STATE Magazine, Spring 2016 by Oklahoma State

Beginning August 23, you’ll be able to access the world with two daily hassle-free flights to D/FW from Stillwater. Factor in free parking and quick boarding with short lines. Factor out travel time and expense to either OKC or Tulsa, and you’ll see the convenience and simplicity of Stillwater Regional Airport and American Airlines.

Time is money. Save both. Fly Stillwater.

Aircraft operated by Envoy ®

Spring 2016, Vol. 11, No. 3 • statemagazine.okstate.edu

Welcome to the Spring 2016 issue of STATE, the official magazine of Oklahoma State University, and your source of information from the OSU Alumni Association, the OSU Foundation and University Marketing. On the cover, from left, cello performance senior Bree Ahern, associate professor of double bass George Speed, and trumpet sophomore Kevin Kamau are grateful for Billie and Ross McKnight’s gift to transform Oklahoma State University and the Department of Music. Read more about The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts inside this edition of STATE. (Cover photography by Phil Shockley)

T H E M C K NIGH T C E N T E R F O R T H E PE R F O R MIN G A R T S

Striking a Major Chord 78

From touring Broadway shows to internationally acclaimed symphonies and symposiums spotlighting Oklahoma musicians, writers and producers, The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts plans to host world class entertainment and learning opportunities for Oklahoma State University. Billie and Ross McKnight’s transformational gift of $25 million will promote exceptional programming to match the planned 93,000-square-foot facility at the southwest corner of University Avenue and Hester Street. S PE CI A L S E C TION

OSU Celebrates 125 Years of Service Oklahoma State University’s distinct Georgian architecture throughout the campus was part of former President Henry G. Bennett’s master plan. Although he was instrumental in planning and starting construction for the library building, he did not live to see the structure completed. Read more about the Edmon Low Library’s history on Page 64 in the 125th anniversary section.

SPRING 2016

C OW BOY C OLLE C T ION

7 Seniors of Significance

Alumni Association recognizes top one percent of graduating class.

10 Alumni Hall of Fame

Four graduates earn OSU’s highest honor.

44 Fly Stillwater

American Airlines adds passenger jet service between Stillwater and Dallas/Fort Worth.

72 Busy Bee With a $4 million National Science Foundation grant, an international group is collaborating with an OSU researcher to investigate learning in honeybees.

48 A Living Legend

First female graduate from Oklahoma A&M in animal husbandry blazes a trail.

86 Purple Heart Soldier Follows His Passion

Student’s love for family pushes him to finish teaching degree.

90 OSUTeach Inspiring Careers Program helps students explore pportunities in teaching. o

92 Endowed Faculty Positions Strengthen Excellence

Donors support professors in land grant mission.

94 Technology and Pedagogy Meet in the Library Innovative services create catalyst for new ideas.

108 Outstanding Seniors

Alumni Association honors best of the best in the Class of 2016.

114 Olympic Bobsledding Dreams

Former OSU football player slides into winter sport.

D E PA R T ME N T S

96 Discoveries in the Dirt The anatomy and vertebrate paleontology track at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences places an emphasis on biomedical sciences.

Letters to the Editor

OSU Medicine

President’s Letter

OSU-Tulsa 102

100

STATEment 8

OSU-Oklahoma City

104

Campus News

OSU Veterinary Medicine

106

Wellness with Ann Hargis

New Life Members

112

The Cowboy Way

Alumni Chapters

118

KOSU Uniquely Oklahoma

Chapter Leader Profile

120

Legacy Link

Class Notes

121

Snapshot 47

Passages 124

O-STATE Stories

Book Corner

124

POSSE Replay 56

Recipe 126

OSUIT 95

Essay 128

PISTOL PETE DIDN’ T WORRY ABOUT REQUIRED MINIMUM DISTRIBUTIONS...

The IRA Charitable Rollover

Is Now Permanent! TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE NEW IRA CHARITABLE ROLLOVER LEGISLATION BY MAKING YOUR GIFT TO THE OSU FOUNDATION. IRA charitable rollovers are now permanently available! If you are 70½ or older and own a traditional or Roth individual retirement account, you may distribute up to $100,000 tax-free directly to the Oklahoma State University Foundation and support the area(s) most important to you.

BENEFITS INCLUDE: »

The gift generates neither taxable income nor a tax deduction on the federal income tax return, so you receive the benefit even if you don’t itemize on your tax returns.

The rollover to OSUF may be in addition to or fulfill any charitable giving pledges you have already planned.

These gifts can be used to support your favorite college, department or program.

You can witness the good that comes of your generosity.

To learn more details, visit OSUgiving.com/IRArollover. Contact the gift planning department at 1.800.622.4678 or giftplanning@OSUgiving.com.

UNIVERSITY

MARKETING

Kyle Wray / Vice President of Enrollment Management & Marketing Mark Pennie / Assistant Director Marketing Services Elizabeth Keys / Editor Paul V. Fleming, Shelby Holcomb, Valerie Kisling, Dave Malec & Mark Pennie / Design Phil Shockley & Gary Lawson / Photography Karolyn Bolay, Shelby Holcomb & Dorothy Pugh / Editorial Faith Kelley / OSU Student Intern Brandee Cazzelle, April Cunningham, Pam Longan & Leslie McClurg / Marketing University Marketing Office / 305 Whitehurst, Stillwater, OK 74078-1024 / 405-744-6262 / www.okstate.edu / statemagazine.org / editor@okstate.edu, osu.advertising@okstate.edu OSU

ALUMNI

ASSOCIATION

Phil Kennedy / Chair Kent Gardner / Vice Chair Jennifer Grigsby / Immediate Past Chair Chris Batchelder / President and CEO Jace Dawson / Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Pam Davis / Vice President and Chief Programs Officer

GOING TO THE CHAPEL

I thoroughly enjoy reading every article in STATE Magazine. As I read the last issue, I became very nostalgic because Oklahoma State University is where my husband, Ronald Nelson, and I fell in love. We were married in Bennett Chapel on May 22, 1966. I believe we were the third of four weddings that hot day. When he graduated in 1969, the Vietnam War was raging and he went right away to fulfill his military obligation. After he returned, we always found time to go by Bennett Chapel on every visit we made to campus — which was several times each year. We were married 46 years when he passed away in 2011. I don’t know the history of Bennett Chapel, but I wonder how many couples have been married there? Jane Nelson ’68 Vocational Home Economics Enid, Oklahoma

Pattie Haga / Vice President and Chief Operations Officer Treca Baetz, Chris Batchelder, James Boggs, Gregg Bradshaw, Larry Briggs, Bill Dragoo, Burns Hargis, Kirk Jewell, Angela Kouplen, Jami Longacre, Tony LoPresto, Mel Martin, Travis Moss, H.J. Reed, Tom Ritchie & Tina Walker / Board of Directors Holly Bergbower, Alexis Birdsong, Lacy Branson, Chase Carter, Christina Miller / Communications and Marketing OSU Alumni Association / 201 ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center, Stillwater, OK 74078-7043 / 405-744-5368 / orangeconnection.org / info@orangeconnection.org OSU

FOUNDATION

Jennifer Grigsby / Chair Kirk Jewell / President Donna Koeppe / Vice President of Administration & Treasurer Chris Campbell / Senior Associate Vice President of Information Strategy Shane Crawford / Senior Associate Vice President of Leadership Gifts David Mays / Senior Associate Vice President of Central Development Paula Voyles / Senior Associate Vice President of Constituency Programs Blaire Atkinson / Senior Associate Vice President of Development Services Robyn Baker / Vice President and General Counsel Pam Guthrie / Assistant Vice President of Human Resources Deborah Adams, Mark Allen, Chris Batchelder, Bryan Begley, Jerry Clack, Jan Cloyde, Patrick Cobb, Michael Greenwood, Jennifer Grigsby, John Groendyke, Helen Hodges, David Houston, Gary Huneryager, A.J. Jacques, Kirk Jewell, Steven Jorns, David Kyle, John Linehan, Joe Martin, Ross McKnight, Bill Patterson, Becky Steen, Lyndon Taylor, Phil Terry, Stephen Tuttle, Jay Wiese, Jerry Winchester / Trustees Shelly Cameron, Kasi Kennedy, Jennifer Kinnard, Chris Lewis, Jacob Longan, Amanda O’Toole Mason, Michael Molholt, Matthew J. Morgan, Benton Rudd / Marketing and Communications OSU Foundation / 400 South Monroe, P.O. Box 1749, Stillwater, OK 74076-1749 / 800-622-4678 / OSUgiving.com / info@OSUgiving.com STATE magazine is published three times a year (Spring, Fall, Winter) by Oklahoma State University, 305 Whitehurst, Stillwater, OK 74078. The magazine is produced by University Marketing, the OSU Alumni Association and the OSU Foundation, and is mailed to current members of the OSU Alumni Association. Postage is paid at Stillwater, OK, and additional mailing offices. Magazine subscriptions are available only by membership in the OSU Alumni Association. Membership cost is $45. Call 405-744-5368 or mail a check to 201 ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center, Stillwater OK 74078-7043. Oklahoma State University, in compliance with Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 11246 as amended, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Higher Education Act), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and other federal and state laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, genetic information, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, or status as a veteran in any of its policies, practices or procedures. This provision includes, but is not limited to admissions, employment, financial aid and educational services. The Director of Equal Opportunity has been designated to handle inquiries regarding nondiscrimination policies. Contact the Director of Equal Opportunity at 408 Whitehurst, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078-1035; telephone 405-744-5371; or email eeo@okstate. edu. Any person (student, faculty, or staff) who believes that discriminatory practices have been engaged in based on gender may discuss his or her concerns and file informal or formal complaints of possible violations of Title IX with OSU’s Title IX Coordinator at 405-744-9154. This publication, issued by Oklahoma State University as authorized by the vice president of enrollment management and marketing, was printed by Royle Printing Co. at a cost of $1.14 per issue. 33,714/May 2016/#6359.

Bennett Chapel was built as a memorial to honor students from Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College who were killed during World War I and World War II and to honor OAMC President Henry G. Bennett, and his wife Vera, who died in a plane crash in Iran in 1951. DEAR READERS,

We appreciate receiving letters with ideas for stories. Help us answer alumna Jane Nelson’s question. Were you married in Bennett Chapel? Send us your wedding story — and pictures, too. Email photographs and information about your Bennett Chapel wedding to editor@okstate.edu. Include your full name, graduation year, major and daytime telephone number. We won’t publish your phone number, but we may give you a call to verify the information. Continue to mail letters to: STATE Magazine, 305 Whitehurst, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater OK 74078. Sincerely, Elizabeth Keys STATE Editor

This edition of STATE brings exciting news about The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts at Oklahoma State University.

Thanks to a $25 million gift from alumni Billie and Ross McKnight to establish a programming endowment, the new world-class facility will transform the arts in our region and elevate the learning experience for our students. In the story starting on Page 78, learn what inspired Billie and Ross to make their astounding gift and their vision for The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts. And consider how you can get involved in this exciting project. We also celebrated big news in February when the city of Stillwater and American Airlines announced daily nonstop jet service to Dallas/ Fort Worth International Airport from Stillwater Regional Airport. American will begin two daily flights to and from DFW on August 23, connecting Stillwater to nonstop flights across the country and around the world. You can book a flight now! Spring is an exciting time on our campuses, culminating with our commencement ceremonies. Among those graduates is U.S. Army National Guard Staff Sergeant Josh Encinas. He earned a Purple Heart in Afghanistan and hopes to coach and teach high school science. It’s a wonderful story beginning on Page 86. I know you’ll enjoy it. Finally, get to know this year’s Miss OSU, Triana Browne-Hearrell, who also is a sprinter on the Cowgirl track team. Her platform, Heart to Heart, promotes healthy living. We wish her the best as she competes for the title of Miss Oklahoma in June. Ann and I are thankful for another great academic year and wish you a safe and enjoyable summer. Go Pokes!

Burns Hargis OSU President

SPRING 2016

OSU President Burns Hargis

THE SENIORS OF SIGNIFICANCE AWARD

PHOTO / GENESEE PHOTOS SYSTEMS

recognizes students for excellence in scholarship,

leadership, and community service and for bringing distinction to Oklahoma State University. The 49 Seniors of Significance for the

2015-2016 academic year represent all six undergraduate colleges and six states. The OSU Alumni Association honored them at a public banquet on November 23, 2015, at the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center. For more information about the OSU Alumni Association’s student awards program, visit orangeconnection.org/awards. Daniel Anderson, Tulsa, Oklahoma Industrial Engineering and Management

Kaylen Baker, Yukon, Oklahoma Animal Science and Agricultural Communications

Stephanie Braine, Yukon, Oklahoma Interior Design

Kourtney Brooks, Tuttle, Oklahoma Entrepreneurship and Marketing

Seth Cleary, Lindsay, Oklahoma Biosystems Engineering

Robin Clower, Stillwater, Oklahoma Secondary Education

Madison Cotherman, Gore, Oklahoma Marketing and Management

Aaron Cromer, Elk City, Oklahoma finance and Management

Laurel Eve, Tulsa, Oklahoma Child and Family Services

Leslie Farias, Oklahoma City Nutritional Sciences

Victoria Fisher, Spiro, Oklahoma Secondary Education

Charlie Gibson, Ada, Oklahoma Finance and Economics/Pre-Law

Lacy Greening, Celina, Texas Industrial Engineering and Management

Cole Griffin, Jenks, Oklahoma Architectural Engineering

Shanlyn Hefley, Wellington, Kansas Agribusiness

John Hiett, Kellyville, Oklahoma Chemical Engineering – Pre-Medical

Kyle Hilbert, Depew, Oklahoma

Brett Humphrey, Tulsa, Oklahoma Finance

Emma Orth, Andale, Kansas Chemical Engineering – Pre-Medical

Emmie Humphrey, Choctaw, Oklahoma

Alli Owen, Holliday, Texas

Human Development and Family Science

Multimedia Journalism

Jimmy Hutson, Burns Flat, Oklahoma Agribusiness and Agricultural Communications

Amanda Jones, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma Strategic Communications

Tayler Jones, Cameron, Oklahoma Psychology

Daniel Jordan, Paradise, Texas Landscape Architecture and Landscape Management

Kristen Keene, Barnsdall, Oklahoma Communication Sciences and Disorders

Kaci Kennedy, Edmond, Oklahoma Human Resources

Lindsay King, Oakland, Nebraska Animal Science and Agricultural Communications

Emily Martin, Omaha, Nebraska Nutritional Sciences – Allied Health Option

Kalyn McKibben, Wyandotte, Oklahoma Animal Science – Business

Allison Meinders, Woodward, Oklahoma Accounting

Connor Mojo, Bakersfield, California Industrial Engineering and Management

Gretchan Moore, Muldrow, Oklahoma Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Microbiology

Jacob Mullen, Flower Mound, Texas Nutritional Sciences – Allied Health Option

Shelby Northcutt, Norman, Oklahoma Communication Sciences and Disorders

Lyndsay Parks, Edmond, Oklahoma Business Management

Jeffrey Parsons, Edmond, Oklahoma Finance and Accounting

Carlie Pearson, Edmond, Oklahoma Physiology

Garrett Quinby, Woodward, Oklahoma Aerospace Administration and Operations

Rafael Rodriguez, Stillwater, Oklahoma Accounting

Mandy Schroeder, Nash, Oklahoma Agricultural Leadership

Rebekah Sook, Midwest City, Oklahoma Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Caleb Surly, Rogers, Arkansas Sports Media – Production

Mary Temple-Lee, Pauls Valley, Oklahoma Animal Biotechnology and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Connor Terry, Plano, Texas Psychology

Alexis Wiebe, Hooker, Oklahoma Agricultural Economics

Nathan Woods, Stillwater, Oklahoma Marketing and Management

Kaelyne Yumul, Southlake, Texas English, Political Science and Philosophy

Tyler Zander, Enid, Oklahoma Entrepreneurship – Pre-Medical

Agribusiness

Dear OSU Alumni and Friends, The Oklahoma State University Foundation’s 55th anniversary was January 7, 2016, right in the middle of OSU’s yearlong celebration of its 125th anniversary. The confluence of these two milestones leads us to pause and thank everyone who has generously supported this land grant institution throughout its history. These incredible alumni and friends have done so much to help the university craft such a long list of accomplishments and lives changed. The Cowboy family has always been the key to OSU’s success, and their contributions continue to make the university better in every way. Walk across campus, and see multiple facilities being built or renovated to maximize their potential. Countless students receive scholarships and great professors conduct innovative research thanks to endowed faculty positions created from donor gifts. The OSU Alumni Association is partnering with the OSU Foundation in relaunching the Traditions Society. These loyal and true Cowboys are making an impact every day through their donations supporting alumni and student programming. Learn more on Page 14. All current OSU Alumni Association members can look forward to a host of exciting events this summer including seven Cowboy Caravan stops featuring the new men’s basketball coach, Brad Underwood. We’re eager to include Coach Underwood in this tradition and welcome him to Oklahoma State University. The Traveling Cowboys have already made two stops on their 2016 schedule with many exciting destinations

remaining. Visit orangeconnection.org/travel to see what adventures we have in store for those wearing America’s Brightest Orange.® The OSU Alumni Association is proud to recognize Cowboys who became life members in 2015. As you can see from the listing on Page 112, many new life members are students on campus who have already solidified their connection for life. Many students begin their orange journey with a friend or family member telling them about OSU. It’s not too late to apply and start a bright future. Scholarships and other financial aid are still available. Spread the message about all the great things happening at OSU, and encourage prospective students to enroll. Bring your friends, and show off the beautiful campus – the flower displays are dazzling. Summer tours open classrooms and labs for different academic disciplines; check out the Colvin Center exercise facilities; and explore the variety of housing options. With two daily flights between Dallas/Fort Worth and Stillwater Regional Airport beginning in August, it’s easy to come visit. Start planning your trips at FlyStillwaterOK.com.

Best Wishes to the Class of 2016!

Chris Batchelder

Kirk Jewell

Kyle Wray

President OSU Alumni Association

President OSU Foundation

OSU Vice President for Enrollment Management & Marketing

SPRING 2016

My Orange Passion OSU is where you discover your orange passion. That could be scholarships to assist students, gifts to the Center for Veterinary Health Sciences because you’re an animal lover, or anything else that reflects your unique personality. Your orange passion is how you choose to support OSU with your time or money. Last fall, the OSU Foundation sponsored the My Orange Passion contest asking alumni, friends and students to share their orange passions and why they support those passions. After a public vote, a panel of judges from around the OSU system selected two winners among the 34 entries in two categories.

Wes Hawkins won the student category, earning a $500 scholarship and an Alumni Association brick paver for his entry about his orange passion, which is his major, hotel and restaurant administration. Hawkins is a Ponca City native who has cystic fibrosis. He expects to graduate in December, due in no small part to professors who have worked with and helped him to complete his assignments even when he has been in the hospital.

The alumni/friends winner was Edmond’s Buck Stewart, who also received a brick paver and two club level tickets to OSU’s football game against Baylor. Stewart, a 1982 computer science graduate, shared the tickets with his wife, Mary (Barber) Stewart, a 1981 trade and industrial education graduate. They also share an orange passion for scholarships. In fact, they funded scholarships honoring their two children, who also became OSU alumni.

To learn more about the winners and read their entries, visit OSUgiving.com/weshawkins and OSUgiving.com/buckstewart.

PHOTO / GENESEE PHOTO SYSTEMS

Hall of Fame By Holly Bergbower

2016

he OSU Alumni Association inducted Anne and Michael L. Greenwood, David Kyle and Vaughn O. Vennerberg II into the OSU Hall of Fame at a ceremony February 12 in the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center. Induction into the OSU Hall of Fame is the highest honor bestowed by Oklahoma State University. It recognizes alumni and former students with outstanding lifetime achievements in society and professional life. In 60 years, the Hall of Fame has recognized 169 honorees.

The OSU Alumni Association would like to thank Standley Systems and the OSU Foundation as sponsors of the 2016 OSU Hall of Fame. Visit orangeconnection.org/hof, or scan this QR code to watch the induction videos of the 2016 honorees on OState.TV.

SPRING 2016

MICHAEL L. GREENWOOD ANNE MORRIS GREENWOOD Michael L. Greenwood, a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1977 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Anne Morris Greenwood, a native of Carnegie, Oklahoma, studied accounting at Oklahoma State University for three years before graduating from the University of Tulsa in 1979. Michael began his career as a corporate planning analyst for Williams Pipeline Company in 1980. In 1986, he served as the general manager of mergers and acquisitions for MAPCO Inc. Michael went on to become the chief financial officer and treasurer for Alliance Resource Partners L.P. and vice president-finance and treasurer of Energy Transfer Partners L.P. in 2002. He founded Carnegie Capital LLC, a financial advisory firm, in 2004 and is currently the managing director. He serves on numerous boards

and committees for the OSU Foundation including the board of trustees, board of governors, budget committee, building committee and compensation commitee. Michael is also a member of the Spears School of Business Associates, SSB Speakers Bureau, OSU Research Foundation Board and Cowboy Technologies Board. After a career in corporate accounting with several Fortune 500 companies, Anne retired to focus on philanthropic endeavors. She serves in many leadership and volunteer capacities for Women for OSU, Friends of the OSU Library, OSU Friends of Music, OSU Athletics Council, College of Human Sciences Freshman Reading Program, New Performing Arts Advisory Council and the Provost’s External Advisory Council. Anne is also a sponsor of the Cowboy Marching Band and the OSU Student Foundation. “Anne and I recognized many years ago how important an education was to our success, and we can never really repay OSU for what it’s done for us, but we try,” Michael Greenwood says. The Greenwoods have endowed three scholarships: the Michael L. Greenwood - Tulsa Will Rogers Ropers Endowed Scholarship, the Anne Morris Greenwood - Carnegie Wildcats Endowed Scholarship and the Anne Greenwood OSU Marching Band Endowed Scholarship. Their support of academics and athletics at OSU have led to the naming of the Anne Morris Greenwood Reading Room in the Edmon Low Library and the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center. “OSU offered me the perfect platform to be successful in life,” Anne Greenwood says. “And for that I am very grateful.” In 2015, the Greenwoods were inducted into the Spears School of Business Hall of Fame. They are lifetime members of the OSU Alumni Association. The couple lives in Stillwater.

“Serving OSU is our primary focus in life right now,” Michael Greenwood says. “And how can it not be when this great university has given us so much and provided us the opportunity to have careers and a lifestyle that neither of us ever could have imagined?”

continues

DAVID KYLE David Kyle of Oklahoma City graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and management. “The engineering approach to problem solving ingrained my belief in incremental improvement,” Kyle says. He is the former president of Oklahoma Natural Gas and ONEOK Inc. and is also an accomplished impressionist artist. Kyle spent 33 years with ONG and retired from ONEOK as chairman in 2007 and left the board in 2011. He has served as the director of numerous boards including: Bank One Oklahoma, BOK Financial Corporation, Oklahoma Hall of Fame and the Nature Conservancy of Tulsa. Kyle is a past chairman of the OSU Foundation board of trustees and board of governors. Kyle has been inducted into numerous Halls of Fame and received the OSU Distinguished Alumni Award in 2009. “I’m a firm believer in ‘to those whom much is given, much is expected,’” Kyle says. “I’m proud that we’ve been able to give back to the place that has had such a positive impact on my life.” Kyle currently works as an artist, mostly in oils, and travels frequently for inspiration. He is a member of the American Impressionist Society. Kyle and his wife, Tracy, live in Tulsa. They have four children – Taylor, Wes, Allison and Bryan. Kyle is a lifetime member of the OSU Alumni Association.

SPRING 2016

VAUGHN O. VENNERBERG II Vaughn O. Vennerberg II, a native of Midwest City, Oklahoma, graduated from Oklahoma State University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1976. “OSU provided me a broad perspective of people and how they approached challenges and compromises. Those observations helped me apply many viewpoints to my own life,” Vennerberg says. Vennerberg’s career began in 1979 as a landman for Texaco, followed by a stint at Cotton Petroleum Corporation in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Cross Timbers Oil Company hired Vennerberg as a land manager in 1987. He spent 23 years with the company, finally serving as the president. In 2011, Vennerberg co-founded MorningStar Oil & Gas in Fort Worth, Texas, where he is a partner and president. He is currently serving a two-year appointment on the National Petroleum Council from the United States Secretary of Energy. He served as director for numerous oil, gas and energy boards and in other leadership positions in the oil and gas industry. He was a founding member of America’s Natural Gas Alliance and served on its executive committee until 2011. Vennerberg and XTO Energy established three endowed faculty positions at OSU in art, bioinformatics and molecular genetics, and developmental disabilities psychology. He received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2011. “The issues that each of us face tomorrow will be solved by the students that we’re educating today,” Vennerberg says. “These students depend on us to lead them to tomorrow.” Vennerberg lives in Dallas with his three sons – Trey, Luke and Zachary. He is a lifetime member of the OSU Alumni Association.

By Christina Miller

Batchelder brothers enhance OSU Alumni Association through $1 Million gift

he Batchelder family has been a longtime, outstanding supporter of Oklahoma State University. To say they love OSU is an understatement. Brothers Gene and David Batchelder have continued this legacy by donating $1 million to expand the OSU Alumni Association’s reach and programming. “David and I are so pleased to make this contribution to the Alumni Association to help further our ‘orange’ connections and strengthen the great traditions of our university,” Gene Batchelder says. “Oklahoma State has been important to our family for quite some time and is part of what we attribute to having been so blessed in our professional and personal lives.” OSU President Burns Hargis says this donation was among the largest ever made to the OSU Alumni Association. On February 5, 2016, a ceremony was held to rename the area previously known as Traditions Hall to the Batchelder Family Traditions Hall. This area included the fireplace that was named for their father, Arley Batchelder, the first in the family to attend OSU. “Our father, an Oklahoma A&M alumnus and the first Batchelder to attend

SPRING 2016

college, deserves much of the credit,” David Batchelder says. “We are pleased to see Chris (Batchelder) carry on that tradition here. Plus, being able to do this as brothers just makes it that much more rewarding for us.” Chris Batchelder, president and CEO of the Alumni Association, is Gene’s son and David’s nephew. Chris says their contribution will increase alumni engagement worldwide by extending the Alumni Association’s programming capabilities. “The Cowboy family is extremely fortunate to include people like the Batchelders, who have used their great professional success to in turn support others,” Hargis says. “It is fitting to honor them through the naming of the most popular space inside the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center.” Gene Batchelder graduated in 1969 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. He served as president of the OSU Alumni Association from 2000 to 2001. In 2013, he retired as senior vice president of ConocoPhillips and is currently chairman of Occidental Petroleum’s board of directors. David Batchelder graduated in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. In 1996, he co-founded Relational Investors, which became one of the largest activist funds in the world. Both brothers have been inducted into the OSU Alumni Association Hall of Fame and the Spears School of Business Hall of Fame.

OSU President Burns Hargis celebrates with the Batchelder family at the opening of the new Batchelder Family Traditions Hall.

The Batchelder brothers’ donation coincides with the relaunch of the Traditions Society, which supports expansion of the Alumni Association’s programming through yearly gifts of at least $1,000. These contributions fund various initiatives including the 2015 partnership with OSU Career Services to offer professional development support for all members. Increased networking and engagement events outside Stillwater will further connect members of the Cowboy family. More funding ensures the future of “America’s Greatest Homecoming Celebration” and develops unique student activities. New travel possibilities facilitate learning opportunities and trips to cheer on the Cowboys outside of Stillwater. “The OSU Alumni Association experienced unprecedented growth over the past three years, and we are excited about what this transformational gift will allow us to further achieve,” Chris Batchelder says. “Engaging our alumni is central to our mission of keeping the 230,000-plus alumni and friends of Oklahoma State University ‘Connected for Life.’” For more information about the OSU Alumni Association Traditions Society, visit orangeconnection.org/donate. To make a gift, visit OSUgiving.com or contact Sean McCabe of the OSU Foundation at 405-3855607 or smccabe@OSUgiving.com.

PHOTO / GARY LAWSON

A Family Tradition of Generosity

Alumnus Bill Goldston delivers the commencement address in December 2015.

Former OSU Cowboys and Dallas Cowboys football star Walt Garrison is awarded an honorary degree.

OSU President Burns Hargis congratulates honorary degree recipient John Niblack, left. PHOTOS / GARY LAWSON

Alumni Granted Honorary Degrees A

s Oklahoma State University marked its 125th anniversary in December, more than 1,700 students earned undergraduate and graduate degrees. Three outstanding OSU graduates were recognized during commencement ceremonies. Dr. John Niblack, who led research at pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, was presented an Honorary Doctorate in Human Letters. Bill Goldston, who leads one of the world’s premier fine art print studios in New York City, was presented an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts Degree. Walt Garrison, who was a star NFL running back and has consistently given back to

SPRING 2016

OSU and others, received an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters. Niblack and Goldston spoke at the undergraduate commencement ceremonies. For more than a decade, Niblack has provided generous research scholarships to students at OSU. Currently, 14 students received $8,000 scholarships and the opportunity to conduct supervised research. Goldston was the major force behind the transformation of the OSU Postal Plaza Gallery in downtown Stillwater. He made possible the New York Project, an ambitious series of exhibitions bringing

the work of major New York artists to Oklahoma. Garrison studied animal husbandry at OSU and then helped the Dallas Cowboys win a Super Bowl in 1972. He used his down-home personality and celebrity status to help OSU and many charitable organizations. Always a major supporter of rodeo, he utilizes his talents to support the rodeo team at OSU. The careers of these three individuals are representative of the diverse fields of study offered at OSU, and their lives reflect the service to others that is the hallmark of a land grant university.

Where STATE ly TradiTion

Meets ModernElegance

Lunch served Monday thru Friday, 11 a.m.–2 p.m. Dinner served Tuesday thru Saturday 5 p.m.–9 p.m. 405-744-BEEF (2333) theRanchersClub.com 405-744-6835 AthertonHotelatOSU.com

Kirksey, vice president and chief diversity officer for the OSU Division of Institutional Diversity.

Engineering Grad Returns To Campus

Precious Elmore-Sanders, assistant vice president for the OSU Division of Institutional Diversity, left, accepted the Institutional Excellence Award for 2016 from Kevin McDonald, co-chair of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education awards committee, in San Francisco.

OSU Honored With Diversity Award

klahoma State University was honored for its progress in promoting and sustaining innovative diversity efforts on campus with the Institutional Excellence Award for 2016 from the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education.

transformation, professional development, assessment policies and practices, accountability measures and outreach efforts. “We are honored to receive this award and pleased our diversity efforts are being recognized nationally,” says OSU President Burns Hargis. “We are more committed than ever to ensuring that everyone who comes to our campus feels welcome, respected and valued.”

“… Oklahoma State University’s diversity and inclusion leadership and accomplishments stand out to make it one of higher education’s exemplary models.” — Dr. Benjamin D. Reese Jr., president of NADOHE “In a time of such challenges and opportunities in academia nationwide, Oklahoma State University’s diversity and inclusion leadership and accomplishments stand out to make it one of higher education’s exemplary models,” says Dr. Benjamin D. Reese Jr., president of NADOHE. The award, which was presented during the organization’s annual conference on March 15, in San Francisco, honors efforts such as institutional leadership, curricular reform, institutional

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OSU has also been recognized nationally for four years in a row with the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. “OSU is honored and humbled to be the recipient of these prestigious awards, which is a tremendous acknowledgement of our commitment to inclusion and recognizes the university’s diversity efforts in a national context as substantial, meaningful and impactful.” says Jason

r. William E. “Bill” Hogan visited OSU and spoke with students and staff. He is the founder, chairman and CEO of The Hogan Group, a management consulting firm. Its subsidiary, The Hogan Company, is a private equity investment firm focusing on small to large businesses with revenues between $5 million and $100 million. Hogan earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at OSU in 1965. As an undergraduate, he served as president of the OSU Epsilon Epsilon Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. In 1969, he earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Southern Methodist University. Hogan returned to OSU and completed a doctoral degree in electrical engineering in 1973. In academia, Hogan served the University of Kansas as associate executive vice chancellor before working in industry as vice president of world operations at Honeywell Inc. and vice president of corporate operations and quality at Medtronic Inc. He has also served as a director on several company boards and educational organizations. His wife Shadra attended OSU but graduated from SMU. She serves on the board of directors of the Minnesota Orchestra. They have two children, Shalaun Newton and William Hogan III.

OSU alumnus Bill Hogan, center, met with students and staff including Jason Kirksey, vice president and chief diversity officer for the OSU Division of Institutional Diversity, and OSU President Burns Hargis, right.

BY J E F F J O I N E R

uch of the research underway at Oklahoma State University is off the radar for most people and not just those beyond our campus, but even among university staff and faculty. With investigations taking place in every academic discipline on the Stillwater and Tulsa campuses, it is no surprise discussion of research is often met with the comment, “I didn’t know they did that at OSU.” Research Week was started in 2004 by then Vice President for Research Dr. Stephen McKeever as a way to shine a bright light on the breadth and quality of research and scholarship at Oklahoma State. The first event included lab tours, student research presentations and esoteric lectures such as “Overview of Computational Methods for Modeling Lipid Membranes.” In 2006, OSU Regents Professor of Marketing John Mowen kicked off the event saying researchers need to “communicate with passion the importance of science and research to Oklahoma and the world.” That call is at the heart of Research Week. Current VP for Research Dr. Kenneth Sewell, who assumed the job in the summer of 2015, continued the tradition with this year’s event in February but with changes to reflect the direction he is taking the OSU research enterprise. Sewell put his own stamp on his first Research Week by “broadening the research umbrella.”

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PHOTO / PHIL SHOCKLEY

Shining a light on OSU research and scholarship

PHOTO / GARY LAWSON

Although arts and humanities were there, early Research Weeks were mostly a stage for science, engineering and technology. Sewell says at a comprehensive research university, all disciplines, including the arts and humanities, must be recognized, especially at Research Week. In addition to many events related to science and technology, the 2016 Research Week showcased three art exhibits, a student art contest, a theater performance and two musical performances. “We tried to pay a lot of attention to the overall Research Week programming and cast as broad a net as possible,” Sewell says. “We focused on the whole thing — science, technology, scholarly work and creative artistry.” Sewell introduced his own take on the week with a series of panel discussions, each focused on one of OSU’s interdisciplinary research strengths. The panels, made up of OSU faculty experts, highlighted “Powering Oklahoma and the Nation,” “OneHealth,” and “CommunityEngaged Research,” as well as a kickoff panel where Sewell outlined his vision to raise the prominence of OSU as a comprehensive research university. To recognize the work of OSU faculty, a special reception was held to feature

INSET: During Research Week, Will Weigand and Courtney Farney acted in “Almost Maine,” directed by Bailey Robert. ABOVE: Poster presentations are on display for the event.

their work, both investigations that provide the foundation for future discoveries (basic research) as well as work resulting in products and services that benefit society and the economy directly (applied research). “The work being done at OSU is valued not just because it’s published, but also because it is cited, built upon, and utilized by other researchers across the world to advance their fields,” Sewell says. For Sewell, a goal is to see Research Week as no longer needed – someday. “One day we will have so much highly visible research going on at OSU that we will spend the whole year recognizing and celebrating it,” he says. “At that point, having Research Week once a year would seem redundant.”

