, many faculty and students from the OSU departments of marriage and family therapy, community counseling and health promotions also share their time and knowledge with the agency. Carrie Winterowd, Ph.D., associate professor in counseling and counseling psychology, is leading two student research projects for the agency. One group is building a database to assist in monitoring demographics and service hours more efficiently. Another group is gathering clinical data to help improve services and supplement the agency’s counseling program. Fultz’s first priorities as executive director included forming a board to generate public awareness and fundraising activities. She was thrilled when two OSU first ladies heartily agreed to serve. Ann Hargis, wife of current OSU President Burns Hargis, became the founding member of the PCYS Advisory Board for Sustainability and Public Awareness, and former first lady Ann Halligan, wife of former OSU President Jim Halligan, became the founding member of the Friends of Payne County Youth Services. Their participation immediately helped attract additional members. “I know they are each very thoughtful as to whom they lend their name, time and talent,” Fultz says. “Both women are great advocates for us and have provided guidance and assistance.”

For the past three years, Fultz has observed the volunteer base grow from about 80 people to 500, including many student groups. About a dozen OSU faculty and staff serve on the board of directors, advisory boards and the Friends. The agency recently won the Community Partner Award from OSU’s Volunteer Center. Advisory board member Jarrod Marcum-Noftsger, a two-time OSU alumnus with a bachelor’s in history in 1991 and a master’s in counseling and student personnel in 1994, facilitates internships for students. “I want to serve as a conduit for providing high-quality student volunteers to Payne County Youth Services,” says Noftsger, assistant director of the Human Development and Family Sciences Department in the College of Human Environmental Sciences. “My passion is to see people excel in life and to become resilient and active community members,” he says. Student organizations such as the OSU Sociology Club and the OSU Psychology Club, in particular, organize fundraisers and clothing drives. They also interact with youth at the shelter and organize activities such as movie nights at the Student Union. OSU’s Kappa Kappa Iota chapter has organized bake sales and sponsored hygiene-item drives on campus. During Lights on Stillwater, the sorority raised funds for the shelter by leading a bubblewrap football game. Other OSU organizations, including Phi Mu, Omega Phi and Sigma Nu plus individual students in OSU’s community counseling master’s program, volunteer in numerous ways. “We really need people who have a heart for our kids and who are invested in what we do,” Fultz says. “We have been really lucky and impressed with the folks who have volunteered here.” In addition, most of the 22 Payne County Youth Services employees are OSU alumni. Altogether, they hold 22 associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Six staff members currently attend OSU while nine more are OSU interns and three are OSU workstudy students. Fultz, whose father taught mechanical engineering at OSU, says the land-grant university’s presence makes Stillwater a special place. The university’s commitment to at-risk youth sends a message central to the teens’ growth and development — that the community cares about them. “I am grateful to OSU for the support the OSU community provides to our youth and families,” she says. “The support of all who are associated with Payne County Youth Services is really what makes our organization effective.” For more information, visit www.pcys.org.

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OSU-NOC. Their son, Aaron ’01, gen bus,’02, MBA, works for Vale Resorts in Breckenridge, Colo. Their son, Ross ’05, environ eng, ’09, M.S., is working on his Ph.D. at OSU. Mark Lobo ’72, mech eng, is an engineer for Cyclonic Valve Co. Inc. responsible for valve products associated with the oil and gas industry. Applications include injection pump pressure regulation and well head rate control. David Barnett ’73, mgmt, and his wife, Ellen, celebrated the arrival of their sixth grandson. Albert Ledbetter ’73, acct, and his wife, Dixie, have two sons. Ted is assistant director of development for the University of Michigan Athletics. Grant is a business teacher and head baseball coach at Northwest Classen High School in Oklahoma City. Christine Mollet ’73, med tech, and her husband, Ronald, ’74, DVM, have two sons and two daughters. Tyler, a veterinarian; Maura, softball coach at Langston University; and Todd, who graduated from OU medical school in May, are all OSU graduates. Daughter Melissa, a graduate of Cameron, is a teacher in Fletcher, Okla. Charles W. Crozier ’74, ag ed, retired in December 2009 from Ozarks Cooperative Corp with 31 years of service. Libbi (Hower) Davis ’74, mktg, and her husband, Charles, a member of OSU’s HRAD advisory board, have two daughters. Kristen ’04, HDFS, married Teddy Holmes ’07, HRAD, on Oct. 2, 2009. Kristen is a child life specialist at Children’s Hospital in Oklahoma City, and Teddy is a broker for Hotel Broker One. Daughter Alison, ’06, nutri sci, works as an ultrasound technician in Bartlesville, Okla.

