Kaleidoscope
SUMMER 2006
FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Annual Kaleidoscope Evening Celebrates A&S George Henderson Retires
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Kaleidoscope SUMMER 2006
CONTENTS 1
Annual Kaleidoscope Evening Raises Scholarships, Venerates Alumni and Friends
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Emily Shannon Day Receives Carl Albert Award District Judge for the Eastern District of Oklahoma Selected to Judicial Code of Conduct Committee
University of Oklahoma College of Arts and Sciences Ellison Hall, Room 323 633 Elm Ave. Norman, OK 73019-3118 (405) 325-2077
Contributors Staff Writers Von Allen Jerri Culpepper Lacey Gray Angela Startz Darci Tucker
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Stockdale, Fourth Recipient of Kinney-Sugg Award
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Humanities
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Natural Sciences
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Professional Programs
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Social Sciences
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Class Notes
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Retirees
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On the Road With A&S Alumni and Friends
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Staff Photographers Von Allen Angela Startz Darci Tucker
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Graphic Designer Kristi Lasater The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution. This publication, printed by The Ovid Bell Press, Inc., is issued by the University of Oklahoma and authorized by Paul B. Bell Jr., dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. 59,328 copies have been prepared and distributed at a cost of $20,285.85 to the taxpayers of the State of Oklahoma. Š University of Oklahoma.
www.ou.edu/cas
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ON THE COVER: Participants in the Native American Cultural Festival raise a tepee as part of a joint Native American Studies/Norman Public Library exhibition. Photo courtesy of Gary Kramer.
Annual Kaleidoscope Evening Raises Scholarships, Venerates Alumni and Friends by Lacey Gray
$19,600 was raised for scholarships and to support the Leadership Scholars Program, while alumni and friends enjoyed an online auction, silent auction and good food at the College of Arts and Sciences’ 10th annual Kaleidoscope Evening Feb. 24. The event, which was the largest to date, attracted 208 attendees. In addition to being a fund-raising event, Kaleidoscope Evening also provides a venue to bestow the title of Distinguished Alumnus or Alumna on four of the college’s most outstanding alumni, representing each of the four divisions of the college. The award is given in recognition of outstanding professional achievement, public service and commitment to academic excellence. The Distinguished Service Award also is presented during Kaleidoscope Evening and recognizes friends or alumni whose demonstrated service and commitment have significantly contributed to the pursuit of academic excellence at OU and in the college. The 2006 College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumni honorees are George W.
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Counts, M.D., representing the natural sciences; David Hall, S.J.D., representing the professional programs; Clara Sue Kidwell, Ph.D., representing the humanities; and Gary D. Sandefur, Ph.D., representing the social sciences. Jeanne Hoffman Smith and Jon R. Withrow are the recipients of the college’s 2006 Distinguished Service Award. They also received a plaque at Kaleidoscope Evening. Counts, a retired professor of medicine and a native Oklahoman, graduated from OU with a bachelor of science degree in bacteriology in 1957 and master of science degree in bacteriology in 1960 before completing his doctoral degree at the University of Iowa in 1965. In 1985, after training in internal medicine and infectious diseases, Counts became a professor of medicine at the University of Washington. Later, he served at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., and at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. In 2002, he became senior adviser on special populations in the HIV Vaccine Trials Network at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Kidwell, a professor of history and director of Native American Studies at OU, received her bachelor of arts degree in letters in 1962 and her master of arts and doctoral degrees in history of science in 1966 and 1970, all from OU. Before joining the university faculty in 1995, Kidwell held appointments at the Kansas City Art Institute, Haskell Indian Junior College, University of Minnesota, Dartmouth College, University of California-Berkeley and the Smithsonian Institution, where she was associate director of cultural resources (Continued on page 3)
Leadership Scholars Nika Spaulding, Chris Brown, Kyle Alderson, Shannon Macko (left photo) and Ashlan Snyder and Whitney Bunch (above) pass out tickets and programs during the 10th annual Kaleidoscope Evening. Research Center in Seattle, where he retired in 2004. Throughout his career, Counts has received numerous honors and awards, most recently including the 2006 American Society for Microbiology Founders Distinguished Service Award. “A simple ‘thanks’ is not enough to express my deep appreciation for the extraordinary effort that you and your colleagues put forth to assure that I had a satisfying return to the campus,” Counts said. “While we enjoyed it all, my most enjoyable time was the session we had with the students. Hall is a law professor at Northeastern University who specializes in constitutional law and racism, contracts and legal ethics. He received his bachelor of science degree from Kansas State University in 1972, master of arts in human relations and juris doctorate degrees from OU in 1975 and 1978, and his master of laws and doctorate of juridical science degrees from Harvard Law School in 1985 and 1988. Before entering academia as a professor of law at the universities of Mississippi and Oklahoma and serving as associate dean, provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at Northeastern University School of Law, Hall served as an attorney for the Federal Trade Commission’s regional office in Chicago. He lectures nationally and writes on issues of social justice, diversity, affirmative action, and equal justice and educational transformation. In 2003, Hall was appointed by President Bush to serve on the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corp.