“The work being done at OSU is valued … because it is cited, built upon, and utilized by other researchers across the world to advance their fields.” — Dr. Kenneth Sewell

Renewing Relationships FAPC works to strengthen partnerships between education and industry BY A S H L E Y M I D D L E S WA R T H

ridging the gap between higher education and industry is certainly not a new concept. However, Oklahoma State University’s Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center is setting the standard when it comes to developing relationships with the food and agricultural industry. “FAPC is known for helping food companies in the state, region and nation, whether it be business or technical assistance, product development or research,” says Roy Escoubas, FAPC director. “But we wanted to take the next step in further developing relationships with food manufacturers and pass on needed, fundamental information that is relevant to food processing.” DuPont Nutrition and Health is one company that FAPC, a part of OSU’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, has worked with to strengthen the relationship between education and industry.

A relationship that began in 2013 flourished into a teaching opportunity for one former DuPont scientist when Mac Orcutt joined OSU’s Department of Animal Science as an adjunct professor and taught a course about processed meats. DuPont invested in salary, travel and materials to support Orcutt’s work at OSU. “I feel it is important for both trained professionals and corporations to engage with universities beyond research grants and contract research,” Orcutt says. “This has been a great experience for me, DuPont, and I trust for the students as well.” The initial goal of the class was to pack as much useful and difficult-to-find information related to labeling, manufacturing, quality and safety of furtherprocessed meat products into a single class, he says. Quickly finding the enormity of exposing students to that information in a single class, Orcutt focused his instruction on building a clear understanding of fundamentals related to processed-meats labeling, ingredients, food safety and manufacturing.

“The real-world experience Orcutt brought to the classroom helped students gain a better understanding of industry standards and expectations,” Escoubas says. “Orcutt was able to bring best practices and science applications into the classroom to reinforce the importance of learning as an evolutionary process throughout a professional career.” Orcutt says he has enjoyed his association with OSU, the Department of Animal Science and FAPC. “Working with the faculty, staff and students provided me the chance to touch the lives of many young future professionals as well as to renew old friendships and develop new ones,” he says. The relationship grew when DuPont agreed to sponsor FAPC’s annual Research Symposium along with the Institute of Food Technologists-Oklahoma section. Held in conjunction with OSU’s annual Research Week, the symposium includes oral and poster presentations of research conducted at FAPC, OSU and other universities, and a keynote speaker featuring topics pertinent to the food and agricultural industries. Chuck Willoughby, FAPC business and marketing relations manager, says FAPC truly appreciates the generosity of DuPont Nutrition and Health. “DuPont not only has provided funds for three different symposiums but has taken an active role in helping us recruit renowned keynote speakers who can bring the real world to the academic setting,” Willoughby says. “Their financial support has been instrumental in offsetting costs associated with speakers’ travel, symposium materials, and refreshments and lunch for the participants. The abundance of their sponsorship also has allowed us to expand the number of student awards presented.” Escoubas says FAPC is pleased to foster the relationship with DuPont and appreciates their support throughout the years. “We hope to continue to provide that real-world experience and education which is so important for developing a career in the food and agricultural industry,” he says.

DuPont Nutrition and Health has invested in funding Mac Orcutt’s work in teaching at Oklahoma State University.

PURE

Curiosity

When history can’t answer a question, OSU chemistry professor Jimmie Weaver gets interested

Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund worth $110,000. Fluorine provides the single strongest bond made to carbon, but naturally occurring C-F compounds s far as scientific disciare extremely rare (there are only 12 plines go, chemistry is well established. known out of a billion-plus compounds The subject as we know it today has been in the world). Weaver calls the bond the studied for approximately 200 years. Over “Mt. Everest of chemical challenges” but, that time, chemists have made staggering where others had only partially succeeded, advances in electronics, biology, mediWeaver approached the problem from cine and industry but, if you ask Jimmie a new angle and found a simple way to Weaver, he will tell you scientists have just conquer the obstacle. scratched the surface. “It’s like we have the world record “We are at the frontier of chemistry,” of climbing Mount Everest,” Weaver he says. explains. “Where others had only Weaver is perched along the banks of achieved a reaction of 67 catalyst turnthis metaphorical Mississippi River, peerovers before the catalyst died, ours went ing into the Wild West and searching for to 25,000 before we stopped counting. big discoveries. Over the last year, Weaver Catalyst turnover is a measure of how has secured a gold rush of grant money, many times a catalyst can repeat an action propelling his journey to the unknown. before it quits, so for every one of these “It’s pure curiosity,” he says. “It’s catalyst molecules, it could repeat the wanting to know what no else knows yet reaction over 25,000 times.” and thinking about all the possibilities.” Carbon-fluorine bonds are extremely Since Weaver arrived at OSU in 2012, useful in creating medicines such as his lab in the Henry Bellmon Research cholesterol regulators (Crestor), antiCenter has focused on three distinct areas diabetics (Januvia), anti-HIV drugs of research, each of which is now funded (Emtricitabine), insecticides and agro— at least in part — by local or national chemicals (Diflufenzopyr). Juxtaposed grants. He has built a stable of postagainst the utility of these fluorinated doctoral researchers, graduate students molecules is the difficulty of synthesizing and undergraduate students from scratch them. Not only are the compounds rarely and sees the possibility of expanding his produced in nature, but the current stateteam of researchers in the very near future. of-the-art process for their production CARBON-FLOURINE is long and inefficient. For instance, the F U N C T I O N A L I Z AT I O N fluorinated compound from which Januvia is synthesized takes seven to eight steps Weaver’s research into carbon-flouto make and often results in undesired rine functionalization is funded by two environmental hazards. Most chemists separate grants: one from the National have attempted to address this problem Institute of Health worth more than $1.4 by trying to put fluorines on the molecule million and another from the American B Y B R I A N P E T R O T TA

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while Weaver realized the same goal by starting from highly fluorinated material and then selectively removing fluorines from the molecules. Fortunately, he has help with this difficult process. Graduate student Sameera Senaweera has worked in Weaver’s lab almost from its beginning. After earning his undergraduate degree in chemistry in his home country of Sri Lanka, Senaweera spent his first semester of graduate school at OSU listening to faculty presentations before deciding on an area of study. If the above paragraphs confused you, don’t feel badly. It also happened to Senaweera at first. “Dr. Weaver’s presentation was pretty complex,” he says, “but it was interesting.” Senaweera also saw an opportunity to help build something from the ground up. Weaver’s lab was not yet fully realized and since Senaweera was one of his first students, there were no postdoctoral researchers or upper-level graduate students to lend assistance. The upside was that he worked closely with and learned directly from Weaver. In fact, Weaver’s investment in his students is one of the traits chemistry department head Frank Blum admires most about him. “Dr. Weaver works hard to support his students in their scientific work and is an example of how hard work and creativity pays off,” Blum says. The short-term payoff has been landing federal grant money to pursue the research. The long-term benefits are potentially huge. “Our hope is to develop chemical reactions that can be used to transform molecules of low value, such as petroleum which simply gets burned, and enhance its value by making it something you might take to save your life or perhaps use to help grow crops at a higher yield,” Weaver explains. ELECTRON TR ANSFER M E D I AT E D C R O S S - C O U P L I N G S

Scaling “Mount Everest” was not enough for Weaver. He also decided to take on a group of Nobel Prize winners. In 2010, Richard F. Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for “palladium-catalyzed cross couplings in organic synthesis,”

which essentially made it easier to join carbon atoms together. While this technology was quickly adopted in both research and commercial industries, Weaver theorized an even simpler solution. “We are attempting to convince people it is needlessly difficult — at least in many cases,” he says. “We think we can accomplish many of the same transformations by the addition of an electron and we’re developing chemical reactions that allow you to do that.” The National Science Foundation had enough faith in the idea to award Weaver a $650,000 CAREER grant in the spring of 2015. A portion of the grant funds research opportunities for undergraduates like Ryan Matlock. A Mustang, Oklahoma, native, Matlock initially wanted to study psychology at OSU. An analytic chemistry course with Sadagopan Krishnan changed his mind, especially after spending some time in the lab. Weaver passed Matlock on campus one day and, having also had him in class and recognizing his abilities, asked if he would be interested in working in the lab. “A week later, there I was and I stuck with it,” Matlock says. The hands-on experiences he developed at OSU helped him land a summer job at Accurate Environmental Labs in Stillwater. He now plans to pursue a doctoral degree and eventually start his own environmental chemistry laboratory. U P H I L L C ATA LY S I S

“Most smart chemists don’t look at reactions like this because it doesn’t make sense,” Weaver begins. Indeed, the first seven hits when you enter “uphill catalysis” in an Internet search all relate to Weaver’s research in some form. Yet he believes it is a mistake to overlook the potential of this process. While it is not yet simple to do, Weaver thinks scientists can get there. Uphill catalysis refers to the flow of energy in a reaction. Generally, in a chemical reaction, molecules move in the direction that lowers the system’s potential energy, just like water

flowing in a downhill direction. Weaver believes it is possible to do the opposite by using sunlight, similar to photosynthesis in plants. “The light allows us to excite molecules, much like a windmill can pump water vertically, from this excited state all reactions are ‘downhill,’ and therefore overall the products of the reaction contain more energy than the starting materials,” Weaver explains. “To do this catalytically is rare and underexplored.” Currently supported by an Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science grant, his lab has engineered a molecule that contains so much extra energy that it can undergo extremely fast reactions, which can be useful for performing chemistry on large molecules (i.e. proteins, polymers, etc.). Weaver plans to add informative tools to his molecule in order to help others understand their large molecules, which can be difficult to comprehend because of their sheer size. Eventually, the hope is that this chemistry will be widely available and so simple to use that it can be put into a package to purchase from a catalog company and all that is needed is to tear, pour, and turn on the lights.

PHOTO / PHIL SHOCKLEY

B U I L D I N G A P R O G R A M AT O S U

Undoubtedly, Weaver could have pursued a career in industry and commanded a greater salary than the continues

“You have to show it is not only interesting science, but it’s going to fundamentally solve a bigger problem.” — Jimmie Weaver 23

Schnitzer Memorial Fund for Chemistry

For a number of years, Merrill served an auxiliary function on the Phillips recruiting team, touring colleges to interview upcoming graduates for job placement. In this role, he played a part in hiring many OSU students. The A. Merrill and Winona M. Schnitzer Memorial Fund “Merrill was an outstanding organic research chemist for Chemistry will permanently endow an annual graduate with a distinguished career at Phillips Petroleum,” says research summer internship at Oklahoma State University. Frank Blum, chair of OSU’s chemistry department. “He was As graduates of OSU, Merrill and Winona witnessed always interested in the department and its challenges and paradigm shifts in the size, scope and mandate of their alma opportunities. He made a point to regularly communicate mater, from enrollment as students in the late 1940s to their with me, and I with him. He and Winona were strong and respective passings in 2014 and 2015. regular supporters. In his work life, I am aware that Merrill When the couple came to Stillwater following Merrill’s was welcomed at Phillips even after retirement, where I am naval service in the Pacific theater after World War II, they sure his advice was often sought. He was an outstanding lived in typical married student accommodations — a onealumnus and emissary for the chemistry department bedroom “Vet Village” apartment. Merrill often later mused at OSU.” “frost would form along the baseboards Winona and Merrill never forgot their in the dead of winter — the walls on those alma mater, supporting many academic tenements were so thin.” and athletic causes. They attended football, Oklahoma State prepared them with basketball and baseball games, bowls, educations for life. Winona earned a tournaments and series for more than bachelor’s degree in business in 1947. Merrill 60 years. studied chemistry, earning a master’s “The original idea for the OSU chemistry degree in 1949 and a doctoral degree in scholarship was my sister Janine’s — who organic chemistry in 1952. After Merrill’s is an OU grad,” says son and OSU alumnus graduation, they moved to the Bartlesville Steve with a twinkle in his eye. “Our folks Merrill and Winona M. Schnitzer area, where he had accepted a position had endowed academic scholarships and spent his entire career with Phillips at OCU and Northwestern State in our Petroleum. Beginning as a research chemist, grandparents’ names, so this thought just seemed to Merrill developed several patents through the years. He follow naturally.” progressed to Director of Consumer Protection, where his “We felt an appropriate tribute to our parents would be department interfaced Phillips Petroleum’s materials, metha perpetual scholarship to the department from which Dad ods and products with the Environmental Protection Agency. empowered a career. I think they would be proud of this gift, The couple raised a family in Bartlesville, where they were this legacy, which they so richly deserve,” Janine says. active in school, scouting, church and civic organizations.

one he currently collects, but the freedom to pursue a wider scope of research proved to be too enticing. He feels fortunate to hold his position at OSU, noting major pharmaceutical companies were accepting 600-700 applications for a single position at the time he was searching for a job. Holding modern lab space in the HBRC was a major draw for Weaver as well. It offers him the tools to pursue answers to his questions, and he has developed unique skills in catching the attention of funding agencies. “Organic synthesis researchers do not often get grants because they don’t know how to sell it,” Senaweera says. “What Dr. Weaver has learned is how to combine what we do with what the medical field or another industry is looking for.”

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Weaver poured hours of work into acquiring that initial NSF CAREER award. He estimates the 15-page proposal took hundreds of hours in experiments and gathering preliminary evidence. While simply asking a question is enough to get him excited, Weaver realized he needed to take it a step further with a funding agency to really command attention. “You have to show it is not only interesting science, but it’s going to fundamentally solve a bigger problem,” Weaver says. Solving fundamental problems in chemistry — like scaling Mount Everestsized chemical problems or taking on Nobel Prize winners — is the essence of what Weaver is trying to accomplish at OSU. The next challenge is to demonstrate how solving fundamental problems has

huge potential impact for society. In just a few short years, he has built a team of 10 postdoctoral researchers and graduate students. That group in turn mentors undergraduates like Matlock, with all playing roles in cultivating the new chemical frontier. Though these students now handle a bulk of the hands-on work, Weaver is never far from the lab. “He takes the time to notice when you’ve done something well,” Matlock says. “At first I didn’t know what to think of him because he liked to joke around, but he was very serious about safety and the actual chemistry itself.” It is Weaver’s reverence for chemistry and his joy in discovering new ideas within it that spurs this chemical frontiersman onward.

LEGAL STUDIES RULE

BY T E R R Y T U S H

Spears School of Business professor’s article cited by Nebraska Supreme Court

he Supreme Court of Nebraska recently cited an article authored by Oklahoma State University legal studies professor Griffin Pivateau in a ruling involving a dispute between a franchisor and its former franchisee. “I am particularly pleased that my research can contribute to the resolution of an issue that affects thousands of people across the country,” says Pivateau, an OSU Spears School of Business faculty member since 2009. “Having a case cited by the highest court in a state is a rare honor. Citation by appellate courts is a significant accomplishment for any legal scholar.” The case, Unlimited Opportunity Inc. v. Waadah, arose out of a dispute between the franchisor and its former franchisee. The franchisee had begun a new business that competed with the franchisor, which attempted to enjoin the new business by asserting its rights under a non-compete agreement signed by the franchisee. Non-compete agreements, which prevent an employee from opening a new business that competes with his former employer, are a common feature of franchise agreements. The key issue in this particular case concerned whether a court should alter

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the agreement, pursuant to a legal theory called the “blue pencil rule.” Most states routinely use the blue pencil rule to permit the reformation of non-compete agreements after execution. In this case, applying the rule would have allowed the court to alter the agreement to make it enforceable.

“This decision (by the Supreme Court of Nebraska) reflects the value of the work we do here at Oklahoma State.” — G R I F F I N P I V AT E A U “I am grateful for the support that Oklahoma State provides to its legal studies group to develop meaningful scholarship that offers value to real people with real problems,” Pivateau says. “This decision reflects the value of the work we do here at Oklahoma State.” Pivateau has spent much of his time at OSU studying the enforceability of non-compete agreements. In his article, “Putting the Blue Pencil Down: An Argument for Specificity in Non-compete

Agreements,” Pivateau argues that permitting courts to alter non-compete agreements violates public policy. The fact that such agreements cannot be changed after the signing encourages all parties to actively review, discuss and negotiate their non-compete agreements before execution, he says. The Nebraska Supreme Court refused to apply the blue pencil rule, reiterating “We must either enforce an agreement as written or not enforce it at all.” Citing Pivateau’s article, the court noted that the blue pencil rule “creates uncertainty in employees’ contractual relationships with franchisors, increases the potential for confusion by parties to a contract and encourages litigation of non-compete clauses in contracts.” This is not the first time Pivateau’s research has been cited by a high court. In 2011, the Iowa Supreme Court cited his work in a decision on a sports-injury liability case — Feld v. Borkowski, a lawsuit brought by an intramural softball player who was injured by a teammate during a practice.

PHOTO / GARY LAWSON

Griffin Pivateau teaches students in addition to his research in legal studies. He earned his bachelor’s degree in history from McNeese State University and his juris doctorate degree from the University of Texas.

“

In addition to great realworld knowledge I could take back to work the next day and use, the OSU MBA program was grounded in practical application. I wanted knowledge I could use to make my company better and that’s what I got at OSU-Tulsa.

Sean Kouplen, MBA, ‘02 Chairman and CEO, Regent Bank

BETTER YOUR LIFE An Oklahoma State University MBA provided Sean Kouplen with the knowledge and credibility to be successful as a young bank president. OSU-Tulsa offered Sean the ability to earn a high-quality OSU MBA while remaining in Tulsa. That’s the reason he recommends Tulsa-area business professionals pursue an MBA at OSU-Tulsa. Learn more about Sean’s OSU-Tulsa experience at OSUinTulsa.com.

Downtown Tulsa

918-GET-HERE

Connections for a cause CowboyThon benefits Oklahoma Children’s Hospital Foundation BY E M A L E E W I L L I A M S

“My favorite part about CowboyThon has to be the interaction with the children at all of the events throughout the year,” Stockton says. “We know that all the money we are raising and the events we have helps those families to forget about the hospital and the diseases. That is the best feeling in the world.” Events include a No-Shave November contest, Tumbleweed Two-Stepping, Fore the Kids Golf Tournament and the dance marathon itself, where more than 1,000 students stay awake and on their feet for 12 hours. The dance marathon symbolizes the physical and emotional challenges the young hospital patients experience every day.

Patients who have benefited from the Children’s Miracle Network are invited to CowboyThon events. Each one is welcomed as a “miracle child.” In 2016, CowboyThon raised more than $141,000 to benefit pediatric research, education and clinical care. The group’s theme is FTK — For the Kids, the Cowboy Way. As an alumnus, Stockton is continuing his college experience. He says alumni can be part of CowboyThon by providing funds, connections and moral support. The organization hopes to grow alumni support through awareness of the good it does for so many. For more information about getting involved, visit cowboython.org.

“CowboyThon gives me an opportunity to stay connected with current OSU students while also having a chance to support a philanthropy that is dear to me as a alumnus.” — Chris Stockton, 2014-2015 CowboyThon executive director

CowboyThon funded football tickets for a guest from the Children’s Miracle Many alumni join students at the annual CowboyThon Golf Tournament, which Network, Jayse Beverage, who attended benefits the Oklahoma Children’s Hospital Foundation, the state organization for the the game with leadership team members Children’s Miracle Network. CowboyThon guest, Zakery Elshire, also known as a and his parents, from left, Carrie Hudson, “miracle child” joined leadership team members, from left, Rachel Shirley, Kelli Filson, Ashleigh Rauner and Theresa and Greg Gabby Woodley, Alicia Thompson, Hunter Shedrick, Carrie Hudson, Cierra Hughes Beverage. and Alex Fox.

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PHOTO / LINZY HALL

owboyThon, formerly known as Dance Marathon, is the largest student-run philanthropy at Oklahoma State University. This organization has roots deep within the campus and among current students, as well as within the hearts of many alumni. The fundraiser, which benefits the Oklahoma Children’s Hospital Foundation, is especially important to 2015 OSU graduate Chris Stockton, one of the founding students of the organization. Stockton served as the executive director during his junior and senior years at OSU. While CowboyThon made a huge impact on Stockton as a student, it did not stop there. “CowboyThon gives me an opportunity to stay connected with current OSU students while also having a chance to support a philanthropy that is dear to me as an alumnus,” Stockton says. CowboyThon, now in its fifth year, unites the Cowboy family to raise awareness and funding for Oklahoma Children’s Hospital Foundation, the state organization for the Children’s Miracle Network. The money is important, but for Stockton, the fundraiser is a cause deeper than the amount of money raised.

Pete says,

“THE WORLD NEEDS MORE OSU COWBOYS.” You can help us find the next generation of Cowboys by identifying potential students. You provide the contact information. We do the rest.

OSU Alumni Association Initiates More Student and Legacy Programming BY C H R I S T I N A M I L L E R

The OSU Student Alumni Association hosted alumni for Cowboys and Conversation, an exclusive benefit for members of the group. The networking opportunity allows students to meet successful OSU alumni in a relaxed environment. “This is the third semester of Cowboys and Conversation, and the program continues to improve and grow in popularity,” says Melisa Parkerson, director of student programs. “It allows students to hear from alumni who have gone out and done impactful things in the workplace.”

Fall semester guests were Cheyenne Charles, Ernst & Young senior manager in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Andrew Stroup, director of product and technology for the White House Presidential Fellows and a first-season competitor on Discovery Channel’s The Big Brain Theory; Shawna and Kurt Fedderson, creators of Game Day Couture and contestants on ABC’s Shark Tank; and Lee Reddick, a Cowboy fan called Mr. Orange Power who is known for wearing an orange jumpsuit to football games. Ten Student Alumni Association members attended the dinner event at various Stillwater establishments throughout the semester, providing an intimate setting for networking and conversation.

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At the Very Merry Mascot Party, Pistol Pete joins families for photo opportunities in the OSU ConocoPhillips Alumni Center. A VERY MERRY MASCOT PARTY

The OSU Alumni Association invited all future Cowboys and their families to A Very Merry Mascot Party with Pistol Pete at the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center in December 2015. The free event featured holiday cookie decorating, a legacy coloring activity and a holiday-themed card photo opportunity with America’s favorite mascot. Legacies could also write Pistol Pete a letter to tell him their hopes and dreams for the holidays. “The letter-writing component was a great way for us to include out-of-state legacies who could not make it to the event,” says Amanda Harrison, coordinator of student programs. After the festivities with Pistol Pete, guests were invited to the annual Fanfare of Lights at the Edmon Low Library fountain where they could listen to carols, watch the lighting of the OSU campus and have their picture taken with Santa Claus. About 285 OSU legacies, families and friends attended. “With the Fanfare of Lights already on campus, we wanted to provide something special for our legacies so they could make a night out of the event with their families,” Harrison says. “We hope this will become a much anticipated annual event in our legacy programming.”

ALUMNI/STUDENT SPEED NETWORKING PROGRAM

OSU Career Services partnered with the OSU Student Alumni Association to host the first speed-networking program for all students to cap off Career Week in November 2015. Students had the opportunity to network with 20 OSU alumni from a variety of career fields including law, business, energy, agriculture, consulting, hospitality, politics, education and more. Alumni talked about best practices, advice they wish they had known while in school and transitioning into life after college. They also shared steps to reaching career goals. The event featured light snacks, an introductory session for first-time student speed networkers and a reception exclusively for OSU Student Alumni Association members to have extra time with guests. PHOTO / GARY LAWSON

Students greet alumni at Cowboys and Conversation including, from left, Nathan Hermann, Shawna and Kurt Fedderson and Adam DeKoning.

PHOTO / PHIL SHOCKLEY

COWBOYS & CONVERSATIONS

OSU alumnus Marc Tower talks to students during the speed networking program at the end of Career Week. “Overall, we had excellent feedback from both alumni and students who attended,” says Blaire Bennett, coordinator of student programs. “Although it’s not scheduled yet, we would like to host another speed networking in the future.”

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Variable

Astronaut Stan Love talks to the students preparing for their test at the NASA Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory.

Space Cowboys Dive Into NASA Research Challenge Team designs prototype tool to collect samples from asteroids BY S H E L BY H O L C O M B

or nearly a decade, Oklahoma State University students and select others around the nation have benefited from hands-on experiences to assist NASA as the space agency takes some of its most cutting-edge steps in science. One of NASA’s current challenges is transporting people beyond Low Earth Orbit, an altitude up to 1,200 miles, and into the far reaches of the solar system. A steppingstone would be a spacecraft that could reach an asteroid and redirect it into lunar orbit for further study. NASA’s Micro-g Neutral Buoyancy Experiment Design Teams program, also known as Micro-g NExT, offers a few handpicked university teams the chance to select design problems from five challenges to help astronauts explore deep space.

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Introduced in 2015, the project coincided with the 50th anniversary of NASA extravehicular activities and Ed White’s Gemini IV 23-minute tethered spacewalk, the first for a United States astronaut. Micro-g NExT is based on the real engineering challenges facing NASA as the agency moves forward in deep space exploration with humans. Microgravity activity requires students to design and build prototypes of tools to be used by astronauts during spacewalk training in Houston’s Johnson Space Center Neutral Buoyancy Lab — also known as the world’s largest swimming pool. In 2015, OSU’s Space Cowboys developed a Float Sample Grabber, a device that could mechanically collect and contain samples from rocks in microgravity.

The OSU team, consisting of mechanical and aerospace engineering undergraduate students, developed the Multi-chambered Adaptable Rotating Sample System or MARSS, which could collect data from an asteroid after it has been diverted into lunar orbit. “By redirecting an asteroid into lunar orbit, our moon would have its own moon, and that’s cool,” says Rachel Wamsley, a fifth-year aerospace and mechanical engineering student and member of this year’s Space Cowboys team. “It would be so much easier to study an asteroid. Since it would be closer, studying it would be cheaper, and the data collection and analysis turnaround would be much quicker. You never know what we might learn.”

PHOTO / GARY LAWSON

Students Aavron Estep, left, and Chesney Overton test the Multichamber Adaptable Rotating Sample System in OSU’s Colvin Center pool.

The 2016 Space Cowboys team includes, from left, Chesney Overton, Andrea Hann, Cole Stratman, Rachel Wamsley, Cole Whittington, Cody Cagaanan, Aavron Estep and Steven Asplin. Students not pictured are Monty Abdelsalam, Kaevon AzartashNamin, Fabian Clarkson and Sage Ellis.

Last year’s team visited Houston where NASA divers tested the Space Cowboys’ prototype in a simulated microgravity setting. Two of the team members, Aavron Estep and Chesney Overton, are certified divers and were able to assist with testing in OSU’s Colvin Center pool prior to the final testing. OSU’s team was the only team to test its device in this manner, says Estep, a junior mechanical and aerospace engineering student who is the 2016 dive team leader. “I greatly enjoyed the opportunity to design a tool for use in microgravity since it presented many unique challenges that made the whole engineering design process much more in-depth and thought provoking,” says Steven Asplin, a mechanical engineering senior and the 2016 OSU team chief engineer. Thanks to NASA, the Space Cowboys team is participating in the next stages of Micro-g NExT and was invited to attend another test week in June at the NBL. After receiving positive feedback in 2015, the group will further develop and improve its original prototype sampling system to create an all-new tool that could actually withstand space mission conditions.

Space Cowboys faculty adviser Jamey Jacob, John Hendrix Chair and mechanical and aerospace engineering professor, says the ability to collect samples from asteroids could help with geochemical and astronomical investigations. The idea also has the potential to supply Earth with extraterrestrial materials that could be

The Multichamber Adaptable Rotating Sample System is a prototype to acquire asteroid samples in a deep space mission.

economically advantageous — think asteroid mining. Collecting samples would also further understanding of asteroids and possibly help target potential threats, such as diverting an asteroid from hitting Earth. “The project gives me experience working on a team that involves design, prototyping, testing and community outreach,” says Cody Cagaanan, a senior mechanical and aerospace engineering student, who works with 3-D modeling and outreach for the Space Cowboys team. Because the challenge has several provisions that must be met, the program provides participants with in-depth knowledge and networking opportunities that they can’t get in the classroom. “It gives you a lot of life experience with others at a professional level, learning about the limitations of working with an organization and meeting strict deadlines,” Estep says. The Space Cowboys are building on a strong foundation from the 2015 design as the team continues to investigate the latest NASA challenge, bringing mankind one step closer to making it to Mars. For more information about the Space Cowboys’ journey, visit www.facebook. com/ZerogeePete.

Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise Opens at OSU By Samantha Mori

Stanford research fellow and economic talk show host Russ Roberts presents the program at the official unveiling of the Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise in November 2015. PHOTO / GARY LAWSON

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merica, and most of the world, is dramatically better off materially today because of free enterprise. How has this happened? Has it all been for the best? Could the future be made even better? Oklahoma State University has created an Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise to answer these questions. OSU President Burns Hargis and the Board of Regents chartered the institute in 2015 to focus on teaching and research on principled entrepreneurship, regulation, markets, public policy and the role of business in a free society. The institute is not a traditional academic department, but rather a universitywide, multidisciplinary institute for instruction, outreach and research. Vance H. Fried, Riata professor of entrepreneurship, serves as director. At the institute’s unveiling in November, Hargis paraphrased American economist and Nobel prize winner Milton Friedman in saying “History is absolutely clear. There is no alternative so far discovered that does more for the lot of the ordinary people that can hold a candle to the productive activities unleashed by the freeenterprise system.” The guest speaker during the program was Russ Roberts, fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, regular commentator for NPR’s Morning Edition and host of the podcast EconTalk. On his visit to OSU, Roberts spent the day meeting with classes and faculty. He spoke to more than 300 students and faculty in the Student Union Theater, where he emphasized the positive role of free enterprise on both the social and commercial spheres. After Roberts’ presentation, Hargis recognized OSU’s first Free Enterprise Scholars. In addition to their excellent overall academic performance, all are active in the Free Enterprise Society, a student-run academic society providing the OSU community with speakers, faculty-student dinner/discussion groups, networking events, field trips and other educational activities. The society is nonpartisan and does not engage in any form of political advocacy. David Hidinger serves as president of the group. “Being a part of the society has given me the opportunity to learn about

different economic thoughts,” Hidinger says. “It has proven to be advantageous and enjoyable to be a part of such a unique organization. One of my personal favorite events was meeting Arthur Brooks (president of the American Enterprise Institute).” Society members have also met with Oklahoma’s junior U.S. Senator James Lankford, the state Attorney General Scott Pruitt, and political commentators Charles Krauthammer, David Brooks and John Fund. The group toured the Surgery Center of Oklahoma, a leading free-market surgery center in Oklahoma City with its founder, Dr. Keith Smith, as a tour guide. In addition to the Free Enterprise Society, the institute sponsors OSU classes related to free enterprise. Courses are offered at all levels and in a variety of formats, including face-to-face classes, online and blended Internet delivery with traditional classes. Fried will teach “Free Enterprise Essentials” as a massive open online class or MOOC, which are free, non-credit Internet courses available to anyone, anywhere. “In this course we look at how the free enterprise system works,” Fried says. “We don’t just look at free enterprise from the standpoint of economic efficiency, but also its moral ramifications for both the individual and society as a whole. The course isn’t just about economic concepts. It also covers the impact of governments and culture.” The institute supports 15 faculty fellows from seven academic departments with research efforts on a variety of topics — business regulation; the psychological and moral problems with income equality and social justice; cronyism in the United States and abroad; political corruption as a barrier to free enterprise; ethics of the early-stage entrepreneur; and free enterprise and the Austrian School of economic thought. In addition to research for academic journals and public policy think-tanks, fellows have been profiled in The New York Times (Jayson Lusk) and published in The Wall Street Journal (“Cheeseburgers Won’t Melt the Polar Ice Cap” by Jayson Lusk and “What Sweden Can Teach Us About Obamacare” by Per Bylund).

Per Bylund joined OSU last fall as a professor in the School of Entrepreneurship. A native of Sweden, he previously worked at Baylor University and the University of Missouri-Columbia. At the institute’s unveiling, OSU Provost Gary Sandefur presented Bylund as the first holder of the Records-Johnston Professorship, OSU’s first universitywide professorship. Bylund’s research attempts to explain the market process of wealth creation with a focus on institutions, entrepreneurship and regulation. Much of his time is devoted to working with undergraduate students. He is a faculty adviser to the Free Enterprise Society. During the 2015 spring semester, he introduced two, new undergraduate courses — “Economic Freedom in the World” and “The Entrepreneur: Hero or Villain?” Whether people recognize it or not, free enterprise is important and is one of the things that makes America great and keeps the economy strong, Fried says. Watch a video of Russ Roberts’ talk at fe.okstate.edu.

Free Enterprise Scholars include, from left, entrepreneurship junior Josh Martin; political science senior Jake King; management senior Kiandra Spencer; management senior Alyssa Low; computer engineering senior Michael Gotwald; French senior Candice Marchetta; chemical engineering senior David Hidinger; polical science graduate student Baylee Butler, Spanish senior Samantha Mori; management information system senior Mason Taylor; and computer engineering senior Cale Fussell.

2016 Leisure Learning Classes July 25-29 | Taos, New Mexico These classes, designed by expert instructors for inquiring adults, invite you to explore the art, culture and recreational experiences that multicultural Northern New Mexico offers. Classes may combine lecture, discussion, hands-on activities and visits to local sites. To enroll, please visit drca.okstate.edu.

Course costs: $525 Historic Taos Churches

Form Follows Function: Style, History, Religious Ritual and Tradition Marcella Sirhandi, Professor Emerita of Art History

Solarplate Printmaking Workshop

Jennifer Lynch, Master Printmaker, www.lynchpinpress.com

Beginning F ly Fishing Marc Harrell

New Mexico Farm to Table | Closed

Barbara Forsberg, Owner, Brett House Catering For further information on courses or logistics, contact: Carol Moder at carol.moder@okstate.edu, 405-612-8295 or Hollye Goddard at hollyesue@cox.net, 602-465-1644

Leon Polk Smith: Back to Oklahoma BY J O R DA N H AY S

ore than 700 works by artistic pioneer Leon Polk Smith, an Ada, Oklahoma native, now have a permanent home in the OSU Museum of Art collection. Smith pioneered a style of geometric abstraction that laid the foundation for an art form known as Minimalism in the 1960s. Best known for his paintings, he created more than 2,000 unique works on paper throughout his career. The gift, from the Leon Polk Smith Foundation in New York City, marks the largest number of works ever given to the museum by a single donor and enhances its holding of work by significant artists with Oklahoma roots, a priority of the museum. “We are particularly happy to send these works permanently to Smith’s native state and aid this new museum in building its collection of Oklahoma artists with a gift of such magnitude,” says Patterson Sims, president of the board of the Leon Polk Smith Foundation. Born in 1906, Smith was educated in the new state of Oklahoma, which had a formative influence on his character and artistic development through his early 30s. He discovered art as a college student at East Central University in Ada, literally stumbling into an art studio that had its door open. Smith moved to New York City in 1945, where he remained for the rest of his life. The gift to the museum

spans Smith’s decades-long career, showcasing his drive to explore the full variety of formal abstraction. A selection of highlights from the collection including drawings and paintings will be introduced to the public in Leon Polk Smith: Back to Oklahoma, an exhibition scheduled to run May 31 through September 3 at the OSU Museum of Art. His work will also be featured on an upcoming OETA segment. “The board is pleased to share these art studies, true documents of Smith’s enormous fount of creativity and inventive capacity to renew his vision continually over a period of some 60 years,” says Robert T. Buck, Leon Polk Smith Foundation board chairman and former director of the Brooklyn Museum. As a permanent collection, Smith’s work will serve as an invaluable resource for the state of Oklahoma. It will provide opportunities for scholarly research, further exhibition development, and collaboration with other well-established museums in the state such as East Central University (where Smith studied), the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art in Norman, and the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa. A special reception is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, August 16, at the OSU Museum of Art. All exhibitions and programs are free and open to the public. For more information, visit museum. okstate.edu.