Mar y Washington Reneau, Jamie West Taylor and Natalea Brown Watkins. Louis Stackler ’74, M.S., pol sci, and his wife, Susan, ’76, sec ed, have a new grandchild named Emily Rose, daughter of Elizabeth Stackler Doyle’01, elem ed. Susan D. Thomas ’74, DHM, and her husband, R. Michael Thomas, have a daughter, Ginny, and a sonin-law, James, who are moving to Taiwan to teach English. Their son, Will, is finishing law school at OU. Tony D. Fleming ’75, microbio, and his wife, Carmen, have a new grandchild, Kiera Delia Fleming. Tony was promoted to director of thermal processing for AmeriQual Foods. Glen L. Mangels ’75, ag econ, and his wife, Cynthia, became grandparents with the birth of Lily. Retta Miller ’75, HEECS, ’79, M.S., was named one of the “Best Women Lawyers in Dallas 2010” by D Magazine. Listed in the business litigation category, Retta has more than 24 years experience in civil litigation, arbitration and appeals as well as extensive trial experience. She focuses on representation of retail brokerage firms and other financial institutions. Cindy Nally ’75, soc, and husband, Bernie, have a daughter Erin, who is a freshman in OSU’s Honors College. C. Wayne Sims ’75, mgmt, and his wife, Carolyn, have four grandchildren, Peyton, Charlea, Paige and Ben. Laura L. Howard ’76, art educ, has a son, Brandon Brown, who is working toward his MBA at Harvard Business School. Steve Rader ’76, ag, and wife, Linda, have a son, Justin ’06, soil sci, who works on the home ranch; a daughter, Haley ’08, an sci, now attending OU law school; and Sarah, an OSU sophomore.

Susan Parks Dornblaster ’74, journ, (in green shirt) published a children’s book titled Sidewords. A group of her friends, all OSU alumni, attended her book-signing in Oklahoma City. They are Debbie Gosney Forshee,

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Stephen Paul Vogt ’76, arch stud, celebrated 30 years with his company, PSA Dewberry, in November 2009. He is married to Kelley Lynn Vogt ’75, exec sec admin. Their daughter

graduated from OSU in 2009 with a degree in early childhood education. Valli Jo Rallis ’77, pol sci, and her husband, Gus, are proud that their daughter, Maya Castille, is continuing the family tradition by attending OSU. Richard Sievert ’77, chem, is still drilling wells for ConocoPhillips offshore of Australia. Carl Parcher ’78, mktg, has been the owner and president of South Haven Lp Gas for 29 years. Carl says co-owner and OU graduate Steve Kelle has become a major supporter of OSU. Randall Raburn ’78, Ed.D., received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Association of School Administrators on Feb. 12, 2010, for exemplary leadership, service and commitment to education. He is professor of education leadership at the University of Oklahoma. Bill Fanning ’79, an sci, has served as mayor of Woodward, Okla., for five years and recently won Mayor of the Year for Oklahoma for cities having more than 5,000 residents. Bill is executive vice president of Stock Exchange Bank. R. Jeffrey Jones ’79, bio sci teach ed, has taught anatomy and physiology and been an athletic trainer for the Denton independent school district for 11 years. He and his wife, Jan, have two children, Jacob and Kelbi, who are high school freshmen. Kelley Joy ’79, M.S., mech eng, ’83, Ph.D., is director of engineering technology and president of Teaching the Teachers Inc., which provides faculty training on teaching methods to improve student performance.

’80s Leisa (Brown) Aiken ’80, fin, established her own financial planning practice. Her husband, Daniel K. Aiken ’80, chem eng, has moved from Latin American sales to the R&D area of Honeywell UOP. Their daughter, Carmen, graduated from Mills College in California with honors in May 2009.

Richard L. Bengtson ’80, Ph.D., ag eng, was awarded the Gamma Sigma Delta Teaching Award of Merit. He is the Edward McLaughlin Professor for Excellence in Undergraduate Instruction for Louisiana State University’s Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering. Harold Hayes ’80, M.S., ed, ’89, Ed.D., has worked 37 years in education as a teacher, coach, principal, athletic director and, for the past 17 years, superintendent. He also spent the past five years as an adjunct faculty member with the University of Central Oklahoma College of Education. He has two sons. David Burton Lamerton ’80, mgmt, is director of corporate services for Charles Machine Works (DitchWitch), and married to Jacquelyn Kay (Harrison) Lamerton ’80, Engl. They have four children. John is an OU graduate. Katie and Megan are OSU graduates, and Joseph attends OSU. June Pentecost ’80, HIDCS, is an interior designer and president of the Tulsa alumni chapter of Gamma Phi Beta. Her daughter Dana, a nutritional sciences/pre-med major, was selected for Mortar Board and received a $1,000 scholarship. Perry Castonguay ’81, ag econ, and his wife, Karen LeGrand Castonguay’82, elem ed, have three children. Tyler is an MBA student at OSU. Bryce is an OSU junior majoring in ag econ. And Kylie is a high school senior. William (Bill) Davis ’81, ed adm, recently retired from Ohio State University and is director of sports medicine for Ohio Health in Columbus, Ohio. Bill is married to Tamara ’83, phys ed. Edward Evey ’81, phys ed, and his wife, Cheila, have a son, Clay Willms, a 2001 OSU graduate, who has a new daughter, Kinsleigh Renee Willms, born July 24, 2009. Edward was inducted into the Oklahoma chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2009. Roxanne Gerchman ’81, exec sec admin, and her husband, Edwin Gerchman ’82, geol, purchased Harvard Cleaners in Tulsa in 2007 and own six locations. Their daughter, Samantha, was born July 16, 2004.