2006 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients
Counts
Hall
Kidwell
Sandefur
2006 Distinguished Service Award Recipients
Hoffman Smith
Withrow
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ARTS AND SCIENCES COLLEGE HUMANITIES NATURAL SCIENCES PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS SOCIAL SCIENCES
Annual Kaleidoscope Evening (continued) at the National Museum of the American Indian. After arriving back on the OU campus, Kidwell said she could stand in the hallway of her office on the eighth floor of Board of Visitors members of the Kaleidoscope Committee pull off another successful Dale Hall Tower and look down evening. Shown left to right are Judy Berry, Yves Badaroux, Carolyn Zachritz, on the roof of Sanger House in Craig Adkins, Anne Workman and Barbara Thompson. Cate Center, where her family “dropped her off” during her freshman year. professor in 1984, Sandefur left OU for a position at “It gave me a sense of coming full circle,” the University of Wisconsin, where he has served as Kidwell said. “It was certainly something I would director of the American Indian Studies Program; never have dreamed of when I was a freshman.” chair of the Department of Sociology; provost; Sandefur is dean of the College of Letters and associate vice chancellor and vice chancellor for Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Academic Affairs; and most recently, dean of the has led a distinguished career in academics for nearly College of Letters and Science. 30 years. He received his bachelor of arts degree in Hoffman Smith, the first of two honorees to sociology from OU in 1974, and after completing his receive the 2006 Distinguished Service Award, is an doctoral degree from Stanford University in 1978, Oklahoma City social worker and native Oklahoman returned to OU as an assistant professor in the who grew up in Chandler and graduated from Classen Department of Sociology. High School. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Soon after being promoted to associate psychology from Oklahoma City University and graduate degrees from the University of Louisville, Ky., and the Colorado Center for Psychoanalytic Studies. From 1977 to 1981, Hoffman Smith worked at In addition to honoring the College of the Central Oklahoma Mental Health Center, before Arts and Sciences’ distinguished alumni and going into private practice in clinical social work. While service award winners, Kaleidoscope Evening continuing her practice, she has served on numerous plays an important role in the Leadership boards, including the Mental Health Association of Oklahoma County, Oklahoma State Film Commission, Scholars Program. Proceeds from the evening World Literature Today, Presbyterian Health Foundation help provide scholarships to students and Grants Committee and the Inasmuch Foundation. funds to administer the program. Along with giving of her time, Hoffman Smith After expenses, the 2006 Kaleidoscope has contributed generously to the college by funding an endowment for the film program and establishing Evening generated nearly $20,000, a new the biennial $40,000 Creativity in Motion Thatcher record. These funds were the result of ticket Hoffman Smith prize, which rewards individuals in the sales; the online-only, the “buy now” and process of developing creative ideas. Kaleidoscope Evening auctions; and outright Withrow, the final honoree of the evening and second Distinguished Service Award recipient, also is gifts from alumni and friends. a native Oklahoman who graduated from Seminole Thanks to everyone who helped make High School and is the owner of Sundance Oil Co. in the 2006 Kaleidoscope Evening the most Oklahoma City. productive ever! Withrow attended OU, earning his bachelor of
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Board of Visitors Tightens Focus by Dan Evatt To do something well, you must be focused, and focus is a key element for the College of Arts and Sciences Board of Visitors this year as it concentrates on two key areas: Student Development and Development and Outreach. In the area of Student Development, we want to establish closer ties between the board members and the Leadership Scholar students. We are establishing an online directory to allow both groups to find one another easier and encourage interaction. We are now matching students and board members based on mutual interests, and encouraging those relationships to be multi-year, to enable them to mature and deepen. As the fund-raising arm of the college, our board’s commitment to Development and Outreach is best exemplified by our goal of raising $1.5 million for scholarships by our February 2007 board meeting. This date coincides with the centennial of Oklahoma, and we are calling these our Second Century Scholarships. To date, we have raised about $600,000 in money and pledges, primarily from members of the board. Going forward, we will be meeting with businesses and foundations as well as other individuals to speak with them about helping us reach our goal. There is nothing we can do as a board to better ensure Oklahoma’s future than to raise scholarship monies that allow outstanding Board of Visitors Chair Dan Evatt with daughters Amanda, students continued access to higher education. left, and Katie, right. Amanda is a senior at OU majoring in zoology and Katie is a sophomore at OU.
science degree in petroleum engineering in 1954 and his master of science degree in geological engineering in 1963. Before establishing Sundance Oil in 1968, Withrow worked with Humble Oil Co., Montgomery Oil Co. and Sarkeys Inc. Over the years, Withrow has been an active contributor to the college. In 1999, he funded a scholarship endowment that established the Jon R. Withrow Arts and Sciences Scholarship. This scholarship, given annually to up to five undergraduate students, provides a minimum of $1,200 in funding for the academic year. Upon completion of Kaleidoscope Evening, a number of individuals provided comments of support for the event, including Board of Visitor member Sandy Kinney. “Kaleidoscope Evening was terrific,” Kinney said. “Thank you to all the folks at A&S for making it so much fun and so profitable for the students.”
Kaleidoscope Evening Supports Leadership Scholars Kaleidoscope Evening, an annual fund-raising event sponsored by the Friends Of the College of Arts and Sciences (FOCAS), was created by the college’s first Board of Visitors in an effort to raise scholarship money for the Leadership Scholars Program. The Leadership Scholars Program recognizes and supports the college’s top undergraduate students. However, support goes beyond financial assistance. Through the program, students are provided with mentors, internships and other personal, professional and educational assistance. If you would like to make a scholarship contribution to the program or the college, contact Von Allen at (405) 325-3724 or vonallen@ou.edu.
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ARTS AND SCIENCES COLLEGE HUMANITIES NATURAL SCIENCES PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS SOCIAL SCIENCES
Emily Shannon Day Receives Carl Albert Award by Jerri Culpepper
mily Shannon Day, a senior majoring in physics with a minor in mathematics, is the recipient of the 2006 Carl Albert Award, presented each year to the outstanding senior in the college. Day, who graduated summa cum laude this May with a 4.0 GPA, was presented the $2,500 Carl Albert Award at a public reception April 11 in the Sandy Bell Gallery of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. While at OU, Day has received numerous honors and awards, including Regents’ Scholar, Conoco Scholarship, Department of Physics and Astronomy’s Award for Meritorious Scholarship, Homer L. Dodge Award for Outstanding Scholarship, Duane E. Roller Award for Outstanding Scholarship and Big Woman on Campus. Also, she received an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program grant, participated in Oklahoma Research Day, was vice president of community service for the national Society of Collegiate Scholars, and was listed as a co-author on a paper published in the International Journal of Nanomedicine. Day worked with Lloyd Bumm, professor in the Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, studying the synthesis and characterization of flat silver and gold nanoparticles. She also worked as a research assistant at the Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology at Rice University during the summers of 2004 and 2005.
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During her time at OU, Day has been active in Alpha Phi Omega national service fraternity; Alpha Lambda Delta; Gamma Beta Phi; Golden Key honor society; Mortar Board; the National Society of Collegiate Scholars; and Society of Physics Students. Citing her father, a physicist, as the first person to instill in her an interest in science, she said it was not until high school that she realized her full passion for science. Francis Nine, her math and physics teacher, was passionate about science, and this led to Day’s decision to pursue physics in college. After earning her doctorate, Day plans to teach at the university/college level, where she can impart the love of science to her students and conduct research at the interface of physics and biology with the aim of developing novel technologies that allow for investigation of biological systems and the treatment of diseases, including cancer. She is particularly interested in biophysics and the medical applications of nanotechnology. The award, the most prestigious given to a student by the college, is based on academics, moral force of character and promise of future service to the state and nation. First presented in 1966, the award was established to honor Carl Albert, OU alumnus and former U.S. Speaker of the House, for his distinguished undergraduate career and national service. Julian Rothbaum, former state regent and longtime friend of Albert, endowed the award in 1965.