Leon Polk Smith (1906 – 1996), Untitled, 1968, paint on paper, 16 1/4 x 17 inches. Gift of Leon Polk Smith Foundation, New York, New York.

James W. Bruce Jr., Chinese Pot and Shallots, 2011, oil on linen, 14 x 18 inches.

Impressionism Exhibition

This summer, the OSU Museum of Art will present Vision of Impressionism: Paintings from the Oklahoma Society of Impressionists from June 20 through August 6. Vision of Impressionism showcases highlights of recent works from artists in the Oklahoma Society of Impressionists. The OSI began in 1987 when a group of Oklahoma artists met in Taos, New Mexico, at a plein aire workshop. Plein aire, a French term meaning “open air,” is used in this context to describe the act of painting outdoors. Many well-known French Impressionist painters, including Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro and Pierre-Auguste Renoir were strong advocates of plein aire painting, and the technique remains strongly connected to the Impressionist style. The OSI was formed to represent and support Oklahoma artists painting in the Impressionist style, to raise public appreciation for plein aire, and to promote excellence in representational art. OSI, whose membership is limited to artists who have Oklahoma roots and/or artists who currently live in Oklahoma, has exhibited work across the state of Oklahoma as well as in Texas, Colorado, Missouri and Arkansas. In 1993, OSI artists created paintings for the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City and the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The OSU Museum of Art will host an opening reception for the exhibition from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, June 30. A lecture featuring exhibition curators James W. Bruce Jr. and Linda Howell will begin at 6 p.m.

At the Women for Oklahoma State University Symposium on April 14, our organization awarded nine scholarships totaling $37,800 and named a Philanthropist of the Year. Watch for full coverage in the fall issue of STATE. In the meantime, we want to take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation to the following sponsors.

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Judi Baker Sheryl Benbrook/Stock Exchange Bank Donna Clack Cheryl Clerico Fisher Provence Realtors/Grace Provence Jennifer Grigsby Johnel Harrison Rhonda Hooper Judy Hull Jeanene Hulsey Jeanette Kern Pat Knaub Retta Miller OSU College of Education OSU Office of Academic Affairs OSU Student Affairs Cindy Dunn Riesen

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PHOTO / GARY LAWSON

Dear Cowboy Family:

“I would teach children music, physics and philosophy, but most importantly music, for in the patterns of music and all the arts are the keys of learning.” — Plato PHOTO / PHIL SHOCKLEY

Combining the love of art with a special birthday for Burns Hargis, I had an idea! Why not give my piano-playing husband a gift to share with the entire campus? And why not make it a public art piece available for an entire year – 365 days of art and music? The piece needed to be unique, intricate and whimsical — just like Burns! Gerhard Trimpin is an artist who captured my attention. Born in Germany and currently living in Seattle, Trimpin blends a variety of mediums to create his unique pieces. They are kinetic and reach across a variety of areas to integrate sound and movement. Of particular interest to me was a piece called “Red Hot Orange,” a vertical piano that can be programmed to play a variety of tunes and can be conducted by anyone. With assistance from the OSU Museum of Art, Trimpin was contacted and arrangements were made to bring this artwork to our campus. Working collaboratively with the Student Union, the museum placed the piece on public display in front of the book store. In, March, the piece was moved to the Postal Plaza Gallery in downtown Stillwater. I love that it plays some of Burns’ favorite tunes. In addition, music is therapeutic and has proven wellness benefits, which is another important part of our lives. Of particular importance to me was engaging students of all disciplines into the process to compose, program, and most of all, enjoy. OSU freshman Greg Fisher was in the Student Union to watch the installation of Trimpin’s piece. When asked about his interest, he replied, “I am really into music. Trimpin’s work shows music as it relates to art, how that relates to working with your hands and making mechanisms like you see here. As a mechanical engineering student, I am most interested in the mechanical side.” “Red Hot Orange” celebrates visual and performing arts — opening dialogue, connecting with others and exploring new discoveries. Happy Birthday, Burns!

Ann Hargis OSU First Cowgirl

For more information, visit https://museum.okstate.edu/trimpin.

OSU students enjoy playing the Trimpin “Red Hot Orange” Piano. Riley Brett initiates a tune while Daniel Smith listens.

STAR STUDENT Graduating in May, the human development and family science senior has always loved children and has earned a minor in sociology. She captured Big 12 All Team Academic Honors and a place on the Dean’s Honor Roll. “I really enjoy learning about relationships and why people act the way they do,” Triana says. “I chose my major because I love the family aspect and learning how to relate to people, why they do the things they do and how they recover from certain situations.”

PAGEANT QUEEN Surprisingly, Triana was not sure she could compete for Miss OSU this year, despite being the 2015 first runner-up. She did not have a gown but sat in on three rehearsals in case she could still participate. She found herself searching for a dress until a running mate offered her some to try. “Her mom brought them the next day, I tried them on, and I was in the pageant the following day. And my friend ended up getting first runner-up behind me,” she says. Triana was thrilled to win the Miss OSU title, and she’s looking forward to the Miss Oklahoma pageant.

RUNNING RACES Track has been part of Triana’s life for 16 years and is the sole reason she chose OSU. “I’ve actually always wanted to come to OSU. My parents met here where they ran track,” she says. “Ever since I was little, I knew I wanted to be a Cowboy.” Triana runs the 400-meter sprint and 400-meter hurdles. She recently became a heptathlete, competing in seven events including shot put, javelin, long jump, high jump, 100 meter hurdles, 200 meters sprint and 800 meters run. When her parents were in college, her father, Joel Hearrell, was a long distance runner and her mother, Dr. Monica Browne, was a sprinter on the OSU track team. PHOTO / PHIL SHOCKLEY

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COLORS OF THE WIND Triana has another love: musical theater. Her talent performance at the Miss OSU pageant was singing “Colors of the Wind” from the Disney movie Pocahontas. “She was my favorite princess growing up because, as a girl who’s multiracial, it’s hard to relate to most princesses,” she says. “When I was younger, I was a tomboy, and I loved the fact that she was always running around outside like me, and I’m also Native American. “I was a big musical theater geek in high school — choir, glee club, a Hairspray production — it’s what I love to do. Truthfully, whenever I finish with college and track that’s probably what I’ll focus on. I really want to get a master’s degree in musical theater.” Triana has roles in two films coming out soon, and one is a featured role. She has also been in a Kings of Leon music video and enjoys spending time behind the camera.

iss Oklahoma State University 2016 is Triana BrowneHearrell, a sprinter and hurdler on the track team. She prepares every day for the upcoming Miss Oklahoma competition in June while juggling a busy athletic schedule and her final semester of college. The Tulsa native has overcome hurdles all her life. A heart condition at birth inspired her to live a healthy lifestyle and help others do the same. Triana’s pageant platform is “Heart to Heart: Healthy Habits, Healthy Lives,” combining her love of exercise, nutrition and giving back. “It’s about making sure you’re doing something for your health every single day so you can live a long, healthy life and enjoy it as well,” Triana says. “I just want people to realize before it’s too late — you want to start implementing healthy habits at a young age.”

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Focus on Family Fun KOSU reaches out to Tulsa community with concert series B Y K A R O LY N B O L AY

KOSU’s mission of connecting people with vibrant ideas and unique artistry is being fulfilled through a new venture in Tulsa. With the help of the Guthrie Green venue, KOSU is providing live music through a Sunday concert series. The Guthrie Green Sunday concert series is a well-known family-friendly activity in Tulsa. KOSU decided to take the opportunity to sponsor several concerts throughout the next year. “KOSU really wants to invest in the Tulsa region,” says Ryan LaCroix, co-host of “The Oklahoma Rock Show” and KOSU operations director. “Part of our mission is to bring unique music to folks, and with Guthrie Green being available to all ages, it was a good fit.”

KOSU will host five concerts, inspired by the variety of shows and series on the radio station. “We have several different themes and ideas in the works,” says LaCroix. “For our first concert, we focused on a Red Dirt showcase.” The Damn Quails; Carter Sampson, an Oklahoma City musician; and Pilgrim, a Tulsa band, performed at the Red Dirt concert on April 17. Other ideas for show themes include hip-hop/R&B, acoustic, rockabilly (as inspired by the “Juke Joint Revival” radio show) and Native American music, inspired by the Invisible Nations series. Oklahoma’s many unique artists and musicians perform in all those genres and more, making such diversity possible, LaCroix believes. While the Native American theme may include traditional and modern Native American music, LaCroix says it could also feature performers of Native American origin, no matter what genre they play.

The Guthrie Green Sunday concert series sponsored by KOSU will run May 15, June 26, August 14 and October 30. Each concert is scheduled from 2:30–6:30 p.m. “We are focused on community radio at KOSU,” says John Cooper, co-host of “The Red Dirt Radio Hour” and development specialist for KOSU. “Our listeners want local music, so that is what we are going to feature.” Guthrie Green serves as the perfect venue for this community outreach. “The Guthrie Green is really the heart and soul of Tulsa,” says Cooper. “People just like to spend time together and enjoy listening to music, which is what KOSU wants to provide through this concert series.”

KOSU is sponsoring Sunday concerts at Guthrie Green, an urban park and entertainment space in the heart of Tulsa’s Brady Arts District.

Grace Gordon, left, and Ryan LaCroix host “The Oklahoma Rock Show” on KOSU radio from 7-9 p.m. every Thursday.

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Stillwater Regional Airport Adds Hassle-free Passenger Jet Service American Airlines partnership connecting North Central Oklahoma to the world

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Mary Fallin. “The flights will improve access and flexibility for OSU alumni and former residents to visit Stillwater, bring their friends and go to events in the area. The flights will also improve business opportunities, business connections and allow residents from northwest Oklahoma to have better ease of travel.”

Stillwater Mayor Gina Noble welcomes American Airlines.

PHOTOS / GARY LAWSON

North Central Oklahoma residents can jump on a plane at Stillwater Regional Airport and connect to the world beginning August 23. American Eagle will begin two daily flights to and from Dallas/ Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), connecting with more than 200 domestic destinations. This also means one-stop flights to 40 destinations in Europe, Asia and Latin American. Customers can book flights at FlyStillwaterOK.com. “We’re proud to offer this new service to Stillwater,” says Patrick Quayle, American’s managing director of network and fleet strategy. “This addition highlights American’s commitment to providing the best network and more convenient connections for our customers.” The nonstop jet service to DFW is expected to stimulate business, grow tourism and ease travel for Stillwater and the surrounding area. The service will provide a convenient schedule, free parking and the ability for travelers to be home within minutes. “Introducing a new route between Oklahoma and Dallas, Texas, will improve already strong linkages between our two states,” says Oklahoma Governor

The partnership is a collaborative effort that started five years ago when city leaders formed the Air Service Development Committee. The group included representatives from the city of Stillwater, the Stillwater Airport Authority, Oklahoma State University, the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce and Red Dirt DMO (formerly Stillwater Convention Visitors Bureau). The airline consulting firm of Mead & Hunt Inc. was engaged to provide guidance, data

PHOTO / GARY LAWSON

ABOVE LEFT: Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin sees many positive impacts ahead for the new airline route between Oklahoma and Texas. ABOVE RIGHT: The city of Stillwater, American Airlines and Oklahoma State University celebrated the launch of nonstop passenger air service between Stillwater and Dallas/Fort Worth at Stillwater Regional Airport (SWO) including, from left, American Airlines pilot John Colquitt II, American Airlines Managing Director Patrick Quayle, U.S. Representative Frank Lucas, U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, Stillwater Mayor Gina Noble, American Airlines Director Casey Norton, OSU President Burns Hargis and Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation Gary Ridley.

“The flights will improve access and flexibility for OSU alumni and former residents to visit Stillwater, bring their friends and go to events in the area.” — Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin collection and market analysis. The work included an extensive analysis of the demand and feasibility of the service. “We are poised to take this next step in the airport’s history and excited about the potential of scheduled service to one of the largest hubs in the world,” says Stillwater Regional Airport Director Gary Johnson. “We could not be happier to launch service with American Airlines, one of the most trusted names in the industry.” Johnson says the airport is repurposing about two-thirds of the terminal and adding more parking, which is free. The airport is completing a renovation to add baggage handling, ticket and car rental counters and TSA screening. Travelers will have quick boarding on convenient, hassle-free flights. Free wireless Internet is available throughout the passenger terminal building and in the passenger screening and boarding terminal. “Connecting Stillwater to DFW Airport makes Stillwater a more

competitive, more attractive destination for businesses and travelers,” says Stillwater Mayor Gina Noble. “This strengthens Stillwater economic development and creates an easier commute for both domestic and international travelers.” OSU President Burns Hargis says Oklahoma State has more than 2,600 students from the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Another 2,000 international students will have easier access to flights abroad. “This agreement is a testament to what Stillwater can accomplish when key players come together for the good of our community,” Hargis says. “Oklahoma State sees tremendous opportunity to reduce air travel costs, improve efficiencies and greatly enhance personal travel for our students and employees.” Hargis and Noble both praised the diligent work of former Stillwater Mayor John Bartley, OSU Senior Vice President Joe Weaver, Johnson and members of the Stillwater Airport Authority.

NONSTOP FLIGHTS The new service begins August 23 and will operate on the following daily schedule: DFW-SWO Departs DFW at 12:46 p.m. Arrives at SWO at 2:01 p.m. Departs DFW at 8:11 p.m. Arrives at SWO at 9:26 p.m. SWO-DFW Departs SWO at 7:00 a.m. Arrives at DFW at 8:15 a.m. Departs SWO at 2:35 p.m. Arrives at DFW at 3:50 p.m. To make a reservation call 800-433-7300 or go to www.aa.com. Stillwater airport designation is SWO.

COMPARE COSTS Calculate cost comparisons at FlyStillwaterOK.com/cost.php

Legacylink We are proud to release the second edition of our Pistol Pete and Me storybook. Some of our favorite places on campus are in the book. Can you name each of the buildings or places that Pete and his pals are visiting in each of the pictures below?

Encourage your young Cowboy or Cowgirl to complete the Legacy Link activity page in each issue of STATE magazine. Register your legacy in the OSU Alumni Association Legacy Program at ORANGECONNECTION.org/legacy to receive all the legacy benefits available with your membership.

Answer Key: (A) Edmon Low Library, (B) Colvin Center, (C) Old Central, (D) Theta Pond, (E) The Student Union and (F) Boone Pickens Stadium

Get Involved. Stay Informed. Give Back. Show Your Pride. ORANGECONNECTION.org | F L I /OKStateAlumni

THE STORY OF OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY BEGAN ON CHRISTMAS EVE,

1890, at the McKennon Opera House in Oklahoma Territoryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capital of Guthrie when Governor George W. Steele signed legislation establishing Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College in Payne County. OAMCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first students assembled for class on December 14, 1891, even though there were no buildings, no books and no curriculum. Construction for the first permanent building was completed in 1894. The oldest structure on campus today, the landmark is known as Old Central and houses the Oklahoma State University Honors College. A new campus master plan is guiding unprecedented construction. Since the fall of 2008, OSU has opened the

Multimodal Transportation Terminal, the new North Classroom Building, the west end zone of Boone Pickens Stadium; refurbished Old Central, the Donald W. Reynolds Architecture Building, and Murray Hall; updated and expanded the Student Union; built the Henry Bellmon Research Center, Greenwood Tennis Center, Sherman E. Smith Training Center, and University Commons residential complex; and improved and built facilities throughout the College of Veterinary Medicine. Construction continues on the Spears School of Business, the College of Human Sciences, The Atherton Hotel and new Central Plant. The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts is striking a major chord for transforming the future with the small college founded on 200 acres of prairie growing far beyond the dreams of its founders in 125 years.

PHOTO / GARY LAWSON

“Challenges are a great character and personality builder. However, it’s how you handle those challenges that lets you succeed.” — Minnie Lou (Ottinger) Bradley

Minnie Lou (Ottinger) Bradley’s portrait was painted by Richard Halstead for the Sirloin and Saddle Club of Louisville, Kentucky.

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A LIVING LEGEND The first female graduate from Oklahoma A&M in animal husbandry blazes a trail B Y K A R O LY N B O L AY

Trailblazer. Pioneer. Innovator. Steward. Educator. That’s how colleagues, friends and students describe Minnie Lou (Ottinger) Bradley. But the first woman to graduate with a degree in animal husbandry from Oklahoma A&M College, now Oklahoma State University, doesn’t see herself that way, saying every woman has faced her own challenges. Growing up on a diversified livestock and wheat farm near Hydro, Oklahoma, Minnie Lou Ottinger developed a dedicated work ethic. With a humble attitude, she strived to gain respect in the classroom. “I was very serious in my endeavors of making good grades,” Minnie Lou says.

“I tried to fit in like any other student.” However, she struggled to join some of the clubs and activities on campus as many didn’t allow women to join. “I was a member of the 4-H Club, and they let me become a member of Block and Bridle (the animal science club),” she says. “My grades qualified me to join Alpha Zeta (an honor fraternity in agriculture), but no girls were allowed to join.” But Minnie Lou didn’t let her gender stop her from joining the OAMC Livestock Judging team — a goal she had in mind starting in the sixth grade when she decided she was coming to Stillwater to earn a college degree. “My first day in freshman livestock judging, I walked up to the judging coach, Mr. Glen Bratcher, and told him I wanted to be on the team,” Minnie Lou says. “He said, ‘If you are good enough, you can be.’” She didn’t realize students weren’t allowed to join the livestock judging team until they were juniors — and Bratcher didn’t think she would make it to her junior year. But he kept his word. “I was always at the top or very near the top in all of our workouts,” Minnie Lou says. “Because of this, he was good to his word and placed me on the team. I witnessed the harassment he had to take at my first contest. But the results put a quiet on the other coaches, and he was very proud.”

Minnie Lou (Ottinger) Bradley won the International Intercollegiate Livestock Judging Contest in 1952. She proved just how worthy she was to be on the OAMC Livestock Judging team when she won the International Intercollegiate Livestock Judging Contest in 1952 in Chicago — the first woman to do so. Minnie Lou earned 901 points out of a possible 1,000 points to claim the top award. Her passion for agriculture and involvement in the industry didn’t stop when she graduated from OAMC in 1953. She went to work for the Texas Angus Association as assistant to the executive secretary and as a fieldman — again, the first woman in either role. Later, Minnie Lou served as president of the American Angus Association, an organization she is still active in today. continues

“She literally opened the door for all young women who wanted to be involved in agriculture,” says Clint Rusk, OSU Animal Science Department head. “This was another breakthrough for women in agriculture.” Minnie Lou says conquering challenges on her ranch and from Mother Nature are the keys to her success. “Challenges are a great character and personality builder,” she says. “We were faced with those every day and still are. However, it’s how you handle those challenges that lets you succeed.” She and her husband, Billy Bradley, were faced with a huge challenge when they settled in Childress County, Texas, in 1955 to develop the Bradley 3 Ranch. Minnie Lou (Ottinger) Bradley was the first woman on Oklahoma A&M College’s livestock judging team.

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“Bill’s parents put up the collateral for us,” she says. The land was in need of tender loving care when the couple started. “This ranch was as run-down as one can get,” Minnie Lou says. “It was during the horrible drought of the 1950s. There was no water to the house except what you hauled — no telephone, no television, 10 miles of dirt or muddy roads, no fourwheel drive, windmills that didn’t work, lots of mesquite brush and little grass. “The ranch was purchased very cheap, and it needed a lot of work. It has taken many years to make it what it is today, and I am very proud of what my family has accomplished in making it productive. The ranch has received many recognitions in land stewardship and quality of cattle that graze the pastures.” As a result of its success with Angus cattle, the Bradley 3 Ranch was chosen to provide the steaks for the 1989 inaugural dinner of President George H.W. Bush in Washington, D.C. “I love and enjoy every aspect of ranching, from trying to leave the land, grass and cattle better than they were when we settled out here in Childress County,” she says. Minnie Lou also values the relationships she’s established over the years and the people involved in agriculture. “People, of course, are a big part of my enjoyment,” she says. “I get to be around the finest human beings on Earth — Christians, good citizens, parents, kids who learn responsibility and respectability and how to share with others. The list could go on and on.” Her passion for people in agriculture inspired Minnie Lou to give back to her alma mater. The Minnie Lou Ottinger Bradley Scholarship in Animal Science provides financial assistance for students interested in studying beef. “She is very inspiring,” says Macy Griswold, animal science and agricultural communications junior. “I actually received a scholarship from her that she donates, and it is based on our similar interests, so it really meant a lot to me. The award also meant a lot to my family. She is someone widely known in the industry, and my

family appreciates all the work she has done. It was really a family thing for me, too.” Minnie Lou has been credited with paving the way for women in the industry with her experiences and sincere advice. “She is always so humble,” Griswold says. “That is probably one big word I would use to describe Minnie Lou. When you look at all of her accomplishments, she is one of the few people who was not handed anything. She fought to be here. She fought to stay here. She fought to excel in what she is passionate about, and it led to a life of success.” Minnie Lou and her family have also contributed to the beef cattle industry through their management practices for raising beef cattle. “The Bradley 3 Ranch started with set principles a long time ago,” says David Lalman, animal science professor. “It was a real simple principle, but they were going to breed cattle that matched their environment. They have stuck to that principle over decades.” In 2013, Rusk, along with Robert Totusek, emeritus head of OSU Animal Science, decided Minnie Lou should be recognized for her accomplishments and nominated her for the Saddle and Sirloin Portrait Gallery in Louisville, Kentucky. Only one person is selected for the award each year. “A group of 20 of us worked together on the nomination for Minnie Lou,” Rusk says. “Very few nominations are accepted the first year, but Minnie Lou’s went through on the first try. I think that is because she is a fascinating person, and it is a testament to her accomplishments.” Minnie Lou was the 2014 Saddle and Sirloin Portrait Gallery inductee, the second woman to win such an award. Her portrait now hangs with a collection of over 350 portraits of distinguished livestock industry leaders. From paving the way for young women in agriculture to improving the land and standards for beef cattle production, Minnie Lou has created an enormous impact with her courageous outlook on life. “She is a real pioneer,” Lalman says. “She wouldn’t have been able to accomplish as many firsts as she has without incredible vision, courage and determination.”

“When you look at all of her accomplishments, she is one of the few people who was not handed anything. She fought to be here. She fought to stay here. She fought to excel in what she is passionate about, and it led to a life of success.” — Macy Griswold, OSU junior, animal science and agricultural communications

Angus cattle is the specialty on the Bradley 3 Ranch developed by the family of Minnie Lou (Ottinger) Bradley.

Centennial Books Provide Foundation for Online Timeline BY J I M M I T C H E L L

Digital record features searchable articles and video

he new historical timeline feature on Oklahoma State University’s website offers the option of a more detailed look at the school’s history via links to a series of online books published during OSU’s centennial celebration in the early 1990s. The content development of the timeline was guided by the Centennial Histories Series, which initially included 24 volumes plus a coffee table edition overview titled The First Hundred Years, Oklahoma State University: People, Programs and Places. One of the co-authors of that volume and editor of the series, Carolyn Hanneman, credits the late Robert B. Kamm, OSU president emeritus, for leading the publishing project. “President Kamm was especially good about making regular visits to the deans, department heads, faculty and staff who had been chosen to write one of the many centennial books. He’d cheer them on and remind them of deadlines. He had a way of ‘kindly’ twisting arms that was a big help to the rest of us,” Hanneman says.

The centennial volumes provide straightforward historical overviews of the colleges on campus, some larger departments within certain colleges, as well as specific topics of emphasis, such as research and equal opportunity. Numerous photos with captions make the online books fun to scroll through including the coffee table edition that offers a look at OSU’s former nuclear reactor, which was used for engineering coursework from 1957 until it was shipped out in the 1970s. Those who oversaw the reactor describe it as a little less powerful than most microwave ovens today, despite its formidable appearance. The Extension and Outreach centennial book recounts many of the projects launched from campus over the years, including one that grew to a fleet of station wagons equipped with lab materials and instructors to better prepare rural high school students for college science courses. Sports fans will appreciate the overview of the big games and names found in the Intercollegiate Athletics centennial volume. See the first track team lined up across a dirt road set for a dash, or

The authors of a coffee table centennial publication in 1990, from left, Carolyn Hanneman, the late OSU President Emeritus Robert B. Kamm, and Carol Hiner, appear on the back cover of the book.

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flip to the mid-1980s when power hitter Pete Incaviglia and golf standout Scott Verplank gained national attention. The First Hundred Years notes Cowboy fans had cause to celebrate in 1988. For the first time in NCAA history, four athletes from the same university were named “Number One” in their respective sports. All-American and Olympic gold medalist John Smith won the 134-pound NCAA wrestling championship and was named Amateur Wrestler of the Year. All-American golfer E.J. Pfister was the NCAA individual champion in golf. All-American and Olympic third baseman Robin Ventura received the Golden Spikes Award as the outstanding amateur baseball player in the United States. All-American tailback Barry Sanders became the eighth junior in NCAA history to win the Heisman Trophy, America’s top individual collegiate football honor. “There were so many people we relied on to help us get the centennial books produced, and it was an ongoing challenge to stay on pace,” Hanneman says. “Carol Hiner served as an associate editor, and without her technical knowledge, I don’t

The Centennial History Series is one of several online offerings in the library’s digital collections archive.

Barry Sanders won the Heisman Trophy in 1988.

Professor Robert Fite served as the program leader for a traveling science lab outreach project among rural schools.

see how we could have finished such an extensive project. Gayle Hiner handled much of the layout and design.” Initial editors Judy Buchholz and Anne Matoy helped Hanneman get a start on the project. Matoy also established the policy and procedures that set the framework for the production of the published series, which was the brainchild of Dr. Richard Poole, former vice president for university relations, development and extension. “I was pleased to see how well many of the centennial series photos transferred to the online timeline. Some of them really brought back memories of the work involved in hunting them down,” Hanneman says. “I’m glad that the timeline offers virtually everyone free access. However, I’m old school, so I appreciate that the centennial volumes are still available at the Edmon Low Library to thumb through and check out, too.” David Peters, now the head of the library’s special collections and university archives, was among the co-authors of the centennial volume titled The Campus, which traces the changing buildings and campus landscape during OSU’s first 100 years.

The Golden Jubilee time capsule was opened during the OSU centennial celebration in 1990.

“I had the privilege of working with J. Lewie Sanderson, a 1928 alumnus who had been employed for 45 years at OSU,” Peters says. “His personal knowledge of the people and places on campus offered an invaluable link to the past that is really evident in The Campus and other centennial volumes.” “We were indebted to so many people, including Sanderson and Dr. B.B. Chapman, an OSU history professor, who was responsible for documenting and publishing so much about the history of the campus and the area,” Hanneman says. “Twenty-five years later, it’s nice to see we left some historical information that proved beneficial for the future.” Browse the entire collection of the Centennial Histories Series online by going to the top banner on the website at timeline.okstate.edu, click on the “Digital Collections” link, and scroll down the page to find the Centennial Histories Series link. The student newspaper and yearbook archives are also among the many options available under digital collections.

The late J. Lewie Sanderson provided information for the Centennial books.

By the early 1960s, the traveling science lab program expanded to an eight-state area.

Current and former presidents joined their spouses, students, faculty and staff in 1990 for a sweeping centennial shot in front of Old Central.

A nuclear reactor was included in coursework from 1957 to 1971.

Scott Verplank is among the golfing standouts at OSU who turned pro after graduation.

The late historian B. B. Chapman interviewed an early day faculty member, Harry Thompson, who was 96 when this photo was taken in 1961.

Listen to audio excerpts of OSU alumni sharing their compelling life stories and college memories or read their interview transcripts at w w w.librar y.okstate.edu/oralhistor y/ostate.

Cowboys in Every County Project Records Alumni Voices Across the State With many miles traveled and numerous counties visited, the Oklahoma Oral History Research Program at the Edmon Low Library continues to document alumni voices through Cowboys in Every County in celebration of Oklahoma State University’s 125th Anniversary. While recording these oral history interviews, we have met faithful alumni who have shared memories of everything from campus life to favorite professors and some hijinks in between. With every interview, we are introduced to graduates who have taken different paths yet still feel passion and loyalty for OSU. In Cherokee County, we found one such alumna in Patsi Ann Smith who graduated from OSU in 1963 with a bachelor’s degree in animal science. Smith was born in Oklahoma City yet spent much of her childhood visiting her agriculturally inclined aunts in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Her aunts played a large role in her life, introducing Smith to her lifetime love for animals and helping her embrace her Cherokee heritage. When it was time to choose a college, Smith says there was never any doubt in

In 1963, Patsi Ann Smith was involved with rodeo events through OSU’s Block and Bridle Club. her mind about where she should go. She confidently enrolled at Oklahoma State University, starting out in business education. Smith soon allowed her childhood passions to guide her and switched her focus to animal science. From this decision, she became involved with the Block and Bridle Club and participated in team

roping and bull riding. If this wasn’t impressive enough, Smith was one of few women majoring in animal science at the time. She refused to see this as a challenge and embraced the male-dominated field, succeeding both in the classroom and in extracurricular activities. According to Smith, the ratio of women to men on campus was one to seven when she was in school. She recalls a time when women could only wear dresses or skirts in the library. On the other hand, in the animal science department, Smith was allowed to wear jeans to class — another reason why she claims to have loved her major! After graduation, Smith worked for Texas Tech University in the animal science department. Later, she returned to Tahlequah in Cherokee County and purchased 400 acres where she still manages cattle and horses. When asked to give advice to current OSU students, Smith says, “… go make the friends that will last you a lifetime, go study hard, and take all the education they’ll give you.” — ANNA MCDOUGAL LIBR ARY INTERN

Learn more about Cowboys in Every County on the travel blog at cowboys.library.okstate.edu.. O-State Stories is part of the Oklahoma Oral History Research Program at the Edmon Low Library, chronicling the rich history, heritage and traditions of Oklahoma State University. Interviews are available online. Read or listen to more recollections by visiting www.library.okstate.edu/oralhistory/ostate/. For more information, call 405-744-7685.

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Great First CENTURY a

STORY BY ROGER MOORE | PHOTOS / OSU ATHLETICS ARCHIVES 1930 WRESTLING TEAM

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IF YOU BASE A PROGRAMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S SUCCESS ON CHAMPIONSHIPS, WINS AND LOSSES, AND LARGE TROPHY CASES, THEN OKLAHOMA STATE WRESTLING HAS NO RIVAL. IN ANY SPORT. Of the 86 NCAA Tournaments contested in collegiate wrestling, 34 times Oklahoma State has raised the trophy. Cowboy wrestlers have won 139 individual titles. The University of Iowa is second with 80. In dual meet competition, OSU IS AN ASTOUNDING 1,046-122-24 ALL-TIME ENTERING 2015-2016. The Olympic legacy is also unmatched.

Eleven gold medals have been claimed

by Cowboys with at least one OSU grappler competing in every Olympiad from 1924 to 1976. At the 2012 London Games, Coleman Scott wrestled to a bronze medal.

ED GALLAGHER

All told, there is no trophy case large enough to house all the hardware earned by Oklahoma State wrestlers over the last century. The true measure of a program, however, has more to do with those who shaped it, those who set standards from the outset and made sure each succeeding generation knew the sacrifice required to maintain a championship level. Their names will always be part of the wrestling lexicon: Gallagher, Griffith and Roderick. Those three coaches led the program from 1916 to 1969, and that trio combined for 26 national team titles. continues

It started with a man, Edward C. Gallagher, who never wrestled, but became the “father of collegiate wrestling.” Oklahoma A&M’s first physical education major, Art Griffith, continued that legacy, developing his own style and making sure the post-World War II collegiate athletic scene would include the sport of wrestling. The next leader of the orange and black, Myron Roderick, added to his talented roster of rural stock by bringing in outsiders — national and international. The next half-century provided new coaches with new ideas and kept the program among the nation’s elite. The fourth coach, T o m my Chesbro, brought a style all his own with stars and more memories. Joe Seay coached the Cowboys to a pair of national titles with one of his pupils, John Smith, becoming arguably the best the sport has produced.

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Smith was asked to resurrect a program in desperate need following NCAA sanctions in 1992. Two years later, there was a championship, and a decade’s worth of rebuilding later, there were four straight to bring the total to 34.

Hall of Fame coaches, superstar athletes and stories to fill endless volumes. That is Oklahoma State wrestling.

“There really is no comparison,” said Smith, entering his 25th year as head coach. “Coach Gallagher built something special, and to look what the program has accomplished over the last century is pretty remarkable. “A standard has been set, and every wrestler who puts on that singlet has to understand what that means.” One hundred years of wrestling. Immeasurable impact with infinite stories to tell.

ART GRIFFITH

MYRON RODERICK

FOUNDATION Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College’s first wrestling match was contested against the University of Texas on April 2, 1915, in an old auditorium. A few months later, one of Oklahoma A&M’s favorite sons, EDWARD CLARK GALLAGHER , a 1909 graduate in electrical engineering, was named director of athletics and head track coach. Wrestling would become his obsession. His early pupils were physical — they beat you with frontier toughness developed in rural communities across a young and developing Oklahoma. Gallagher believed a wrestler’s performance had little to do with his social background. His champions came from strong families who focused on conditioning and skill. A good rural work ethic was a must.

The f irst of many OA MC stars wa s footba ll st andout G u y Lookabaugh, who competed at the 1924 Paris Olympics. Clifford Keen, a name still synonymous with wrestling in the 21st century, was team captain of the 1923 squad. Considered an individual sport early in the 20th century, Gallagher developed wrestling as a team sport; he also cultivated theories of wrestling, a trial-and-error process to work out practical techniques. He published Amateur Wrestling in 1925. The program flexed its early muscles at the first NCAA Championship, held in Ames, Iowa, in 1928. OAMC won four of the seven weight classes. A few months later, four with OAMC ties competed at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics,

among them Canadian EARL “MOOSE” McCREADY, who would become the NCAA’s first three-time champion. Oklahomans at the 1932 Los Angeles Oly mpics, Cushing’s B o b b y P e a r c e and Perry’s Ja c k VanBebber won gold medals. Four A&M wrestlers competed at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, with Frank Lewis and Ross Flood each earning a silver medal. But those who wrestled for Gallagher learned more than holds and technique. “I really don’t think I would have had the life I had, had it not been for Coach Gallagher,” said three-time NCAA champion Stanley Henson during a 2009 interview. “He taught you how to be a man, how to have the discipline to survive during hard times. You could take what you learned in wrestling and use it in the real world.”

FROM 1933 TO 1940, A&M WON SEVEN NCAA TITLES. Henson was a leader on those late

“I really don’t think I would have had the life I had, had it not been for Coach Gallagher.”i STANLEY HENSON

1930s squads. “We had some good teams,” Henson continued. “And to see how the program has continued to be at the top is special. The coaches have been a big part of that.” On February 3, 1939, a fieldhouse opened and was dedicated with the immortal words, “God bless you little Irishman.” JOE McDANIEL won the first bout in Gallagher Hall’s history, one of many over the next 75 years. A l W hitehurst and Vernon Logan highlighted Gallagher’s 11th and final NCAA title in 1940. That August, Gallagher died at the age of 52. The New York Times eulogized him with the label “the Knute Rockne of the Mats.” In 20 years, Gallagher had 19 undefeated teams; A&M was 138-5-4 in dual meets. From 1922 to 1932, there was

a 68-match unbeaten streak.