Jerry Marcis ’81, const mgmt, ’03, M.S., eng and tech mgmt, and his wife, Linda Marcis ’76, spec ed, traveled to Australia, where their daughter Kaley, an SMU student, is studying abroad. Their other daughter, Kristen, is an engineer in Dallas, Texas. Linda teaches special education at San Ramon Valley school district, and Jerry is vice president for Bovis Lend Lease in San Francisco, Calif. J. Chris Scalet ’81, mgmt sci and comp syst, was recognized at the December 2009 graduation. He is executive vice president of global services for Merck and Co. He is married to Kathy (Beatty) Scalet ’81, mktg. Mary E. (Barber) Stewart ’81, trade and ind ed, and her husband, Charles C. Stewart ’82, comp sci, have a daughter, Kimberly, who graduated from OSU in May with a degree in hotel and restaurant administration. Their son, Chuck, is majoring in music education and music performance and is a member of the Cowboy Marching Band, OSU Symphonic Orchestra and OSU Symphonic Band. William R. Collins ’82, M.S., ed adm, is married to Iradyth Levonn Collins. Their youngest child, Travis, recently graduated from OSU with a degree in animal science. William and Levonn have five grandchildren. Jamie Dulaney ’82, org adm, is married to Joy Dulaney ’83, mgmt. Their daughter, Krystal, a 2008 marketing and management graduate from OSU, works as an assistant buyer for Dillards in Raleigh, N.C. Their son, Jason, graduated from OSU in May with an MIS degree and a marketing minor and was hired by Williams Co. in Tulsa. Polly Peters Goodier ’82, rec, ’90, M.S., HPER, is a teacher for the blind and visually impaired for Lufkin, Texas, schools. Her husband, Jeff Goodier ’82, forestry, ’85, M.S., for resources, works for Temple-Inland Forest Products. Their son Dalton attends TCU, and son Dylan is a high school senior. Kristine Mayo ’82, HIDCS, and her husband, DeWayne, have a daughter, Courtney, who recently graduated from Georgia College and State University with a triple major in MIS, marketing and management. Daughter Chelsea recently gave birth to their first grandchild, Mia Mayo-Johnson.

Philip Sears ’82, mech eng, works for Dell Engineering Services as a delivery manager in the aerospace group. He and his wife, Debbie, live in McKinney, Texas, with their youngest son, Austin, who is a senior in high school. Their oldest son, Alex, is a junior at the University of Arkansas. Janelle A. Bean ’84, mgmt, has a daughter, Lauren, majoring in elementary education at OSU, and another daughter, Kirsten, who is a high school senior in Bartlesville, Okla. Mark Chezem ’84, org adm, and his wife, Jan, say their oldest son, Tommy, plans to attend OSU this fall. Ronald D. Truelove ’84, chem eng, celebrated 10 years with Devon Energy Corporation as Devon’s Western Division EHS manager. His daughter, Megan, graduated from OU, and his son, Matthew, is a secondary education junior at OSU. Rick Anderson ’85, acct, ’94, MBA, is vice chancellor for administrative services for the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He and his wife, Julie Anderson, an optometrist, have a daughter, Mikala, who is a freshman at OSU. William David Martin ’85, petro tech, ’01, B.S. mech eng, and his wife, Kody Martin’86, petro tech, are engineers for ConocoPhillips working in the San Juan business unit in Farmington, N.M.

attending OSU. Patricia L. Wylie ’86, org adm, and her husband, James, have a daughter, Lauren, who is a sophomore at OSU and a member of Pi Beta Phi, and a son, Travis, a junior at Yukon High School who loves playing baseball. Marcia Brown ’87, mech eng, is an instructor for Kumon Math and Reading Center of Lawton. Holly Easterling ’88, acct, was elected chair of the Chickasaw Nation legislature in 2009. She is serving her third legislative term. Jan Matheson ’88, soc, ’90, M.S., couns and std pers, is in her 16th year of private practice. She and her husband, Ron, celebrated their 40 th anniversary last year. Both of their sons live in Kansas City. Carol J. Bridges ’89, Ph.D., CHES, is a professor at East Central University in Oklahoma. Carol received the Lifetime Achievement Award for 2010 from the National Association of Social Workers, Oklahoma Chapter.

’90s Robin (Warden) O’Neill ’90, an sci, ’94, DVM, and her husband, Steve, have two children, Kaitlin, 13, and Grady, 8. Steve works for Wells Fargo Bank, and Robin is an associate veterinarian at Animal Health Clinic and teaches dance on the side. Tara Williams ’90, elem ed, and her husband, Thomas, have a son, Jeffrey, a freshman at OSU this fall, who plans to major in animal science and then attend vet school.

Cousy Nash ’85, an sci, shows his OSU spirit with the help of fellow church member Victor Rodriguez during a visit to the Mayan ruins of Labaantun in southern Belize. Cousy was part of a group from Naperville Church of Christ in Bolingbrook, Ill., that traveled to Punta Gorda, Belize, in July to conduct bible school and self-defense classes and distribute clothing. Karen Schmeling ’86, bus ed, and her husband, Jeff Schmeling ’87, tech ed, have two children, Courtni and Caleb, who are following their parents’ and grandparents’ legacy by

Rhonda Heiser ’91, HRAD, is a support supervisor for Medco. She and her husband, John, recently traveled to Spain. Jeffrey Nesheim ’91, ento, and his wife, Dawn, took their youngest son, Aidan, to a chapter event, where he met President Hargis. They look forward to coming to Stillwater for football and basketball season. Julie Bridges ’92, nutri, is married to Kelly Bridges ’92, ag econ, who is serving as Lawton Board of Realtors president for 2010. Their son, Zaden Able Bridges, was born Dec. 3, 2009.