District Judge for the Eastern District of Oklahoma Selected to Judicial Code of Conduct Committee In 2003, Ronald A. White, BA ‘83, was confirmed as the U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. This year, he was selected to serve on the Judicial Code of Conduct Committee by the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist. The Judicial Code of Conduct Committee is responsible for answering inquiries by other judges on the topic of ethics, either formally or informally. White graduated Phi Beta Kappa from OU in 1983 with a degree in letters, after which he attended the OU College of Law, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif Honor Society. He moved to Tulsa, where he worked for 17 years before his appointment to the federal government. Ronald A. White
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Stockdale, Fourth Recipient of Kinney-Sugg Award by Lacey Gray The fourth recipient of the college’s Kinney-Sugg Outstanding Professor Award was announced last October during the fall faculty meeting. Melissa K. Stockdale, associate professor and coordinator of Russian and East European Studies in the Department of History, was stunned when Dean Paul B. Bell, carrying a bundle of helium-filled balloons, interrupted her class earlier in the day to make the announcement that she was the recipient for 2005. “The award came as a complete surprise, and I was very honored to be selected,” said Stockdale. “I love both teaching and scholarship and have always enjoyed sharing the excitement of scholarly discovery with my students.” Robert Griswold, chair of the Melissa Stockdale, center, receives her plaque from award founders Department of History, said, “Melissa is an Mike Sugg and Sandy Kinney. international authority on the history of Russian liberalism and is an outstanding, “She is a superb, world-class scholar and award-winning teacher who inspires students to think teacher,” wrote one member of the selection committee. deeply about a land that is utterly foreign to most of Ed Sankowski, associate dean of the college them. She has worked tirelessly in many ways to and committee coordinator, said Stockdale is a improve the history department, the college and the top-notch scholar who has contributed an enormous university.” amount to the college and university, has a deep The committee that chooses the Kinney-Sugg concern for her students and is well respected within award recipient includes one alumnus of the college the scholarly community. and one faculty member from each of the four Stockdale received both her doctoral degree in divisions of the college – humanities, natural history and master of arts degree in Soviet Area sciences, professional programs and social sciences. Studies from Harvard after completing her bachelor Stockdale was chosen from a group of 11 nominees of arts degree in history from the University of Tulsa. to receive this prestigious award. She has taught at OU for the past 16 years and is working on a book, “A Hard Country to Love: Patriotism and National Identity in Russia’s Great War, 1914-1918.” The Kinney-Sugg award, established in 2002 by OU alumna Sandy Kinney (’69) and her husband, Mike Sugg, is given each year by the college in recognition of outstanding professors. Past recipients of the award include Dan Glatzhofer, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry; Harold Grasmick, professor of sociology; and John Cowan, professor of physics and astronomy. Dean Bell surprises Stockdale in her class with the announcement of her award and a balloon bouquet.
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ARTS AND SCIENCES COLLEGE HUMANITIES NATURAL SCIENCES PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS SOCIAL SCIENCES
Japanese Scientist Returns as Professor-for-a-Day
The intent of the Dr. T.W. Adams Distinguished Alumni Lecture Program is to bring accomplished graduates back to campus to interact with current students in A&S. While there have been a number of speakers in the program since it was implemented in 2004, Jun Fudano takes the prize thus far for distance traveled to return to the campus. Holding two advanced degrees from OU in the history of science, a master’s in 1987 and a doctorate in 1990, Fudano currently teaches history of science and technology and engineering and science ethics at the Kanazawa Institute of Technology in his native Japan. While visiting the United States, he returned to campus March 24 to speak during the History of Science Colloquium. Additionally, he met with students studying Jun Fudano; Pat Cross, Department of Mathematics; and Ken Japanese in the Department of Modern Languages, Taylor, History of Science, mingle at a cookout during Fudano's Literatures and Linguistics. return to campus. Fudano’s recent publications and lectures concentrate on ethical issues in engineering practice editor in chief of the official journal for the “Japanese and engineering education, a field in which he has Society for Science and Technology Studies.” become an international leader. He currently serves T.W. Adams earned two advanced degrees from on the Committee on the Code of Conduct for the College of Arts and Sciences and endowed the Scientists, which is charged with drafting a new code program that carries his name. Retired after a career for the entire Japanese research community through in international business and government affairs, he the Science Council of Japan. He also serves as resides in Washington, D.C.
Chinese Language Study in China This summer, students who are Chinese language or East Asia studies majors will spend two months in the southwestern part of China studying the Chinese language. Students selected will attend Yunnan Normal University in Kunming during June and July. They will live with a faculty family and have a native Chinese speaker as a learning partner. For more information, visit http://modlang.ou.edu/.
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KUDOS TSI Longmire Prize Awarded To Grady Wray Grady Wray, assistant professor of Spanish in the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Linguistics, received the Longmire Prize, presented at the 2006 Teaching Scholars Initiative Colloquium in January. The Longmire Prize is named for the late William and Jane Longmire, who created a fund through their estates to improve teaching at OU. Recipients are given a monetary award and a personal plaque. Wray has taught at OU for six years, where he has touched the lives of many students and instructors. In addition to teaching language classes, he also is responsible for teaching a graduate seminar on the pedagogy of teaching foreign languages and the required class for all incoming teaching assistants in his department.
Dean Bell presents a check to a surprised Grady Wray at the 2006 Teaching Scholars Initiative Colloquium.
Researcher Discusses Unethical Study on Human Subjects It is hard to imagine medical professionals using individuals as guinea pigs for research without their knowledge, all with governmental consent. However, this happened more than 65 years ago, when the U.S. Public Health Service began recruiting rural Alabamans for a study on how syphilis progressed in black men. Although it was determined these men were infected with syphilis, they were not treated for the disease. The so-called Tuskegee experiment, when divulged to the general public in 1972, sparked debate concerning ethical use of human beings in clinical experiments, ultimately leading to new government guidelines. These issues were discussed as part of a Presidential Dream Course offered through Kathleen Crowther-Heyck, assistant professor in the History of Science Department. “The Legacy of the United States Public Health Syphilis Study at Tuskegee” was led by Vanessa Gamble, director of the Tuskegee University National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care, where interdisciplinary instruction, research and community outreach initiatives address ethical issues impacting the health and well-being of people of color and other minority populations.
Humanities Faculty: Hugh Benson, chair of the Department of Philosophy, was awarded an honorary commendation by the Olympic Center for Philosophy and Culture for his continuous contribution to the study and exercise of philosophical thought at the center’s 16th International Symposium in Pyrgos, Greece, where he led a seminar on the Socratic method. Barbara Boyd, director of outreach for the Religious Studies Program and visiting associate professor, was presented with the Award for Peace and Education by the Institute for Interfaith Dialogue, a widely respected international organization based in Turkey. Reinaldo Elugardo published an anthology, “Ellipsis and Nonsentential Speech,” as part of Springer’s highly respected “Studies in Linguistics and Philosophy” series. The book is a major contribution to the understanding of ellipsis in natural language, which is a central topic in syntactic theory. It also is unique in that it applies advanced work in theoretical linguistics to traditional philosophical questions about linguistic meaning and speaker meaning. J. Rufus Fears, David Ross Boyd Professor of Classics and G.T. and Libby Blankenship Chair in the History of Liberty, is the recipient of the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence Medal of Excellence. Allen Hertzke, director of the Religious Studies Program and professor of political science, published a co-edited book titled “Representing God at the Statehouse: Religion and Politics in the American States.” F. Jamil Ragep, professor and acting chair of the History of Science Department, presented the George Sarton Lecture at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in St. Louis. His lecture was titled “What Can the History of Islamic Science Teach Us About Science?” Shmuel Shpkaru, associate professor of Judaic studies and history, recently published “Jewish Martyrs in the Pagan and Christian Worlds” through Cambridge University Press. Zev Trachtenberg, associate professor of philosophy, co-edited and contributed to the book “Swimming Upstream,” which is the subject of a special panel at the American Water Resources Association, the leading organization for professionals in government, industry and the academy concerned with water management.