Perhaps the largest impact of the Gallagher legacy is his coaching tree and its roots in Stillwater. continues

FOLLOWING IN BIG FOOTSTEPS ART GRIFFITH , a 1924 OAMC graduate, had many challenges. Following in the footsteps of a legend topped the list, but at the same time, he had to beat those coaches who trained their charges in the Gallagher style. Instead of leverage and power, Griffith taught diversion and counter-attacking with speed. “There was a time when everything kind of looked the same; every wrestler worked the same holds and techniques,” said Art’s son, Jack, in 2004. “(Coach Griffith) would have a bunch of different styles. No two wrestled the same.” Like his predecessor, Griffith’s numbers speak for themselves: 78-7-4 in dual meets with eight NCAA titles. Also like his mentor, A&M’s second coach contributed much more to the growing sport, including what is known as “chain wrestling” and the initiation of a scoring system to further enhance that development. Griffith’s final year, 1956, saw A&M host the NCAA Championship. A fiery senior named Myron Roderick won his third title and would finish fourth at the 1956 Tokyo Olympics. Griffith recommended that his star pupil succeed him and make sure that Oklahoma State University, renamed in 1957, continued the tradition created by OAMC.

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Roderick, at the age of 22, kept OSU at the top of the wrestling ladder. With collegiate athletics’ increased profile in 1950s America, Roderick knew that a broader recruiting base was necessary. More wrestling programs meant more choices, and Oklahoma did not have the population to provide all the necessary stars needed for championship-level teams. Outside of the state line, those stars included Masaaki Hatta, son of the director of Japanese amateur wrestling, and Yojiro Uetake, perhaps the best to ever don an orange and black singlet. Uetake did not lose a collegiate match in 57 tries. HE WAS A THREE-TIME NCAA CHAMPION AND WON OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALS FOR JAPAN IN 1964 AND 1968.

Said Roderick of Uetake, “He was the best collegiate wrestler I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of them.” During his induction into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame last summer, Uetake said, “I still think (Roderick) is the best coach I’ve ever seen.” Uetake knew 1960 Olympic champions Doug Blubaugh and Shelby Wilson trained in Stillwater. So in order to be an Olympic gold medalist, Uetake felt Oklahoma State was the place to be. With stars like Uetake, Roderick coached the Cowboys to a 140-10-7 dual meet record and seven NCAA championships. Tommy Chesbro was next to mentor Cowboys. His 15 years produced more stars and some of the most memorable moments, including Daryl Monasmith’s Gallagher Hallshaking victory over Iowa State’s FRANK SANTANA , a reigning national champion, in the 1978 Big Eight finals, and Mitch Shelton’s dramatic pin of STEVE “DR. DEATH” WILLIAMS in the 1982 Bedlam battle.

YOSHIRO FUJITA

Monasmith’s victory has become the stuff of legend. “My match (with Santana) is only eight minutes of 100 years of excellence,” Monasmith said. “I am humbled and so proud that when that 1978 Big Eight (Tournament) is discussed, people smile when they think back to that moment. “I am honored and blessed to be a part of the OSU wrestling family. Never could I imagine having so much fun with teammates, fans, coaches and students as I did during those four years in Stillwater. And to be included in conversations of great wrestlers and great moments over the 100 years is truly an honor.”

YOJIRO UETAKE

TOMMY CHESBRO JOHN SMITH

JOHN SMITH

B ob D e l l i n g e r, legendary wrestling historian and public address announcer at Gallagher Hall, made Monasmith’s moment timeless. A few moments later, with Jimmy Jackson’s victory, the Cowboys were Big Eight champions, edging longtime rival Iowa State. Those in attendance claim old Gallagher Hall has never been so loud or electric. Chesbro’s 1971 NCA A championship team included another Japanese star, Yoshiro Fujita , along with the Keller brothers , Jay Arneson , Geoff Baum and an undersized heavyweight named Jim Shields. Two NCAA team championships and John Smith’s incredible run from 1988 to 1992, which included FOUR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS AND TWO OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALS, highlighted Joe Seay’s tenure in Stillwater.

NCAA sanctions hit the program following the 1991 season, and Smith would be called on to resurrect the ghosts of Gallagher. The 1994 championship, with John’s brother Pat Smith winning his fourth NCAA title, showed that those ghosts would not stay dormant. Nine years after the Cowboys celebrated in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, they were back on top of the wrestling world in a big way. The 2003 NCAA Tournament in Kansas City brought back the fighting spirit instilled by Gallagher in his early squads. Four-straight NCAA team titles produced another list of greats — Johnny Thompson , Johny Hendricks , Zack Esposito, Chris Pendleton , Jake Rosholt. The program had enough mojo to pull an Iowa Hawkeye, Steve Mocco, away from Iowa City to finish his career as an OSU national champion. continues

RANDY COUTURE

“I still think (Roderick) is the best coach I’ve ever seen.”i YOJIRO UETAKE

THE TREE CONTINUES The coaching tree started under Gallagher continues a century later. J Robinson , a 1968 graduate, runs a Minnesota Gopher program that owns three national team titles. Mark Branch, a two-time NCA A champion, leads Wyoming’s Cowboys. A Branch teammate and fellow NCAA champion, Teague Moore, runs the program at American University. Kevin Ward is early in his tenure at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Pat Popolizio heads the Wolfpack at North Carolina State, and just last summer Coleman Scott was named boss at the University of North Carolina. “I think the longer I am removed from the OSU wrestling program, the more I appreciate my time there and the more I realize the effect that it had on my development as a coach,” said Ward, who helped start the Division II program at Ouachita Baptist in Arkansas before heading to West Point. “As a young coach starting out without a ton of experience, I was only able to rely on the lessons I learned under Coach Smith and his staff. THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT I OWE A LOT OF MY SUCCESS AS A COACH TO THE DEVELOPMENT I RECEIVED DURING MY TIME IN STILLWATER

— from the coaches, teammates and fans surrounding the program.”

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One of Ward’s mentors was Branch, who finished his mat career in 1997, worked under John Smith, and started his seventh year at Wyoming in 2015-16. The 1994 season produced many memories, but perhaps Branch’s run, as a freshman, stole the show. Entering the NCAA Tournament with a losing record, Branch rolled to the 167-pound title — a run that is used by every coach every postseason, along with Jake Rosholt’s memorable 2003 tournament. “It was definitely a Cinderella finish, and one that changed my life,” Branch said. “Those lessons learned that year and throughout my time at Oklahoma State are the reasons I am a coach to this day. Life doesn’t wait for you, life doesn’t feel sorry for you and life isn’t always fair. IF YOU WANT TO WIN AT LIFE YOU HAVE TO EARN IT. And if you’re scared to fail, then stay in the corner.” Moore has similar feelings toward his alma mater. “A coach must be willing to sacrifice his time and energy to see a wrestler achieve great things,” said Moore, a 1998 NCAA champion. “I watched Coach (John) Smith do this, and I learned from his commitment. Those of us in the profession have learned just how much it takes to build a program or develop a top athlete, and it reaffirms the program’s commitment to an athlete at a place like Oklahoma State.”

2005 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM — ZACK ESPOSITO, CHRIS PENDLETON, JAKE ROSHOLT, JOHNY HENDRICKS AND STEVE MOCCO

CHRIS PERRY

ERIC GUERRERO

THE GREATS Much of the first 50 years of Cowboy wrestling is left to campfires, holiday gatherings and old newspaper clippings. Grandparents tell tales of feats of strength and the best wrestlers they ever saw. How would Uetake have fared against Pat Smith? Who was better on top — Branch or Mike Sheets? If “Moose” McCready and Richard Hutton met, who would be the winner? Is Jimmy Jackson the program’s best big man? Who was more fun to watch — Kendall Cross, John Smith or Thomas Landrum? Where do Jordan Oliver, Johny Hendricks and Jake Rosholt rank on the list of all-time greats? What about Kenny Monday, Eric Guerrero and Johnny Thompson? David “Buddy” Arndt? The historical debate is endless. Smith’s nephew, Chris Perry, and his son, Joseph Smith have brought a new generation to the mat. Entering the 100th season of wrestling at OSU, one thing is certain: before Alex Dieringer is through, he will be considered one of the best. A senior in 2015-16, the Wisconsin native captured his third NCAA title in March. Part Gallagher with an unmatched physical toughness, part Griffith with a fluid, lightning-quick attack, and all things OSU wrestling, the 165-pounder is the epitome of the program, old and new. “What makes Alex special is his willingness to continue to learn,” John Smith said. “The great ones are always trying to get better, putting in the extra work.”

Dieringer, like many before him in the program, has his sights set on Olympic glory. “OSU wrestling has made me the wrestler that I am today,” Dieringer said. “No matter where I end up later in life, I will always be a Cowboy. Every time I bring up my school, I will always have a smile on my face. “There have been so many greats come through OSU, and even to be mentioned with them is special to me. I cannot thank this program enough for the opportunity it has given me.” One former Cowboy summed up Oklahoma State wrestling by saying, “It’s hard to describe. Unless you’ve been a part of it, you wouldn’t really understand. There is a special bond between men who have been a part of this program, something that does not go away.

THIS PROGRAM IS ABOUT MUCH MORE THAN WRESTLING, IT ALWAYS WILL BE.”

This story first published in the Winter 2015 issue of POSSE Magazine. To read other great OSU athletic stories, consider joining the POSSE. Annual donations to OSU athletics of $150 or more qualify for POSSE membership and include an annual subscription to POSSE Magazine. Visit okstateposse.com for details.

Citadel of Knowledge: PHOTO / PHIL SHOCKLEY

THE EDMON LOW LIBR ARY BY DAVID C. PETERS SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

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PHOTO / EDMON LOW LIBRARY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS & UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

Alfred Jarrell, left, and Edmon Low viewed the construction of the library.

in the library there until 1929 when he was a warm spring day when an estimated crowd of 500 gathleft to attain a bachelor’s degree from ered at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 28, 1950, for the new library’s the University of Illinois. He received his groundbreaking ceremony. This was one of the first events occurmaster’s degree in library science from ring with alumni reunions, baccalaureate services and commencethe University of Michigan in 1938, then ment exercises planned for Sunday and Monday. became head librarian at Bowling Green Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College President State University in Ohio before returning Henry G. Bennett served as the master of ceremonies for the to Oklahoma. groundbreaking. Dignitaries used gold-painted spades to shovel out small divots of soil. Low and Bennett would spend the Colonel Robert T. Stuart represented the board of regents. Library Director Edmon Low next decade planning and designing made a brief statement. Distinguished guests were in the crowd including the Oklahoma the academic library of the future with attorney general, legislators, higher education board members, and visitors from across Wilber’s assistance. Bennett proved to the state and nation. be a valuable mentor for Low, encouraglibrary staff attempting to provide needed Those manning the shovels included ing him to build professional relationservices and was an inefficient utilization a member of the first graduation class, ships and become more comfortable of limited resources with duplicate mateAlfred E. Jarrell, who had traveled from when making public presentations. At Bakersfield, California. Jarrell, his parents, rials often housed at different locations. the end of the war, Low began touring Finally, all of these services and resources and siblings were living in Stillwater when other libraries and visiting with librarians would be located in one facility. When the territorial governor signed the legislaacross the nation. He worked very closely completed, the new library would be one tion establishing the college on December with the president’s office and the campus of the five largest open stack academic 25, 1890. Jarrell’s parents made available architects to share these experiences and libraries in the nation. 40 acres from their homestead to establish insights, hoping to integrate the best the college campus in Stillwater, and the new library would be located on the property formerly owned by his family. The groundbreaking ceremony ended decades of frustration, financial challenges, and local business conflicts that had delayed construction of the college library. Two decades had passed since Bennett and architect Philip A. Wilber — Colonel Robert T. Stuart, 1953 OAMC Board of Regents proposed the OAMC campus master plan in 1930. Bennett began serving as presifeatures from libraries nationwide. Low dent of the college during the summer of Attempts to fund construction at the ultimately supported a modular construc1928. During his first two years in office, end of the Great Depression in 1938 failed tion form using interior support columns he began to formulate a vision that would when the state was unable to match a surrounded by an outside shell. This eventually alter and transform the small federal Public Works Administration grant would allow for the greatest flexibility land grant college into a major university. that Bennett and his staff had secured. of interior spaces and a structure sound Working with architects Wilber and D.A. Campus priorities changed during World enough to support the extra floor-load Hamilton, Bennett proposed expanding War II, and most permanent construction levels necessary for shelving thousands the campus footprint, designing a number projects were put on hold. After the war of books. Conceptions, planning, designs of new facilities that would become the ended, discussions began again regarding and redesigns had taken place for more homes for his academic hopes and dreams. construction of the new library. Funds than two decades. were secured from a state appropriation, A large team assisted Wilber and Heart of the campus state bond funds, and the sale of library Hamilton, who had become the head of revenue bonds. The centerpiece for the campus was architecture at the college. R.E. Means to be an academic library that would focused on creating adequate footings, Designing begins dramatically exceed in style and structure which would be extremely important for anything the college community previEdmon Low joined Bennett and the massive structure and higher floorously envisioned. It would be surrounded Wilber in the efforts to securing a new load capacity needs. Rex Cunningham by a system of roads and sidewalks that library with his appointment as the developed the designs for the front of the would converge at the new heart of the college librarian on September 1, 1940. building, Raymond Lovelady coordinated college campus. For years, library holdLow was 38 years old and had been born the interior color selections, and Chaplin ings of books and research materials were in Kiowa, Indian Territory, graduated Bills and Jim Thorne were in charge of spread across campus in up to 23 locafrom Tishomingo High School, attended construction inspections. tions. This arrangement had frustrated college at East Central State, and worked continues

“The cost of this building is great … But its potential value as an institution of service is unlimited.”

In October 1948, the first contracts were approved, but the project stumbled immediately. In the original plans, the building was located in the middle of State Highway 1, also known as the Albert Pike Highway, and locally as Washington Street. But dramatically increasing enrollments led to questioning this idea, and eventually the college worked to close this section of the highway and reroute it away from the center of campus. Business interests south of the college sought an injunction to keep Washington Street open through campus, halting construction for another 18 months before being resolved through legislation and the state courts. Ultimately, three contracts were approved from 1948 to 1951 with the Manhattan Construction Company of Muskogee, Oklahoma, to build the new library. These contracts totaled more than $3.1 million. Bennett had suggested starting construction before funds were avail-

Georgian style that was the template for all construction in the 25-year plan. Concrete, steel and marble began rising up from the basement level. The exterior surfaces were soon added to complete the shell of the facility. The interior would have almost four acres of floor space. In addition to the brick and stone exterior, the building would also feature Italian marble and Minnesota Kasota limestone. Kasota was known for being resistant to wear and weathering. Five types of marble came from Italy and one from Belgium. There were four additional sources of marble that were not recorded. Botticini caps were placed on top of the two marble lobby columns that extended from the first to the fourth floor. Each cap weighed 1 ton. The library reached 182 feet in height and was topped with a Williamsburg-style tower. Three massive bronze doors provided the main entrance on the south face of the building. This

The new library was only the second building on campus with air conditioning that both cooled the air and adjusted the relative humidity levels. This provided more comfort for library patrons and delivered a better environment for the books and collections housed in the building. New furniture and furnishings cost $425,000. Utilities, and other mechanical equipment, brought the total expenditures to almost $4.5 million. Some mechanical equipment costs were reduced when the college purchased a used 1,000-ton capacity air conditioning unit. This war surplus item had been at a shipbuilding facility in Louisiana. Located in the library, the air conditioning unit also provided cooled air to the new Classroom Building southeast of the library. The interior was designed to hold more than 1 million books, manuscripts, documents and other items, including a music library and map room. At its open-

“Nobody is going to leave that big hole in the ground. I’ll parade them (state legislators) by that big hole full of water, and they’ll appropriate the money for it.” — Oklahoma A&M College President Henry G. Bennett

able. The college president stated that he was considering moving the project along without authorized state support. When asked how that could be possible, Bennett replied he would start excavation at the site, saying, “Nobody is going to leave that big hole in the ground. I’ll parade them (state legislators) by that big hole full of water, and they’ll appropriate the money for it.” Construction starts

With the final resolution of all outstanding complications, work began at the site in June 1950. The excavation subcontractor, E. H. Holtzen Company from Enid, removed 419,000 cubic feet of soil and subsoil, piling much of it on the lawns and gardens south of the construction site. The library would have six floors and was designed in the modified

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entrance was described as magnificent, elegant and grand. There were also doors on the east and west sides, but no entrance from the north. A fountain bowl of black granite with water features was placed on the south terrace. It weighed 3 tons. The console room under the library tower housed the keyboard for the carillon bells, which would ring throughout the day and during special occasions. Additional music scores and music rolls for automated playing similar to those used in a player piano were also kept there. Three elevators and three sets of stairs provided access to all floors. The third set of stairs at the center of the building was initially used exclusively by library staff, but was eventually opened to the public. A service elevator on the west side of the building moved larger loads between the basement, first and second floors.

ing, the library only had 400,000 volumes, and it was anticipated that it would take decades to fill. In addition to generous study areas, there were special enclosed study carrels for faculty and graduate students. The common seating areas could seat 2,500 students. It was determined that suitable study areas required excellent lighting for reading. One-third of the entire ceiling surface area throughout was filled with recessed lighting fixtures that required six miles of fluorescent light bulbs. General Electric designed and developed this system specifically for this type of use, and the installation here was the first application of this type for a library in the world. Organizing materials

The library staff began transferring books and other resources into the new

building on January 12, 1953. A wooden slide transferred items from the second floor of the old library to a truck parked at street level. A cart could transfer up to two shelves of books down the ramp with each pass. Books had been tied directly to their old shelves or bound together to be loaded on the transfer cart. This was done for convenience and to keep them in call number order. After arrival at the new library, all items were unbound and cleaned using a vacuum before being reshelved. The books in the library were arranged on open stacks that could be accessed directly by library users. The OAMC Library was one of the first academic libraries to utilize this progressive adaptation for personal access, allowing patrons to browse the shelves. While Princeton, Harvard and Rice University libraries had open stacks, most libraries

Dignitaries descended on the campus for the library’s groundbreaking ceremonies.

PHOTOS / EDMON LOW LIBRARY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS & UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

PHOTO / GARY LAWSON

Formal gardens and lawns decorated the land south of where the library was constructed. at this time still required a library staff member to locate the books in closed stacks and retrieve them for the patron. Materials in the OAMC Library were organized into seven subject areas: Biological Sciences with Agriculture, and Physical Sciences with Engineering, were on the first floor. Home Economics was on the third floor. Humanities, Education, Documents, and Social Sciences were on the fourth floor. There were still some limited controls to access. Each subject area had its own entrance and exit turnstiles. Staff members controlled the exits electronically, preventing anyone from leaving the subject area before properly checking out the materials they were taking. continues

Architects Philip A. Wilber, left, and D.A. Hamilton, were instrumental in making OSU President Henry Bennett’s dreams come true.

General Electric designed and developed recessed lighting fixtures specifically suited for reading. With six miles of fluorescent light bulbs, the installation was the first application of this type for a library in the world.

PHOTO / EDMON LOW LIBRARY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS & UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

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After the contracts were approved, it took three years to construct the new library.

All books were listed on cards arranged by title, author and subject in the central card catalog on the second floor. The library also utilized the Dewey Decimal system to assist in determining the subject locations for the books. To find a particular book, the patron would locate the appropriate card in the file drawers, refer to the directory nearby for the subject location determined by the Dewey number, go to that location in the library, retrieve it from the shelves, and check it out from that subject desk. Books were checked out in each subject area and expected to be returned to the area where they had been checked out. Each subject area also had its own study spaces. The second floor was designated for general reference services, formal reading areas and library operations. The basement and fifth floors provided space for the advanced studies of faculty and

periodicals in resource rooms near their offices and classrooms. Complaints were made to Edmon Low, the college library committee, and the president’s office. All three resisted the efforts of these academic departments to retain their library resources, but they did compromise by utilizing the subject arrangement approach within the new library.

graduate students. The fourth floor also provided group study rooms, typing rooms, and one location designated for the use of microfilm. Four microfilm/microcard readers provided access to this new form of information access and exchange. The library map collection, under the guidance of Dr. Angie Debo, was also provided a new home on the third floor. A rare book room, containing historical items of interest for the college, Stillwater and Oklahoma was designated. The new OAMC Library was accessible to the public for the first time on January 28, 1953. The building was open from 8 a.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday and from 2-10 p.m. Sunday. However, not everyone was happy that library resources were under one roof. Many academic departments had enjoyed the convenience of library books and

died in a plane crash near Teheran, Iran, on December 22, 1951. While he would never see the library completed, it was his vision and influence that brought about its existence. Bennett had once described the library as “the intellectual nerve center of A and M” and had placed it at the heart of the campus he had envisioned 23 years earlier. The library dedication was held at 2 p.m. Friday, May 8, 1953, in conjunction with the college’s presidential inauguration of Oliver S. Willham. The ceremonies were held in the College Auditorium with Edmon Low presiding. Guy Redvers Lyle, the director of libraries at Louisiana State University, spoke on “The Launching.” The dedication was given by Dr. Robert Bingham Downs, president of the American Library Association. He closed with this statement: continues

Library dedication

Six months after the library groundbreaking ceremony, Henry Bennett was named by U.S. President Harry S. Truman to serve as the first director for the Point Four Program designed to coordinate the nation’s international development efforts. Bennett was given a leave of absence from the college; for the next year, he would travel to 33 countries and visit over 100 projects supported by the U.S. government. Bennett, his wife Vera, and 19 others

PHOTO / PHIL SHOCKLEY

“It gives me great pleasure and satisfaction now to declare this library dedicated to the service of present and future generations of young men and women, who will obtain their first insights and inspiration here; to the many scholars and research workers, whose contributions to knowledge will be immensely facilitated by its resources; and to all the citizens of a great state, whose lives will be enriched, directly and indirectly, by its presence here.” At the close of the dedication, the audience was invited to tour the library. As the crowd strolled across campus from the auditorium to the library, the carillon bells were played in the library tower. The musical selections were a recital of Dr. and Mrs. Bennett’s favorite hymns performed by Carl Amt. Bell master Arthur Lynds Bigelow at Princeton University and Louvain, Belgium, played a 45-minute concert on the carillon. Amt, a member of the college music faculty, had attended Princeton the previous year for training on

the carillon under the direction of Bigelow. The inaugural banquet for Willham took place that evening at 7 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom. It had taken three years to complete construction of the fifth-largest academic library in the nation. The enormous structure far exceeded the expectations of almost everyone. But Dr. Bennett had noticed something three years earlier at the groundbreaking that caused him some concern regarding the future of the facility. The evening after the groundbreaking ceremony, he phoned assistant dean of engineering M. R. “Pete” Lohmann to discuss the location of the new library based on where the stakes had been placed to begin construction. Bennett felt that the building needed to be moved south 40 to 50 feet. Originally the south façade was in line with the Engineering and Biology Buildings to its east and west. Bennett reasoned, however, that if an addition to the library was ever considered it

would be to the north side of the facility. There would be no space for this future construction to the north unless the original building was moved southward. No one else had ever considered the possible necessity of an addition. Lohmann and industrial engineering professor H. G. Thuesen returned to the construction site and reset the corners 50 feet further south. An addition to the library was added less than 15 years after the main building was completed. On April 11, 1977, the Oklahoma State University Library was renamed to honor Edmon Low, the man who had shared Henry Bennett’s dream of a progressive academic library located at the heart of Oklahoma’s first land-grant university and had helped make it a reality. This facility was completed 63 years after the founding of the institution and now has served the university for 63 years, proving its adaptability to an ever-changing academic environment.

While he (Henry G. Bennett) would never see the library completed, it was his vision and influence that brought about its existence. A DREAM REALIZED

I deem it a rare privilege, friends, to represent the board of regents for the Oklahoma

Agricultural and Mechanical Colleges in receiving this magnificent new library building from the college’s own brilliant architect who designed it — Mr. Philip Wilber. • But we who are gathered here at this eventful time in the history of Oklahoma A and M College are dedicating not just a structure of strength and beauty than which there is none finer, but also its unexcelled facilities and its several hundred thousand carefully and expertly selected books, which here provide in permanent form much of the world’s knowledge and wisdom. • We of the board of regents are honored to accept this splendid edifice in which we meet with its multiplied thousands of books. These have been assembled with much thought and study by men and women who have devoted many hours of effort to this project. All of this has been done for us — and for many generations to come. • The cost of this building is great — in money, in thought, and in human endeavor. But its potential value as an institution of service is unlimited. Its worth cannot be evaluated in monetary terms — it must be measured in the hearts and minds of our people. This truly great library is a fulfilled longtime dream of the late Dr. Henry G. Bennett. It is our hope and our prayer that it will serve the teachers and the students of Oklahoma A and M College in such ways, and only in such ways, as will make of them more loyal citizens of their country, more complete individuals throughout the whole of their lives, better informed men and women for the work that they will do. • May hundreds of thousands of American youth and their teachers leave this building in decades to come, wiser and better for having read and studied here! • Colonel Robert T. Stuart, OAMC Board of Regents, Address at 1953 Library Dedication.

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Formal and informal areas were provided for different functions in the library. PHOTO / EDMON LOW LIBRARY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS & UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

PHOTO / PHIL SHOCKLEY

The library utilized a card catalog system to locate books.

Turnstiles were used to control access and monitor entrances and exits to various sections of the library.

Charles Abramson is collaborating with an international group through a $4 million National Science Foundation grant to investigate learning in honeybees.

PHOTO / PHIL SHOCKLEY

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BUSY BEE BY B R I A N P E T R O T TA

Inspiring students and the world with comparative psychology

He proudly displays the sticker outside harles Abramson grew up in his office in North Murray Hall, and it an environment that was ripe speaks to the professor’s “sink-or-swim” for inspiring a career in the field of comparative psychology. approach. “I will let anyone into my laboratory,” Raised near 78th and Broadway in New Abramson says. “I don’t care about grades York City, his neighborhood was a classic or reference letters, but if you fail — and melting pot of families from Puerto Rico some do — you can never say you weren’t and the Dominican Republic while he was given a chance.” born to an immigrant Italian-Catholic Like a successful football coach, mother and Jewish father. Comparing Abramson sets high expectations and similarities and differences became an those who are up to the task find the innate ability he turned into an awardapproach incredibly rewarding. Third-year winning career, which has taken him all graduate student Chris Dinges explains over the globe and attracted millions of the payoff. dollars in grant money. “He sets the bar high enough that you And yet, he does have his detraccan distinguish yourself,” Dinges says. tors. A student-produced bumper sticker “With a behaviorist view on education, he reads, “I’d rather have my eyes poked out reasons you have to have failures to make than take a class from Dr. Abramson.” the successes mean something.” Dinges is heavily involved in one of Abramson’s latest triumphs as a collaborator on a $4 million National Science Foundation — Partnerships in International Education grant. Dinges’

and Abramson’s study delves into the molecular mechanisms of decision-making in honeybees. They are working with Dr. Tugrul Giray (University of Puerto Rico) and Dr. Meral Kence (Middle East Technical University) as well as the principal investigator on the grant, Dr. Mark Miller (University of Puerto Rico). The five-year grant “Neural Mechanisms of Reward and Decision” will support a wide variety of projects. “The idea is to try to get a handle on the molecular mechanisms of behavior,” Abramson says. “Honeybees have a social structure and a language. They have caste-dependent changes in learning so younger bees do not do the same thing as when they get older; they change.” Through the research provided by the grant, the consortium hopes to increase the understanding of decision-making, which could lead to more effective, adaptive strategies for solving problems. This international collaboration is typical of Abramson’s philosophy and broad interests, which have taken him across the globe to countries as diverse as Turkey, Greece, Italy, Japan, Russia, Slovenia, Venezuela, and Brazil, where he met his wife, Zeyna. He has come a long way, both literally and figuratively, from his modest upbringing in New York. continues

PHOTO / BRIAN PETROTTA ES NG DI IS /C HR O OT PH

Honeybees have a social structure and a language.

Graduate student Chris Dinges studies honeybees in the lab.

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Center, so he could put away enough money to attend the private Croydon Hall Academy. When he could not afford 11th grade, he went back to being a security guard then returned to school and graduated (though he never did take 11th grade courses). The ride may have been bumpy, but Abramson’s focus was always on the future. “Everybody gets down, but the idea is to push forward and don’t go back,” he says. “Always go forward.” After graduation, Abramson was accepted into NYU, Seton Hall and Boston University, which he ultimately attended because “it was the farthest away from New York.” It was at BU where he approached Dr. Henry Marcucella, who gave an unproven Abramson the one thing he needed — a chance. Marcucella essentially gave Abramson the option to sink or swim and this had a profound influence on his own teaching philosophy. “I don’t really believe in good professors; it’s only good students,” he says. “I remember being told you can only meet someone halfway, but I realized you can only meet them 49 percent because the student has to give that 1 percent to build on.”

The approach clearly worked for Abramson, who earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1978. He remained at BU to secure a master’s degree in experimental psychology and a doctorate in physiological psychology (while concurrently conducting graduate work at the University of Hawaii). In 1986, he went to work at the SUNY Health Science Center in Brooklyn, New York, and then PHOTO / PHIL SHOCKLEY

“No one from my childhood would have thought I would do this,” Abramson says. “I feel like I’ve won the lottery.” With the help of nearly $7 million dollars in career grant money, Abramson has collected a treasure trove of research in comparative psychology, creating groundbreaking work on bees, an online History of Psychology museum and an exhaustive biography about early 20th-century African-American psychologist Charles Henry Turner. He also co-authored a Slovenian phrase book, which was later translated into Italian and German. It is not uncommon for him to attend national conferences and hear exchanges where one attendee may say, “Abramson — he’s the guy who works with bees!” and another counters, “No, he’s the history guy!” before they realize they’re talking about the same person. Growing up without much money in a nontraditional family, Abramson developed a work ethic and unusual level of responsibility. “I don’t remember a time when my mother and father were ever together,” he says. After battling through various military and public schools, he took a job as a security guard at the World Trade

The National Science Foundation is supporting Ana Chicas-Mosier’s doctoral research.

in high school. True to his ethic, he gave her a chance and she ran with it. “He’s willing to give anyone a shot, even a random high-schooler who emails him out of the blue,” she says. Chicas-Mosier graduated from OSU with bachelor’s degrees in biology and psychology and now aims to secure a doctorate in integrative biology in four years. With Abramson as her adviser, she believes she is up to the task. “He holds everyone to his standard,

including himself,” she explains. “It makes you want to strive to be better.” With three research publications under her belt already, Chicas-Mosier is off to a promising start. Her first taste of fieldwork came as a freshman when Abramson included her with a group that traveled to Turkey to study honeybees. She instantly fell in love with the work, and her research now centers on using bees to study a potential link between continues PHOTO / BRIAN PETROTTA

landed at Oklahoma State University in 1993. OSU offered Abramson the opportunity to whet his interdisciplinary whistle. Not only could he pursue his projects in comparative psychology, which he notes was “a dying field,” but he could flex his mental muscles in other areas such as zoology and entomology. Awards and recognition swiftly followed his move to Stillwater. He is a four-time OSU Department of Psychology Teacher of the Year winner and fourtime Oklahoma Psychological Society Outstanding Psychology Teacher. He has also collected all three Regents awards (Distinguished Teaching Award, 1997; Distinguished Professor, 2007; Distinguished Research Award, 2008). In 2014, he was appointed to the Lawrence L. Boger Endowed Professorship in the School of International Studies at OSU. Piles of other awards and achievements decorate his résumé, but the one feat for which he is most proud primarily benefits OSU students. In 2013, Abramson and his colleagues, headed by Dr. Perry Gethner, realized a hard-earned dream of bringing a Phi Beta Kappa honor society chapter to OSU. Phi Beta Kappa recognizes students who achieve a 3.7 or higher GPA, combined with “a broadly based liberal education” and members must be elected. Abramson serves as the chapter historian and is conducting oral histories in conjunction with Dr. Tanya Finchum of the OSU Edmon Low Library. Abramson was elected to Phi Beta Kappa at BU and his mother was so proud she insisted on being buried with his Phi Beta Kappa key. “She always valued education,” he says. And Abramson loves nothing more than to offer opportunities to students who feel the same calling. Take Ana Chicas-Mosier, for example. A Stillwater native who excelled at the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics in Oklahoma City, Chicas-Mosier approached Abramson when she was still

Bees are useful in studies because they have similar neural systems to humans but in an extremely simplified version.

/C H

PHOTO / PHIL SHOCKLEY

Throughout his career, Charles Abramson has written and contributed to many books and research articles.

aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease. The National Science Foundation is supporting her research with a Graduate Research Fellowship, one of 2,000 awards presented from a pool of 17,000 applicants. Dinges has also thrived under Abramson. The third-year graduate student needed just one day of class to realize he had discovered an unusually inspiring professor. It began with Abramson asking the class a seemingly simple question: “How do you define comparative psychology?” “I started stumbling through an answer and he just said, ‘If you don’t know, say you don’t know.’ I was inspired from his class from then on because it was a relief to hear that honesty,” Dinges says. Though Abramson has built a 23-year career at OSU, his New York accent remains and sometimes that honesty is interpreted as bluntness. When it comes to discussing the field of comparative psychology, Abramson is not one to mince words. “Everyone is not the same, and everyone is not equal, and that’s why I think comparative psychology is more important now than it ever has been before,” he says. That is where his international interests, entomological experiments and historical curiosities collide. While Abramson has seen other disciplines within psychology overtake the

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comparative field in popularity, he believes the application of some of that research is lagging behind. “It’s the skill in designing behavioral experiments that I think people are losing,” he says, who keeps beehives in his backyard at home. Abramson has proven his own skill in experimental design including a study of Africanized honeybees using alcohol. Through his research, he created a model that helped study alcoholism in humans. Later, he imagined those results into a children’s book he wrote, Betty the Boozing Bee. The NSF-PIRE grant digs even deeper, looking at how behavior might be manipulated at the molecular level. Bees make for particularly good subjects because they have similar neural systems to humans but in an extremely simplified version, Abramson explains. Additionally, they learn well, have a social structure, and there may be thousands of nearly identical siblings within a hive. Dinges spends much of his time in Abramson’s lab in Life Sciences West dissecting the brains of bees and wasps. He knew from the moment he learned the word “entomologist” when he was 8 years old what he wanted to do when he grew up. Through Abramson’s comparative psychology class, he found the perfect way to realize that dream.