Michael Inselman ’93, an sci, is married to Ashley Inselman ’04, ag econ. Their daughter, Bristol Lynne, was born June 18, 2009. Matthew L. Rice ’93, D.O., is an affiliate professor of medicine in the WWAMI program. He also works with the Veterans Administration, Nimiipuu Health for the Nez Perce Nation and is medical director of Good Samaritan Village nursing home. William Matthews ’94, pol sci, and his wife, Caroline, are parents of a daughter, Beatrice Louise, born Oct. 21, 2009, and her big brother George, 2. Randall Baker ’95, civ eng, ’06, M.S., is an install engineer for Hilti Inc. He already has an Oklahoma Professional Engineering license and is working toward a California PE. Jennifer Ferrell ’95, bio sci, ’00, D.O., and her husband, Lee Scoggins, are parents of a son, Larkin, born last September. Megan Reeves ’95, journ, and her husband, Chris, are parents of a son, August James Reeves, born in July 2009. Julia Riley ’95, ag econ, and her husband, Matt Riley ’95, an sci, have a son, Jaden, 8, and a daughter, Bailey, 3. Erin Taylor Coy ’96, FRCD, and her husband, Christopher, are parents of a son, Aiden Scott Coy, born Dec. 3, 2009. Rob R. Gilts ’96, psychol, and his wife, Dawn, are parents of a daughter, Claudia, born in September 2009. Joseph John Schachtner ’96, mech eng, and his wife, Jennifer, moved to Charlotte, N.C., in 2009. He works in project controls for the Shaw Group. Sarah White ’96, math, ’05, MBA, had her first child, Reese Erryn, in August 2009. By 4 months of age, Reese had already attended OSU football and basketball games.

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Justin Courtney ’97, fin, was recently promoted to senior vice president for Stephens Inc., the largest privately-held investment bank in the U.S. His wife, Kelli Courtney ’97, FRCD, is clinical coordinator for Loopback Communications. Justin Covey ’97, mgmt, and his wife, Tennille Cheek-Covey, welcomed their second child, Taylor, on May 28, 2009. Wes Hilliard ’97, pol sci, is serving his third term in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. He and his wife, Melissa, are parents of a son, Weston Keith Hilliard, born Sept. 9, 2009. Trenton Mefford ’97, an sci, ’04, D.O., has been chief of staff four years for Frederick Memorial Hospital and Physician Group. He and his wife, Dawn, have two daughters, Tenley and Timber. Jennifer Stewart ’97, mktg ’99, MBA, and her husband Dale Stewart ’99, math, ’01, MBA, welcomed Mason Dale Stewart to their family on July 30, 2009. Jennifer Howell-Welle ’98, biol, ’03, D.O., and her husband, Scott, welcomed their first child, Chloe Nichole Welle, on April 12, 2010. Monica Matheson McGraw ’98, elem ed, and her husband, Matt, have a daughter, Meredith, 3. Jeramie Tidwell ’98, mktg, is now sales director for NT Logistics in Frisco, Texas. He is married to Brenda Tidwell, ’97, leisure.

’00s Brian Katterberry ’00, mech eng, and his wife, Phoebe, ’01, chem eng, welcomed their third child, Annie Jaye, on Oct. 20, 2009. Big brother Jacob and big sister Gwyn are very proud.

Jamie Gore ’04, D.O., is married to Darin and has a family practice in Elk City, Okla.

Will Brock ’01, ag ed, ’04, M.S., ag, and his wife, Mindy (Dietrich) Brock ’01, FRCD, are parents of twin boys, Cale and Luke, born May 1, 2009. Will works as a district conservationist for the USDA.

Jerrod Stutzman ’04, physics, and his wife, Melissa, are parents of Abigail Elise, born May 7, 2009. Jerrod works as a spatial analyst for Devon Energy and as a part-time adjunct professor of physics at UCO.

Kristen (Wagner) Eck ’01, ed, and her husband, Chad Eck ’02, bus, welcomed a daughter, Paisley Alexandra, on Nov. 9, 2009. Chad is a staff accountant for Black Oak Partners, and Kristen is a reading specialist for Yukon Public Schools.

Natalie Gruenberg Haggard ’05, journ, ’07, MBA, married Mark Haggard on Sept. 26, 2009. They live in Jenks, Okla.

LeeAnn L. Burgess ’02, journ, and her husband, Justin, started a landman brokerage company, Classic Land Services, and work mainly within the oil and natural gas industry. Their first child, Shelby JoAnna Burgess, was born Jan. 29, 2009. Melanie Goosman ’02, journ, and her husband, Donald Goosman ’02, fire prot, welcomed daughter Kaylee Beth on Oct. 15, 2009. Julie West ’02, mktg, married Michael West on Aug. 15, 2009, and now has three stepchildren. She is lead accountant for the Seminole Nation Gaming Agency. Jeff Boyer ’03, DVM, is owner of Boyer Veterinary Clinic.

Laura Embry ’99, an sci, ’03, DVM, is an associate veterinarian at Catoosa Small Animal Hospital. She and her husband, John, have a 5-year-old son.

Amber Hill-Payne ’03 art, lives in Corsicana, Texas, where she teaches in the public schools. She and her husband, Jason Payne, have a son, Elijah.

Todd Gregg ’99, mech eng, is an aerospace engineer for Boeing. He and his wife, Laura, have two children, Lacey, 6, and Ty, 4.