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ARTS AND SCIENCES COLLEGE HUMANITIES NATURAL SCIENCES PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS SOCIAL SCIENCES
Department of Physics and Astronomy Receives $6 Million Gift and Name Change by Von Allen
omer L. Dodge was an influential man during his lengthy career as chair of the University of Oklahoma’s Physics Department. During his tenure from 1919 to 1944, he helped create one of the nation’s first engineering physics program; identified the funds to construct a building for the department; helped launch national professional organizations for scientists and physics teachers; and served as graduate dean. He was the father of the OU Research Institute, an auxiliary branch of OU that helped university scientists apply their research to governmental and industrial needs. Now more than 60 years after he left OU to serve in the federal government’s World War II scientific efforts, Dodge’s influence is as profound as the day he walked on campus and discovered he was the only physics teacher in the department he was named to lead at the young age of 31. In October 2005, the OU Board of Regents voted to honor Dodge’s service to the department and university by naming the department the Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy. In addition to announcing the department’s name change, Provost Nancy Mergler announced the department is the recipient of a historic $6 million gift from the Avenir Foundation. Established by descendents of Homer Dodge, the Avenir Foundation’s gift – the largest to any program in the College of Arts and Sciences – will support students and faculty as well as improve the facilities in Nielsen Hall, home of the department’s classrooms, laboratories and faculty offices. “Naming the department after Homer Dodge and the announcement of the Avenir Foundation gift links our past to the future,” OU President David L. Boren stated. “We are grateful that the Avenir Foundation, which means ‘future’ in French, has invested so significantly in one of our strongest research and teaching departments. The gift certainly ensures that this department’s future is bright.” Dodge’s children, Alice Dodge Wallace and Norton T. Dodge, attended the ceremony announcing
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Alice Dodge Wallace and Norton T. Dodge pose next to their father's portrait that now hangs in Nielsen Hall. the departmental name change and gift. In brief comments during the ceremony, Wallace, who graduated from OU with a degree in French, said she thought her late father would be proud of the department’s accomplishments, and that the Avenir Foundation’s gift would help ensure the department remains one of the leading programs in the nation. “My father was a remarkable man,” added Norton Dodge. “He had such broad interests. He was very proud of the department and the research institute he founded here. He also was a father who always had time for his children. He was a great dad.” Students and faculty will benefit from the Avenir Foundation gift for generations to come. Three endowed research chairs in astrophysics, high-energy physics and atomic, molecular and chemical physics will be funded with $1 million each. Homer L. Dodge during his tenure as chair of the Physics Department. Photo courtesy of American Institute of Physics.
KUDOS Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy Chair Ryan Doezema addresses Norton T. Dodge and Alice Dodge Wallace during a ceremony announcing a historic $6 million gift from the Avenir Foundation. Photo courtesy of Robert Taylor.
An additional $2 million of the gift will help fund Phase III renovations to Nielsen Hall. The final $1 million will create a student support fund, most of which is to create significant graduate student fellowships. When the Oklahoma Regents for
Higher Education match the $3 million for the chairs and the university matches the $2 million for Nielsen Hall renovations, the total value of the gift will reach $11 million. During the naming ceremony, College of Arts and
Natural Sciences Faculty: Ola Fincke, professor of zoology, recently was cited in an article on dragonflies in National Geographic Magazine. Fincke’s area of research is the evolution of reproductive behavior in damselflies. Dave Hambright, assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma Biological Station and in the Department of Zoology, recently had one of the texts he edited published. “Water in the Middle East, Cooperation and Technological Solutions in the Jordan Valley” examines the significance of water in Middle East conflicts from a variety of perspectives.
Sciences Dean Paul B. Bell Jr. indicated that the gift to the department is “transforming.” Department chair Ryan Doezema pledged that the faculty and students in the department will work to ensure that they are worthy of their namesake.
$690,000 Funding May Lead To Pollution-Free Motor Vehicles How would you like to drive a pollution-free automobile by the year 2020? Due in part to research being conducted by a University of Oklahoma professor, this is a very real possibility. Lee Krumholz, professor in the Department of Botany and Microbiology and research associate for Sarkeys Energy Center’s Institute for Energy and the Environment, was awarded a $690,000 research grant last summer from the U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen Program. The program, developed through President Bush’s $1.2 billion Hydrogen Fuel Initiative, gives researchers the funds to identify and understand mechanisms of hydrogen gas production, with the hope that hydrogen gas will power pollution-free motor vehicles by the year 2020. “I have been interested in understanding the basic mechanisms of hydrogen production for a number of years,” said Krumholz. “When this opportunity came up to understand the fundamental mechanisms of the process with the ultimate goal of developing more
efficient means of producing hydrogen for use as a fuel, I was happy to submit a proposal.” With a sulfate-reducing bacterium, Krumholz uses a mutagenesis technique developed in his laboratory to identify genes utilized in hydrogen production. Collaborators of the research project include OU botany and microbiology professors Michael McInerney and Tyrrell Conway, and biochemistry professor at the University of Missouri, Judy Wall, who received $130,000 of the award as a subcontract. Krumholz received his bachelor of science degree in 1982 from the University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, and his master of science and doctoral degrees from the University of Illinois in 1985 and 1988. During the past 11 years, Krumholz has co-authored more than 20 research articles and was involved in establishing the Zodletone Spring Microbial Observatory, a National Science Foundation-supported observatory at Zodletone Mountain of western Oklahoma, where microbial populations in the spring are being studied.
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ARTS AND SCIENCES COLLEGE HUMANITIES NATURAL SCIENCES PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS SOCIAL SCIENCES
Hawamdeh Speaks at U.N. Summit by Lacey Gray
uliman Hawamdeh, a program coordinator for the master of science in knowledge management at OU-Tulsa and professor in the School of Library and Information Studies, delivered a keynote discussion at the second phase of the World Summit on Information Society in Tunis, Tunisia, last November. “The conference gave me a golden opportunity to promote the University of Oklahoma as one of the leading entities in knowledge management,” Hawamdeh said. Hawamdeh was invited to talk at the conference in recognition of his work on the role of information and communication technologies and national information infrastructure initiatives in e-government and economic development. WSIS is a formal U.N. Summit at the level of heads of state and government, further endorsed by the U.N. General Assembly. The second phase of the summit, which was held in November 2005, focused on control of the Internet and bridging the technological gap between richer and poorer nations, also referred to as the “digital divide.”