“Loving psychology, loving insects, it could not have been a better fit,” he says. “I get to be a ‘bee psychologist’ now.” Working in one of the few labs in the country to actively pursue research in comparative psychology, Dinges shares Abramson’s zeal for the subject and hopes a renaissance in the field is approaching. “What I want to continue with Dr. Abramson’s legacy, as one of his students, is to bring back comparative psychology,” Dinges says. While the field may have been quiet for the last 20 or 30 years, Abramson’s recent success in obtaining grant money is encouraging. Not only has he netted the NSF-PIRE grant, and earned an extension on a National Science Foundation – Research Experience for Undergraduates grant with the University of Central Oklahoma’s Dr. John Barthell, but he is also collaborating on an NSF National Robotics Initiative grant with OSU’s Dr. Girish Chowdhary and Dr. Christopher Crick and Texas A&M’s Dr. Prabhakar Pagilla to develop better interactions between humans and robotic trainers. In 2015, Abramson was on the move with research taking him to Brazil, Russia, Chile and Columbia. Abramson traveled to Brazil to lay the groundwork for a course on International Environmental Sociology, which will be offered by the Sociology Department for two months

Universidad Nacional de Colombia where he began discussions about exchange agreements. During the spring 2016 semester, Abramson took a group of students to Granada, Spain, to explore the Islamic contributions to science and psychology. Dr. David Henneberry, associate vice president of international studies and outreach, says collaboration with universities internationally is a great benefit to OSU. “With the work Dr. Abramson is doing in these countries it will enhance opportunities for further research, therefore giving students opportunities for cultural experiences and increasing awareness of what types of studies we are doing at Oklahoma State University,” Henneberry says. Abramson credits students like ChicasMosier and Dinges with rebuilding the reputation of comparative psychology by bringing interactive tools into the community. The students often visit high schools and have hosted a booth at the EPSCoR Women in Science Conference for the last several years. Popular attractions at the booth include letting people hold and feed wasps and demonstrating the MindFlex

machine, which allows people to raise and lower a ball with their mind. Quick to return the credit Abramson gives them, Chicas-Mosier points out his enthusiasm — not only for the work but for bringing in new people — is inspiring. “When you talk to someone and they’re really excited about their work, it’s contagious,” she says. Abramson keeps fighting the good fight for comparative psychology and delights in training the next generation to keep going forward. “We have to keep expanding,” Dinges says. “It’s something I really believe in.” Abramson has built an enviable career around his own belief and applied creativity in his subject. From Stillwater to Turkey, Puerto Rico to Brazil, the boy from 78th and Broadway has adapted, collaborated and, in his own poke-youreyes-out style, is inspiring the next generation of comparative psychologists. “I can’t imagine another kind of psychology,” Abramson says. “I am lucky to do what I do, and I’m glad to do it at OSU.”

PHOTO / PHIL SHOCKLEY

during the summer of 2016. Professors Beth Caniglia, Duane Gill and Tammy Mix will teach the course. “It will be the first OSU Arts and Sciences travel course to be offered in Brazil and continues the relationship between OSU and the Federal Institute of Paraiba (IFPB),” Abramson says. “As part of the agreement, IFPB sent two teams to the Mercury Robotics Competition hosted by Dr. Carl Latino and the electrical engineering department. One of the teams earned second place honors and all the Brazilian students enjoyed touring OSU and meeting fellow students.” In March 2015, Abramson was off to Moscow with his internationalbased spring break class “Explorations in the History of Psychology,” hosted by Moscow State University of Design and Technology. During the trip, students had the opportunity to explore universities, interact with Russian psychology students and faculty, and visit sites of cultural and historical significance. The months of April and May in 2015 were spent in Chile conducting research on honeybees and teaching courses on comparative psychology and scientific writing, along with presenting an all-day workshop on honeybee learning. This visit was co-hosted by the Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso (UCV) and Centro CERES. “During this visit I was able to establish research collaborations with commercial apiaries containing several thousand hives,” Abramson says. “Centro CERES, located in Quillota, Chile, is an agricultural research facility loosely affiliated with UCV. OSU has had a longstanding agreement with UCV and I hope it can be expanded to include Centro CERES. Quillota is known for its rich history and, among its industries, is one of the world’s largest avocado producing facilities.” July and part of August were spent in Pandi, Colombia, researching stingless bees and teaching a course in Bogota on comparative research methods. This visit was co-sponsored by the Academia Colombiana de Ciencias and the

Comparative psychologist Charles Abramson has taken his research and students around the globe.

BY A M A N DA O ’ T O O L E M A S O N

Learning to understand and appreciate different cultures and music is part of becoming a well-rounded, educated person. Students and those who grow up around Stillwater will be exposed to the best.” • BILLIE McKNIGHT

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Grand Atrium

O S U A L U M N I S E T S TA G E F O R P E R F O R M I N G A R T S C E N T E R W I T H T R A N S F O R M AT I O N A L G I F T Billie and Ross McKnight came to love and support the performing arts from two completely different perspectives. Billie grew up embracing music, playing the piano from an early age and later mastering the flute; she passed on this love of music by encouraging her children in violin, piano, flute and saxophone, as well as taking them to theatre productions near and far. Nine-year-old Ross, on the other hand, attended a Broadway production with his family in 1957 after traveling to New York City to watch Hank Aaron with the Milwaukee Braves take on Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra with the New York Yankees in the World Series. While the Series traveled to Milwaukee, the family took in the sights of the city, and McKnight found himself watching Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews in My Fair Lady, an up-andcoming Broadway show. “I don’t remember what I thought about going to my first Broadway show, but I was overwhelmed after the overture,” says Ross McKnight. The Yankees lost the Series, but the arts gained a patron. Nearly 60 years after Billie first played the piano and My Fair Lady debuted on Broadway, the

McKnights appeared on stage at the Seretean Center with OSU President Burns Hargis. Bookended by awardwinning trumpeters and a cellist, Ross and Billie announced to the world via live broadcast that they were giving $25 million to Oklahoma State to create a program endowment for the new performing arts center. The center was announced in 2014 with performances by alumna and opera star Sarah Coburn as well as students from the Departments of Music and Theatre. The 93,000-square-foot building will be named The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts at Oklahoma State University in recognition of the couple’s gift. The McKnights’ generosity complements a number of donations to the performing arts center, including a $15 million maintenance and operations gift from philanthropists and OSU alumni Frank and Carol Morsani. The program endowment ensures The McKnight Center always has the funds available to host top-tier performances unique in this region. “There will be many Broadway plays, orchestras, symphonies, operas, ballets, dance — all different genres of performing art we hope to bring to Oklahoma State,” says Billie. When the couple first heard President Burns Hargis’ vision for the performing arts center nearly

four years ago, they knew they wanted to be involved in a big way. “We wanted this to be transformational, and we realized there was not a population to supply the support for this type of programming in Stillwater, based on ticket sales alone,” says Ross. “We knew if we endowed the programming, it would benefit all of the students who attend OSU — not just the students within the music and theatre departments — as well as the town of Stillwater, and I think the state of Oklahoma. “OSU will forever be looked at differently when it attracts the types of world-class arts we’d like to bring in.” Combined with the McKnights’ gift, OSU hopes to raise at least an additional $25 million, increasing the endowment to $50 million, generating $2.5 million annually for programming. The university is already in discussion with an international philharmonic, a partnership that will be made possible by the endowment. “If the McKnight Center were built today, we’d bring in Hamilton. We’d be partnering with the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra,” Ross says. “You bring the New York Philharmonic here, and it will blow people away.” continues

President Hargis says The McKnight Center will elevate the persona of the entire university and demonstrate OSU’s commitment to the arts. “Oklahoma State has always had great arts programs; they just have not had the promotion, support or facilities to reach their potential,” he says. “The new facility and the incredible programming will put OSU on the map with a prominence we haven’t had.” Through the creation of the Postal Plaza Gallery in downtown Stillwater, campus beautification, and even the introduction of the Doel Reed Center for the Arts in Taos, New Mexico, Hargis has worked diligently to support an arts renaissance at OSU. The result has been, and will continue to be, a well-rounded education and better quality of life for students at OSU and families who call Stillwater home. Formerly involved in the Metropolitan Area Projects in Oklahoma City, Hargis says access to the arts is important and helps create an environment for success. MAPS, which funded the creation of the Bricktown Canal, Bricktown Ballpark and recreational activities along the Oklahoma River among

many other feats, demonstrates what a difference such features can mean to a community. “I learned a long time ago with MAPS in Oklahoma City that amenities are not amenities. They are necessities,” he says. “Quality of life has a lot to do with an upward trajectory of a community. This project will do just that.” It will also elevate OSU’s School of Visual and Performing Arts as students, especially in music and theatre, will be able to play alongside today’s best artists and attend master classes. “In every creative field, and especially in music, so much of what we do is about mentorship,” says Bree Ahern, a national finalist for the 2014 Teachers National Association Solo Competition, who played onstage during the McKnights’ announcement. “To imagine these world-class artists coming in and being able to work with us on a really individual

level will completely transform the program in a really positive way.” Trumpet sophomore Kevin Kamau says it will revolutionize Oklahoma State University and the Department of Music. “Learning from somebody who has won a job, who has gotten into the best grad schools, to learn from the best, to learn from someone who is currently playing — it would just be incredible,” he says. “With this gift, it’s really going to change everything we do here — how we go about recruiting, how we go about attracting people from the community to music and the performing arts in general. It’s going to change everything for the better.”

continues

Highlights of The McKnight Center will include: • 1,100-seat performance hall • 222-seat recital hall • Outdoor plaza that can accommodate about 1,000 people • Grand atrium and several dedicated lobbies • Suites and club/loge-level seating

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Performance Hall

Outdoor Plaza

Interim Department of Music Head and associate professor of double bass George Speed is eager to witness the transformation of Stillwater firsthand, calling it “phenomenal.” “For me, for the students, to have the ability to see the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony or the Cleveland Orchestra right around the corner, that’s really incredible,” says Speed, who is also the principal bass player for the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. “It is really going to bring the college and the town together in a unique way. People will of course be in awe of the new facility, but it will feel accessible to students even though they may never have heard a concert before in their lives. It will be a great blend of accessibility and high culture.” The vision for the performance endowment mirrors the exceptionally high standards that are being established with the construction and creation of The McKnight Center for

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the Performing Arts. Construction is expected to begin this fall. Everything within the building will be acoustically perfected by the top architects and engineers specializing in performing art centers around the world. Oklahoma City-based architects from Beck Designs are collaborating with experts from PEI Cobb Freed & Partners; Kirkegaard; Cosentini; Schuler Shook and Walter P. Moore. The companies’ work includes the upcoming renovation of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, the Opera House in Boston, Dallas City Performance Hall and the New World Symphony in Miami, to name a few. Enhanced technology will set the center apart. Digital screens will create an immersive experience, infusing sounds, colors and energy throughout the main performance hall. Tuning capabilities will allow for adjustments and fine tuning the acoustics within

moments as a performance moves from the entire orchestra to a singleinstrument focus. Performances can be telecast to a giant LED screen in the outdoor plaza from inside the performance hall or from any stage around the globe. The space will be able to host a variety of other events, possibly even gameday experiences. “The space we’re getting for the halls, at their core, are just huge classrooms — huge, exciting classrooms where magnificence can happen,” Speed says. “They will be places where performing students can train how they listen, how to produce sound and improve on its quality, how they blend their sound. It’s transformative for our students.” A new home for the Department of Music will be added onto The McKnight Center in a seamless fashion, adding muchneeded practice spaces and adequate

Imagine bringing Broadway to the OSU campus.

Music is very important to me. It speaks both to your intellect and your soul. I think music is important to almost everybody, because it makes you grow. And who knows, you may stumble over something you really love.”

• BURNS HARGIS

teaching environments befitting a state-of-the-art performance venue. The demand for music education has never been greater at OSU with students learning from sought-after singers, famous composers and musical theorists that comprise the music faculty. OSU students consistently place highly in musical competitions, including a trumpet ensemble that has won first place three consecutive years at the National Trumpet Competition. “The beauty of our programs is that we’re not guessing if we can be a great school of the fine arts — we already have great talent here,” Hargis says. “We have wonderful faculty, great students. … You can see how they

could blossom if you build something around them that allows them to maximize their potential.” Hargis is hopeful others will think so as well and join him and the McKnights as OSU makes their impressive vision come to life. They are working with other passionate OSU supporters and arts leaders and hope the entire Cowboy family will help reach the remaining $25 million fundraising goal. “The performing arts serve the entire university, the entire community, and in some respects the state of Oklahoma,” Hargis says. “This is a chance for people to participate in something that not only benefits the university, but can benefit them and their experiences here. They also have

the chance to elevate the entire reputation of Oklahoma State University.” News of the project has been incredibly well received with thousands of tweets and posts following the McKnights’ gift announcement. But, Hargis is quick to point out, OSU has a long way to go before the project is complete. The work, however, will be worth it. “Music is very important to me. It speaks both to the intellect and the soul,” he says. “I think music is important to almost everybody because it makes you grow. And who knows, you may stumble over something you really love.” Both Ross and Billie McKnight did.

W H A T P A R T W I L L Y O U P L AY ?

President Burns and Ann Hargis join Billie and Ross McKnight and students to celebrate the unveiling of The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ONLINE ... @MitchMcGrew

Leslie Lightner Kegel

Wearing orange today to celebrate the McKnight Center for Performing Arts coming to @okstate!

What an amazing gift to the University and opportunity for all who participate in and appreciate the arts! Thank you Mr & Mrs McKnight for your gift and commitment to keeping the arts vibrant for OSU!

Brooke Bennet t

I’m amazed. These people made it possible that I could attend this University in the first place. And now they are ensuring that the part of this University that was a key to my education and time here will not be forgotten, swept under the rug, or ignored. My heart is so happy right now!! Bless you, Billie and Ross.

Vanessa Hester

Sarah Coburn-Rothermel

My school just keeps getting better and better! Thanks to the many people and alumni that continue to give back. Love my POKES!

This is spectacular news!

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Marsha Chapman I am proud to be on the staff at the Department of Music, and what the future holds for our students, faculty and all of our staff through the endeavors of the McKnights’ wonderful generosity to see the Music program continue to grow strong…..proud and immortal….OSU!!!!!

J O I N T H E C O N V E R S AT I O N

@OSUFoundation #McKnightCenter

PURPLE HEART SOLDIER FOLLOWS HIS PASSION FOR SCIENCE BY HOLLY BLAKEY

Student’s love for family pushes him to finish teaching degree is résumé reads like the biography of a true American hero: • Purple Heart, Afghanistan 2011; • Army Commendation Medal, Afghanistan 2012. And, then there’s what’s not on the résumé: • Vehicle bombing, 2011; • Traumatic brain injury, 2011. Oklahoma State University student Joshua Encinas is a true American hero. A staff sergeant in the Army National Guard with nine years of service, Encinas earned his veteran status that includes two tours of combat. Even with war experience under his belt, Encinas’ first challenges started long before adulthood and his military résumé began. Born in California to a very young couple, he never knew his biological father and was exposed to an abusive stepfather and a home where drugs were sold and

used. He and his two younger siblings, a brother and a sister, were in and out of the foster care system. During those years, the trio lived in more than 15 places including group homes, family placements and shelters. His family eventually traveled to Oklahoma on a train. Encinas’ unstable home life continued. At 11 years old, he was often left to care for his siblings for months at a time. “To say I knew what it was like to be part of a family would be untrue,” Encinas says. “But I knew that’s all I really wanted in life.” Encinas began to find stability when he entered the Oklahoma Lion’s Boys Ranch in Perkins, Oklahoma, and connected with his sweetheart, Leah Ann continues National Guard Staff Sergeant Joshua Encinas hopes to teach science near his home in Perkins, Oklahoma. PHOTO / PHIL SHOCKLEY

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“I was in the biggest wheeled vehicle the military has. Our truck was hit three times on this mission.” — Joshua Encinas

Joshua Encinas teaches science at Cushing (Oklahoma) High School during his OSU clinical practice internship.

PHOTO / PHIL SHOCKLEY

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PHOTO / LUKE GRAZIANI

Oosting, in middle school. In high school, he was placed with a traditional foster family in Bristow, Oklahoma. “I ended up with my foster family in Bristow and graduated high school from there in 2007,” Encinas says. “I started talking to a National Guard recruiter because I saw a way to go to college.” He joined the National Guard after graduation and volunteered for his first deployment as the War on Terror was in its seventh year. After he returned home to Bristow in 2009, he was driving through Perkins on his way to visit OSU and passed his former middle school girlfriend’s home. Fond memories were rekindled. “I called her up and we haven’t stopped talking since,” Encinas says. He attended the University of Central Oklahoma for a year since his girlfriend was in school there. The couple married in 2010 and Encinas made his way to another OSU visit.

Specialist Josh Encinas salutes Colonel Joel Ward, commander of the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, after receiving the Purple Heart medal in Afghanistan in 2011.

“I love teaching! … Seeing that light bulb click is fun.” — Joshua Encinas

“I was intimidated by the size of OSU’s main campus, so I enrolled at the OSU-NOC campus,” Encinas explains. “I had a biology teacher there, Sheri Martin, who really influenced me, and I realized through her just how much I love science.” He was called up for his second deployment to Afghanistan in March 2011 and had to withdraw from his second semester at OSU-NOC. “I was working route clearance which is clearing roads of IEDs (improvised explosive devices),” Encinas recalls. “I was in the biggest wheeled vehicle the military has. Our truck was hit three times on this mission. We were life-flighted out, and I was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury and came back to the U.S. as a wounded warrior. Once I got back in the States, doctors diagnosed a torn rotator, herniated disk and hip fracture. After I had shoulder surgery, I began trying to get back to school in 2012.” Encinas decided he was ready for all OSU had to offer and began classes at the main campus. “I had been a microbiology major and done some research projects that were fantastic, but I realized there weren’t many jobs in microbiology here in Oklahoma and knew I wanted to stay here, so I began thinking about teaching and coaching,” Encinas says. Many at OSU, particularly associate professor of secondary science, Julie Angle, noticed his drive and ability to overcome obstacles, along with his determination to finish what he started. “Josh is an excellent student. Not only does he complete his assignments and turn them in on time, but he provides rich insight that only someone with his experience can share,” Angle says. “He knows how to work hard to accomplish tasks, which will make him an excellent teacher. He is truly appreciative of what he has — family, education, job security — and confident in the direction he is going in life.” Encinas says the source of his drive and determination is simple. “I’ve had so many doors open for me,” Encinas explains. “I do some speaking for the Lions (Boys Ranch) and I see other kids with similar pasts, opportunities and challenges. The difference for me was I had

something to strive for — I wanted a family. One of my foster families was very young, and I knew [from being with them] what I wanted, and I grew up really fast.” As an undergraduate, Encinas has continued to build an impressive résumé of accomplishments. He served as a lab assistant and earned the opportunity to present his research in New Orleans at the 2015 American Society of Microbiologists National Convention. The College of Education featured Encinas at the 2015 OSU Research Day. He earned a spot in the 2015 NASA two-week summer science program for pre-service teachers. During the Fall 2015 semester, he started teaching OSU biology lab sections, one of four

undergraduate science education majors selected for the opportunity. “I love teaching! I was tutoring chemistry [before teaching in the lab] and I loved that. Seeing that light bulb click is fun,” Encinas says. With his storied past in the foster care system, Encinas serves as a board member of the YES I CAN! Oklahoma Youth Alumni Network, which assists former foster children as they transition to adulthood. He was selected as a Foster Youth of America outstanding leader for two consecutive years. Encinas has also been involved with services on the OSU campus to help students who grew up in the foster care system.

“I believe that Mr. Encinas will be an excellent teacher. He has the heart of a true teacher. His excitement about teaching is infectious, and he cannot wait until he has his own classroom,” says Angela Syverson, secondary science teacher at Cushing High School and Encinas’ mentor teacher during his clinical practice internship. “He will be an awesome asset to any school where he chooses to start his career next year.” Encinas plans to teach secondary science and coach in a school near his home in Perkins where his family is growing. Leah and Joshua Encinas welcomed their first child, a baby girl named Khloe Skye in December 2015.

“I see other kids with similar pasts … and challenges. The difference for me was I had something to strive for — I wanted a family.” PHOTO / PHIL SHOCKLEY

— Joshua Encinas

PHOTO / PHIL SHOCKLEY

Danielle Cain came to OSU to participate in the first and only UTeach site in Oklahoma.

OSUTeach Inspiring Careers BY C H R I S T Y L A N G

Program helps students explore teaching profession

anielle Cain is convinced that working with students is her calling. Every day she grows more excited about fulfilling her desire to teach mathematics. Cain, a sophomore from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, is a student in the OSUTeach program, a collaborative initiative between the College of Education and the College of Arts and Sciences at Oklahoma State University. OSUTeach, a replication site for the UTeach Institute born at the University of Texas, is designed to give science and mathematics majors the opportunity to explore a teaching career with no additional time or cost, graduating in four years with their degree and teaching certification.

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OSUTeach is the first and only UTeach site in Oklahoma and one of just 45 in the United States. OSU was selected as a new site by the National Math and Science Initiative and awarded a $1.45 million grant, made possible by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, in February 2014. At the time, Cain was a senior at Bishop Kelley High School in Tulsa. She had been considering a public out-of-state institution for her college choice before she discovered OSUTeach, which solidified her decision to attend OSU. “It was perfect for what I wanted – the chance to get a math degree, take all of the high-level math (courses) and be

certified to teach without added time or cost,” Cain says. OSUTeach offers degrees in biological science, chemistry, geology (choice of earth/ space science or physical science), mathematics and physics. Students begin the program by taking one-hour Step 1 and Step 2 courses, for which they receive stipends. As a freshman, Cain took both courses and had the opportunity to experience teaching in elementary and middle school classrooms in Stillwater Public Schools. Though Cain planned to become a high school teacher, she enjoyed working with the students in elementary and middle school classrooms. Working with younger students is not intimidating and

“Danielle epitomizes the best of our offers a chance to stair-step her way up to program,” OSUTeach program coordithe secondary level, she says. nator Caitlin Barnes says. “She is genu“Not many freshmen can say they inely friendly and relatable for all kinds have had experience teaching in a classof people.” room. I got a chance to practice classroom Cain says she loves the recruiting management. I’m learning different ways events, meeting with high school students, to get students to practice critical thinkand talking to them about teaching as a ing. I think working with younger kids helps you find the inner child at every age,” career option. “OSUTeach is a great way to try it out Cain explains. — see if you like teaching. I like to find Internships are another attractive out what they are interested in and make element of the OSUTeach program. it personal,” she says. “I tell them, ‘If it’s Thanks to funds from OSUTeach, includnot for you, you are still gaining skills that ing a Mathematics and Science Robert will help you no matter if you decide to Noyce grant from the National Science pursue teaching.’” Foundation, 11 underclassmen were She says the skills gained through the placed in paid internships during the program are very valuable in serving as a summer of 2015. tutor in a student’s chosen field, too. Cain worked at Fab Lab Tulsa, a As Cain recalls what inspired her to nonprofit organization providing commupursue teaching, she remembers watchnity access to advanced manufacturing ing the way her high school Advanced and digital fabrication tools for learning Placement calculus teacher taught. skills, developing inventions, creating “He was inspiring, personable, highly businesses and more. credentialed and someone you could not “Adults come to Fab Lab to access cool only learn from but could go to if you had technology for projects they are designan issue,” Cain says. ing. In the summer, camps are offered for That’s the kind of teacher Cain middle school and high school kids,” Cain is on her way to becoming, and her explains. She watched and worked with students passion grows with each new OSUTeach experience. at Fab Lab Tulsa as they used computPartnerships with private donors and ers to design their own skateboards and corporations are also helping prepare stickers and then actually produced the certified teachers who have enthusiasm skateboards. for the subject matter. Contributions to “As a math person, it was a good expeOSUTeach include a $600,000 gift from rience for me to get outside of my comfort the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family zone and learn about new STEM (science, Foundation. Several funding opportunitechnology, engineering and mathematics) ties are available to secure the future of concepts. I was able to take what I had OSUTeach and make strides in placing learned in my SMED (science mathematqualified STEM educators in tomorrow’s ics education) classes and apply it during classrooms. the internship, designing my own lesson,” “I’m excited about how prepared I will she says. be because of my experiences through Cain is doing much more than matricOSUTeach,” Cain says. “I cannot wait to ulating through the OSUTeach program. be in the classroom full-time.” Along with classmate Brittni Foster, she attended the annual UTeach Conference in Austin, Texas, and was inspired to For more information about contributing, contact Denise Unruh at 405-385-5663 or establish an OSUTeach Club, which she email dunruh@OSUgiving.com. now serves as president. “It helps students get to know one another. We can help each other and work together. It creates a family,” Cain says. In addition, Cain serves as an OSUTeach Ambassador, helping to recruit new students to the program.

Challenges Facing Science and Math Education Today

The number of years ago the United States led the world in high school and college graduation rates. Today, the U.S. has dropped to 20th and 16th, respectively.

The percentage of high school math students with teachers who did not major in the subject in college or are not certified to teach it.

million

The predicted number shortage of high-skilled workers needed in 2018.

$7.3 billion

The amount all teacher turnovers cost America annually. For more information, visit OSUTeach.okstate.edu SOURCE: NATIONAL MATH AND SCIENCE INITIATIVE

Endowed Faculty Positions Strengthen Excellence By Jacob Longan Gene Rainbolt believes education is the key to bright young people becoming professional successes. That is why BancFirst’s chairman of the board supports scholarships as well as endowed faculty positions. “If you don’t have first-rate teachers, the rest is irrelevant,” Rainbolt says. “I think you have to start with excellent teachers.” Damona Doye holds the position he funded at Oklahoma State University, the Rainbolt Chair of Agricultural Finance within the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. Doye’s colleague in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Rodney Jones, holds a similar position, the Oklahoma Farm Credit Chair in Agricultural Economics, which is supported by the Farm Credit Associations of Oklahoma and CoBank, a Farm Credit System bank.

Thanks to the common ground shared by these positions, Doye and Jones have jointly hired a full-time extension assistant, Brent Ladd. “Brent does a lot of different things — updating fact sheets and reports, implementing a quarterly newsletter and helping with social media posts among them,” Doye says. “It’s been great having him on board because the only way I could do more was to have help. In addition to adding to our educational resources, Brent helps represent us at more programs and events.” Doye and Jones are also using the funds for more typical expenses such as hiring graduate assistants, facilitating professional development for the professors and their staff, and supporting conferences, seminars and training programs to benefit the public. But their ability to combine funding from their two positions and hire a full-time staffer is uniquely valuable.

“Master’s and Ph.D. students have limited time that they are at OSU and they have to put their coursework first, so they are limited on what they can do,” Jones says. “It’s a different model to get someone in here that we felt could get some programs up and running and keep them going consistently over a period of time.” Butch McComas, CEO of Oklahoma AgCredit, says that is the sort of thing the Farm Credit System had in mind when it created Jones’ position. “Farm Credit is celebrating 100 years of providing reliable, consistent financial services to farmers and ranchers this year,” McComas says. “Partnering with CoBank and OSU allows us to support highquality education that ensures a stream of competent, prepared youth who will be equipped to improve agriculture at local and national levels.” In fact, the position was created as a professorship in 2008, and additional support in 2013 boosted it to the more

“I continue to have great regard for OSU graduates. They are well-informed, they understand the challenges and they have the ability to find solutions.”— BancFirst Chairman of the Board Gene Rainbolt

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prestigious designation as a chair. Jones has held the position for three years. In the last year, he has experienced the increased funding that comes with the endowment’s enhancement. “Because Farm Credit is a cooperative, we hold education and community in high regard,” McComas says. “By elevating the fund to a chair, we could invest in a program that would both prepare young, beginning and small farmers for a future in agriculture and support a professor whose research could benefit agricultural financial institutions.” Jones says the endowment has led to great things for OSU and the broader agricultural community. “You have to respect an organization that values education so much that it is willing to create an endowment like this,” he adds. “Some visionaries with Farm Credit and CoBank were very passionate about this and got the ball rolling, and others have jumped on board and been very supportive.” Rainbolt established Doye’s position for a number of reasons.

“I want to help farmers be more successful, which benefits everyone,” Rainbolt says. “I think it will continue to be important as long as growing food has value, which I believe will continue to increase.” Rainbolt is a University of Oklahoma alumnus and donor who also supports OSU. On a personal level, he applauds the leadership of OSU President Burns Hargis and Natalie Shirley, president of OSU-OKC. He is also a friend of three more OSU leaders — James Plaxico, former department head of agricultural economics; Larkin Warner, retired economics professor; and Richard Poole, who served as dean of the Spears School of Business and OSU’s vice president for university relations. On the professional side, Rainbolt appreciates that many presidents of BancFirst locations have OSU agricultural economics degrees.

“OSU graduates represent a perfect source for our senior bank officers. It’s a source of employees and major officers,” he says. “I continue to have great regard for OSU graduates. They are wellinformed, they understand the challenges, and they have the ability to find solutions.” Doye has great regard for Rainbolt. “I am so impressed with Mr. Rainbolt’s investment in Oklahoma,” Doye says. “He has given back to this state in many ways, and we are incredibly grateful for that. In this case, the long-term nature of the endowment is very important in providing the ability to plan for long-term programs because most external opportunities for additional funding are short-term. Grants are typically for a year or perhaps up to three years, but having an endowment allows for the building of programs that can be sustained.” If you are interested in supporting faculty, students or any programs in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, contact Heidi Griswold, OSU Foundation senior director of development, at 405-3323370 or hgriswold@OSUgiving.com.

Damona Doye presents an agricultural workshop in Tonkawa, Oklahoma.

Gene Rainbolt

Damona Doye

Rodney Jones

Butch McComas

Chairman of the Board BancFirst

Rainbolt Chair of Agricultural Finance

Oklahoma Farm Credit Chair in Agricultural Economics

CEO of Oklahoma AgCredit

OSU Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources

LIBRARY

Technology and Pedagogy Meet in the Library BY B O N N I E CA I N -W O O D PHOTOS / NINA THORNTON

Dream it. Design it. Make it. Thanks to the new studio space unveiled in the Edmon Low Library this year, Oklahoma State University students can do just that. Cinthya Ippoliti, associate dean of research and learning services, is leading the effort to build a Makerspace in the library. She wants to do more than simply add equipment; she wants it to be incorporated in the classroom. “The library is more than just a tech center,” Ippoliti says. “By integrating our services in the curriculum, the library becomes a nexus where technology and pedagogy meet.” In fall 2015, the 3-D Creative Studio sponsored by the OSU Library and School of Entrepreneurship opened. It is part of a larger suite of new technology being rolled out in the library. The 3-D Creative Studio is a key component in creating a Makerspace within the OSU Library, Ippoliti says. “It supports self-directed, innovative learning and serves as a catalyst for new ideas by providing tools and expertise for the rapid prototyping of those ideas,” she says. “The studio showcases this capability as part of the larger scholarly landscape at OSU.” Partnering with the School of Entrepreneurship was a logical first step. “By the nature of what they do, entrepreneurs want to try things out and see what they do,” Ippoliti says. “It’s how they approach their work.”

Students from the School of Entrepreneurship learn the basics of 3-D modeling using the software and equipment available in the new Edmon Low Creative Studios. The collaboration goes beyond co-sponsoring the equipment. Bruce Barringer, professor and N. Malone Mitchell Jr. Chair in Entrepreneurship, identified an existing course that was ideal for students to prototype a new product using the studio. The class served as the pilot project for the service, which is now open to all OSU students. The 3-D Creative Studio features three MakerBot Replicator Desktop 3-D printers, a MakerBot Replicator z18 and two MakerBot Digitizer Desktop 3-D scanners.

The Edmon Low Creative Studios is on the first floor of the library. All students can access high-powered computers, 3-D printing, advanced software packages and a variety of technology that students can check out and take elsewhere.

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Computers in the studio include the popular 3-D modeling software, Blender. The entrepreneurship students attended how-to workshops led by library staff to become certified in using both the software and the printers, so they could work independently on their prototypes. Other students hoping to use the service can complete similar certifications or utilize the expertise of the studio staff to help them complete projects. The 3-D Creative Studio is just one component of the Edmon Low Creative Studios umbrella project. This technology-rich space will include a Mac studio, a Windows studio, a presentation and recording studio and an ever-growing technology check-out desk. Donor opportunities exist to support and enhance the other studio units and expand the equipment offered in the space. To learn more, contact Jill Johnson at 405-372-0733.

Watch a video: okla.st/LibStudioVideo

OSUIT

Okmulgee Campus Dedicates Statue in Pistol Pete Plaza

BY S A R A P L U M M E R

Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology dedicated a statue of the university’s mascot in Pistol Pete Plaza on the campus in Okmulgee, Oklahoma.

PHOTOS / JANELLE AZEVEDO

Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology dedicated an iconic landmark on its campus in October, honoring the man who has become the symbol and mascot of OSU. The new Pistol Pete Plaza features a bronze statue of Frank “Pistol Pete” Eaton at the campus’ south entrance off Fourth Street. The 12-foot-tall statue stands on a 6-foot-tall stone base and welcomes students, faculty and staff, and guests. “It’s a beautifully sculpted likeness of Frank Eaton, who has become so ingrained in the history and tradition of Oklahoma State University,” says OSUIT President Bill R. Path. Oklahoma artist Wayne Cooper, who has shown pieces in galleries and museums all over the world, sculpted the statue. Cooper specializes in Western art on large canvases and larger-than-life sculptures. Path says he learned about Cooper and his work after OSUIT Vice President of Fiscal Services Jim Smith visited the Oklahoma Territorial Plaza in Perkins, Oklahoma, and saw the Pistol Pete sculpture there. “With this statue in place, no one can mistake that OSUIT in Okmulgee is a true campus of OSU,” he says. “This statue will become a source of pride for our campus and a popular backdrop and symbol for the university.” Cooper says he’s thrilled OSUIT wants to showcase his Pistol Pete statue at the entrance to the campus. “How many people graduate from there every year? How many people visit OSUIT? My statue will now be part of the campus; that’s very important to my career,” he says. “After we’re all gone, that statue will still be there.”

The Anatomy and Vertebrate Paleontology Track at OSU Center for Health Sciences applies medical knowledge to solve mysteries of the past

Discoveries

Dirt

IN THE

BY S E A N K E N N E DY

When Ian Browne was hooded by Kent Smith, Ph.D., at the 2015 Oklahoma State University Center for

Health Sciences commencement ceremony, he became the first graduate of a new biomedical sciences track in anatomy and

PHOTO / KENT SMITH

vertebrate paleontology at the Tulsa-based academic program.

Anne Weil travels to her research area in the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness south of Farmington, New Mexico.

