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Campus News
OSU climbs to No. 4 in the US for UN Sustainable Development Goals
Oklahoma A&M Board of Regents elects Callahan as board chair
Oklahoma State University is driven to make its campus better for not only current students, but also for future students by eliminating hunger on campus, providing clean water and more. OSU has earned 91.1 out of 100 points on the Times Higher Education Impact Ranking placing it at No. 4 in the U.S. and No. 63 out of 1,410 international universities.
In a year, OSU rose from No. 85 internationally and No. 8 in the U.S to No. 63 internationally and No. 4 in the U.S.
Globally, OSU now ranks in the top five in zero hunger and top 100 in clean water and sanitation, sustainable cities and communities, and partnerships. Domestically, OSU ranks No. 1 in zero hunger; top five in clean water and sanitation, and partnerships; and top 10 in sustainable cities and communities.
“The Global Impact ranking by Times Higher Education is the first effort to really understand what universities do to make our world more livable and sustainable,” said Dr. Randy Kluver, associate provost and dean of the School of Global Studies and Partnerships. “We at OSU are very grateful that this ranking highlights the exceptional contribution made by our faculty, students and staff to sustainability.”
The SGSP continues to strive to develop partnerships that will improve the quality of life for both local and global communities. Beginning in 2020, SGSP officially adopted the UN Sustainable Development Goals as the framework for OSU’s global engagement and has been actively engaging different organizations to promote awareness of the SDGs ever since.
In April 2022, SGSP partnered with the sustainability office, SGA Sustainability Committee and the academic colleges across the campus to create a series of events — held on campus and online — to raise SDGs awareness through local and global dialogues and call for more actions among our students, faculty and staff.
The Edmon Low Library is currently working to provide a database of sustainable publications the OSU community can access.
The Oklahoma A&M Board of Regents announced the election of Regent Jarold Callahan to the position of Board Chair. Callahan’s term began July 1. He succeeds Regent Trudy Milner in this position.
He was appointed to the board by Gov. Mary Fallin in 2016 and again in 2018.
“I am excited to continue working with Jarold Callahan to advance Oklahoma State University and our land-grant mission,” said Oklahoma State University President Kayse Shrum. “I congratulate him on his new role and give thanks for the hard work of his predecessor — Dr. Trudy Milner — and every member of the board, which continues to provide critical leadership and support for our university system.”
Callahan grew up in northeastern Oklahoma on a diversified family farm and cattle operation. Farming and ranching quickly became his passion. He earned an Associate of Arts degree from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College where he was the Outstanding Freshman and Sophomore in Agriculture. He then received a Bachelor of Science degree in animal science from Oklahoma State University and successfully competed on the OSU livestock judging team as a student, winning national honors.
Callahan went on to serve as a faculty member and livestock judging coach at both NEO A&M and OSU. At both institutions, he was recognized as an exceptional teacher and coach. His livestock judging teams won national championships, and he was recognized as National Coach of the Year on multiple occasions.
Callahan served as executive vice president of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association from 1991-1996 prior to being hired to lead Express Ranches. Under Callahan’s leadership, Express Ranches has been the American Angus Association high point Roll of Victory Breeder for the past 10 consecutive years and is the largest purebred seedstock operation in North America.
His many honors include service on the Oklahoma Beef Council and the American Angus Association, where he served on the board of directors and as president. Callahan and Bob Funk of Express Ranches were recognized by the OSU Department of Animal Science with the Master Breeder award in 2014. Both OSU and the University of Arkansas have recognized Regent Callahan as a Graduate of Distinction.
Oklahoma State University has named Dr. Jeanette Mendez as provost and senior vice president following a nationwide search.
The selection, which was announced May 27, was guided by input from the OSU community, as well as a diverse, 24-person selection committee, assisted by the national search firm Buffkin/Baker.
A first-generation college student, Mendez graduated from Santa Clara University in 1998, receiving a bachelor’s degree in combined sciences. From there, she went to Indiana University, earning a master’s degree in political science in 2000 and a Ph.D. in political science in 2003. She then became an assistant professor of political science at the University of Houston (2003-2005) before joining the OSU political science faculty in 2005.