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Suliman Hawamdeh, professor of library and information studies, enjoys the sights while attending the World Summit on Information Society in Tunisia. This is Hawamdeh's second journey to the country.
Seamless Transition Program Now Available at OU-Tulsa Students in the Tulsa area now have a new degree program allowing them to complete hours at Tulsa Community College and then transfer them seamlessly to receive a baccalaureate degree in the College of Arts and Sciences at OU-Tulsa. Articulation agreements between Tulsa Community College and OU provide for an effortless transition toward a four-year degree in human relations. Tulsa Community College students can complete general education requirements for the bachelor’s degree while completing core courses within the Human Relations program, which complement upper-division coursework within the major field at OU. For more information, contact the Human Relations program at (405) 325-1756.
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KUDOS Professional Programs:
A MESSAGE FROM
Laurette Taylor
I am delighted to have the opportunity to introduce the alumni and friends of the college to the Department of Health and Exercise Science, one of four units in the Division of Professional Programs. We have an energetic faculty that is dedicated to providing quality education and conducting Taylor meaningful research in the areas of health promotion and exercise physiology. Our strength as educators lies in our interdisciplinary approach to professional preparation in the scientific, socio-behavioral and educational principles of our fields. Many of our students aspire to help others live healthier lives, whether as medical/allied health practitioners or as health/exercise scientists. They work with diverse groups to improve health, prevent disease and enhance physiologic/physical performance and function. Our strength as researchers lies in the direct applicability of our research for improvement of the quality of life of others by studying such real-world health problems as osteoporosis, aging and prevention of chronic disease.
Henderson Retires After 39 Years at OU After nearly four decades of service to the university and college, George Henderson, professor in the Department of Human Relations, is retiring. Henderson came to OU in 1967 and was the third AfricanAmerican appointed to a full-time faculty position. As a professor, civil rights scholar and lecturer, Henderson has led a distinguished career, authoring more than 30 books and 50 articles in his areas of interest. He has attained many notable achievements, including four distinguished professorships and 50 university and community awards and honors. In 2003, Henderson was inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. “I will miss being able to reach individuals who will be community leaders and will shape my future and the future of others,” Henderson said about his retirement. “I exist outside the classroom. I live inside of it.” After retiring, Henderson plans to do consulting and writing for other human relations professionals.
Janette Habashi, assistant professor in Human Relations, along with Mary John O’Hair, Mark Nanny, Hazem Refai and Randa Shehab, received a National Science Foundation grant to conduct a six-week summer study program for area high school teachers. These secondary school educators will work in conjunction with OU engineering faculty to conduct research in several engineering areas (industrial, environmental, electrical). At the conclusion, Habashi and O’Hair will assist the participants in translating the experience into the classroom and evaluating the addition to their curriculum. Janette Habashi also received a Child on the Wing Rockefeller Foundation Resident Fellowship in the Humanities and the Study of Culture Program at Johns Hopkins University. Hers was one of six fellowships awarded; she will travel to the conference in October. Suliman Hawamdeh, professor in the School of Library and Information Studies, chaired the Second International Conference on Knowledge Management in Charlotte, N.C., in October.
Seminar Discusses Social, Academic Issues Facing Teens Educators interested in learning about social and academic issues facing today’s adolescents attended a one-day seminar last October on “Emotionally Intelligent School Districts,” sponsored by the University of Oklahoma – Tulsa’s Applied Research Center. Recent scientific data on emotional literacy implementation in schools were discussed. Seminar speakers included Charles J. Wolfe, co-developer of the Mayer Salovey Model of Emotional Intelligence; Marc A. Brackett, associate director of the Health, Emotions and Behavioral Laboratory at Yale University; and Bruce E. Alster, emotional intelligence project leader for the implementation of emotional literacy in Valley Stream, N.Y.
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ARTS AND SCIENCES COLLEGE HUMANITIES NATURAL SCIENCES PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS SOCIAL SCIENCES
Distinguished Lecture Series Welcomes Three Renowned Visitors to Campus By Angela Startz
This year’s FOCAS Distinguished Lecture series brought three well-known figures to campus to give presentations on literature, folk culture and African dance. The first lecture featured Simon Ortiz, known for his American Indian poetry, which gives voice to American Indians through literature. His presentation, “Indigenous Land, Culture and Community,” was held Nov. 10. Simon read from his published poetry and from new work, including a new long poem. He also sang a song in response to songs presented by Sigma Nu Alpha Gamma, a Native American fraternity, who performed at the beginning of the event. Ortiz has read his work in settings as diverse as the White House, tribal colleges and reservation elementary school classrooms. Paul Vanderwood, the second FOCAS Distinguished Lecturer to visit campus, is an emeritus professor in Mexican history at San Diego State University. He offered a look at the events that motivated a rise in devotion to Juan Soldado, a Mexican folk saint who was, in reality, a 24-year-old soldier convicted and executed for the rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl in Tijuana in 1938. World-renowned dancer and choreographer Charles “Chuck” Davis was the last lecturer to visit OU. Davis offered two dance classes in March, co-sponsored with the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts School of Dance. Davis, founder and director of the Chuck Davis Dance Company, brought several members of the African-American Dance Ensemble to campus for an invigorating day of drums and movement in the dance studios on campus. This series is funded through the generous contributions of the Friends Of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Barbara B. and William G. Paul Enrichment Fund and James H. and JoAnn H. Holden Enrichment Fund. For future lectures, visit the college Web site at www.ou.edu/cas.
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Visiting lecturer Chuck Davis leads an African dance class in a warm-up routine. George Henderson and Jeanette Davidson, welcome Davis to campus at a luncheon in his honor.
New Master’s Degree May Save Native Languages The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education recently approved OU’s request to offer a master’s degree in applied linguistic anthropology. The program, expected to be available in the fall of 2007, will give students the opportunity to research endangered languages and understand the importance of keeping them alive. “This program will train a new generation of scholars to continue the documentation of these languages, especially native languages in our own backyard,” Chancellor Paul G. Risser said. “Oklahoma’s American Indian heritage is a state treasure and we must do whatever we can to preserve it.” OU is the first university in the state to offer such a program. Currently, students in the college also can learn Cherokee, Cheyenne, Choctaw, Creek and Kiowa. According to Morris Foster, acting chair of the Department of Anthropology, a total of 462 students enrolled in these native languages during the 2005-2006 academic year.
KUDOS Native American Studies and Norman Community Partner in Celebration Last November, Norman community organizations and the Native American Studies Program partnered together to celebrate Native American Indian Heritage Month. The Native American Studies Program hosted its third annual Native Fest on Nov. 12. As part of the partnership, the inaugural Native American Cultural Festival, sponsored by the Norman Public Library, Pioneer Library System, Norman Public Schools, Jacobson House and Native American members of the Norman community, was held on Nov. 13.