Kendra Kelton-Phillips ’03, ag comm, teaches at Muldrow Public Schools. Her daughter, Alexandria Ki Phillips, was born Dec. 31, 2008.

Michael Adam Krebs ’99, fire prot and safety, married Kelli Sample in the OSU Bennett Chapel on May 1, 2010.

Megan Kathleen Mooney ’03, MBA, worked in accounting and finance 10 years before becoming the financial recruitment manager for the Rowland Group. She and her husband, Kevin Mooney ’07, gen bus, live in Owasso, Okla.

Julie A. Bond-Ledford ’99, ag econ, ’01, ag ed, and her husband, Bryan, welcomed their first child, Jayla Ann Ledford, on July 11, 2009.

Ryan Duncan ’04, agri-bus, and his wife, Season, are parents of twins, Callen Matis Duncan and Finley Mae

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Duncan, born in August ’09, and their big brother, Trace, 4. Ryan is vice president of First National Bank of Texhoma.

Hazen Cole Marshall ’05, ag econ, is a transactional attorney for McAfee and Taft in Oklahoma City. His wife, Melanie (Marks) Marshall ’06, nutri sci, graduated from the University of Oklahoma medical school and started her family practice residency in Oklahoma City.

IN MEMORY Melvin Benton Welch ’28, ag econ, of Helena, Okla., died April 30, 2010, at age 104. In college, he and his two brothers roomed together in the Dairy Barn and also worked there to help pay their tuition. After graduation, he taught vocational agriculture and worked for the Soil Conservation Service in Texas and Oklahoma. After working in the Wichita (Kan.) Public Schools, he retired in 1971 and returned to Oklahoma. In November 2007, Welch thrilled his fellow Oklahomans by singing the original state song during Oklahoma’s centennial celebration. He sang “Oklahoma — A Toast!” to 17,000 spectators and a live television audience.

Viola Mae (Cox) Brotherton ’41, HEEC, ’51, M.S., died Aug. 17, 2010, at Tashina Kirk ’06, an sci, works as a age 92. Viola was the first student to project coordinator for the Oklahoma move into Willard Hall in the summer Conservation Commission. She and of 1937 and also became the dorm’s her husband, Albert, are parents of first historian. Her original scrapbook is Logan Keith Kirk, born Jan. 2, 2010. on display in Willard. Viola also babysat for Henry Iba’s family and later marJennifer Miller ’07, soc, completed ried fellow student Marvin Gibson her master’s in sociology at Kansas Brotherton ’42 agron, ’49, M.S. Their daughter Debbie says she’s sure her State University. mother was looking down and saying Lindsay Moore ’07, athl train, grad- “Go Pokes!” when OSU beat Washuated with her master’s of education ington State in the season opener. from the University of Texas at El Paso in May 2010. Charles E. Welch ’50, bus mgmt, died Nov. 7, 2009, at age 82. He was a Rhonda Gerig ’08 envir sci, works in retired Tulsa Realtor, held a long-time Fort Smith, Ark., as an environmental life membership in the OSU Alumni quality laboratory technician for the Association and was a member of city’s Environmental Quality Analyt- Sigma Nu fraternity. He also served ical Laboratory. as executive director of the Miss Oklahoma Pageant for more than 30 years. Charles H. Hundley ’51, ed, ’58, higher ed, ’75, Ed.D., ed admin, died July 16, 2009. Charles taught and coached in the Texola and Hooker public schools. He then was a professor in the Health and Physical Education Department at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Weatherford, for 25 years from 1966 until his retirement in 1991. He and Joella Walker Hundley ’57, bus ed, were married 61 years at the time of his death.

Robert Dale Fenimore Bob Fenimore, a 1947 College of Education social studies graduate, became OSU’s first football All-American. Sixty years later, his status as a school legend endures. Bob died July 28, 2010, at age 84. A two-way star for Oklahoma A&M, the “Blond Bomber” was named a two-time consensus All-American after leading the Aggies to victory at the 1944 Cotton Bowl and the 1945 Sugar Bowl and a 17-1 record over the 1944 and 1945 seasons. While guiding the Aggies to an 8-1 mark in 1944, he led the nation in total offense with 1,758 yards, was third with 899 rushing yards, eighth in passing yards with 997 and ninth in scoring with 77 points. He helped A&M to a perfect 9-0 mark the following year while leading the nation in total offense with 1,641 yards and rushing with 1,119 yards. He also ranked seventh on the punting chart and 13th in scoring. Fenimore finished his career with 4,627 yards of total offense and was referred to by Homer Cooke of the National Collegiate Athletic Bureau as “the greatest one-man offense in college football history.” A member of Sigma Nu fraternity, Fenimore was equally impressive on defense, recording 18 interceptions during his career — a mark that still stands as the school record. The Woodward, Okla., native was the first pick of the 1947 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears. After playing for the Bears one season, he returned to Oklahoma to begin his 40-year career with Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company. In 1953, he and his wife moved from Oklahoma City to Stillwater, where they have lived since. Professionally, Fenimore won