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“It’s a rigorous program that really gives you a good background and solid foundation in anatomy and vertebrate paleontology,” says Browne, who is now working as a postdoctoral fellow at OSU-CHS in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology. “The small size of the campus enables you to really develop good relationships with the faculty and to learn a lot from them.” OSU’s medical school has joined a growing national trend of hiring paleontologists to teach anatomy courses to medical students. The symbiotic relationship enables these faculty members to pursue research opportunities in the competitive field of paleontology while training the next generation of Oklahoma physicians. “The strength of our program, in part, stems from our training in anatomy, which provides a niche in academia for paleontologists,” says Smith, associate

dean of the Office for the Advancement of American Indians in Medicine and Science and professor of anatomy. While the number of jobs at museums, universities and in-field research is growing, the competition for these positions and for funding remains competitive. Medical school positions are offering new job opportunities for vertebrate paleontologists that also afford them time to complete research. “This field attracts many charismatic personalities and brilliant student scholars,” says Anne Weil, Ph.D., associate professor of anatomy. “As a result, the competition for positions and funding sources is extremely fierce, but working in vertebrate paleontology is really a lot of fun.” The anatomy and vertebrate paleontology curriculum places an emphasis on biomedical sciences. It was originally developed by Smith and Weil but has been

PHOTO / ANDREA BLAIR

Anne Weil, right, helps a student in the Sam Noble Museum’s ExplorOlogy program at the Homestead site. undergoing changes to reflect the research expertise of new faculty members Holly Ballard, Ph.D., and Paul Gignac, Ph.D. “We put together a relevant set of courses for students who want to go into vertebrate paleontology, but with this additional biomedical component,” Weil says. “Our graduates are qualified to teach anatomy in medical schools, which is an important tool for paleontologists who use comparative anatomy in their research.” Smith joined the anatomy faculty at OSU-CHS in 2003 after being recruited by then-department chair Kirby Jarolim, Ph.D. In the new position, Smith was able to embrace his two great passions: teaching and paleontology. “As I began working in this program, I realized that an anatomy and vertebrate

paleontology track is something that could be successful as part of the Center for Health Sciences,” Smith says. “The administration really embraced that concept and enabled the growth of this track through the hiring of Dr. Weil.” In 2005, Smith recruited Weil to join the anatomy faculty at OSU-CHS with the promise of working together to develop the new biomedical sciences track in vertebrate paleontology. Weil, an internationally recognized expert on early mammals, embraced the vision for the program and moved to Oklahoma to begin the work. “I had never considered Oklahoma as a possible home before meeting with Dr. Smith,” Weil says. “Since I came to OSU-CHS, I believe we have been extraordinarily successful in building a program

with a solid foundation that will flourish in the future.” The track within the biomedical sciences graduate program began accepting students doing both master’s and doctoral work. Browne was the first student to enroll in the program after finishing a master’s program in geology from the University of California at Riverside and working at the San Diego Natural History Museum. “My intent was to always go back to school for a doctorate. I had a Ph.D. project in mind working in the geologic formation I had worked on for my thesis project,” Browne says. “I sent out a general inquiry to a vertebrate paleontology Listserv™. continues

“Many of our programs are providing places for people to come and learn about pre-historic life.” — Anne Weil, Homestead site senior scientist

A fossil mammal tooth from the Late Cretaceous of New Mexico is more than 66 million years old and less than 2 millimeters across.

Paul Gignac examines the bite of a 12-foot American alligator.

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Dr. Weil saw it and put me in touch with Dr. Smith who had wanted to work in that same geologic formation for a long time. It was really through the faculty recruitment efforts that I was first made aware of the program at OSU.” After Jarolim retired in 2012, Smith and Weil recruited two new faculty members to join the department: Ballard, an expert in osteohistology (the study of the microscopic structure of bones), and Gignac, an evolutionary biomechanist with expertise in the bite force of early reptiles. “The addition of these new internationally recognized faculty really raised the profile of the school. They are shooting stars in the field,” Weil says. “They are helping us further develop our program and gain national funding for research from the National Science Foundation.” Since joining the faculty at OSU-CHS, Gignac has received three NSF grants for several projects, including an effort to get more American Indian students

involved with a national science organization. Ballard, who studied with renowned paleontologist Jack Horner (the inspiration for Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park) has published the largest dinosaur growth study on the life of the Maiasaura peeblesorum, also known as the “good mother lizard.” Her work has also been featured in a National Geographic documentary. Research and outreach are key components of the anatomy and vertebrate paleontology track at OSU-CHS. The track offers several outreach programs for students, including Native Explorers, a summer scientific and cultural expedition for American Indian college students funded primarily by the Chickasaw and Cherokee Nations. Other science, technology, engineering and math initiatives for Native youth are being funded through a United States Department of Agriculture Native Youth Community Projects grant to Smith.

PHOTO / JEFF HARGRAVE

“As a land grant university, it is part of our mission to spread knowledge,” says Weil, who also serves as the senior scientist directing activities at the Homestead Site in western Oklahoma. “Many of our programs are providing places for people to come and learn about pre-historic life.” The Homestead Site is owned by Reggie Whitten, who co-founded the Native Explorers Foundation with Smith and supports other initiatives at OSU-CHS. Under the coordination of Lindsey Yann, Ph.D., OSU-CHS hosts an active Vertebrate Paleontology Volunteer Program where children and adults assist faculty, staff and graduate students with paleontological research. Volunteer activities include recovering bones and teeth from small animals (lizards, gophers, fish and mice) from screen-washed sand and gravel, and molding and casting small teeth for imaging by a scanning electron microscope.

During the next five years, the anatomy and paleontology faculty hope to continue growing the vertebrate paleontology track. The faculty are working to secure funding for graduate student stipends to help recruit students and are developing new coursework to further enhance the graduate program. “I’m very excited about the future of the program and for the faculty in our program,” Smith says. “Paleontology is a scientific discipline that most people are fascinated with. It’s extremely exciting to discover a fossil, take it back to the lab, study it and realize that nobody has ever seen this animal before. Adventure and discovery are what make this program so exciting for many people.”

PHOTO / KAREN CHIN

Kent Smith, center, outlines an expedition site for Native Explorer participants.

Holly Woodward Ballard investigates a Maiasaura fossil.

To learn more about the Vertebrate Paleontology Volunteer Program at OSU-CHS and to sign up, visit www. healthsciences.okstate.edu/college/ biomedical/anatomy/paleontology/ volunteer.php.

Addressing the Primary Care Physician Shortage The William K. Warren Foundation and Saint Francis Health System create $2 million scholarship endowment at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences BY JACOB LONGAN

Oklahoma consistently ranks near the bottom nationally in various aspects of overall health. One of the most significant contributing factors is the state’s shortage of primary care physicians. The Saint Francis Health System and The William K. Warren Foundation have united to create an Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences scholarship program aimed at addressing that problem. Saint Francis and its founding organization, The Warren Foundation, each contributed $1 million to establish The

William K. Warren Foundation — Saint Francis Health System OSU School of Medicine Scholarship Fund. The $2 million endowment is designed to increase Oklahoma’s number of primary care physicians by supporting future pediatricians, family medicine physicians, obstetricians and gynecologists. “Based on all forecasting available, by 2020 the nation is going to face a significant shortage of physicians,” says Jake Henry Jr., president and chief executive officer of the Saint Francis Health System. “We need to do what we can to attenuate

Dr. Kayse Shrum, left, president of OSU-CHS and dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine, agrees with Jake Henry Jr., president and chief executive officer of the Saint Francis Health System, that Oklahoma needs to increase the number of primary care physicians practicing in the state.

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that shortage, so we are helping students in undergraduate medicine, medical school years one through four, and in their postgraduate training as well with this gift. “This gift is very consistent with our strategy to support medical education, schools of nursing and schools of allied health.” Groundbreaking generosity

The Warren Foundation and Saint Francis have combined to give more than $6.5 million in total contributions to OSU-CHS. That makes them the Tulsabased school’s second most generous donors, behind only T. Boone Pickens. “We are so grateful for the support of The Warren Foundation and Saint Francis,

which have been creating a healthier Oklahoma for decades,” says Burns Hargis, president of Oklahoma State University. “Not only do they hire our graduates, but they also help us create the best possible educational experience for the young men and women who are developing into the physicians that will ensure a healthier future for our state.” According to the United Health Foundation, Oklahoma ranks 48th nationally with 85.2 primary care physicians per 100,000 people. It trails all six states with which it shares a border — Colorado (23rd, 123.3), New Mexico (26th, 119.9), Missouri (28th, 115.2), Kansas (35th, 108.3), Arkansas (39th, 105.3) and Texas (43rd, 99.4). “It is well-known that a state’s health is strongly related to access and to the number of physicians in that state,” Henry says. “This gift will certainly not solve the problem, but we see it as a step toward increasing the number of physicians who provide the poor with access to quality health care. It’s a very big, complex problem, and each of us must do what we can to help with a part of it.” A win-win partnership

Dr. Kayse Shrum, president of OSU-CHS and dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine, says The William K. Warren Foundation — Saint Francis Health System OSU School of Medicine Scholarship Fund is OSU-CHS’ largest scholarship endowment. It is initially providing two scholarships per year, with that number expected to increase as the fund grows. “The Warren Foundation and Saint Francis’ historic investment in the OSU Center for Health Sciences will enable us to increase financial aid for our talented students,” Shrum says. “This is an enduring gift that will benefit medical students today and for generations to come. It’s gratifying to know that the leadership at both The Warren Foundation and Saint Francis share our vision that the future of medicine in Oklahoma depends on our ability to recruit and train the brightest students to become primary care physicians.”

Recipients will be full-time OSU-CHS medical students who have expressed interest in practicing primary medicine in Oklahoma, especially in the Tulsa area. The connections between OSU-CHS and Saint Francis are not limited to scholarships. Saint Francis recruits heavily at OSU-CHS, highlighted by hosting an annual dinner for residents finishing at the school. “We try to put our best foot forward,” Henry says. “For those who are not going on for further specialty training, we try to persuade them to come work for us. We consider the Center for Health Sciences

“Although The Warren Foundation and Saint Francis are separate and distinct entities, we work closely to benefit the community, to create healthier communities and to ensure, to the degree we have the means to do so, that we provide access not only for the insured and well-off but also to the most vulnerable and marginalized,” Henry says. If you are interested in making a gift to support OSU-CHS in creating a healthier Oklahoma, contact Anhna Vuong at avuong@OSUgiving.com or 918-594-8014.

Oklahoma ranks 48th nationally in the ratio of number of primary care physicians to state population. very much a partner to our organization. It’s only by working together that we are able to solve the many problems we have in health care today.” About The Warren Foundation

William K. Warren Sr. created the William K. Warren Foundation in 1945 to provide financial assistance to charitable organizations dedicated to improving quality of life for humankind. As part of that charitable mission, the foundation provided the funding to create Saint Francis Hospital in 1960. It added Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital in 1989. Today, the Saint Francis Health System also includes Warren Clinic, The Children’s Hospital at Saint Francis, Saint Francis Heart Hospital and Saint Francis Hospital South.

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FIGHTING

BEGINS WITH

EDUCATION BY K I M A R C H E R

OSU-Tulsa offers new course to help identify and report suspected abuse

“School personnel need to learn warning signs, indicators of the crime and how to respond when a student is an apparent victim.” — DENNI BLUM, OSU ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

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An Oklahoma teenager was sold for sex for three years by her aunt in exchange for drug money. Another teen, arrested during a prostitution sting, admitted she had been trading sex for money and attention from men since she was 13 years old. These are just two of the growing number of news accounts about Oklahoma youth who are being lured into the commercial sex trade at an alarming rate, says Denni Blum, associate professor of social foundations and qualitative inquiry at Oklahoma State University-Tulsa. A Tulsa nonprofit organization, Unlock Freedom, has been teaching its curriculum to youth in area schools and educating youth-serving professionals in the Tulsa area for the past three years. This has resulted in increased identification of victims. Blum and members of the education training subcommittee of the Tulsa Child Trafficking Task Force launched a new effort this spring to fight against child sex trafficking by expanding education for schoolteachers and administrators in a new course at OSU-Tulsa. The Child Sex Trafficking course is the first offering of its kind in the OSU system. The course prepares educators and raises awareness about the prevalence of the crime. Students in the course are trained to give presentations to students, faculty and administrators in area schools. Blum says schools are one of the most prevalent recruitment sites. “School personnel are uniquely positioned to identify and report suspected abuse and connect students to appropriate services. These actions can prevent trafficking and even save lives,” says Blum. “But first, school personnel need to learn warning signs, indicators of the crime and how to respond when a student is an apparent victim.” Warning signs can include fearfulness, anxiety, depression, submission or paranoia; few or no personal possessions; instability in the home; low self-esteem; unusual hours on a job and more. There is little solid data available on the prevalence of child sex trafficking because it is difficult to track and underreported. But state and local law enforcement agencies

report the number of child victims is rising. Under Oklahoma and federal law, any child under 18 years old who has been induced into commercial sex is a victim of sex trafficking, regardless of whether the trafficker used force, fraud or coercion. Child sex traffickers have found the business to be profitable. Drugs can be sold once, but a person can be traded again and again. Some youth can be lured easily with promises of money, drugs, clothing or attention, then become trapped in a life of forced sex through intimidation, coercion, threats and violence. The need to address child sex trafficking is urgent, Blum says. Research has shown that the average age for sex trafficking recruitment is 12-14 years of age. Once victims are recruited into sex trafficking, their life expectancies are an average of seven more years. In the last two years, the Tulsa Child Trafficking Task Force became more concerned with the growing child sex trafficking crisis, says Blum who is a member of the group which includes representatives from the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, Unlock Freedom, the Community Service Council, the University of Oklahoma, Domestic Violence Intervention Services and the Juvenile Justice Bureau. At the task force’s urging, Blum agreed to facilitate the college-level course to train more presenters to raise awareness among school personnel and children. In conjunction with members of the task force, Blum created a syllabus, identified guest speakers and arranged field trips and service learning experiences. The goal is that students who complete the course would be equipped to raise awareness about child sex trafficking within their own school districts. “The task force offered to collaborate and teach the course with me since they are the topic experts,” she said. “I teach about how the media participates in the sexualization of children, making them

more vulnerable to exploitation.” Thirteen doctoral, master’s and undergraduate students in education degree programs signed up for the inaugural class. They learned what is fueling the crime in the United States, how traffickers locate victims and how school personnel can make a difference. Experts note that runaways and juvenile offenders are especially vulnerable to this form of abuse. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, one in six reported runaways likely become sex trafficking victims. But the Internet has become the great equalizer, expanding the reach of predators into the lives of young people in their homes and at school. For example, a child may attend school regularly but is sold for sex on nights and weekends, Blum says. “Child sex trafficking affects youth from every background — affluent and poor, educated or uneducated, on the streets or living in suburbia,” Blum says. Sean Kinder, an OSU-Tulsa graduate research assistant working on a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies, says he signed up for the course because he wants to be a child advocate in school districts. “As the only man in the class, one of my goals will be to inform men about this important issue,” he says. “This class took an issue that was never on my radar and has raised my awareness of how close we all are in relation to human trafficking.” Similar courses at most universities are aimed at human trafficking as a whole. Blum says OSU-Tulsa’s class focuses solely on the sexual exploitation of children. She hopes to continue the course in future semesters and is proud that the program took root within the community to answer a great need. “All of us on the task force are volunteering our time for this course so that young people can live healthy, safe lives,” she says.

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Donors’ Love of Animals to Benefit Veterinary Technology Program

BY TAY L O R S E L F

For OSU alumna Lisa Putt and her husband, Kevin, a shared passion for animals, community service, education and all things orange found a home at Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City.

isa Putt graduated from OSU in 1982 with a marketing degree. She and her husband, Kevin, have been dedicated supporters of OSU through the years, and they are very active in the Oklahoma City philanthropic community. One cause especially close to their hearts is a love of animals, particularly the care and treatment of shelter animals. Kevin is board president of Free to Live in Edmond, Oklahoma, the largest no-kill animal shelter in the state. Animals not adopted from Free to Live can live out their lives at the sanctuary.

The Putts aim to give to organizations or institutions that support their beliefs while making an impact on the community. Over the past 27 years, the Putts have been actively involved with the Stillwater campus. They recently expanded their support after meeting with OSU-OKC President Natalie Shirley and touring the Oklahoma City campus. “Education is the foundation to a better life, whether it’s for yourself, your family or generations to come,” Kevin says. “OSU-OKC is a legacy for so many

families in the Oklahoma City area, and the opportunity the college gives students is really inspiring.” After taking a campus tour, the Putts were drawn to the Veterinary Technology Program. OSU-OKC’s Veterinary Technology Program is a vital part of the Agriculture Technologies Division. With small class sizes and a varied curriculum, the program offers students a wealth of hands-on experience across disciplines ranging from dentistry to invasive surgery. This experience isn’t just with domestic

At the head of the examination table, Dr. Lesa Staubus discusses a shelter patient, Daphne, with students, from left, Deja Ogle, Celeste Alexander, and Jessica Hulse. Freshmen Rachel Schmidt, left, and Crystal Kinard, are in the surgery room background.

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PHOTOS / MICHELLE TALAMANTES

“Education is the foundation to a better life, whether it’s for yourself, your family or generations to come.” — Kevin Putt, board president, Free to Live

RVTs act as veterinary nurses, crucial to the care of their animal patients. To meet this demand and ensure students are given the best academic experience and support, McWaters-Khalousi, in partnership with Dr. Lesa Staubus, interim veterinary technology department head, has supported a shift from lecture-based Lisa and Kevin Putt’s donations to material to even more experiential trainthe OSU-OKC Veterinary Technology ing. In this model, reading and lecture Program help support vital training classes. material is covered out of the classroom and bolstered by hands-on training during class periods, translating to more animals; OSU-OKC is well-known for time with animals and increased experiworking with exotic animals and large ence for OSU-OKC graduates entering animals such as cows or horses. Students the workforce. learn the basics of their profession and Celeste Alexander, president of tailor their study toward particular interthe Veterinary Technology Student ests, graduating with an associate degree Association, highlights the importance in veterinary technology. This applied of these characteristics, saying, “The science degree allows them to take the communication I have with professors and state and national registry exams to work the practical knowledge I have been able in the field of veterinary medicine. to gain have given me the leg up I need to The Putts knew OSU-OKC’s start my career when I graduate.” Veterinary Technology Program would Another component of OSU-OKC’s make great use of a donation based on its program is the community service dedication to animals and the academic connection, which helped bring the Putts success of its students. to campus and inspired them to offer “We were actually able to attend the support. Students have the opportunity to fall Veterinary Technology Orientation, work with animals thanks to partnerships and it was incredible to see the support with area shelters. If an animal needs electhe department gives to those students in tive spay/neuter surgery, dental work or terms of financial aid, tutoring, schedultreatment for an injury, students are able ing and class choice,” Lisa says. “You to practice alongside professional veteriheard over and over again this empownary staff and faculty to administer care ering message of, ‘We want you to the animal might not receive otherwise. be successful.’” “We place a real emphasis on A clear vision from departmental leadership and generous gifts like the one made service learning in this program,” Staubus says. “By focusing on how we by the Putts forecast a promising year can help our community while meeting for the program. OSU-OKC Agriculture academic requirements, our students are Technologies Division Head Shawna given a more valuable and well-rounded McWaters-Khalousi says registered veteriexperience.” nary technicians are in high demand.

Because of Kevin’s experience at Free to Live, he found this dedication to serving shelter animals particularly stirring. “When students work with shelter animals, they are given incredibly practical hands-on experience,” Kevin explains. “It’s mutually beneficial because it helps that pet become healthier and more likely to be adopted rather than euthanized.” The Putts look forward to continuing their OSU-OKC relationship this year, with Lisa serving as co-chair of the Paint This Town Orange Steering Committee to benefit future OSU-OKC students. Through generosity such as the Putts’, the university is able to open more doors to higher education and enhance career opportunities for students while caring for animals that need a helping hand. Cynthia Chavez holds Toad, a shelter dog who was brought to OSU-OKC for an examination.

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Recognizing a Veterinarian and a Need BY D E R I N DA B L A K E N E Y

Couple honors equine doctor with student scholarship endowment

Dr. Michael J. Wiley OSU Veterinary Medicine Class of 1980

e didn’t set out to win awards or accolades, just to do the best job he could. Since opening his own equine practice, Equi-Center Veterinary Hospital in Norman, Oklahoma, Dr. Mike Wiley discovered that he enjoys all aspects of being a veterinarian. “I grew up on a ranch in Oklahoma. OSU’s veterinary college was a good place to go, and I got an excellent education there, graduating in 1980,” Wiley says. “You get to deal with a variety of people in a variety of situations. No days are the same; they are always different. I think I’m fortunate in that my profession also turned out to be my passion.” He received a plaque from the Oklahoma governor for assisting animal victims in the May 1999 tornados and was featured in a documentary about the May 2013 tornado victims. “When the tornadoes went through, there were a lot of people who did a lot of good things,” Wiley recalls. “You know every day you hopefully help someone on a one-to-one basis. And in situations like this (tornadoes), you get to help many people in their time of need.” And that passion is not lost on his clients. In fact, generations have benefited from Wiley’s veterinary services. Katherine and Edwin Sain of Oklahoma City have been bringing their horses to Wiley since 1986. The Sains met while attending Oklahoma State University. After college, their lives took them across the United States; their aging parents’ needs brought them back to Oklahoma.

The plaque Dr. Mike Wiley received from Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating in 1999 is on display in his office.

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The May 2013 tornado leveled their home and injured several of the paint horses they raise and show. “We inherited Dr. Wiley from my father-in-law who had race horses,” Katherine explains. “He brought his horses to Dr. Wiley, so when we moved back to Oklahoma, we started bringing our horses here. I like his ability to get the job done when it needs to be done.” “Also, he cares,” Edwin adds. “As far as taking care of the horses, he cares.” “It’s like he has a personal interest in them. They are not just somebody’s horses,” Katherine continues. They are so impressed with Wiley that they recently endowed a scholarship in the veterinarian’s honor. “We have been thinking about it for a couple of years,” Katherine says. “After talking to him on several occasions, he said there are fewer and fewer large animal vets — and there was a need. You have to have someone to take his place when he decides to retire. And we thought, what better than the vet school, at the school we graduated from, to endow the scholarship in his name?” “It was a very nice honor. It’s nice to have your clients think that much of you,” Wiley says, adding he felt an array of emotions upon learning of the scholarship. The Dr. Michel J. Wiley Endowed Scholarship in Large Animal Medicine will be awarded to third- or fourth-year veterinary students who have achieved high academic performance and are interested in large animal medicine. The first award will be made in April 2017. “We like horses, so that’s where our main thrust is,” Katherine says. “More people are getting in the horse business and more vets are getting out, so we’re

PHOTOS / DERINDA BLAKENEY

Edwin and Katherine Sain meet Dr. Mike Wiley, right, in the equine barn where patients are treated.

going to need more vets. And if you’re into agriculture or anything that supports the horse industry or vice versa, do something and give it back. There aren’t enough (large animal vets) to go around, and we need more of them. And no gift is too small. I hope people follow up on what we’ve started. Pick a scholarship that is already started and put something to it. If you want to start your own, do that, too. I’ve always said, ‘In lieu of flowers, send it to the scholarship.’” OSU graduates 85 to 90 veterinarians a year. Roughly 35 percent of new graduates go into a large animal practice; however, those numbers can change from year to year.

If you are interested in supporting future veterinarians, contact Jayme Ferrell at the OSU Foundation. She serves as the director of development for OSU’s Center for Veterinary Health Sciences and can be reached at jferrell@osugiving.com or 405-385-0729.

To watch a video about the Sains and Wiley, visit ostate.tv.

Edwin, left, and Katherine Sain visit with Dr. Mike Wiley in the lobby of his large animal veterinary practice.

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The Outstanding Senior Award recognizes students who distinguish themselves through academic achievements; campus and community activities; academic, athletic and extracurricular honors or awards; scholarships; and work ethic. After reviewing the students’ applications, the OSU Alumni Association Student Awards and Selection Committee met with 49 Seniors of Significance who were honored in fall 2015 and selected 15 to receive this prestigious honor.

Aaron Cromer

Elk City, Oklahoma Finance and Management

While at OSU, Aaron Cromer served as Net Impact vice president of finance, vice chair of community development for the Big Event, Homecoming Steering Committees, Business Scholar Leader executive officer

Leslie Farias

Oklahoma City Nutritional Science During her time at OSU, Leslie Farias served as a resident adviser for OSU Residential Life, secretary of the Pre-Physician Assistant Club, a mentor in the Inclusion Leadership Program and the Dance Marathon executive of the Residential Life Committee. She is a

Charlie Gibson

Ada, Oklahoma Economics and Finance At OSU, Charlie Gibson served as a senator and vice president in the Student Government Association and the OSU chapter vice president for Chi Omega national women’s fraternity. She is a member of Business

John Hiett

Kellyville, Oklahoma Chemical Engineering

While at OSU, John Hiett served as College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology Student Council president and freshman council coordinator. He is a member of OSU Student Foundation and Mortar Board. His community

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The 2016 Outstanding Seniors were honored at a banquet April 18 in the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center. This program is sponsored by ISNetwork. Scan the QR code or visit okla.st/OS16vids to see interviews with each Outstanding Senior.

and Interfraternity Council secretary. In the community, Cromer served at the Oklahoma Special Olympics and performed in Greek life shows benefiting nonprofit organizations. Cromer’s awards include receiving an Honor’s College degree, J. Edward Zollinger Outstanding Sigma Phi Epsilon Senior Award and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. He was a Wentz Research Scholar and a national winner in the Small

Steps, Big Wins Campus Challenge. After graduation, Cromer will attend law school and plans to practice in corporate and energy law.

member of Omega Phi Alpha Service Sorority. Her community involvement includes volunteer work at Manos Juntas Free Medical Clinic, Oklahoma Blood Institute blood drive, and the OSU Seretean Wellness Center. She spoke at OSU’s Convocation and OSU Junior Day. Farias served as a personal assistant for students with disabilities. Her honors include being named a United Health Foundation Scholar by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, a

Wentz Scholar Leader, Summer Public Health Scholars Program at Columbia University Finalist and the Residence Hall Association’s First Year Student of the Year.

Scholar Leaders, Student Alumni Board and Student Foundation. Her community involvement includes volunteering for Make-a-Wish Foundation and working as a Camp Cowboy counselor, Stillwater YMCA soccer coach, PhilanthroPete crowdfunding chair and OSU Welcome Week committee chair and mentor. She was named OSU Student Philanthropist of the Year, Truman Scholar Nominee, Phil-

lips 66 SHIELD Scholar, a Top Ten Freshmen and Top Five Economics Graduating Senior.

involvement includes volunteering in Stillwater Medical Center’s emergency room, information center and surgery center; the Special Olympics of Oklahoma Polar Plunge; and OSU’s Big Event. Hiett’s awards include Oklahoma State Higher Education Regents Scholar, Phi Kappa Phi, Alpha Epsilon Delta, Mark and Lee Ann Dickerson Engineering Scholar and Dr. Esber Shaheen Engineering Scholar.

Farias’ plans to begin a physician associate program at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City in June.

Next year, Gibson will be moving to Houston to start her career as a marketing analyst for Phillips 66.

After graduation, Hiett plans to attend medical school at Texas A&M College of Medicine. He hopes to enter the field of dermatology but is open to other specialties.

Kyle Hilbert

Depew, Oklahoma Agribusiness During his time at OSU, Kyle Hilbert served as Student Government Association president, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Student Council vice president of business affairs, a CASNR Ambassador,

Brett Humphrey

Tulsa, Oklahoma Finance

At OSU, Brett Humphrey served as the Business Student Council president, President’s Partner and alumni relations executive of Student Alumni Board, recruitment chair executive of

Allison Meinders

Woodward, Oklahoma Accounting

While at OSU, Allison Meinders served as director and assistant director of Cowboy Cousins, new member educator and philanthropy chair for Business Student Council, president and secretary of Business Ambassadors, treasurer

Connor Mojo Bakersfield, California Industrial Engineering and Managment During his time at OSU, Connor Mojo served as Institute of Industrial Engineers president, Blue Key Honor Society vice president, OSU Student Foundation vice president, Rooted Conferences finance chair and Student Government

Gretchan Moore

Muldrow, Oklahoma Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Microbiology At OSU, Gretchan Moore served as Alpha Epsilon Delta vice president and secretary, Stout Hall Community Council vice president and Biochemistry Club secretary and treasurer. She

Emma Orth

Andale, Kansas Chemical Engineering While at OSU, Emma Orth served as the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology Student Council vice president of finance, CEAT Ambassadors vice president, Kappa Alpha Theta chief administration officer and National

Student Alumni Board executive and FarmHouse fraternity internal vice president. His community involvement includes Oklahoma FFA Association, OSU’s Big Event, CASNR Dean Search Committee and Kids Against Hunger. He served as a CASNR student academic mentor. Hilbert’s honors include receiving the General Honors Award, the CEAT Saint Patrick Award, Wentz Research Scholar, Top Twenty Freshmen, American FFA degree and

Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education Institutional nominee. Hilbert plans on returning to Depew, Oklahoma, to work for the family business, marry Alexis Wiebe, and continue campaigning for election to the Oklahoma State House of Representatives District 29 seat.

CowboyThon, Varsity Revue’s public relations executive, and an intern with OSU’s Eastin Center for Talent Development. His community involvement includes Special Olympics of Oklahoma Polar Plunge, OSU’s Big Event and Into the Streets, Children’s Miracle Network and Oklahoma City Hospital Foundation, Life Church Host Team and Payne County Youth Shelter. Humphrey’s awards include Phillips

66 SHIELD Scholar, Top Ten Freshmen, Spears School of Business Scholar Leader and Lew Wentz Leadership Scholar. He was named a Distinguished Service Graduate for 400-plus documented service hours.

of Mortar Board and the OSU chapter secretary of Chi Omega national women’s fraternity. Her community involvement includes Stillwater Community Dinner and Brunch, OSU’s Big Event and Into the Streets, Golden Oaks Village Assisted Living Center, Humane Society of Stillwater and Make-a-Wish Foundation Fundraiser. Meinders’ honors include being named a Top Five OSU Homecoming Queen Candidate,

Women for OSU Student Philanthropist of the Year, Wentz Leadership Award, Spears School of Business Scholar Leader and Top Ten Freshmen.

Association senator representing the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology. His community involvement includes serving with Eagle Heights Church. Mojo’s honors include the Industrial Engineering and Management Undergraduate Student Award, Top Twenty Freshmen, CEAT Scholars, Phillips 66 Shield Scholar and receiving the General Honors College Award.

Mojo will be a buyer and part of the procurement new hire rotation program for Phillips 66 in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

was a member of Mortar Board. Her community involvement includes Oklahoma Louis Stoke Alliance for Minority Participation, Habitat for Humanity, Stout Hall Philanthropy and Tiny Paws Kitten Rescue. She served as a pen pal for an elementary school student. Moore’s awards include National Tylenol Future Care Scholar, College of Arts and Sciences Three-Minute Thesis Undergraduate Winner, Department of Microbiology Outstanding Senior, Wentz

Research Grant and Wentz Leadership Award.

Association of Engineering Student Councils national conference director. She is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Her community involvement includes Oklahoma Blood Institute Blood Drive, Dance Marathon committee, Habitat for Humanity, Camp Cowboy and Special Olympics of Oklahoma Polar Plunge. Orth’s awards include Order of Omega, Second Place at Oklahoma State Chem-E Car Poster

Humphrey plans to move to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, to work for Phillips 66 in the finance department.

Meinders plans to attend law school at the University of Oklahoma.

Moore plans to attend Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine in the fall.

Competition, Tau Beta Pi, First Place at Phillips 66 Chemical Engineering Senior Design Project and CEAT Scholars. After graduation, Orth is relocating to Baytown, Texas, to work for ExxonMobil.

continues

109

Garrett Quinby Woodward, Oklahoma Aerospace Administration and Operations During his time at OSU, Garrett Quinby served as Flying Aggies president, President’s Leadership Council facilitator, Oklahoma Pilots Association University Board member, National Intercollegiate Flying Association vice president

Mandy Schroeder Nash, Oklahoma Agricultural Leadership At OSU, Mandy Schroeder served as Collegiate 4-H president, vice president and secretary; Alpha Zeta sergeant-at-arms; and College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Student Success Leader Team career liaison and

Alexis Wiebe

of contest and a Residence Hall Government senator. His community involvement includes Eagle Heights Baptist Church, Into the Streets, Hope Fellowship Mission and Humane Society of Stillwater. He served as an Oklahoma FFA Association speech coach. Quinby’s awards include Wentz Leadership Award, Nathan Zane Fleming Emerging Leader Award, Alfred Lee Adler III Award for Outstanding Flying Aggie,

Oklahoma Pilots Association 2015 Pilot of the Year and Top Twenty Freshmen.

student academic mentor. She was a member of Mortar Board and the Homecoming Steering Committee. Her community involvement includes Oklahoma 4-H Foundation Board, Oklahoma 4-H ambassador, Hunt for Hunger, Mortar Board pen pal with local elementary school student and Denver Western National Round-up. Schroeder’s awards include Top 20 Freshmen, Wentz Leadership Award,

Outstanding Agricultural Leadership Freshman, Oklahoma 4-H Hall of Fame and President’s Distinguished Scholar.

receiving the American FFA Degree, Oklahoma Agribusiness Retail Association scholarship and Academic Excellence scholarship.

secretary. Her community involvement includes Tiny Paws Kitten Rescue, Legal Aid Services, OSU Museum of Art and OSU’s Big Event. She hosted a voter registration drive. Yumul’s awards During her time at OSU, Kaelyne Yumul served include Outstanding English Major, Outstanding as Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature speaker Political Science Major, Undergraduate Library of the house and delegation chair, an Honors Research Award honorable mention, Wentz College ambassador, New Student Orienta- Semester Research Grant and first place in tion leader and the Living History Association OIL Moot Court competition.

Yumul will attend law school and specialize in either criminal justice or immigration law.

Tyler Zander

Zander will be attending Oklahoma College of Medicine in the fall, and plans on specializing in cardiothoracic surgery or cardiology. He hopes to have a role at the intersection of business and health care.

While at OSU, Alexis Wiebe served as Student Government Association special projects director, Into the Streets student involvement executive and President’s Leadership Council facilitator. She was a member of Mortar Board and Student

Kaelyne Yumul

Southlake, Texas English and Political Science

Enid, Oklahoma Entrepreneurship and Pre-Medicine

At OSU, Tyler Zander served as FarmHouse fraternity pledge program coordinator and was involved with Oklahoma Blood Institute, the Free Enterprise Society, Freshman Representative Council and Junior Greek Life. His community

SPRING 2016

After graduation, Schroeder will be attending the University of Nebraska in Lincoln where she will obtain her juris doctorate as well as work on a master’s of psychology.

Alumni Board. Her community involvement includes Eagle Heights Baptist Church AWANAS, Oklahoma FFA Convention, Oklahoma FFA Alumni Leadership Camp, Oklahoma City Regional Food Bank and Kids Against Hunger. Wiebe was selected as Congressman Frank Lucas CASNR agricultural policy intern and for the Farm Credit of Western Oklahoma Washington, D.C., lobbying trip. Her honors include

Hooker, Oklahoma Agricultural Economics

110

Quinby plans to earn a master’s degree in aviation and space while teaching at the OSU Flight Center, followed by a career with a major airline.

involvement includes Camp Cavett, motivational speaking, a mission trip to Poland, coaching at the YMCA and Stillwater Parks and Recreation. Zander’s honors include OSU Homecoming Royalty, Spears School of Business Outstanding Senior, General Honors Award, Top Five Entrepreneurship Senior and Academic Excellence in Entrepreneurship.

After graduation, Wiebe plans to work at Spirit Bank in Tulsa. She is moving to Depew, Oklahoma, where she plans to marry Kyle Hilbert in August.

111

New Life Members A lifetime connection to America’s Brightest Orange® The OSU Alumni Association would like to recognize and thank the following individuals who are now connected for life to Oklahoma State University through their new life memberships purchased in 2015. Learn more at orangeconnection.org/join about the benefits of becoming a life member or call 405-744-5368.