Jerry Bread, outreach coordinator for Native American Studies at OU, said he was pleased the program could be a part of developing the community. According to Gary Kramer, public information officer for the Pioneer Library System, the Native American Festival was a very spiritual event. “The stories, dances, artwork, tepee and ritual blessing of more than 40 Native American educators from the Norman Public Schools created an atmosphere of solemnity and celebration,” Kramer said. “It was a very moving and meaningful experience.”
OU's Society of Native American Gentlemen leads a drum song at the inaugural Native American Cultural Festival. Photos courtesy of Gary Kramer.
Social Sciences Faculty: Loretta Fowler, professor of anthropology, was elected president of the American Society for Ethnohistory for 2005-2006. The society is one of the premier professional associations for anthropologists and historians who explore the history of North and South America.
Activities included a Native American blues band, storytelling and readings, Native American books and curriculum exhibits, arts and crafts displays, language presentations and a drum performance by the OU Society of Native Gentlemen.
A traditional tepee was one of the many hands-on exhibits at the Norman Public Library.
Women’s Studies Program Celebrates International Women’s Day The Women’s Studies program celebrated International Women’s Day with several booths in Dale Hall on March 8. Participants included the Women’s Outreach Center, N.E.W. Leadership Project, Carl Albert Congressional and Research Studies Center, Women’s Resource Center, Episcopal Women’s History Project and World Neighbor’s Work of Women. Crafts produced by women in Africa, Asian and Latin America were on sale during that time.
Sarah Crichley, Betty Harris, director of Women's Studies, and Stephanie Komardley, left to right, at the many displays at International Women's Day.
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ARTS AND SCIENCES COLLEGE HUMANITIES NATURAL SCIENCES PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS SOCIAL SCIENCES
CLASS NOTES
1930s Mary Bashara Norris, ’36 BS Physical Education, lettered on the women’s rifle team before graduating and moving to California, where she taught for 32 years and retired from the San Lorenzo School District. She has fond memories of working for Dr. Ellison’s family while he was the physician at OU. “I’m happy to see the Arts and Sciences’ office in the Ellison Building,” she writes.
1940s Charlyce R. King, ’43 BS, ’49 MS, ’57 EdD, retired from OU in 1985 and recently was honored by her students with a campus bench bearing her name placed in the sitting area surrounding the Class of 1935 fountain near Oklahoma Memorial Union. She was given the “OU Sooner Salute” at the OU vs. Oregon football game in 2004. Jack Slater, ’49 BS Chemistry, retired as the director of research for the agricultural chemical division of Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corp. He now serves as the president of Slater and Associates Inc., which serves as consultants to solving quality and production problems in several foreign and domestic chemical industries.
1950s Jack B. Austerman, ’50 BS Zoological Sciences, retired from the OU Health Sciences Center in August 2005 and was named clinical professor emeritus in the College of Dentistry.
1960s William C. McGrew, ’65 BS Zoology, was elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in October 2005. James L. Owens, ’69 BS Chemistry, ’77 PhD, retired from the Naval Reserves as a commander after 28
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years of service. Currently he is a lab manager at Flint Hills Resources and is responsible for the plant’s ISO 9001 Quality Management System. Owens credits his graduate experience with Glenn Dryhurst, chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, as a major factor in his success in the chemical and petrochemical industry. Duane W. Roller, ’66 BA Letters, ’68 MA Latin, is a professor of Greek and Latin at Ohio State University. He recently published his seventh book, titled “Scholarly Kings.” His eighth book, “Beyond the Pillars of Herakles,” will be published in London this fall. Robert L. Talley, ’69 BA Pre-Dental, DDS, has been named president of the American Academy of Craniofacial Pain for the second time and will assume his duties in July. His practice is limited to conservative treatment of head, neck and facial pain, temporomandibular disorders and sleep disorders. Also, he recently was named as a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine, one of 110 dentists across the country and the only dentist in the state of Oklahoma to receive this certification. Joanne L. Thompson, ’61 BA History, retired from the San Diego City Schools and now is teaching in the gifted credentialing program for the University of California, San Diego Extension. She enjoys helping teachers hone their skills. She also volunteers as a tutor in reading at the ItalianAmerican Community Center for mostly Hispanic elementary students.
1970s Jeffrey Arnoldi, ’74 BS Chemistry, works at ConocoPhillips as an adviser to Lukoil, based in Moscow, where he and wife Kerry now live. ConocoPhillips has a strategic alliance with Lukoil, and several U.S. citizens now are located in Moscow. The Arnoldi family enjoys living in Russia and learning more about its people.
John Aulick, ’79 BS Psychology and Pre-Dental, and wife Joan Aulick, ’79 Nursing, live in Highland Haven, Texas, where John has his dental practice. Son John is a senior and recently won a national competition in wakeboarding in Bakersfield, Calif. He competed in the men’s advanced division of the International Novice Tour, placing first out of 17. He was a member of Team Texas. Elaine Green, ’71 BS Psychology, EdD, serves as the director of a supplemental education program designed to help local under-represented youth become the first in their family to go to college. The program recruits students in the seventh grade and offers free tutoring and educational enrichment activities throughout high school. She lives in Salem, Ore., and enjoys fishing and hiking around her yurt in central Oregon. Ronald Ross King, ’71 BS Education, ’76 MA Human Relations, recently retired from Oklahoma City Public Schools after 30 years as a special education teacher. He was active in the American Federation of Teachers and received the 2004-2005 Jane Orer Award for Outstanding AFT Building Representative. King is grateful to George Henderson, professor of human relations, for helping him to prepare for his career in the urban inner-city school environment. Dean W. Woodard, ’77 BA Political Science, ’93 MLS, currently is the director of aviation industries for the U.S. Department of Commerce. He is leading the team for resolution of the Boeing/Airbus trade dispute before the World Trade Organization. Woodward directs a staff of international trade specialists and economists that shape economic policy in the United States.