Bryan P. Glass ’52, Ph.D., zoo, and a long-time professor at OSU, died Aug. 27, 2010, at age 91. He came to OSU in 1946 as a zoology professor, earned his doctorate and taught for nearly 40 years before retiring in 1985. He also served as director of OSU’s University Museum and helped OSU establish an agricultural college in Ethiopia in the 1950s. His research interests ranged from black-footed ferrets to plains muskrat to pocket gophers. His longstanding program of bat

research — including Mexican freetailed bats, Seminole bats, Oklahoma bats — became the subject of an Army training film. He also held degrees from Baylor University and Texas A&M University He was an active contributor to the American Society of Mammalogists. Contributions to zoology scholarships in his name may be sent to the OSU Foundation, P.O. Box 1749, Stillwater, OK, 74076. William Walter Leatherwood ’54, B.S., ’57, DVM, died May 10, 2010, at age 77. In college, he was named to the honorary biological society,

the National Quality Award 17 years and was a member of the Leaders Club 15 years. He was active in the First Presbyterian Church, United Way and OSU Alumni Association. He was inducted into the National College Football Hall of Fame in 1972 and the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame in 2007. “Bob Fenimore will never be forgotten,” says football head coach Mike Gundy. “He may have been the most dominant player in America during his years in Stillwater. He is still listed in our record books nearly 60 years after he played. He truly is a legend.”

Phi Sigma, and was also a member of Alpha Psi fraternity, Rodeo Club and FFA. He married Bette Hogue in 1952. After graduating, they moved to Salisbury, Mo., where he purchased a veterinary clinic and expanded it into one of the largest animal hospitals in the state. Over the years, Bill was active in various veterinary organizations and helped found the American Society of Agricultural Consultants, serving as executive director until 1975. He served on several Missouri Veterinary Medical Association committees, including its legislative committee, and was a charter member of its Academy of Veterinary Medicine.

He was a member of the Missouri Veterinary Medical Board. For more than 40 years, he also served as a deputy, sheriff and coroner for Chariton County. Gary D. Thompson ’74, sec ed, died in October 2008. His wife, John Ann, says Gary loved the OSU Cowboys to the very end, even attending an OSU football game a week before his death. His funeral was an OSU event. He was buried in an OSU shirt, the pallbearers wore orange shirts and his casket was orange with an OSU plaque inside. The hearse flew OSU flags, and the OSU fight song filled the air.

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Classnotes

Lawrence Lindsay Gibbs ’72, journ, died Aug. 10, 2010, at age 67. As a student, Lawrence served as editor of th e O’C o l l e g i a n before beginning a distinguished, lifelong career as a newspaper reporter, photographer, editor and columnist for papers in Guthrie, Chickasha, Stillwater and, most recently, Perkins, Okla. He worked for the Stillwater NewsPress for 35 years, progressing from city editor to managing editor. A railroad enthusiast, Lawrence also founded and published publications for the Oklahoma Railroad Museum in Oklahoma City and for the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad Historical Society. His received a 50-year award this year from the Oklahoma Press Association for his service to the newspaper industry. Lawrence served as president of the Oklahoma Associated Press Managing Editors Association and on the national board of Associated Press Managing Editors Association. William Douglas “Bill” Warde, former department head and professor of statistics, died Aug. 3, 2010, at age 67. He held degrees from Sir John Cass College at the University of London, Florida State University and Iowa State University. At OSU, he chaired the Faculty Council and was president of the OSU chapter of the Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society. He had a fellowship at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C., from 1985 to 1986. He ran a summer camp for American Indian junior high science students in the 1990s. At the time of his death, he was serving as chapter adviser to the American Indian Science and Engineering Society and was a Sequoyah Fellow.

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Ray Murphy Jr. Former NCAA champion and OSU wrestler Ray Murphy Jr. ’69, business, died July 20, 2010, at his home in Tulsa at age 63. Following an All-American wrestling career for the Cowboys in the late 1960s, Murphy suffered a freak accident during an all-star match in 1970 and spent the next 40 years living as a quadriplegic. “Ray was an amazing guy,” says Dave Martin, OSU senior associate athletic director. “He was a guy who couldn’t breathe on his own, couldn’t walk, but you’d go see him and ask how he was doing and he’d say, ‘I’m doing great!’ “He was the kind of person who would brighten your spirits. He was a very uplifting person to the people who came to see him. He was never down or felt sorry about his circumstances. The guy was truly remarkable.” In 1967, Murphy made the OSU wrestling team as a walk-on in his junior year after winning an intramural match and gaining the attention of former head coach Myron Roderick. As a senior, Murphy was co-captain of the Cowboys’ 1969 national championship team, placed second at the NCAA tournament in the 145-pound weight class and was named an All-American for the second time in his career. In the process of getting his MBA at Oklahoma State, Murphy was a participant in an East and West All-Star match put on by the U.S. Wrestling Federation on April 11, 1970. During a match, he tried to brace himself with his head during a throw. As a result, Murphy was paralyzed from the neck down. In spite of his spinal cord injury, which also left him requiring mechanical assistance to breath, Murphy had many achievements.