Mendez was named interim provost in January 2021 following the announcement of Dr. Gary Sandefur’s retirement. She has served as a member of President Kayse Shrum’s senior leadership team, co-chair of the strategy steering committee, co-chair of OSU’s Pandemic Response Team and co-chair of the campus-wide Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force. During her time at OSU, she also has led initiatives to increase collaborative research opportunities across academic colleges and campuses, increased online degree offerings and enrollment as well as led efforts to examine and provide recommendations for possible reforms to general education at OSU.
Mendez previously served as vice provost of academic affairs and a professor of political science, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (2018-2019), associate dean for research and facilities (20172018), interim associate dean for research (2014-2015) and political science department head (2011-2014; 2015-2017).
“I believe higher education institutions should be focused on real-world solutions for real-world problems,” Mendez wrote in her application letter. “This is a hallmark of the Cowboy Culture — solving problems for the common good. During the last decade, I have watched OSU grow across all facets of the university and am confident there has never been a more exciting time for OSU than right now.”
LOOK to the upcoming winter edition of STATE Magazine for a more in-depth story on Dr. Mendez.
OSU earns Bee Campus USA certification
Oklahoma State University received official certification as an affiliate of the Bee Campus USA program designed to utilize campus landscape resources for the benefit of pollinators.
OSU is the first university in the state to receive this designation and has also been recognized as a “Tree Campus” by the Arbor Day Foundation for the past 11 years.
Post-doctoral fellow Emily Geest and graduate student Teri Cocke, both in the OSU Department of Integrative Biology, led the university’s efforts to apply and receive the Bee Campus USA designation. They established a committee of students and faculty for the project while consulting with OSU’s offices of landscape services and sustainability to demonstrate the university’s active pollinator environment.
“As a Bee Campus USA affiliate, we’re recognized for the work we were already doing with pollinators,” Geest said. “We’re lucky to have an entomology department and some of the best pollinator researchers here at OSU. We encourage the planting of native gardens and habitats for native pollinators to help reverse pollinator decline.”
John Lee, interim director of landscape services at OSU, said the university prioritizes native plantings for sustainability and pollinator support. A native plant corridor is located on the north side of Edmon Low Library directly west of the intersection at Athletic Avenue and Hester Street.
“Our designer starts all landscape architecture projects with the consideration of incorporating native plants, and we intend to build on our native corridor location,” Lee said. “We want to assist campus organizations interested in pollination and native plant projects, and we hope to introduce new concepts in the future for supporting native pollinators and their habitats.”
FOR AN INSIDE OSU VIDEO, go to okla.st/beecampus.
The School of Health Care Administration at Oklahoma State University’s Center for Health Sciences is the largest graduate program at OSU with about 500 people enrolled in the school.
And it will keep growing with the addition of a doctorate in Health Care Administration degree program.
“It was student demand; they begged us for years to offer a doctorate program,” said Dr. Bavette Miller, interim chair of the School of Health Care Administration. “We’ve had so many alumni who want that degree. We’ve been talking about it for 10 years.”
Miller, former HCA Chair Jim Hess and others in the HCA program started working toward adding the doctorate degree in late 2019.
“It was very frustrating because COVID halted everything,” Miller said, but last fall they finally received approval from the State Regents of Higher Education. “We had to show the demand was there and the benefits of offering the program.”
Miller said offering a doctorate in health care administration helps rural and underserved health systems in Oklahoma and across the country, which is the mission of OSU-CHS.
“We have physicians who may be in administrative positions at their clinics and hospitals,” she said. “Pharmacists, dentists and nurses are in similar situations, and this degree gives them more education and training on the leadership and administration side of health care.”
Coursework for the DHA program started in the fall 2022 semester, and 60 students were admitted.
“Our goal was 50 for the fall semester,” Miller said. “We just had so much demand and so many people asking for it — everywhere you can think of in Oklahoma. If that doesn’t fulfill our mission, I don’t know what does.”
Those who have graduated from the HCA master’s degree program at OSUCHS in the last 10 years will have 30 credit hours automatically put toward the 62-hour DHA program if admitted.
