In Memory
DR. KARL N. REID JR., LONG-SERVING CEAT DEAN Dr. Karl N. Reid Jr., 86, the longestserving dean of the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology at Oklahoma State University, died at his home in Stillwater on April 14, 2021. He was dean from 1986-2011 and head of the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from 1976-1986. He received his bachelor’s (1956) and master’s degrees (1958) in mechanical engineering from OSU. He served in the Army Reserves briefly, and later received a science doctorate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology on a Ford Fellowship. He was an associate professor at MIT for four years before returning to OSU in 1964. He founded several research institutions affiliated with OSU, was elected a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (1983) and the American Society for Engineering Education (1999). He was awarded the ASME Centennial Medallion and selected as the Outstanding Engineer in Oklahoma (1988). Among his academic credentials are four U.S. patents and 40 journal papers. In 1956, he married Verna Lou Westmoreland, who survives him. Other survivors include sons Ryan (wife Patty) and Darren (wife Carolina) and four grandchildren.
THE LASTING LEGACY OF DR. EARL MITCHELL Helping students — particularly minority students — pursue their aspirations for careers in the sciences and related fields was a passion of longtime Oklahoma State University professor Dr. Earl Mitchell. He often called it his privilege. The 83-year-old Dr. Mitchell died June 2, 2021, at his home in Stillwater. Less than a month earlier, on May 8, he had lost his wife of 61 years, Bernice Compton Mitchell. Dr. Mitchell’s commitment to increasing awareness and involvement in STEM disciplines — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — continues to resonate in the careers of former students, educational programs for which he garnered funding, and the large number of teachers and young people he helped explore the societal benefits provided by scientific research and study. “Dr. Mitchell was a fantastic mentor, an outstanding biochemist, a great listener and always had your best interest at heart,” said Janet Rogers, manager of the OSU Biochemistry and Molecular Biology CORE Facility. “It didn’t matter if you were an undergraduate or graduate college student, a lab tech, a fellow faculty member or a visiting high school teacher or student. He always had the gift of connecting with people.” Dr. Mitchell joined OSU as a research associate in 1967 and became the university’s first African American faculty member in 1969. He earned tenure in 1982, but he was already renowned as an outstanding biochemist and researcher. He would later serve in key administrative positions, among them assistant dean of the graduate college and associate vice president for multicultural affairs. Dr. Mitchell officially retired after 42 years of university service, but he remained active as an educational advocate at the university, state and national levels. Always a leading advocate for underrepresented students, Dr. Mitchell served as the first director of the Oklahoma Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (OK-LSAMP) program. Today, that program continues to promote minority participation at 11 higher education institutions across Oklahoma. “Engagement is the first word that comes to mind when thinking of Dr. Mitchell, for he continued to work on behalf of underrepresented students and OK-LSAMP long after he officially retired,” said Dr. Jason F. Kirksey, OSU vice president for institutional diversity and chief diversity officer. “I believe one key element was that Earl was a role model. Students were able to see themselves in him. He was the success story and was able to communicate the importance of so many things, just by having a conversation.”
LOUIS BLAIR, INFLUENTIAL EDUCATOR AND FRIEND TO OSU
In the fall of 1991, former Gov. Henry Bellmon visited OSU’s new Office of University Scholarships with a request. A national panelist for the Harry Truman Scholarship program, Bellmon, an OSU alum, regularly interviewed candidates from other land-grant schools but was disappointed that he had not yet met one from his alma mater. With his patented directness, Bellmon urged the office to “do better, work harder,” and announced that he was asking the executive director of the Truman Foundation, Louis Blair, to visit and help. That meeting led to more than 80 national award winners, hundreds of candidates and multiple programs on campus and off. It is fair to conclude that OSU’s designation as a Truman Honor School, its first Rhodes Scholarship and eventually a long-awaited Phi Beta Kappa charter would not have occurred without Bellmon’s visit and Mr. Blair’s long involvement. Mr. Blair died at his home in Virginia on Sept. 6, 2020, following years of treatments for tongue cancer. A sports fan and a wine connoisseur trained in French cooking, Mr. Blair orchestrated his trips to Stillwater for important games. Gallagher-Iba Arena was a particularly strong attraction, where he was thrilled to meet coach Eddie Sutton and greeted the crowd at halftime. He always brought an ice chest to transport Cowboy beef home, proclaiming that OSU produced some of the best he had ever tasted. An enthusiastic horseman, he wore an OSU equestrian jacket from former President James Halligan to ride and do chores. He delivered a rousing speech at the banquet in 2000 for OSU’s recognition as a Truman Honor School, placing OSU among the top tier of schools that engage students’ academic and leadership talents.
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