He was actively involved in the development of sip-and-puff technology, a method in which a person can sip and puff in a straw in code to send commands to mechanical devices. Murphy used the technology to do such things as adjusting lights in a room, changing channels on a television, typing on a keyboard and controlling his wheelchair. Murphy became a national leader in research of new additions to the sip-and-puff technique. He was employed as a computer programmer by ConocoPhillips and other corporations to advance it and other handicapped-assisting technologies. Murphy earned a computer science degree in 1988, received national recognition as Handicapped Person of the Year in 1989, was named the 1990 Citizen of the Year by the Oklahoma Rehabilitation Association and received the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Medal of Courage award in 1998. Jim Blazer, ’68, pol sci, one of Murphy’s Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity brothers, says “Ray was the coolest guy in our fraternity before anyone used the phrase ‘cool guy.’ He was truly an All-American.” As co-chair of the Ray Murphy Fund, Blazer ensured buckets were passed around at an OSU sporting event each year so fans would have the opportunity to donate money toward Murphy’s medical expenses. “His faith sustained him through this entire ordeal,” Blazer says. “Not one day in 40 years did I or anyone else around him ever hear him complain. All he wanted to know were two things — how you and your family were doing, and what was going on in the outside world and especially at OSU.” GAVIN AVIN LANG

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HISTORY

Angie Debo signs copies of her book Oklahoma: Foot-loose and FancyFree, researched and written in Stillwater after receiving a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship in 1947.

he summer of 1947 brought the first possibility of job security for Angie Debo, who would become one of the leading historians on Western exploitation of Native Americans. Debo, 57, had earned a Ph.D. in history 14 years earlier during the depths of the Great Depression yet was unable to find a permanent full-time faculty position. But renewed hope was on the horizon. She had not been idle since completing her education. She accepted a series of temporary visiting professorships and also served briefly as director of the Federal Writers Project in Oklahoma, edited the WPA Oklahoma Guide and published four books during that time. In 1947, the Rockefeller Foundation awarded her a one-year fellowship to write a general study of Oklahoma. Debo decided to conduct most of her research at Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, where she’d been recruited to teach the swelling number of veterans returning to school on the GI Bill. The same year, she also received two academic job offers from OAMC. Theodore H. Reynolds, history department chair, offered her a tenure-track faculty position, and the library director, Edmon

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Pho tos cou rte sy osu sPe cial col lec tion s

and univ ers ity arc hive s

Low, offered her a job as the library’s maps curator. She accepted the maps position, reasoning it would allow more time for writing and research. “It is better for me than teaching because it fills certain hours and that is all,” she said at the time, and “the administration wants me to write.” The job also placed her in charge of collecting library material related to the history of Oklahoma and the southwestern United States. That September, Debo established her new office in Quonset No. 23, part of a group of temporary buildings just west of Thatcher Hall that became her main working environment for five years until completion of the new library building. As maps curator, Debo headed a major collaborative project between the U.S. military and OAMC to acquire, process

Right, During World War II, the U.S. military discovered many of its maps were inadequate and selected OAMC to document and organize an updated collection of world maps. As maps curator for the library, Angie Debo led the acquisition and processing of this geographic material valued at $100,000 and the creation of the OAMC map inventory.

and document 25,000 newly updated world maps valued at $100,000. The Army agreed to give OAMC two copies of each map covering most of the habitable parts of the globe in exchange for a list of all maps in their holdings. OAMC would provide this to the war department with the understanding that the maps themselves would be made available to the military on demand. Working for the library in the daytime and on her Oklahoma book for the Rockefeller Foundation during evenings and weekends, Debo submitted her manuscript to her publisher in early 1948 and spent a year struggling with requested revisions, which she felt in some cases weakened and diminished

As the only surviving child, companion and caregiver for her aging parents, Angie Debo spent much time with her immediate family in Marshall, Okla., yet maintained a busy schedule as a volunteer, scholar, researcher, writer and teacher. When Debo moved to Stillwater in 1947, she shared her apartment with her mother, Lina, left, but retained the Marshall home for summers and holidays. After Lina’s death in 1954 and Debo’s retirement in 1955, Debo moved back to Marshall, 35 miles west of Stillwater.

Angie Debo’s diary documents her years at OAMC from 1948-1957. 18 Ja n ua ry 1948 Aggie Theatre burned down last night. It is only one block away and the wind was carrying the sparks over us.

7 november 1949 Went over and gave Pres. Bennett a copy of my book. Had a very nice visit with him. He has a powerful — a Churchillian — intellect.

22 January 1948 Temporarily ran out of maps so spent P.M. out at Vet Village preliminary to some work I may do on history of A&M.

9 november 1949 The dinner (Oklahoma: Foot-loose and FancyFree) was perfect. I have never been so happy over anything. Dr. Bennett called off a trip to Tennessee to be there. Mother was in fine trim, and everyone was nice to her.

21 February 1948 Wrote all day. Am doing a little polishing on my M (Manuscipt) — though it is discouraging because of the way the Press is taking it.