1980s Stephen Flynn, ’87 BA Economics, works as a compliance officer with First United Bank and Trust. After graduating from OU, he joined a federal banking regulatory agency and traveled for 14 years throughout the
south and east coasts. He joined the privately owned community bank four years ago. Elizabeth Garrett, ’85 BA History, recently gave a lecture titled “The Promise and Perils of Hybrid Democracy” for the Henry Lecture Series at OU’s College of Law. She currently is the Sydney M. Irmas Professor of Public Interest Law, Legal Ethics, Political Science and Public Policy and the vice provost for academic affairs at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. Larry D. Griffin, ’89 MA English, ’89 PhD, presented his paper, “Orality in Walt Whitman’s First ‘Song of Myself,” at the International Celebrating Whitman Conference in July, hosted by the University of Paris 7 - Denis Diderot, Paris. He also read his poetry at Shakespeare and Company and at the Paris American Academy during that visit. Griffin also presented his work at the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Okemah, Okla.; at the Missouri State Poetry Society Annual Conference at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo.; and at the Austin History Center in Texas. Griffin is the vice president for academic affairs at Three Rivers Community College and has published numerous works, including The Blue Water Tower, Larry D. Griffin Greatest Hits and The Jane Poems. GariAnn Rollins-Jacobs, ’85 Communication, completed her MEd at OU in instructional leadership and academic curriculum as a reading specialist and is employed at Jefferson Elementary in Norman as a language arts resource specialist. Larry Stein, ’80 Journalism and Mass Communication, works in the Oklahoma County Assessor’s Office. He published a story in the September issue of “Fair and Equitable,” published by the International Association of Assessing Officers, titled “Disaster USA: A Perspective on the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.” In the article,
Stein cited how Oklahoma assessors responded to similar issues following the tornado in May 3,1999, using geographic information systems and other technologies to ease efforts in helping citizens resolve insurance issues for property damage.
Michelle Tilley Johnson, ’99 BA Political Science, ’02 JD, and husband Rob Johnson, ’99 JD, welcomed their first child, a daughter, to their family in December. Proud grandmother is Lynn Tilley, ’02 MA Library and Information Studies.
1990s
John Martin, ’94 MA Health and Sports Sciences, Sports Management, has served for the past three years as the assistant athletic director at Coastal Carolina University. Prior to his position there, he served in media relations during the 1993, 1994 and 1995 U.S. Olympic Festivals; director of basketball operations for the Oklahoma City Cavalry; assistant sports information director at the University of Detroit Mercy; and assistant sports information director at Eastern Michigan University. He and wife Lyndsey and their son, Cameron, live in Conway, S.C.
Alexis Carter-Black, ’95 BA Political Science, is the coordinator of grants and contracts at Oklahoma City Community College. She recently published the book, “Getting Grants: The Complete Manual of Proposal Development and Administration,” available through the Self-Counsel Press. Jennifer Allen Gresham, ’95 MS Biochemistry, works full time as a scientist with the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Her book of poetry, titled “Diary of a Cell,” won the 2004 Steel Toe Books Poetry Prize, judged by Charles Harper Webb. Selections of the book were highlighted on Garrison Keillor’s radio show, “The Writer’s Almanac.” Gresham’s poetry has appeared in such journals as “The Atlanta Review,” “New York Quarterly,” “The Edge” and “Poet Lore.” Thomas Harrison, ’92 MA Journalism and Mass Communication, lives in Tulsa and recently opened a media and communications agency, Media Embassy, to serve his clients in marketing and growth strategies. He also serves as a faculty member for the University of Phoenix in Tulsa, teaching marketing, public relations and communications. Ronald Craig Hays, ’95 BA Political Science, was promoted to the executive director of recruitment services at OU. Prior to his promotion, he served as the director of National Scholars Programs at OU. Huan Hoang, ’99 BS Biochemistry, recently received a job as biomedical engineer for Medtronics after working for four years as a mechanical engineer for Tinker Air Force Base, Midwest City, Okla.
Arthur H. Prince, ’96 PhD Philosophy, is an associate professor of philosophy and sociology at the Baptist Memorial College of Health Sciences in Memphis, Tenn. He recently was listed in the publication, “Leading Educators of the World,” and serves on the University of Memphis College of Arts and Sciences Board of Directors, from which he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in philosophy. “I have always tried to emulate the wonderful professors I had the pleasure to study under at OU. They are the ones who deserve the credit.” Melanie Skipper-Relyea, ’96 Human Relations, began her psychotherapy private practice in Cedar Hill, Texas, in May 2005. She and husband Aaron, ’99 MHR, both are licensed professional counselors and have two children, Ariella and Gabriel. Scott Stegmann, ’93 BA Geography, works as the National Environmental Policy Act coordinator in the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.
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ARTS AND SCIENCES COLLEGE HUMANITIES NATURAL SCIENCES PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS SOCIAL SCIENCES
Patricia Al-Mefleh Sutton, ’90 Political Science, recently relocated to Oklahoma City and now works as a human resource and safety manager with Nomaco Inc. Nola Veazie, ’91 MA Human Relations, recently published “Relapse Preventing 101: The Dawn of Sobriety” and “Be a Thermostat: Regulate Your Anger.” Her consulting firm, VSolutions Consulting, strives to enhance employee productivity through psycho-educational seminars and materials. They are located in Santa Monica, Calif.
2000s Bryce Baily, ’05 BA International and Area Studies, is a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force stationed in Germany. Dontae Bowie, ’02 BS Zoology, is attending Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine as a second-year medical student. Erin E. Hayes Burt, ’01 BA English, works as a writer, producer and sales promotions coordinator at Raycom, the CBS affiliate in Tucson, Ariz. She and husband Adam have been married for two years. “The Desert Race,” a show produced by Burt, was nominated for an Emmy Award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
CLASS NOTES Russell E. Goodman, ’02 PhD Mathematics, is an assistant professor of mathematics at Central College in Pella, Iowa. He also serves as the assistant women’s soccer coach for the Central College Dutch. Kenneth B. Hunter, ’04 MA Human Relations, founded Hunter and Associates, a human relations consulting firm in Sierra Vista, Ariz. They assist organizations by using alternate dispute resolution and conflict resolution techniques to solve employee grievances. They also specialize in the prevention and eradication of sexual harassment, unlawful discrimination and religious accommodation. Elizabeth Wiehle, ’04 BA International and Area Studies, works in the Office of the Attorney General of Texas as a legislative information specialist and legal secretary. Michael E. Young, ’00 MA Human Relations, serves as a colonel in the U.S. Air Force and is stationed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. He and wife Sandy and two children, Adele and Mitchell, reside in Owings, Md., where he also enjoys being an assistant scoutmaster in the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 429.
Add another A&S mayor to the list
(Continued)
RETIREES 2005-2006 Lois Albert Oklahoma Archeological Survey 30 years of service Sandra Ragan Communication 22 years of service Ronald Ratliff Health and Exercise Science 31 years of service David Levy History 38 years of service Kenneth Taylor History of Science 38 years of service George Henderson Human Relations 38 years of service Ed Cline Mathematics 16 years of service
CLASS OF '78
In the last issue of Kaleidoscope, three alumnae were featured as mayors of their communities. Add another name to the distinguished list, as Kathryn L. Taylor recently was elected mayor of Tulsa in a contest that included the largest voter turnout in city history. After resigning from her position as Oklahoma’s Secretary of Commerce and Tourism to enter the mayoral race, Taylor defeated the incumbent mayor. Her platform called for a more business-like approach to running Oklahoma’s second-largest city. Taylor earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1978 and her juris doctorate in 1981, both from OU. She serves on the College of Arts and Sciences Board of Visitors.
