Cowboy Way

Ever noticed someone biking on Oklahoma State University’s Stillwater campus with a stethoscope hanging out of their bag? It’s probably Dr. Todd Green, a physician at OSU University Health Services and proud Cowboy alumnus — from further back than you might imagine.

Green, who grew up in Stillwater, attended his first OSU class when he was just a kid. “I moved here with my parents in 1966 and went through the college experience with them,” Green said. “I was occasionally taken to their classes when the babysitter didn’t come through or show up.” Green attended OSU — this time for college credits — beginning his sophomore year and married his wife, Deborah (also an OSU alumna) right before their junior year. Green earned a bachelor’s degree in physiology then went on to medical school. After medical school, he completed a residency in internal medicine. Once those were complete, the couple moved back to Stillwater and he went into private practice. After 18 years, though, it was time for something different, he said.

That was when Steve Rogers, then-UHS director, contacted Green about a job opening.

“Which I was very happy about, and I thought, ‘Boy, that sounds like a great opportunity to do something different and to do it at a place where I really love to be,’” Green said. “So I started here in 2013, and I’ve been here since. It’s been terrific.

“One of the things I’ve enjoyed is living not too far from campus. So I generally ride my bike or walk to work. You get to work and you feel like you just did something kind of enjoyable. When you ride home, you feel like it’s a chance to get rid of some of the stress of the day.”

Green has also enjoyed the continued connection to OSU that working on campus brings, from cocerts at The McKnight Center to athletic events and everything in between.

“I don’t think since we’ve moved back we’ve ever missed a Homecoming parade, and as a kid I never missed the Homecoming parade,” Green said. “We’ve got our place that we always try to park and we get our donuts and that’s something that, you know, the year won’t be right if we don’t go to the Homecoming parade.”

The Greens have three daughters, and the oldest has graduated from OSU as well. That makes her a fifth-generation OSU alumna, he said.

Green enjoys serving on campus and making connections with his patients.

“My wife and I enjoy feeling connected to the students, whether they’re in the band or in a play or on the athletic field,” he said. “Because a lot of them I have seen and taken care of and that’s enjoyable to see them doing those things and knowing a little bit more about the people who are doing them.”