the final product. The book, Oklahoma: Foot-loose and Fancy-Free, was released in November 1949. During her eight years OSU and the Stillwater community will celebrate the life and works of angie as maps curator, Debo Debo with numerous events this fall: published two books and Oct. 4 — Kick-off event includes OSU edited another and also alum Ron Schaefer sharing his memories wrote three articles for the of Debo and their mutual hometown. Encyclopedia Americana, Oct. 5 — Beginning of a six-week course, eight journal articles, 16 “angie Debo: Exploring her remarkable book reviews and regular life and legacy,” for OSU’s Osher lifelong columns for two newslearning Institute, taught by Sheila Johnson, papers. She also served dean of OSU libraries. as the OAMC library Oct. 20 — Discussion by scholars who historian. knew Debo, including OSU alum alvin OAMC’s mandaTurner, Ph.D., history, and moderated by tory retirement policy OSU history Professor Ron McCoy. forced Debo to retire in Oct. 25-26 — Portrayal of angie Debo July 1955, although she by OSU alumna Suzan King during a returned briefly in 1957 to Chautauqua-style program on Oct. 25 teach during a professor’s and a town hall meeting on Oct. 26 for the Osher lifelong learning Institute. sabbatical. Except for 10 years teaching at a college Nov. 1 — “Following angie’s Trail” presentation by OSU alumna Patti loughlin, Ph.D., in Canyon, Texas, from history, author of Hidden Treasures of the 1924-1934, Debo’s years American West. at OAMC provided her Nov. 11 — Film screening of Indians, longest period of employOutlaws, and Angie Debo in the OSU ment security. library’s Peggy V. Helmerich Browsing Debo lived the remainR o o m. C o m m e n t a r y by J e n n i f e r der of her life in Marshall, Paustenbaugh, OSU library professor Okla., reaching the age and associate dean. of 98 before her death For more information, visit www.library. on Feb. 21, 1988. Out of okstate.edu/news/onebook. fondness and appreciation to OSU, she donated her 5 november 1949 My book is research materials, personal library and released today. Very fine display royalties to the OSU library. Many of her in Mr. Hinkel’s window. I had the books are located in the Angie Debo Room, satisfaction of giving away my free copies and some I bought. I felt dedicated in her honor. By dav i d c. P e t e r s , osu sPecial collections & universit y archives

the book was damaged by changes.

11 nov ember 1949 The Library Staff (bless them!) is still rejoicing because everything went off so well at the dinner. 15 January 1950 The exam this P. M . was a wonderful academic experience. Old Central auditorium was packed. Maxwell covered himself with glory. Old Bill Murray was there as a voice from the historical past. 9 February 1951 I wrote an article for the NewsPress on still a different angle of the Round Mountains battle. It will be in the paper Sunday. 23 December 1951 Terrible news. Dr. and Mrs. Bennett killed in plane crash near Teheran. The college needs him, but the world needs him worse. I doubt that there is a man anywhere who can fill his place. 10 Ja n ua ry 1952 Sunny crisp day. College and all business houses closed all P.M. The Bennetts’ funeral was held in the field house. An estimated 5,000 present — a deeply reverent crowd moved by a deep sense of loss. 19 January 1953 All last week they have been moving the library — documents and catalogue are gone now. 27 January 1953 I worked all day in the new building. The maps were disarranged and damaged some. The cases are so big and heavy they couldn’t be brought up the elevator except by standing them on end. I spent the day straightening them out. 28 January 1953 The new semester started today and the students came trooping back. All day they streamed through the new library. Bless them! They have needed it so badly.

30 January 1953 I am still very happy over my work in the new place. I am having many more customers, and am able to serve them better except that it will take some weeks to unscramble the maps mixed in moving. This is my lamented birthday. 31 January 1953 I bought me some very fancy flat boxcars of shoes with rubber soles. They feel like nothing at all on my feet and look not half bad. I need them on those tiled floors of the new library. They cost $7.95. 7 may 1953 We are all looking forward to dedication of the library tomorrow. 8 may 1953 This is our big day. Library filled with distinguished librarians all morning — dedication in P.M. and more visitors. Carillon concert — very lovely. In evening we had inaugural banquet for Pres. Willham. Union ballroom packed (capacity 500). The library looked lovely — flowers and spit and polish. 26-30 July 1955 I was very busy at Stillwater all through the week of July 26-30. I had much correspondence to attend to and details to finish up my work at the library. On July 30 I packed my books, emptied my office. I left with quite a feeling of sadness. I have been very happy for the whole eight years with the library staff, a most wonderful group of people. I have even loved my maps, putting them in their trays like putting children to bed. And I loved my beautiful desk and my perfectly arranged office. I had never in my life worked in such perfect physical surroundings as I had for the two years and a half I was in that new building. I loved everything about it. Also I shall miss the convenience of constant library service. But it seems better on the whole for me to return to Marshall for my retired years. During the week I attended a library picnic. 1-2 august 1955 On August 1 I started packing. (And how I hate it!) Good Mrs. Allnutt said I could wait till today because nobody will be using the room this month. I finished packing Tuesday Aug. 2 and Mr. Moore brought me over. He had to load my office and apartment furnishings both.

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Wayne Allen, center, with Allen Scholars, from left, Chad O’Connor, Eric Gilbert, Mark Nelson and Eric Ruhlmann.

Thank you, Wayne Allen. Wayne Allen’s passion for OSU led the former Phillips Petroleum

Allen Scholars receive $7,500 scholarships annually, enjoy enrich-

Company CEO to endow the W.W. Allen Scholars Program in 2001.

ment activities such as travel to Japan and Washington, D.C., and

The first Allen Scholars — 14 of the nation’s best engineering students

spend a full year studying abroad after graduation. Renee Hale, for

— completed their OSU engineering degrees and accepted industry

instance, the first graduate to benefit from the enhanced program, is

jobs or decided to further their education with graduate degrees at

pursuing a master’s in chemical engineering at Cambridge University.

MIT. With Allen’s continued support, the endowment tripled by 2007, bringing new distinguishing features to the program already regarded as the nation’s premier engineering scholars program.

Thanks to Allen’s generosity and vision, today’s Allen Scholars gain broader academic and leadership experiences than any other engineering scholars in the nation.