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IN MEMORIAM Fay Fagin Levinson, ’42 Home Economics, passed away Sept. 16, 2005. After graduating from OU, she served as supervisor of nursery schools in Oklahoma before meeting and marrying Milton Levinson, a member of the U.S. Air Force stationed in Oklahoma. They returned to his home state of Ohio, where they lived for 60 years. She is survived by her husband, three daughters, three granddaughters and one great-granddaughter. Oklahoma Anthropological Society founder and former Department of Anthropology Chair Robert E. Bell died Jan. 1, 2006, at the age of 91. He came to OU in the 1940s and remained on the faculty until 1980, earning the nickname “Dr. Oklahoma Archaeology.” After retirement, he remained active in research, publishing the results of work on the Bryson-Paddock site in 2004. Bell was born on June 16, 1914, in Marion, Ohio. As an undergraduate at the University of New Mexico, he participated in archaeological field work in Chaco Canyon, San Jon and Sandia Cave. His doctoral research at the University of Chicago helped pioneer the technology of tree-ring dating in the eastern United States. Upon receiving his doctorate in 1947, he joined the Department of Anthropology at OU as its sole archaeologist until 1969, where he taught and conducted research until his retirement in 1980. Bell’s intellectual interests spanned the prehistory of Wichita and Caddo people in Oklahoma, ancient hunter-gatherers in Ecuador and the first archaeological research in New Zealand. In 1952, he founded the Oklahoma Anthropological Society. In 1968, he helped establish the Oklahoma Archeological Survey, still a division of the college. His honors include the Excellence in Teaching award, George Lynn Cross Research Professorship, the Plains Anthropological Society’s Distinguished Service Award and the dedication of the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History archaeological collections area in his honor. He was preceded in death by his wife of 66 years, Virginia. Gene Levy, former chair of the Department of Mathematics from 1968 to 1977, died March 15, 2006. He was born on June 15, 1917, in Muldrow, Okla. He began classes at OU in 1933, and received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees at OU. His area of mathematical interest was modern abstract algebra. Levy worked as a teaching assistant at OU in the spring of 1946, which culminated in his receipt of the title of professor and appointment as chair of the department from 1968 to 1977. Levy served on many departmental and university committees and councils, including the Faculty Senate and the Council on Instruction. His memberships included Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Eta Sigman, Pi Mu Epsilon, Sigma Xi and the American Mathematical Society. Levy also served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Mathematical Association of America. He retired in 1986 and was named professor emeritus of mathematics. He is remembered fondly by many members of the department. “During my first few years in graduate school, he often coached me through difficult points with abstract algebra. When I would become particularly frustrated with a problem, he would say, ‘Why don’t we walk over to the Union for a Coke,’ and of course, when we returned I would have my resolve back,” recalls Debra Strickland, a former student of Levy’s. He is survived by his wife, Jean, two daughters and a sister.
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On the Road With A&S Alumni and Friends With the classic Willie Nelson tune “On the Road Again” buzzing through their heads, a group of faculty and staff joined A&S Dean Paul B. Bell Jr. for a three-city, three-day tour to meet with alumni and friends in Fort Worth, Tulsa and Oklahoma City in January. In addition to hearing Dean Bell’s remarks regarding the state of the college and the need for scholarship funds, those who attended the program in Tulsa heard comments from legendary OU coach and broadcaster Merv Johnson. In Oklahoma City, A&S alumnus and Sonic CEO Cliff Hudson was the featured speaker. Local students from the A&S Leadership Scholars Program attended the programs as well. Plans are being developed now to take the show on the road again, so look for the dean in a city near you soon! Photos by Darci Tucker.
Enjoying the evening before the program in Oklahoma City are (from left) Nancy Cheek, Mike and Cindi Shelby and John Cheek.
In Tulsa, Dean Paul Bell (left) enjoys a moment with featured speaker and OU football broadcaster Merv Johnson and A&S Board of Visitors Chair Dan Evatt.
Fort Worth host Tedd Webb (left) visits with Kevin and Debbie Roberts, parents of Chelsea, who plans to be a freshman at OU next year.
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Waiting for Cliff Hudson’s remarks in Oklahoma City are (from left) Dawn James, Angela Doakes-Bailey and Nancy Winans-Garrison.
A&S Leadership Scholars assisting in Oklahoma City include (from left) Clint Shaw, Ashley Boyd, Hossein Maymani and Anant Singhal.
Message From the Dean Last year the University of Oklahoma experienced a milestone event – for the first time in our history, the amount paid by students to attend OU exceeded the amount contributed by the State of Oklahoma. This is the latest development in a national trend that affects not only Oklahoma, but all of American public higher education. There was a time when the education of our young people was considered to be of sufficient national good that public funding of higher education, through tax dollars, was considered to be a wise investment in our nation’s future. Increasingly, higher education is being treated as a private good, with students and their families being expected to pay for it from their own resources. As a result, the cost to students and their families of attending a public college, including OU, is increasing faster than the rate of inflation and faster than personal income. This, in turn, is forcing students either to delay attending college or to work more hours a week while enrolled in college to earn money to pay college costs. Both have a negative effect on students’ earning a college degree. A recent national study showed that students who do not enroll in college within six months of graduating from high school are much less likely to earn a college degree than those who do. OU’s own data shows that students who do not graduate within six years of starting are likely never to graduate. Thus, there is increasing risk nationwide that more and more of our young people will be denied the benefit of a college education – both to their own detriment and to the detriment of American society as a whole. In response to his growing concern about the rising cost to students of attending OU, President Boren launched a campaign a year ago to raise $50 million to endow scholarships for OU students, particularly those from middle-income families who are hardest hit by the growing cost of attending college. His goal is to ensure that all students who are admitted to OU will be able to attend and graduate regardless of their families’ income. In conjunction with this campaign, the College of Arts and Sciences launched its own Second Century Scholarship Campaign, with the goal of raising $1.5 million by the end of 2007, the state of Oklahoma’s centennial year, to provide 100 new scholarships solely for Arts and Sciences students. Now, a year later, a $5 million gift from Cy and Lissa Wagner put OU over the top for its $50 million Scholarship Campaign. Because the need for scholarships – particularly unrestricted and endowed scholarships – remains high, President Boren said the campaign will continue during the next three years. Although we also have done well in Arts and Sciences, having raised more than $700,000, our campaign also will continue since we still need to raise an additional $800,000 during the course of the next year to reach our goal. In this issue of Kaleidoscope you will find more detailed information about the Arts and Sciences Second Century Scholarship Campaign. Please read it. As you do, I ask that you think first about how important your college education has been to you. Then think about what you can do to help make it possible for today’s students to have that same experience. There is more than just a single student’s education at stake. If we fail to invest in the future of the next generation, we ultimately place the future of our nation at risk. - Paul B. Bell Jr., Ph.D. Dean
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