Michele Crater, ’15

Jeff Fitzsimmons

Sidney Heath

Tina Crawford, ’14

Kailee Fodge, ’09

Brandon Heimdale, ’15

Chad Crawley, ’97, ’02

Matthew Fodge, ’08

Heather Helm, ’14

Christie Crawley

Judy Ford, ’02, ’04

Jake Henderson*

Audrey Cross, ’91

Travis Forducey, ’13

Marcus Henry

Jacob Crowell, ’15

Leigh Ann Fore, ’82

Rebecca Henry*

Haley Culver

Kyle Fortney, ’14

Nick Henson, ’15

Stephanie Curfman, ’15

Laura Fox, ’15

Thomas Heyer, ’88

Sadie Daffer, ’15

Kimberly Frank*

Trevor Hicks

Josiah Darr*

Richard Frank Jr., ’67

Anjanette Higgins

Drew Davis, ’14

Karen Fraser, ’67

Brian Highfill, ’15

Jill Davis, ’15

Bryan Frazier, ’83

Aaron Hill, ’10

Justin Davis, ’15

Leslie Frazier, ’83

Beth Hites, ’11

Keegan Davis, ’08

Kyla French, ’14

Chris Hobza, ’95, ’04

Molly Davis, ’09, ’11

Denise Fulbright, ’02

Jennifer Hofener, ’14

Caleb Deck*

Kendall Fulbright, ’02

Joe Holcomb, ’88, ’93

Mike Denney, ’93

Clarissa Fulton, ’13

Harold Holley, ’69, ’75

Michael Divine, ’83

Abbey Gagnon, ’09

Mary Holley, ’98

Robert Donalson, ’81

Alexander Garcia*

Hillary Holt, ’15

David Dorrell, ’72

Andrew Gardos, ’03

Seonghyun Hongx, ’10

Sharon Dorrell, ’71

Jaclyn Giammario, ’10

Don Hood, ’80, ’02

Jennifer Douglas, ’95

Nicholas Giammario, ’10

Kathy Hood, ’80

Melissa Downey, ’06

Ian Giese

Danielle Hoover, ’15

Kathryn Drennon, ’13

John Gilbertson, ’68

Amanda Hopkins

Brent Dressler, ’03, ’08

Kathy Gilbertson

Brian Horn

Laura Dronzek, ’84

Ashley Gillum, ’12

Jon Horn, ’82

Diane Drum

Drue Gindler, ’14

Trey Hoser III, ’15

Ryne Abbott, ’13

Amanda Berry, ’91

Myra Burge, ’81

Jonathan Drum

Michael Goins

James Howard II, ’91

Ruth Able

Sarah Bildstein, ’15

Baylie Burton, ’15

Justin Ducharme, ’07

Rey Gonzalez, ’78, ’84, ’87

Matthew Howard, ’15

Dylan Adame

Kelly Billingham

Barry Bush, ’67, ’69

Marcellus Duke, ’82

Diane Goodpaster, ’71

Amy Howe Patrick Howe, ’92

Hailey Adamek, ’13

Tim Billingham, ’03

Jonathan Bushyhead*

Clinton Duncan, ’15

Kally Gordon*

Timothy Adams, ’13

Cindy Birdwell, ’73

Benjamin Butler, ’99

Warren Dyer, ’15

Tara Gotwalt, ’93

Dave Howell

Phil Agent, ’95

Harry Birdwell, ’72

Jill Butler, ’97

Chance Dyess*

Eileen Gove, ’14

Pate Hubbert*

Amanda Allen, ’10

Megan Black

Jeremy Bymaster, ’15

Meg Earnest, ’04

Krista Grasmick, ’04

Jamie Huffaker, ’15

Amber Allen, ’15

Dan Blakely, ’81, ’82

Brett Caesar, ’15

Sage Earnest, ’03

Tyler Graumann

Jacob Hukill, ’14

Joe Allen

Melanie Blakely, ’82

Robert Callahan*

Kyle Eastham, ’83, ’11

R.J. Gray, ’05

Kelse Hukill, ’13

McKenzy Allen, ’15

Daniel Blau, ’79, ’90

Will Carlile*

Rebecca Eastham, ’88, ’14

Trae Gray, ’98

Macy Hula, ’15

Sondra Allen, ’08

Teri Blau, ’82

Steve Carle

Jean Eblen, ’66

Jolynda Green, ’08

Steven Hull, ’98

Alex Anderson, ’14

Richard Bledsoe, ’15

Rachael Carlson, ’15

Jamie Edford, ’13

Maggie Green, ’80

Mary Hunt, ’11

Steven Anderson, ’04

Carole Sue Blossom, ’72, ’89

Justin Carpenter, ’15

Don Edrington, ’95

Michael Green

Thomas Hunter, ’84

Timothy Anderson, ’98

Jerry Blossom, ’72

Adam Carrington, ’92

Jenny Edrington, ’93

Hunter Gregory*

Joseph Huser, ’12

Jill Anderson-Rucker, ’00,

Noel Boeckman*

Justin Carson, ’15

Jason Edwards, ’01

Alycia Griffin, ’15

Thomas Hyde Jr., ’11 Scott Ingold, ’15

John Boevers, ’13

Joseph Cashes, ’13

Alisha Edwards, ’05

Michael Griffin*

K. C. Andrews, ’02

Loretta Bogges, ’93

Cleon Chai*

Lonnie Eggleston, ’69

Marianne Guenther, ’13

Scott Jackson, ’13

Linda Anthony

Dustin Boomer, ’15

Trisha Chain

Malinda Eggleston, ’68

Matt Hairford, ’84

Kelsey James, ’13

’03, ’10

Phil Anthony Sr., ’78

John Bourdette, ’68, ’74

Andrew Chambers, ’15

Michael Eimen, ’10

Hope Hall, ’15

Amber Jeans, ’15

Angelina Antoine

Jared Bourland, ’05

Lindsey Chancellor, ’15

Craig Ellerbeck, ’89

Peg Hall, ’76

Taylor Jeltema*

Joshua Ard, ’15

Luann Bowen, ’84, ’88

Royce Chancellor, ’76

Vicki Elliott

Ronald Hall, ’77

Jami Jenkins, ’13, ’15

Sally Armstrong, ’88

Matthew Bowen, ’12, ’15

Sue Chancellor, ’76

William Elliott, ’71

Austin Hamil, ’15

Ariane Jester, ’91

Kaitlin Arnold, ’14, ’15

Leslie Box, ’12

Bill Chapman, ’75

Precious Elmore-Sanders,

Kari Hamill*

Chad Jester, ’90

Ashlyn Atigre, ’06

Kayla Bradley, ’13

Donna Chapman, ’81

Craig Hamilton, ’03, ’14

Charlie Johnson II, ’06

Taylor Atwood*

Alyssa Brashears*

Victoria Chapman*

Aimee Elmquist, ’14

Tamra Hamilton, ’15

Colleen Johnson, ’99

Andrew Austin, ’12

Jack Brassfield

Crystal Chenoweth, ’06

Marcus Elwell, ’05

Alexander Hannah, ’11,

Dakota Johnson, ’15

Tessa Austin

Tana Brassfield

Allison Christian, ’14

Shannon Elwell, ’06

Linda Avant, ’72, ’92

Austin Brewer, ’15

Grady Chronister, ’60

Becky Endicott, ’02

Stephanie Hara, ’14

Harold Johnson, ’60

Mike Avant, ’77, ’82

Colby Brewster, ’04

Christopher Cink*

Kyle Endicott, ’02, ’05

Delmon Harbour III, ’84

Michelle Johnson, ’09

Bert Bailey, ’61

Richard Bridal, ’72

Cyril Clarke, ’81, ’00

Brian England, ’15

Taylor Harbuck, ’13

Nicole Johnson, ’05

Janet Bailey

Donald Bridgforth, ’85, ’12

Jean Clarke, ’81, ’93, ’00

Derek Enloe, ’13

Patrick Harker*

Nick Johnson, ’07, ’10

Zachary Baker*

John Bristol, ’13

Laramie Clement, ’14

Steven Ericson, ’13, ’14

Jacob Harman*

Anthony Jones, ’77

’01, ’02

’12, ’13

Daysha Johnson, ’10

Kelly Ball, ’15

Cade Broadbent*

Lauren Clement, ’14

Haley Erwin*

Jason Harris*

Dakota Jones

Thomas Ball, ’82

Allison Brockette*

Greg Clift, ’87

Allison Eve, ’85

Anthony Harris, ’15

Elizabeth Jones*

Christie Ballard, ’72, ’76

Emelia Brooks, ’15

Skyla Clift, ’15

Kevin Ewing, ’87

Gene Harris, ’57

Kati Jones

Keith Ballard, ’71, ’75, ’93

John Brophy, ’15

Caitlyn Cloud, ’15

Teresa Ewing, ’88

Jennifer Harris*

Kathryn Jones, ’68, ’69, ’73

Sterling Ballard, ’13

Nichole Brown, ’13, ’15

Bryant Coffman, ’78, ’79

Jane Ewing Ensley

Sarah Harris, ’09, ’13

Blade Jordan, ’15

Andrew Barker, ’08

Triana Browne-Hearrell*

Gaytra Coggins, ’61, ’84

Sarena Ezzell, ’15

Teresa Harris, ’81

Gary Jordan*

Levi Barris, ’14

Jimmy Bryson, ’86, ’87

Matt Cohlmia II*

Tim Faltyn, ’95, ’99

Steve Harrison, ’86, ’05

Shrikant Joshi, ’82

Sean Baser, ’15

Merry Bryson, ’91

Tanner Cole*

Kylie Fanning, ’12, ’15

Joey Harry, ’83

Jarrel Kadavy, ’15

Angie Batchelder, ’96

Trey Buck III, ’91

Donald Collins, ’53

Zach Fast, ’13

Shelly Harry, ’85, ’93

Ryan Kane, ’87

James Beach Jr., ’82

Aaron Buckner*

Robert Collins*

Carson Feix, ’15

Laura Harvey, ’15

Christi Karcher, ’06

Geoffrey Beasley, ’03

Michael Bull, ’15

Ariaha Colpitt, ’09, ’14

Rachel Feix, ’15

Chris Haverkamp, ’15

Jeffery Karcher, ’01, ’06

Brian Bell, ’90, ’01

Angela Bumgarner*

Ron Comeau Jr., ’93

Dylan Ferrell, ’15

Eric Hawkins, ’13

Angela Karr, ’10

Natalie Bennett, ’14

Holly Bunt, ’08

Eric Conchola, ’10, ’14

Kaitlin Fielding, ’13

Kristen Hawkins, ’03

John Karr, ’08

John Benningfield, ’06

Emily Burgard, ’15

Amy Cone, ’08, ’09

Amy Fields, ’89

Wesley Hawkins*

Meagan Kascsak, ’15

Jarrod Berger*

Clarence Burge, ’80

Ryan Conner, ’15

Rachel Finkenstaedt, ’15

Angela Hayes, ’04

Kara Kash*

Lauren Berger*

Legand Burge Jr., ’72, ’73,

John Cook, ’15

John Fischer, ’14

Courtney Hayes, ’15

Zachary Keen, ’13

Kye Courtright, ’14

Adam Fitzgerald*

Emily Heath*

Ashlee Keenum, ’14

Lisa Berger, ’15

112

SPRING 2016

’79

Jack Vassar, ’50

Braden Kelleher*

Christopher McCulloch, ’07

Manuel Orlich, ’15

Stefanie Sandy, ’06, ’13

Joe Speer

Michael Keller, ’97

Saebyl McDoulett, ’15

Oriana Ortega-Givens, ’15

Mitchell Sanford, ’15

Lauren Speer, ’05, ’09

Kyle Vaubel, ’90

Lori Kelley*

Samantha McElwee, ’15

Emma Orth*

Natalie Sauble, ’15

Donna Spinella, ’11

Gary Vaughn, ’81

Tim Kelley, ’83

Sarah McGee, ’14

Millicent Ownbey

Erin Scanlan, ’15

Kasie Stambaugh, ’10, ’11, ’14

Julie Vaughn, ’83

Meredith Kemp, ’12

Hannah McKinney, ’15

James Paganis, ’15

Matthew Schafer, ’07

Kyle Stead*

Leticia Vega, ’95

Kristin Kerce, ’10, ’13

Laurie McNatt, ’69

Cooper Page, ’15

Nicki Schafer, ’04

Shelby Steinkirchner, ’09

Beth Venus, ’78

Qualla Ketchum, ’13

Cody McPherson, ’15

Syd Page

Judy Schaffler, ’76

Rebecca Stephenson*

Clayton Viskup, ’15

Justin Kichler

Marilyn McSpadden, ’73

Rachel Pape, ’06

Robert Schaffler, ’75

Jay Stepp, ’84, ’89

Linda Wade, ‘70, ’71

Jared Kiefer*

Ashley Means

JD Parker, ’15

Becky Schlais, ’95, ’01

Stacey Stevens, ’15

Thomas Wade Jr., ’71

Chuck Kilgo, ’84

Camden Means

Andrew Parrack, ’14

Timothy Schlais, ’93

Corinne Stevenson, ’15

Gerald Walker

Mandi Kilgo, ’84

Kevin Meeks, ’15

Cole Parsons*

Keenan Schmidt, ’15

Bryce Stewart, ’15

Jacey Wallace

Caitlin Kincannon, ’14

Greta Meisner, ’15

Savannah Parsons, ’15

Ty Schoenhals, ’15

Blake Stinnett, ’15

Meghan Wallace

Anne King, ’15

Shien-Yi Meng, ’58

Vishnu Patel*

Chacey Schoeppel, ’15

Chris Stockton, ’15

Chase Wallace, ’15

Margaret King, ’75, ’83, ’93

Dalton Menzer, ’15

Christopher Patman

John Schrader*

Jonathan Stockton, ’12, ’15

Hilary Wallace, ’15

Samuel King, ’14

Celeste Meyer

Sherrye Paxton, ’75

Jennifer Schultz, ’07

Ed Stokes, ’75

Charles Wallin

Justin Kinsey, ’09

Courtney Miller*

Bryce Payne, ’11

Michael Schultz, ’07

Bonnie Strickland

Billie Jean Ward, ’42

Brandon Klick, ’15

Erin Miller*

Brooke Pennybacker, ’03

Christopher Scott, ’09

Jerry Strickland

Lance Ward, ’93

Aaron Knight, ’92

Greg Miller, ’15

Sydney Penrod, ’15

Madeline Scott*

Ronnie Stringer*

Paige Warner, ’15

Douglas Konarik, ’87

Jed Miller, ’03

Nicole Perez*

Alexandra Seale, ’15

Diane Sturdivant, ’69

Collin Washburn, ’15

Sheri Konarik, ’85

Kimberly Miller, ’82

Todd Phillips, ’09

Joyce Sebranek, ’59

Brent Suchy, ’98

Jo Beth Wasicek, ’15 Erin Wayland, ’15

Joseph Kovar, ’12, ’13

Taylor Miller, ’15

Gail Phillips-Huddleston, ’82

Chad Sebring, ’15

Jennifer Suchy, ’00

Trey Kraft III*

Zackary Miller*

Tracy Phillips-Jenkins, ’87, ’91

Bob Seegmiller, ’83

Kimberly Summe, ’90, ’94,

Brad Krieger

Andrew Mireles, ’13, ’14

Greg Pickett, ’97, ’02

Jennifer Settlemyer, ’90, ’97

Morgan Kubat, ’13

Glenda Mittasch

Michele Pierce, ’92

Emily Sewell, ’14

Challie Sweeney, ’13

Selena Kumar, ’06

Rob Montemayor, ’14

Russell Pittman, ’96

Patrick Shaheen

Michael Sweeney, ’14

Michael Weeks, ’98

Tanner Lackey, ’15

Jill Montgomery, ’12

Aaron Pitts*

Megan Shaver*

Margaret Sylke, ’12

Wesley Wegener, ’13

Robin Lacy Jr., ’85, ’98, ’11

Kyle Montgomery, ’10, ’12

Benjamin Pitts*

Colton Sharp

Alex Talbert

Staci Wekenborg

Sheryl Lacy

Charles Moore

Morgan Pofahl, ’00

Sarah Shaw-Dressler

Mike Tatum, ’12

Todd Wekenborg

Kristin LaGree

Dalton Moore, ’15

Stephen Polkowski, ’13

Michael Shelton, ’13

Michelle Taylor

Joseph Welch, ’79

Reese Lambert, ’84

Dee Ann Moore, ’81, ’84

Dana Ponder, ’02

David Sherier

Zac Taylor*

Monica Welch

Lawrence Langer Jr., ’74

Mark Moore, ’80, ’85

William Ponder

Michael Sherman, ’14

Kory Teague, ’15

Jake Welter, ’13

Kyre Larrabee, ’15

Tyler Moore, ’15

Alex Pope*

Scott Shook, ’84, ’90, ’94

Clara Telford, ’15

Joanna Larson, ’15

Ricki Moore, ’89, ’92

Colby Powell, ’15

Charles Wheeler, ’82

Kara Laster, ’15

Rod Moore, ’79

Jarae Puls, ’93

Emily Wheeler, ’03, ’15

Lana Laughlin, ’14

Tricia Moore, ’95

Dakota Quickle, ’15

Philip White, ’15

Dorothy Lawson, ’47, ’49, ’63

Tyler Moore, ’15

Melissa Radke, ’92

Dianne Whittenberg

Michael Lawson, ’13

Toni Morgan*

Cassie Ramsey, ’09

Maurice Whittenberg

Karin Leimbach, ’14

Tori Morgan, ’13, ’15

Randall Ramsey Jr., ’11

Vanessa Wiebe* Sabrina Wilber

’96

Everett Weaver, ’96 Jill Webber, ’87 Kyndell Weder, ’09

Paul Wetmore, ’78

Summer Leister, ’13

Brenda Morgensen, ’80

Thomas Rappsilber, ’15

Jacob Lewis, ’14

Christine Morse, ’15

Kendra Rash, ’15

Desiree Williams*

Bryce Lilley, ’14

Matt Mortimer, ’07, ’11

Austin Rawls, ’14

Eric Williams, ’15

Catie Linden*

Shae Mortimer, ’10

Brian Ray, ’07

Isaac Williams

Jessica Lindsay*

Bill Morwood, ’92

Kay Ray, ’79

Kristal Williams, ’15 Tyler Williamson, ’15

Steven Littleton, ’14

Justine Morwood*

Lori Ray, ’83

Charles Lock, ’85, ’91

Nicholas Morwood*

Gary Reasnor, ’15

Russell Wilson, ’15

Neisa Lock, ’82

Darren Mounts, ’01

John Reed, ’13

Vance Winningham Jr., ’66

Susan Logan, ’87

Erinn Mounts, ’01

Jonathon Reemts, ’12

Kristen Winter, ’02

Michelle Lopez*

Roger Mullins, ’15

Zachery Reis*

Bill Witman, ’72

Dylann Lowery*

Jennifer Murphy, ’15

Taylor Renken*

Justin Wolfe*

Tracie Lowmiller, ’13

Kelly Murphy

Jordan Reyes, ’13

Dustyn Womack, ’10

Kaitlin Loyd, ’15

Kelly Murphy, ’97, ’06

Meagan Rhodes, ’15

Craig Womeldorph, ’93, ’97

Clinton Lucus, ’15

Susan Murphy, ’14

Alan Ridgway, ’15

Laura Womeldorph

Christopher Lyon, ’14

John Murray, ’83

Kimberly Rieck, ’14

Ashley Wood, ’04 Kaitlyn Wood, ’15

Melinda Lyon, ’78, ’89, ’10

Karen Murray

Reed Ripley, ’15

Wesley Magill, ’01, ’03

Susan Murray, ’11, ’13

Matt Ritz, ’15

Benjamin Shrewsbury, ’01

Blake Templeton

Kaleigh Mahaney, ’15

David Myers, ’95

Molly Robben, ’14

Manal Siddiqui, ’03

Johnathan Terry, ’14

Nicholas Woodruff, ’12, ’15

Steven Mandeville, ’10

Macy Naas, ’15

Luke Roberts

Samantha Siebert, ’09

Avery Thomas*

Zachary Woodworth, ’06 Eddie Woolly, ’02

Kelsey Wood, ’12

Samantha Manke, ’15

Melynee Naegele, ’87

Alexandria Roberts, ’14

Sarah Siedhoff, ’12, ’14

Christine Thomas, ’13

Cathy Mapes

Kalyn Neal, ’10, ’12

Robin Roberts Krieger

Tamara Silkwood, ’15

Kaitlin Thomas, ’15

Brandon Worley*

Jeff Mapes, ’87

Laura Neal, ’13

Brittney Rochell, ’09

Jamie Simons, ’95

Sonia Thomas, ’05, ’07

Christopher Worley*

Lindsay Marshall, ’05, ’10

Amy Neff, ’07, ’15

Curtis Roddy, ’12, ’14

Levi Sims, ’14

Ken Thrasher

Aaron Wright, ’15

Alexandra Martin, ’15

Hannah Nemecek, ’15

Cynthia Rodriguez, ’90

Eric Skaggs, ’15

Sarah Thursby, ’13

Shelby Wright, ’13

Ali Martin, ’15

Bailey Nett

Marty Jo Rogers, ’87

Alison Slagell, ’15

Stephen Tillinghast, ’13

LeAnn Yadon*

DeCleasha Martin, ’13, ’14

Cheryl Newberry, ’89, ’01

Melinda Rolland, ’87

Kolby Slater*

Taylor Tillinghast, ’13

Mallarey Yockey*

Laine Martin, ’14

Madeleine Nickles, ’15

Jeff Ronsse, ’99

Chavis Sledge*

Jared Tolbart, ’15

Kara Young*

Mike Martin, ’74, ’78

David Nightingale, ’74

Amy Rosa, ’15

Andrea Smith, ’92

Kaitlin Townsend, ’14

Carolyn Young-Myers, ’95

Alysia Mason, ’14

Teresa Nightingale, ’73

Jaelah Rose-Cook

Jordan Smith, ’13

Ellie Troyer, ’15

Hayley Young, ’15

Brian Mathis, ’15

Vinay Nilkanth, ’85, ’87, ’92

Danielle Rosendale, ’11

Laine Smith, ’92

Brett Trutna*

Hunter Young, ’15

Milecia Matthews, ’14

Hillary Nolan, ’13, ’14

Sheldon Rounds, ’15

Mitchell Smith, ’13

Josh Tucker, ’09

Sheila Youngblood, ’99

Mandy Mayberry, ’07

Rachel Noland, ’13

Kelby Rounsaville, ’14

Thomas Smith, ’88

Kegan Tuohy, ’15

Thomas Zeleskey*

Marcy Mayes, ’15

Abby O’Dell, ’13, ’15

Darrell Rowan, ’13

Liz Smittle, ’83

Nathan Turek, ’08

Rhett Zelnicek*

Mindy Mayfield-Davis,

Blake O’Dell, ’14

Regina Rowe, ’01

Kevin Sommers, ’12

Conor Turnage, ’15

Crystal O’Hara, ’15

Meredith Rush, ’14

Alina Sorrell, ’14

Morgan Tyree, ’15

Wil McCabe III, ’14

Scotty O’Leary, ’15

Donald Ryan, ’91

Lauren Soto*

William Van Ness, ’11, ’15

Ryan McCauley, ’03

Robert Ohrenberg, ’94

Tricia Ryan, ’90

Gary Speer, ’80, ’87, ’91

Kimberly Vance, ’13

Patrick McConnell, ’93

Robin Oller, ’12, ’15

Sean Sadler, ’94, ’99

Janet Speer, ’82

Alyssa VanSandt, ’15

’89, ’91

*An asterik designates Life Members who joined as OSU students.

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Nathan Gilsleider displays his orange pride at a North American Cup bobsled race in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

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Former Cowboy football player training with USA Bobsled Team

BY CHRISTINA MILLER

klahoma State University has been proudly represented at every Olympic Summer Games in which the United States has competed since 1924. OSU athletes from wrestling, basketball, track and field, baseball, softball and swimming programs have all participated in the summer games. Nathan Gilsleider, a former wide receiver for the Cowboys, is propelling that dynasty even further by aspiring to be the first OSU graduate competing in the Winter Olympics. “Representing OSU is important to me because of how much love I have for my school,” Gilsleider says. “Being the first OSU athlete at the Winter Games would be a humbling experience with the great traditions we have in sports and the Summer Olympics.” But how did the former football player switch from running routes and catching passes in the end zone to twisting and sliding down an icy bank in a bobsled?

As an all-around athlete growing up in Claremore, Oklahoma, Gilsleider played soccer year-round, AAU basketball and American Legion baseball. He earned varsity positions on baseball, basketball and soccer teams at a small, private Christian high school in Claremore. After achieving all-state recognition and receiving scholarship offers for all three sports, he decided to accept a baseball scholarship at Eastern Oklahoma State College

in McAlester with hopes of one day being drafted as a left-handed pitcher for Major League Baseball.

wo years into college, a shoulder injury prevented him from continuing his baseball field of dreams. “The injury ended my baseball career and gave me a new perspective on appreciating the abilities I’ve been given,” Gilsleider says. He wanted to continue pursuing athletics and was faced with weighing the options available. Despite his past experience with basketball and soccer, his sights were set on playing football for Oklahoma State, which surprised his family and friends considering he had never played football in his life. Disregarding his lack of previous football experience, Gilsleider worked toward his goal and earned a spot on the Cowboys team as a walk-on for the 2008 season. continues

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“Attending OSU and joining the football team was an experience that taught me about hard work, adapting to change and overcoming injuries,” Gilsleider says. “I’ll be forever grateful for the lifelong friends and memories that I made at Oklahoma State.” Even though Gilsleider had never played a down of football in his life, he gained some playing time with the Cowboys but sustained a knee injury during his final season in 2009. He earned a bachelor’s degree in health promotion and education in 2010.

PHOTO / KEN CHILDS

Bobsled pilot Nick Cunningham, right, joins teammate Nathan Gilsleider.

fter graduation, he skipped NFL Pro Day in favor of rehabbing his injury. Gilsleider took an internship with the Michael Johnson Performance Center in McKinney, Texas, where he met Johnny Quinn, a former professional football player who would change his goals, career and life. Quinn had sustained injuries while playing for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League. He joined the USA National Bobsled Team in 2010 and introduced Gilsleider to the sport of bobsledding while they were both at the Michael Johnson Performance Center. Gilsleider followed Quinn’s journey as the Olympian trained and competed with the USA bobsledding team in the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Quinn told Gilsleider about several football players who transitioned to bobsledding because it requires much of the same skill set athletically — a rare combination of power, strength and speed. Athletes must also be tough mentally

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because riding in the sled takes a great physical toll. After knee surgery, Gilsleider enjoyed a short stint in arena football for Tulsa’s Oklahoma Defenders in 2014 but eventually decided he was up for the challenge of taking on another new sport. With Quinn’s encouragement, Gilsleider set out to make the United States Olympic Bobsled Team. After placing second nationally in August 2014 at a combine (a recruitment tool used to identify bobsledding talent), Gilsleider was invited to Lake Placid, New York, where the Olympic bobsledding training headquarters are located. During training, Gilsleider competed in various criteria specific to the skills needed for bobsledding including sprints and long jumps — and continued passing through the requirements with ease. The trials concluded with a “Push Championship,” which requires the athletes to push a bobsled in a timed race. In October 2015, Gilsleider placed third at the national trials, which qualified him to be a member of the USA Olympic Bobsled Team. “Going to the Olympics would mean the highs and lows I have experienced as an athlete were worth pushing through,” Gilsleider says. Gilsleider spends the majority of the year training at Lake Placid and traveling with the team to Canada, Austria and various locations worldwide. He occasionally visits the OSU campus to practice with the track and field team. He also consults with Rob Glass, OSU’s strength and conditioning coach. “Bobsledding is basically track on ice,” Gilsleider explains. “I’ve always been fast but not at the track athlete caliber.”

ilsleider is responsible for the majority of his funding to cover training and travel expenses, but he can receive donations to help. He will face national competition trials to make the team again and continue training each year until the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. Despite being in Lake Placid for most of the year, he still calls Oklahoma his home. He returns to visit his family in Claremore and his sister who lives in Stillwater. Gilsleider and his mother are members of the OSU Alumni Association, and his father is a veterinarian in Claremore. “I am proud to be a Cowboy,” Gilsleider says. “I wouldn’t change that for the world. I know I wouldn’t be in this place in my career if not for my time trying football for the first time at OSU.”

Ways to Support Nathan Gilsleider • RallyMe Fund at usabs.rallyme.com/ rallies/2510/ngilsleiderusa • Tax-deductible Athlete Training Fund at teamusa.org/usabobsled-skeleton-federation/ donate Follow his story at ngsliderusa.com.

Nathan Gilsleider reaches for the catch during his senior football season playing for the Cowboys.

Nathan Gilsleider throws up his pistols on the Lake Placid, New York, bobsled track during Olympic training.

“I’ll be forever grateful for the lifelong friends and memories that I made at Oklahoma State.” — Nathan Gilsleider, USA Bobsled Team

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Tulsa Chapter members celebrate at Vintage O-State 2016.

Alumni raise funds at Vintage O-State and Brighter Orange Pistol Pete joined the Oklahoma City Metro and Tulsa Chapters of the OSU Alumni Association at their annual Vintage O-State: Loyal & True auction and scholarship fundraisers. Proceeds from ticket sales and the auctions will benefit Tulsa and Oklahoma City-area high school students planning to attend OSU.

President Burns Hargis addresses alumni at OKC Vintage O-State.

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Tulsa’s event on February 20 celebrated the chapter’s 15th year of dedication to OSU students with a change of venue to the historic Cain’s Ballroom. Oklahoma Joe’s Bar-B-Cue was a presenting sponsor for the night. The event included live music, heavy hors d’oeuvres, a barbecue dinner and an open bar. Proceeds totaled a record $60,000. “This is our premier annual event when OSU alumni and fans can benefit the Tulsa community through student scholarships,” says Whitney Dittman, president of the Tulsa Chapter. “It’s also a fun night when we can gather as alumni and friends to share in our nostalgia and passion for the university we all love.” Oklahoma City’s event also featured a new venue, Aloft Hotel OKC Downtown-Bricktown. The upscale evening on February 26 included wine tasting, both silent and live auctions supporting OSU scholars, heavy hors d’oeuvres, beer and wine samples,

The 2016 North Texas Brighter Orange event showcases OSU memorabilia in the auction. photo booth and a cash bar. Presenting sponsors were Aloft Hotels and MerrillLynch. Proceeds totaled $67,000. “One of the main goals of our chapter is the recruitment of future OSU students through scholarships,” says Jeanne Lowrey, Oklahoma City Metro Chapter president. “The more money we raise, the more scholarships can be awarded each year.” The North Texas Chapter holds a similar fundraiser for area students called

Brighter Orange. The 11th annual celebration of dedication to OSU students took place February 19 at the Dallas Country Club. OSU President Burns Hargis was the featured speaker. Previous North Texas scholarship recipients also shared their stories. The event included a raffle, both silent and live auctions, a buffet dinner, an open bar and a live band to wrap up the evening. There were also opportunities to network with North Texas OSU alumni. Proceeds from ticket sales and the auctions will contribute to the scholarship funds. The Brighter Orange event has resulted in more than $750,000 in scholarships and the creation of an endowed fund. In 2015, 68 scholarships were awarded to students across North Texas.

coordinator of engagement. “This community continues to thrive and surprise us with unique spots such as Woodland Park Vineyard.”

Upcoming Events May 12

Cowboy Caravan Bentonville, Arkansas

May 13

Networking Night at the Mayo Hotel Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa Chapter

May 13

Bedlam Baseball Legends Lounge Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark Oklahoma City Metro Chapter

May 14

OSU Night at the Rangers Globe Life Park Arlington, Texas

May 14–15

Bedlam Baseball Tailgate ONEOK Field Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa Chapter

For more information about the winery, visit orangeconnection.org/chapters.

Oklahoma City Metro Chapter hosts Pistol Pete’s birthday party

May 25–29 Big 12 Baseball Tournament Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark Oklahoma City May 26

An Evening with T. Boone Pickens, Santa Ana Country Club in California Orange County Chapter

June 3–6

Baseball Regional

June 7

Cowboy Caravan McAlester, Oklahoma

Faculty and Staff Chapter tours winery The OSU Alumni Faculty & Staff Chapter held an inaugural tour of Stillwater’s Woodland Park Vineyard on November 12, 2015. The group received an educational tour of the cellar and wine making process, enjoyed a wine tasting and had the opportunity to purchase local wine. “Our chapter members appreciated the opportunity to see more of Stillwater and support a local business,” says Chelsie Wilson, OSU Alumni Association

Pistol Pete greets guests at his birthday party. The Oklahoma City Metro Chapter of the OSU Alumni Association hosted a very special party on October 4, 2015, honoring Pistol Pete’s 92nd birthday at the Oklahoma City Zoo. The celebration has become an annual event for the chapter and draws hundreds of orangeclad alumni and fans of all ages. The first 200 people to arrive wearing orange received a piece of birthday cake and a chance to get a picture with Pete himself. “I think Pete’s skincare routine has done him well; he doesn’t seem to age a bit,” jokes Jeanne Lowery, Oklahoma City Metro Chapter president.

To find an alumni chapter near you, visit orangeconnection.org/chapters.

Pistol Pete cuts the cake during his birthday party at the Oklahoma City Zoo.

June 10–13 Baseball Super Regional June 11

Pub Crawl Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa Chapter

June 11

KC Golf Tournament Falcon Valley Golf Course Lenexa, Kansas Kansas City Chapter

June 11

KC Cowboys Picnic Shawnee Mission Park Lenexa, Kansas Kansas City Chapter

June 14

Cowboy Caravan Woodward, Oklahoma

June 24

OSU Night at the Frisco Rough Riders Dr Pepper Ballpark Frisco, Texas North Texas Chapter

June 27

Cowboy Caravan Enid, Oklahoma

July 14

Paint with Pete Oklahoma City Devon Energy Chapter

August 4

Cowboy Caravan Oklahoma City

August 11

Cowboy Caravan Tulsa, Oklahoma

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CHAPTER LEADER PROFILE:

JJ Stevak Houston may be quite far from Stillwater geographically, but Stillwater is close in the hearts of the remarkable OSU Alumni Association chapter located there. The sprawling city has numerous suburbs, and the Houston OSU Alumni Chapter President JJ Stevak leads the active group by drawing fuel from her passion for OSU. Stevak was born in Stillwater while her parents were undergraduate students at OSU. Campus always felt like home to her, even after her family moved back to her parents’ hometown of Braman, Oklahoma. Her family had football season tickets, so she was always visiting campus and, in the process, falling in love with OSU. “I just grew up loving Oklahoma State,” Stevak remembers. “I loved the feel of campus, the atmosphere and the people.” As a student, Stevak became actively involved in the Off Campus Student Association after moving into an apartment as a junior. Through OCSA, she helped students with everything from finding off-campus housing to rental disputes with landlords. She also had the opportunity to act as a proxy for off-campus senators at Student Government Association meetings. Her other student involvement included Aggie-X and various business clubs related to accounting and marketing. “I remember bucket nights at the Attic, Homecoming, pushing the Sirloin Stockade bull down The Strip into Theta Pond every year, poker parties after the OCSA meetings and just good times with friends I have to this day,” Stevak says. Stevak’s roommate played on the OSU women’s basketball team. She recalls attending all the football, basketball and wrestling matches. “I was there when we won the Big 8 wrestling tournament and popped the lights out of the ceiling,” Stevak says.