If it’s been more than 10 years since earning the master’s degree, a pilot program is being developed allowing prospective DHA students to take and pass two refresher courses, enabling them to earn 30 credit hours toward their doctorate degree.
The OSU-CHS DHA program doesn’t require a dissertation or research, but it’s still a doctoral degree program, Miller said.
“We don’t take it lightly. It’s a rigorous curriculum, but we go back to our mission to support health care in rural Oklahoma. People who have been in the field for years but don’t have that degree, they come with so much experience,” she said. “This program is getting them what they need to be successful. Getting them the tools they need to do what they want to do.”
OSU Cheer wins back-to-back national championships
On April 8, the Cowboys and Cowgirls came away with the national title for the second-straight year and for their fifth in the last decade. It’s OSU’s 18th national championship as a program.
“Throughout the year, we were nervous and uneasy because we had a brand new group and lost a lot of our seniors, but at the same time, just throughout the year, everyone was making so many improvements that there were no questions,” said Hunter Batkins, OSU’s senior male captain. “We knew that when the time came, we would ace the routine and defend our title like we should have.”
OSU finished ahead of fellow college powers Louisville and Texas Tech in the Large Coed Division and came in runner-up in the All-girl Division behind Louisville.
NCA Nationals take place every year in Daytona Beach, Florida. Teams are judged based on five skill-based categories: stunts, pyramids, basket tosses, standing tumbling and running tumbling.
Cowgirl equestrian captures first overall national title
For the first time in program history, the No. 1 Oklahoma State equestrian team won the overall NCEA National Championship on April 16 in Ocala, Florida, after defeating No. 3 Texas A&M, 11-9.
This year marked OSU’s first return to the final round of the national tournament since 2013. Oklahoma State’s overall national championship will stand alongside its previously won six Western National Titles and one individual champion.
“Honestly, I could not be more proud of this group of women,” coach Larry Sanchez said following the victory. “They left everything on the line, trusted the process and did more than we ever expected them to do. They deserve every bit of this.”
Oklahoma State finished the season with a record of 15-2, breaking the program record for wins in a season of 14 that was previously set in 2009. The Cowgirls defeated a No. 1 overall ranked team two separate times throughout the year, only lost one meet over nearly the last five months of the year and capped off their historic run with a national championship trophy.
Hoyt named OSU women’s basketball coach
Jacie Hoyt was introduced as Oklahoma State’s women’s basketball coach March 20. She came to OSU after serving as coach at Kansas City from 2017-22.
Her roots in Big 12 country run deep. Her mother, Shelly Hoyt, is a Kansas high school coaching legend and Jacie, who played for her mother in high school, went on to play collegiately at Wichita State. In addition to leading the Kansas City program, Hoyt’s coaching career includes stops at Fort Hays State, Nevada and Kansas State.
“There are a million reasons to be excited about Oklahoma State,” Hoyt said. “First and foremost, it’s the people and the leadership here. Everyone I’ve had conversations with at OSU aligns with the beliefs and characteristics that lead to success. It’s the community, as well. OSU has a fan base that supports the program and we are passionate about giving them something to be proud of.”
She took the reins of the Kansas City program after gaining three years of Big 12 experience as an assistant coach under Jeff Mittie at Kansas State from 2014-17. Hoyt helped the Wildcats to NCAA Tournament victories in back-toback seasons. The 2016-17 squad won 22 games overall and 11 in Big 12 play, which marked the highest totals for the program in nine seasons.
Prior to her time in Manhattan, Hoyt’s first full-time Division I coaching job came at Nevada, where she was an assistant under her college coach, Jane Albright, from 2011-14.
OSU-CHS’ Operation Orange summer camp turns 10
Ten years ago, Oklahoma State University’s Center for Health Sciences launched a unique summer camp experience for secondary students living in rural communities in Oklahoma.
Operation Orange, a one-day traveling medical school summer camp, aims to spark or encourage an interest in medicine and health care in middle and high school students in communities outside the larger metropolitan areas in the state.
Participants practice chest compressions, putting in a breathing tube and run a medical simulation case on one of the OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine’s high-fidelity manikins.
They also learn about OSU-CHS’ athletic training program and preparing for medical school.
This year, Operation Orange traveled to Ada, Enid, Lawton, Stillwater and Tahlequah during the first two weeks of June.
When Operation Orange began, a group of OSU medical school students, faculty and staff traveled to four communities to host the camps.
“The inaugural Operation Orange summer camps were a huge success. More than 150 middle and high school students from across Oklahoma had the opportunity to learn more about OSU’s medical school and interact with students and faculty,” said Ashley Adkins, who helped organize the camps in those first years and now serves as associate vice president of facilities management at OSU-CHS.
Operation Orange was created to recruit students in rural areas of Oklahoma to medical school.
“With our state facing a growing physician shortage, it has become imperative that we attract medical students who want to stay and practice in rural Oklahoma after completing their degree,” OSU-CHS President Johnny Stephens said. “One of the key factors that determine where physicians will set up their medical practice is where they were raised. Physicians who grew up in rural Oklahoma are more likely to practice medicine in a rural community.”
In the 10 years since Operation Orange started, the locations and number of communities visited each summer has changed and grown. For the past few years about 400 high school students have participated in the six camps offered across the state.
This summer, the OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah hosted two Operation Orange camps — one for middle school students on May 31 and one for high school students on June 1.
“We wanted to give middle school and junior high students the chance to be involved and ignite that spark in medicine and believing that they can be doctors,” said Dylan Tucker, OSU-CHS outreach coordinator.
OSU names Chen VP of enrollment management
Karen Chen was named vice president of enrollment during the OSU/A&M Board of Regents’ board meeting June 17. As vice president of Enrollment Management at Oklahoma State University, Chen will oversee the offices of Undergraduate Admissions, Financial Aid and First Year Success.
“Karen has been an integral part of enrollment growth. She completely understands the operational side of enrollment as well as the recruitment side and the science of enrollment management,” said Senior Vice President for Executive Affairs Kyle Wray. “She’s got the relationships across the campus with the colleges and other departments. It takes an entire university to have a solid enrollment management plan. So the partnerships she’s created across the university are integral to our success.”
Chen helped shape enrollment efforts that led to some of the largest incoming freshmen classes at OSU. For her, fostering positive and effective working partnerships is critical to the success of strategic initiatives and outcomes.
“There are always opportunities to help more students achieve a college education. We have an opportunity to serve and help even more students from underserved populations. There is need in our state and everywhere else,” Chen said. “We are trying to help students not only in our own backyard, but also across the U.S. and on the international landscape. It is a worldwide recruitment effort.”
Oklahoma State University is expanding its partnership with Special Olympics Oklahoma as it becomes the first Special Olympics Unified College Program in the state and launches unified intramural sports this fall.
Special Olympics college programs connect college students and community members with intellectual disability through shared experiences, building accepting campus communities and friendships that lead to social inclusion. Thanks to a collaboration from the OSU Department of Wellness and the Institute for Developmental Disabilities, Special Olympics athletes can participate in OSU Unified Intramural Sports starting in August.
“We are thrilled about this partnership and the opportunities to enhance diversity, equity and inclusion on the Stillwater campus,” said Dr. Jennifer Jones, Institute for Developmental Disabilities director. “This is another natural expansion of our work at the Institute for Developmental Disabilities where we learn from and work alongside individuals with disabilities and their families.”
Unified intramural teams will include OSU students serving as unified partners alongside Special Olympics athletes. Cornhole, esports, bowling and bocce tournaments, a 5v5 flag football league, a 6v6 volleyball league and more will be offered this fall.
“Through this partnership, we are looking to provide an experience for athletes and partners that they might not get anywhere else. We hope to bring people together to play, compete and build relationships with one another through sport and to embody what it is to be an OSU Cowboy,” said Brandon Bermea, coordinator of competitive sports and summer camps in the OSU Department of Wellness.
For more information, contact the Institute for Developmental Disabilities at 405-744-3991 or developmentaldisabilities@okstate.edu