After graduating from OSU in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics, she began working in the tax department at Cities Service in Tulsa. The company later became CITGO and relocated from Tulsa to Houston. When she first moved to Houston, she began attending the OSU Alumni Association Houston Chapter meetings with a friend who served on the board of directors. Eventually, the chapter elected Stevak as vice president, and she agreed on the condition that the president at the time keep the position for at least five years. He

“I love OSU. Anyone who meets me quickly knows that I bleed orange.” — JJ Stevak

JJ Stevak, Houston OSU Alumni Association Chapter president, and her son Taylor graduated from Oklahoma State University. relocated back to Tulsa the next year, and Stevak has been president ever since. “I love OSU,” Stevak says. “Anyone who meets me quickly knows that I bleed orange.” The Houston chapter’s primary events involve scholarship fundraisers for local students to attend OSU. These include the Brighter Orange Gala early in the year, Cowboy Caravan in May and the annual alumni golf tournament in the fall. Members also throw watch parties for both football and basketball games, happy

HOUSTON CHAPTER BY THE NUMBERS 5,932 alumni and friends within 45 miles of Houston 959 members 3,644 current students from Texas 508 miles from Stillwater

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hours in Houston’s hot spots, OSU Nights at the Astros baseball and Dynamo soccer games, and group outings to the zoo and Cowboys for a Cause, which unites OSU alumni and friends nationwide for a day in April dedicated to giving back. During Cowboys for a Cause events, OSU Alumni Association chapters across the country organize and participate in a service activity in their community. The Houston chapter is always improving through suggestions for new activities and changes. For the future, the group hopes to raise more scholarship money and reach more

alumni to increase attendance at activities. Because Houston is very spread out, the chapter tries to have events in multiple locations around the city to accommodate as many alumni as possible. “It would be nice to have a satellite chapter in one of the suburbs like The Woodlands,” Stevak says. “We will have to see if we can get the volunteers needed first, though.” Stevak also volunteers with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Corral Club Committee and serves on the board of the Beacon, a day shelter for the homeless in Houston, and the board of Businesswomen in Petroleum Refined Products. She is on the leadership team of Team Citgo, which is her company’s volunteer organization. Stevak loves travel, food and wine. Utilizing OSU connections, she regularly arranges trips with her friends to the Napa and Sonoma Valleys in California. She also enjoys spinning classes, returning to Stillwater for OSU football games and planning Houston chapter watch parties for the games she does not attend. Stevak lives in Houston with her husband, Edwin. Their son Taylor is an OSU graduate and works in Tulsa. Her father, Jerry E. Johnston, was named an Outstanding Alumni in 1989 at her son’s first OSU football game. Stevak’s family awards a scholarship in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources in honor of her father.

Karla Jeanette Breland, OSUIT ’69 culinary arts, was a volunteer providing in-home care to elderly members of her community.

’40s Rex Polone, ’48 agricultural economics, announces that his daughter Lisa Shaw was elected Comanche County associate district judge. Shaw’s daughters are attending OSU — Rachel is a senior and Meredith is a sophomore.

’50s Eva n Lu c a s, ’50 ma r keting, attended the Sugar Bowl this year and previously in 1946 during his senior year of high school. The town of Woodward, Oklahoma, sent his undefeated high school football team to the game as a congratulations for their successful season. Robert Ramsey, ’54 animal science, and Loretta Ramsey, ’55 biological sciences, still attend Homecoming activities each year. They look forward to seeing the new buildings on and around campus. With the help of their OSU children and grandchildren, they are able to attend Walkaround and the Sea of Orange Parade. Barbara Floyd, ’59 secondary education, is married to Don Floyd, has a daughter named Meredith and a granddaughter named Parker. She attended Grandparent University with Parker last summer.

’60s Donald Schwab, ’61 agricultural economics, and his wife Penney are both retired and relaxing. Jerry Halcomb, ’62 architectural studies, ’65 master’s degree in architecture, played bass guitar in the Shadow Lake 8 and at OSU. The band was inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in 2013. He moved to Dallas in 1965, founded an architectural firm in 1971 that plans and designs churches, retired in 2012 and now is consulting for churches. He is married to Betty, has one son named Doug and two grandchildren. David W. Davis, ’65 architectural engineering, is engaged to Barb

Menold of New York City. Davis is currently OSU’s second-oldest living Pistol Pete. Davis and Menold are both semi-retired and developing new resort and rental properties. Combined, Davis and Menold have five children working in various cities around the world. Thomas Luckinbill, ’65 history, has a new grandson Keaton Thomas Luckinbill and a new great-granddaughter Evelyn Hope Randall.

Douglas George Foote, ’69 associate aeronautical technology, earned his bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering in 1976 from Western Michigan University, along with a private pilot’s license and an airframe and power plant mechanical license. He is a professional photographer and teacher. In 2000, he retired from working in configuration management in the U.S. Air Force.

Michael Agan, ’66 accounting, has been married to Carolyn Agan for 51 years. They have two new great grandsons named Kallen and Kannen. He still rides his bike, enjoys life and the Cowboys and Cowgirls athletics.

Jody Hart Hayes, ’69 economics, is retired after working full-time at National Student Services for nine years. She continues working with her alterations and mending business, Alterations by Jody. On December 3, 2015, she became a great-grandmother.

John Schaffer, ’66 master’s degree in business education, retired on the 25th anniversary of his priestly ordination at the age of 77. He is now resides at Saints Peter and Paul Rectory in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.

Vaden Morgan, ’69 animal science livestock operations, retired as a secondary education science teacher. He completed seven years as an adjunct instructor in biology at East Central University.

Chester Palmer, ’67 agricultural education, is not retired, but instead he just quit working. He takes time to enjoy his dogs and go hunting. Frank “Cappy” Shidler Jr., ’67 finance, owns Cappy’s Dollhouse & Miniatures Shoppe in Oklahoma City. James Thompson, ’67 history, retired in October 2014 after working at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Bill McClure, ’68 music education, recently retired from the University of Massachuset ts Amherst where he was the executive d i re c to r of c o ntinuing and professional education for more than 10 years. He led a team of 45 people who created a variety of academic programs. He and his wife continue to live in western Massachusetts. Leon Minton, ’68 electrical engineering, had a great career as an electronic design engineer, computer program manager and information technology analyst. He retired at the end of 2007, and recently began running.

’70s Mike Kubicek, ’70 agronomy, ’72 plant breeding master’s degree, retired on April 1, 2015, after serving 27 years as the executive director of the Oklahoma Peanut Commission. Sue Freese Schmidt, ’70 human environmental sciences, retired in 2011 from teaching family and consumer sciences. Sue and her husband Jerry Schmidt, ’70 mechanical engineering, have three sons who graduated from OSU and seven grandchildren. James Liichow, ’71 business, is divorced and has two daughters ages 15 and 13. They are both OSU fans and pom girls at Wethersfield High School in Kewanee, Illinois. Richard “Ted” Waterfall, ’71 social sciences, ’77 history master’s degree, is spending his retirement years as a security guard at a hospital in Florida after a long and rewarding career teaching history in schools around the country, and he still loves his Pokes. Joe Allbaugh, ’74 political science, was named interim department of corrections director by the Oklahoma Board of Corrections. He is a security and political consultant and the

former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency under President George W. Bush. Rick Churchill, ’74 marketing, and Nancy Churchill, ’75 elementary education, sold their company and retired. They are taking more trips and continuing their annual vacation to Europe. They also enjoy spending time with their three grandchildren. Dee Rippetoe Richardson, ’75 English, is teaching at Heritage Hall and lives in Oklahoma City. She loves being i n S t i l l wa te r f o r sporting events and shopping. Steven J. Adams, ’76 management, was recently named by Thompson Reuters to the 2015 Oklahoma Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists and now practices law with the law firm of GableGotwals. Vicki Laughter McNeil, ’77 music education, has been working as the vice president for student affairs at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, since June 2014. Rick Sievert, ’77 chemical engineering, retired in October 2015 and has been cheering on the Pokes at Boone Pickens Stadium and chasing bird dogs in Kansas. Jerry Winchester, ’77 agronomy, custom harvests pecans in Love and Marshall counties. He also has two new grandchildren named Ella Gore and Zach Winchester. Ann Herber, ’78 accounting master’s degree, became a grandmother on June 10, 2015, when Cannon Patrick Hinkle arrived to her daughter Jeni Hinkle, ’05 hotel and restaurant administration, and her husband Jeff Hinkle, ’05 civil engineering. Frank Williams, ’78 civil engineering, recently retired in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His wife Debbie Walters Williams, ’78 clothing, textiles & merchandising, retired from teaching in 2015. They look forward to traveling and volunteering. They went to the Sugar Bowl to cheer on the Cowboys. Mary Etta Campbell, ’79 foreign language, retired from teaching and is busy with 13 grandchildren.

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’80s Michael Peters, ’80 landscape architecture, and his wife Robyn, ’85 marketing, have lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for 18 years. Their daughter Micah, ’15 human development and family sciences, recently graduated, and their children Ryan and Savannah are current OSU students. Becky Meares Clovis, ’81 clothing, textiles and merchandising, af ter many years of dairy farming, returned to school and earned a graduate degree in human resources administration. She is working at a university in student affairs, specifically with retention of American Indian students. Her son graduated from OSU in agricultural economics in 2011, and her daughter will start her freshman year in Stillwater this fall. Judi Stracener ReederFreeman-Martin-Kail, ’81 psychology master’s degree, completed course requirements in December 1981 with an emphasis in vocational rehabilitation counseling. She attended OSU graduation in 1982. Greg Quarles, ’83 mathematics and physics, ’85 physics master’s degree, ’87 physics doctoral degree, joined the Optical Society of America as chief scientist. Dr. Quarles is responsible for the scientific infrastructure of the society, including content development for OSA incubators, annual meetings and establishing partnerships with research laboratories worldwide. Carlin Rafie, ’83 biology, has been appointed assistant professor in the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise at Virginia Tech and adult nutrition specialist with Virginia Cooperative Extension. Bryan Buchan, ’84 industrial engineering, and his wife Barbara Sokatch Buchan, ’83 industrial engineering, have been married 31 years and live in Austin, Texas. They have three grown sons, Austin, Collin, and Dalton Buchan, ’15 construction management. Br yan and Barbara have worked 30 years together at 3M Company. They drive to most of the

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OSU football games in Oklahoma and Texas. They hosted 90 OSU friends for the OSU-Texas game. Steven Cioletti, ’85 accounting, is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; International Free and Accepted Modern Masons Inc.; and the Lions Club International. John D. Russell, ’85 political science, was recently named by Thompson Reuters to the 2015 Oklahoma Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists and now practices law with the law firm of GableGotwals. Jeff Trussler, ’85 mechanical engineering, was recently promoted to rear admiral in the U.S. Navy. Bobby Schultz, ’86 journalism, and Lahoma Schultz, ’05 educational psychology doctoral degree, recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary with a Hawaiian cruise. Bobby earned a master’s degree from the University of Tulsa, where he graduated with highest honors. Chris Stark, ’86 marketing, is a senior attorney and the assistant division chief for the intergovernmental division of the Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department. In his free time, he watched his son Garrett play high school baseball and his daughter Morgen play high school lacrosse and club soccer. His son will attend OSU starting in the fall of 2017. Connie Hull Boone, ’88 home economics, is the owner and designer at Sweet Turns headwear and accessory line. Wiley Burns, ’88 organizational administration, has five children, 21 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Suzanne Bizzell Purvis, ’89 journalism, is with the Savannah College of Art and Design. Brent Wright, ’89 organizational administration, was appointed as vice commander of the 138th Fighter Wing at the Tulsa Air National Guard Base. As second-in-command, he ensures the combat readiness of the second largest combat Air National Guard F-16 unit. He also serves as the director of the governor’s Oklahoma F-35 Task Force.

’90s Amelia A. Fogleman, ’91 English, was recently named by Thompson Reuters to the 2015 Oklahoma Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists and now practices law with the law firm of GableGotwals. C h a i t a n F a h n e s t o c k , ’92 accounting, was promoted to president and chief operating officer of Dallas-based Riveron Consulting and will oversee direction and operations for all markets including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Minneapolis and Washington, D.C. Christopher R. Hill, ’96 speech communications master’s degree, was promoted in November 2014 to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force. Hill assumed command of the 190th Comptroller Flight upon his promotion. He has served in the military for 26 years. He ensures that his flight meets wartime combat standards and guides the flight by planning and directing a variety of functions. Sara E. Barry, ’97 psychology, has been named a shareholder at the law firm of GableGotwals, a full-service law firm of more than 90 attorneys representing a diversified client base in Oklahoma, the Southwest and across the nation. Kristy Varda, ’97 agricultural science and natural resources, is now the purchasing supervisor for Frederick County Public Schools in Winchester, Virginia. Legand Burge, ’98 computer science doctoral degree, has been named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Burge is being recognized for his contributions in computer science and for advocating diversity as an academic administrator. Election as an A A AS Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers.

’00s William Jacobs, ’00 biochemistry, is now the lab supervisor for Buckley Air Force Base Clinics in Aurora, Colorado.

Cari Boatright Rérat, ’02 English, recently became the director of the Pryor Public Library in Pryor, Oklahoma. A n n e t t e B o y d , ’02 f i n a n c e, announces the birth of her daughter Lillian in September 2014. Rachel Ebert Leslie, ’06 art, and her husband Chris Leslie, ’06 physiology, grew up in Stillwater. After living in Oklahoma City for 10 years, they have returned to Stillwater, where Chris is a dentist and Rachel owns a small graphic design business. Eric Lindaman, ’06 broadcast journalism, and Meredith Dibert Lindaman, ’05 public relations, announce the birth of their son, Everett Bradley on Decem ber 4, 2015. He is named after his maternal grandfather and OSU alumnus, Bradley Dibert, ’79 marketing. D a v i d C o o k , ’07 m a r keti n g, announces the birth of his daughter Harper Elizabeth Cook on May 19, 2015. Ryan A. Pittman, ’09 political science, was recently named by Thompson Reuters to the 2015 Oklahoma Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists and now practices law with the law firm of GableGotwals.

’10s Kimberly Stewart Anglin, ’10 hotel and restaurant administration, married Chad Anglin, ’10 business administration, on June 27, 2015, in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Tracie Dickerson, ’13 marketing, and Jared Lowmiller, ’12 secondary mathematics education, wed on October 25, 2015, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. During the ceremony, a prayer and moment of silence was held honoring those affected by the OSU homecoming parade tragedy Sean Oakes, ’13 mechanical engineering, works for ConocoPhillips and is married to Alexis Sears Oakes, ’13 apparel merchandising. His fatherin-law Dr. John Sears, ’78 zoology, donated funds for the ConocoPhillips Alumni Center in Stillwater prior to his death.

InMemoriam Gordon Allan Andrews, ’84 doctoral degree in veterinary medicine, died January 17, 2016, in Topeka, Kansas. He was born on October 13, 1953, in Batavia, New York, to Gordon and Barbara Andrews. After graduating high school in 1971, he earned his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in 1975 before attending OSU. Gordon practiced in general and emergency veterinary medicine. He married Mary Anne Walker on October 3, 1984. He earned a doctoral degree in anatomical pathology from Kansas State University in 1991 and completed his residency in veterinary pathology in 1992. He became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists in 1993. He was a professor of diagnostic pathology at KSU for 22 years. Survivors include his wife Mary Anne, daughters Katherine and Emily, his parents, sister Karen Lolie, brother Gregory and numerous nieces and nephews. Memorial contributions may be made to Public Television station KTWU Washburn University or Habitat for Humanity in care of the Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home 1616 Poyntz Ave., Manhattan, KS 66502. Thomas A. “T.A.” Byrd, ’53 doctoral degree in veterinary medicine, died on November 25, 2015, at age 91. He is survived by son Gary Byrd (’74 biological sciences, ’76 advertising), daughters Jamee Markert (’75 English), Jan McVicker, Kathy Cooper, grandsons Jackson Markert (’06 general business), David McVicker, granddaughter Taylor Byrd (’11 psychology) and four great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his wife of 67 years Sara Foreman Byrd. He graduated from Capitol Hill High School in Oklahoma City, and during World War II, he served in the U.S. Army. After graduating from OSU, he served on the veterinary school’s admissions board. He was named a Distinguished Alumni and the Oklahoma Veterinary Medical Association’s Veterinarian of the Year in 1991. He was president of the Oklahoma Veterinary Medicine Association, the McAlester Rotary Club and an OSU Alumni Association life member. Remembrance donations may be made to the OSU Foundation.

Keep Us Posted Alumni Association members may submit information to be published as a classnote online and in STATE magazine based on availability of space. Announcements that are incomplete (such as marriage/union and birth announcements without spouse/partner information) or older than a year may not be considered for publication. Clearly print your information and mail to Class Notes, 201 ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center, Stillwater, OK 74078. Information can also be emailed to info@orangeconnection.org or submitted online at orangeconnection.org/update. A L U M N U S /A L U M N A

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Book Corner

Passages

Seal, Jr., Claude, ’49, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Laubhan, Douglas, ’54, Enid, Oklahoma

Stobaugh, Fred, ’49, McAlester, Oklahoma

Reeder, Aurilla, ’54, ’58, Chandler, Oklahoma

Boothe, Wayne, ’50, Cordell, Oklahoma

Shelby, Jerry, ’54, Altus, Oklahoma

Culp, Arthur, ’50, Pauls Valley, Oklahoma

Snyder, Mona, ’54, Piedmont, Oklahoma

DeBoard, Robert, ’50, ’57, ’85, Allen, Texas

Williams, Jr., O.H., ’54, Cordell, Oklahoma

Edmonson, Lewis, ’50, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Black, Delbert, ’55, ’59, ’69, College Station, Texas

Ford, Robert, ’50, ’57, ’85, Ponca City, Oklahoma

Lovejoy, David, ’55, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Schultz, Lee, ’36, Booker, Texas

Jensen, Helen, ’50, Ponca City, Oklahoma

Parker, Jerald, ’55, ’57, ’61, Edmond, Oklahoma

Newman, Betty, ’39, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Patterson, Lyle, ’50, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

Thompson, Donald, ’55, Gallup, New Mexico

Rainwater, Marie, ’39, ’62, Cushing, Oklahoma

Reeves, Red, ’50, Conklin, New York

Vincent, Don, ’55, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Wilson-Arrington, Juanita, ’42, Shawnee, Oklahoma

Reier, Helen, ’50, Marietta, Georgia

Barnett, James, ’56, Norman, Oklahoma

Luthi, Wandalea, ’43, Gage, Oklahoma

Schoenfeldt, Charles, ’50, Claremore, Oklahoma

Crewson, Thomas, ’56, Washington, DC

Malzahn, Ed, ’43, Perry, Oklahoma

Breisch, Bill, ’51, ’56, Sand Springs, Oklahoma

Duckwall, George, ’56, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Moran, Ruth, ’43, Oklahoma City

Day, Bob, ’51, Clinton, Oklahoma

Johnston, Leslie, ’56, Owasso, Oklahoma

Fischer, Martha, ’44, ’48, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Griffeth, June, ’51, Oklahoma City

Jones, Dale, ’56, Rush Springs, Oklahoma

Mason, Donald, ’44, Amarillo, Texas

Kopf, Otto, ’51, Oklahoma City

Jones, Marilyn, ’56, Edmond, Oklahoma

Jackson, Mary, ’47, McAlester, Oklahoma

Griffith, Euphemia, ’52, ’58, Stilwell, Oklahoma

Fields, Jack, ’57, ’59, Corona, California

Parker, Ray, ’47, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Maxwell, Paul, ’52, Denton, Texas

Force, Charles, ’57, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Burba, Virgil, ’48, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Patterson, Wanda, ’52, Gage, Oklahoma

Kimbrell, Leroy, ’57, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Wiehe, Rod R., ’45, Menomonie, Wisconsin

Tolson, Arthur, ’52, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Selby, Bill, ’57, ’58, Brewster, Kansas

Miller, Kenneth, ’48, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tustison, Florence, ’52, ’62, Edmond, Oklahoma

Sloan, Nancy, ’57, Oklahoma City

Myers, Donal, ’48, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Weeks, David, ’52, ’57, ’59, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Acklin, Jack, ’58, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Owen, Allene, ’48, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Byrd, Thomas, ’53, Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas

Huggins, Jack, ’58, Wagoner, Oklahoma

Rader, Don, ’48, Canadian, Texas

Fielden, Crystal, ’53, Edmond, Oklahoma

Alexander, Jerry, ’59, Russellville, Arkansas

Chouteau, James, ’49, St. Louis, Missouri

Griffin, John, ’53, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Barrack, JB, ’59, ’63, ’74, Bogart, Georgia

Ketch, Jr., Chuck, ’49, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Griffith, Sr., Griff, ’53, ’55, Claremore, Oklahoma

Gardner, John, ’59, Bandon, Oregon

Kerr, Kendall, ’49, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Long, Bertanell, ’53, ’67, West Lafayette, Indiana

Hunter, Bill, ’59, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Martin, Sr., David, ’49, ’70, Faxon, Oklahoma

Pemberton, Carolyn, ’53, Oklahoma City

McAfee, Marilynn, ’59, Edmond, Oklahoma

Raukinar, Joseph, ’49, ’63, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Ives, Everett, ’54, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

Pratt, Bobby, ’59, Paris, Texas

The Oklahoma State University Alumni Association has received notice that the following graduates died between October 1, 2015, and February 15, 2016. Their college graduation year(s) and last place of residence are listed in Passages. Families may send biographies for Class Notes In Memoriam to the OSU Alumni Association, STATE Magazine, 201 ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center, Stillwater, OK 74078-7043.

Jennifer Cunningham, ’01

It’s Game Day, Bullet, written by Jennifer Cunningham ’01 and illustrated by Jill Rhoades ’15, is about OSU’s spirit horse. The story follows Bullet from morning to night as he performs his mascot duties. Bullet embodies the Cowboy spirit and western heritage of OSU and is loved by fans young and old. At football games, after the Cowboys kick a point after a touchdown, the announcer yells “Here comes Bullet!” The Spirit Rider comes out of the tunnel and rides Bullet to the 30-yard line. Jennifer and her husband, Ty, are the coordinators for the OSU Spirit Rider program. Jennifer served as the 20002001 and 2006-2007 spirit rider. Bullet resides with the Cunninghams and their three daughters at Stone Ridge Ranch in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A spirit team of OSU students assists with Bullet. To be selected for the team, students must complete an application, interview with the Cunninghams, and a horsemanship contest. The book is available in the University Store and West Endzone in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and in other Oklahoma gift shops including Liv a Little Boutique in Jenks; Yale Drug in Yale; and Sissy’s Place in Guthrie. The book can be ordered online at www. brooxcreative.com.

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Seidle, Jack, ’59, Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Ryan, Sharon, ’67, Frederick, Oklahoma

Dukes, Lisa, ’78, Orlando, Florida

Caughlin, Donald, ’60, Tonkawa, Oklahoma

Wheeler, Valjean, ’67, Sperry, Oklahoma

Fruits, Patricia, ’78, Ponca City, Oklahoma

Elliott, Samuel, ’60, Olathe, Texas

Doyle, David, ’68, Houston, Texas

Kendrick, Patricia, ’78, Lindsay, Oklahoma

Jones, Mavis, ’60, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Glenn, Leonard, ’68, Sapulpa, Oklahoma

Carroll, Teresa, ’79, ’88, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

Frisinger, Roger, ’61, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Jones, Warren, ’68, ’72, ’74, Glasgow, Kentucky

Rock, James, ’80, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Pitts, Linford, ’61, ’66, Stillwater, Oklahoma

O’Donnell, Helen, ’68, Baltimore, Maryland

Davis, Kevin, ’81, Ponca City, Oklahoma

Hayes, Maggie, ’62, ’68, ’76, Oklahoma City

Scott, Grady, ’68, Chickasha, Oklahoma

Wilson, Ronald, ’81, Oklahoma City

Kendrick, Jerry, ’62, ’63, Fairmont, Oklahoma

Cook, Ken, ’69, Lawton, Oklahoma

Wiese, Debbie, ’82, Westlake, Texas

Sailors, Jr., Tom, ’62, Enid, Oklahoma

Wilson, Linda, ’70, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Delametter, Beth, ’83, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Sisler, Jim, ’62, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Cox, Rex, ’71, Bixby, Oklahoma

Wells, Rodney, ’84, ’85, ’86, Apache, Oklahoma

Thomas, Mike, ’62, ’65, ’68, Ninnekah, Oklahoma

Crane, Ruth, ’71, ’72, ’89, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Chockley, Brenda, ’86, Bixby, Oklahoma

Grant, Jerry, ’63, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Grayer, Jim, ’71, Locust Grove, Oklahoma

Edmunds, III, Chip, ’87, Tulsa, Oklahoma

McCoy, James, ’63, ’70, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Pennington, Larry, ’71, ’75, Oklahoma City

Hamann, Dwight, ’87, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Stafford, Bob, ’63, ’64, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Phillips, Buddy, ’71, Jay, Oklahoma

Hyde, Philip, ’87, ’93, Enid, Oklahoma

Wiley, Ivan, ’63, South Haven, Kansas

Reynolds, Ann, ’71, Frisco, Texas

Janney, Jr., Peter, ’89, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Fretz, Jim, ’64, Sapulpa, Oklahoma

Boone, Marijane, ’72, Newkirk, Oklahoma

Murphy, Thad, ’91, May, Oklahoma

Kincaide, Ken, ’64, Yale, Oklahoma

Russell, Ray, ’72, Sand Springs, Oklahoma

Powell, Kent, ’91, ’93, Arapaho, Oklahoma

Reid, Gary, ’64, Edmond, Oklahoma

Verzani, Ketha Pennington, ’72, Las Vegas, Nevada

Smith, Paul, ’91, Houston, Texas

Smith, Bernie, ’64, Woodway, Texas

Brunton, Marilyn, ’73, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Crow, Murray, ’92, Sand Springs, Oklahoma

Blanton, James, ’65, Oklahoma City

Lowry, Jr., Frank, ’73, Sapulpa, Oklahoma

Watkins, Joe, ’95, Depew, Oklahoma

Cornwell, Robert, ’65, Oklahoma City

Steele, Linda, ’73, Cherokee, Oklahoma

Mitchell, Frank, ’96, Norman, Oklahoma

Ellenbrook, Carolyn, ’65, Lawton, Oklahoma

Andrews, Gordon, ’75, ’84, ’91, Manhattan, Kansas

Carpenter, Vicki, ’97, Sperry, Oklahoma

Hopkins, Hal, ’65, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Buller, Lorraine, ’75, ’79, Hydro, Oklahoma

Hubbard, Jr., James, ’98, Richardson, Texas

Hancock, Eugene, ’66, ’67, Orem, Utah

Glover, David, ’75, ’81, Edmond, Oklahoma

Wakley, Bo, ’03, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Walters, Roger, ’66, Olivebridge, New York

Cotton, Susan, ’76, Noel, Missouri

Amundson, Scott, ’04, Los Angeles, California

Blanc, Darlita, ’67, Gallup, New Mexico

Fent, Roger, ’76, ’81, Miami, Oklahoma

Ferrell, Adam, ’06, Leedey, Oklahoma

Horinek, Bob, ’67, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Kestler, Joyce, ’76, ’78, Livington, Texas

Evans, Sherry, ’07, Muskogee, Oklahoma

Hromas, Jim, ’67, ’70, ’82, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Ross, David, ’76, ’79, Oklahoma City

Cason, Buck, ’09, Bixby, Oklahoma

Matthies, Leslie, ’67, ’69, Bixby, Oklahoma

Cottongim, Rodney, ’77, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Moss, Tommy, ’10, Perkins, Oklahoma

Book Corner

Frank Morsani, ’57

Businessman and philanthropist Frank Morsani tells the story of his inspiring journey in his new book, To Be Frank: Building the American Dream in Business and Life. From a Dust Bowl-era home with no electricity in Arkansas to running the family’s Oklahoma farm as a young teen, Morsani developed his own business into one of the top auto dealerships in the country. He was named chairman of the board of the United States Chamber of Commerce, working hand-in-hand with three U.S. presidents as a champion of small business. At 84, Morsani is still hard at work. He and his wife Carol, who also attended OSU, remain deeply involved with various philanthropic endeavors, which include significant contributions to OSU with the Frank and Carol Morsani Center for Ethics and Creative Leadership, gifts to the College of Education and the student dorm named Morsani Hall. Frank and Carol Morsani have received the Henry G. Bennett Award, the university’s highest humanitarian award, and each has been presented with honorary doctorate degrees. They share a love of history and have traveled to more than 120 countries. To Be Frank is available on Amazon.com.

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RECIPE

Eat Like a Rocket Scientist NASA Successful Space Launch Beans Put 6 pounds of dried Great Northern beans in an 18-quart electric cooker.

Add ham and ham bones to beans.

BEANS ARE A ‘GO!’

Add 1/2 shaker of lemon pepper. Add 3 pounds chopped onions.

OSU alumnus brought Okie hospitality to every space launch

Add 2 stalks chopped celery.

Add 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke.

hen NASA astronauts blast off from Florida again, the launch control team that directs their liftoff may celebrate with a traditional crock of beans and cornbread — in honor of Oklahoma State University alumnus Norm Carlson. A 35-year NASA veteran, Norman Moore Carlson died March 1, 2015, at the age of 81. He and his wife, the late Bobbie Ewing of Aline, Oklahoma, lived in Titusville, Florida, where they raised three children. Following service in the U.S. Army from 1954 to 1956, the Enid, Oklahoma, native earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Oklahoma State University in 1960. That same year, he began working at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and helped develop the Saturn launch vehicles that sent Apollo astronauts to the moon. He transferred to Kennedy Space Center in 1964, working on Apollo Skylab and the Apollo-Soyuz Text Project. Carlson was lead launch vehicle test conductor for numerous other missions, among them Apollo 11 — the first lunar landing flight in 1969, the first flights of America’s prototype space

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station, Skylab in 1973, and the ApolloSoyuz Test Project in 1975. From March 1976 through December 1977, Carlson was stationed in California, serving first as NASA test director for Kennedy on the shuttle Columbia, the first orbiter, during factory checkout at Palmdale. He then held the same position on the orbiter Enterprise’s Approach and Landing Tests at the Dryden (now Armstrong) Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California. From 1978 to 1991, Carlson was the NASA test director for Space Shuttle Integrated Test Operations. Carlson performed critical oversight of systems necessary for launch directors to give the final “go” for launch. Bringing his Okie hospitality to the office every day, Carlson treated his team to hearty helpings of beans and cornbread as a reward for a successful launch. Carlson started the tradition with a small Crock-Pot of Great Northern beans for his hungry staff, bringing them down to earth after an exhilarating launch. The call “Beans Are Go!” came to signal that the shuttle had successfully launched, and it was time to relax and unwind. The tradition grew in

Cover with water and cook for 8 to 12 hours. popularity, and Carlson eventually turned the cooking over to Kennedy’s food service contractor. Hundreds of launch team members, managers and dignitaries would swarm the Launch Control Center lobby after each shuttle liftoff, dipping into twelve 18-quart slow cookers brimming with beans. Carlson continued to attend launches after his retirement in 1995. A room where launch team managers ate together was named for his wife, Bobbie, who died in 2007. “Norm also left us his recipe,” says Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana. “I hope it’s a tradition we continue, and we all enjoy Norm’s beans again next time we launch astronauts from U.S. soil.” NASA Chief Test Director Norm Carlson holds up a banner in the firing room after the successful launch of the space shuttle Discovery on September 29, 1988, informing the team that it’s time to eat.

PHOTO / NASA

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Reflections on Student Life By Kent Sampson, Director of Campus Life Emeritus PHOTO / GARY LAWSON

The Student Government Association created Camp Cowboy. The three-day event at Camp Redlands introduces students to campus life and leadership opportunities. rom an initial organization, Sigma Literary Society, in 1893 to one of today’s nearly 500 campus groups, students have always had an opinion to express and a desire to get involved at Oklahoma State University. Having served under seven different OSU presidents and their administrative teams from 1969 to 2015, I have observed that student opinions are valued, ideas heard and often acted upon favorably. In fact, it was such support that led to the creation of a Department of Campus Life in 1997 to coordinate the variety of cultural, educational, leadership, service, social and recreational programs. During six different decades, I have witnessed many challenges, changes and acts of care by students, their organizations and their system of student governance. CHALLENGING TIMES

Perhaps the times most challenging to many students (and others) were the 1970s when national protests and dissent found their way to the OSU campus. If the library lawn could speak, it would have some stories to cite — Vietnam War protests, response to Kent State (Ohio) shootings, battles over university policies regulating freedom of speech, women’s hours, visitation rules, a 10-day black student campus boycott and much more. Stunned students again gathered on these lawns on 9/11 when our nation was attacked by terrorists after only months earlier gathering in Gallagher-Iba with some 13,000 others to remember the 10 who died in a snowy Colorado field as their plane crashed after a basketball game with Colorado University. And

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recently, nearly 2,000 students gathered at the Union Plaza for a memorial candlelight vigil to remember those many individuals and families impacted by the October 24, 2015, homecoming tragedy. Truly OSU students have always shown respect and concern for both local and national issues. Other changes taking place during the 1970s included students electing the first black female Student Government Association president in 1973 (Patrice Latimer) and the Residence Halls Association first female president (Kathy Butler). The Association of Women Students disbanded and the word “chairperson” replaced chairman in student organization use. International student population soared from some 800-plus in the early ’70s to currently 2,000 from 110 different countries. To signify the importance of these students, the International Mall was created north of the library with a peace dove statue dedicated on May 12, 1971. ENROLLMENT GROWTH

The 1970s through 1990s witnessed considerable growth in both enrollment and housing needs. As the on-campus beds grew to nearly 8,000, the vertical high-rise buildings of the 1960s began to be phased out with the renovation of older halls (Bennett and Stout) and the addition of new suite/apartment style units consistent with family demands of the day. The addition of University Commons in 2015 has merged old and new concepts in order to enhance a sense of community. This period also observed growth in the Greek system. Today there are 23

fraternities, 13 sororities, five historically black National Pan-Hellenic Council Inc. groups, and seven multicultural organizations, representing more than 4,000 students. STUDENT GOVERNMENT

As housing demands increased with campus enrollment growth, the Off Campus Student Association opened for business in 1977 with more than 12,000 students represented today. OSU’s SGA observed its 100th anniversary in 2015. Through the years, the group has invested in priorities that students had in mind. Students recommended a ban of tobacco on campus, a move of the course drop date to the 13th week, a “save the library fountain” fund drive and the renovation of the formal gardens. SGA supported a student fee to allow expansion of Gallagher-Iba and later an extension of that fee for construction of the north side of the football stadium, as well as fee increases for major Colvin Center and Student Union expansion. In 1998, SGA also proposed the creation of a program designed to help new students, and Camp Cowboy was born. OSU student leaders have supported earlier traditions, as well as created many new ones, and worked to represent student issues and concerns. Student life has been quite rich, and responsible student leaders have been quick to work with administration to make campus improvements during my 46 years of service to OSU. The new Director of Leadership and Campus Life — John Mark Day — will continue to help students learn, lead, and make a difference on campus and beyond.