UCOOldNorthFALL2019

Stepping Up for Education

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The Road to Education

In the ever-present need for Oklahoma teachers, one Central alumna is rising to the challenge of teaching the next generation.

Advocacy for Acceptance

Former UCO First Lady Donna Nigh has dedicated the better part of her life to advocating for the special needs community, across both campus and the state.

Under a New Wing

The UCO College of Liberal Arts begins the semester with a new South Wing, which brings new energy to the east side of campus.

A Future of Their Own

Central’s Fostering Student Success program aims at guiding Oklahoma’s foster youth in their pursuit for higher education.

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A New Campus Connection

UCO launches a new wave of fully online programs with its Connected Campus.

Campus Happenings

Take a look at some of the ways Central kicks off a new fall semester.

A Distinguished Honor

Meet UCO’s six 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients.

Alumni Notes / in Memory

On the Cover

Old North Staff

UCO President Patti Neuhold-Ravikumar

Vice President, University Communications Charles Johnson (MFA ’17)

Editor Sarah Neese (BA ‘15)

Art Director Craig Beuchaw (BA ’92)

Photographic Services Daniel Smith (BA ’77, MEd ’93)

Alumni Records Wendy Lackmeyer

“Stepping Up for Education” –Over the years, universities have faced new challenges and obstacles, and while objectives evolve, Central’s purpose remains strong. This issue of Old North explores how UCO continues to take strides to educate the next generation.

Shaping a Better Tomorrow

Greetings.

This edition of Old North is a carefully curated compilation of meaningful moments in the lives of our students and alumni whose paths have merged with ours. The University of Central Oklahoma is proud to be an inclusive community where the diverse insights and perspectives of our students, past and present, can be embraced and folded into the pages of our collective story.

Stories offer us opportunities to learn, to live vicariously and to empathize with each other. Through this tradition, people share an experience with others who could never have otherwise lived that moment with them. All of the moments shared here are inextricably connected by the common Central thread woven among them. Fulfilling our mission has proven to be inspirational to the individuals telling their stories to you here, and we believe their found missions will inspire you.

This year has been an exploration in innovating our role as the state’s metropolitan university through the expansion of our fully online program offerings. Extending our reach to provide high-touch, top quality programs in new ways will help us achieve our goal of keeping a Central degree accessible. Bringing the number of our fully online programs to seven, Human Resource Management and Marketing degrees are now open and enrolling new students. New and exciting offerings will be developed over the course of the next year which will ensure we are becoming a center of excellence in matching our strengths to industry demands.

The landscape of our campus has shifted and risen to form an exciting new silhouette in the skyline of our metropolitan area. Our College of Liberal Arts building, which has anchored the east side of campus, has doubled in size and assumed a fresh façade that seamlessly marries the future with our past. Hamilton Field House has expanded its footprint and impact by creating space for much-needed locker rooms, a practice court and a championship wrestling facility. Rising south of Hamilton Field House is our new modern dining facility. We’ll say goodbye to Buddy’s cafeteria in the spring and make way for beautiful green space to reach into the heart of campus.

Growth and change are essential to realizing our potential. Our future, like our history, will be grounded in a strong respect for tradition with an entrepreneurial spirit. Central was originally home to pioneers who invested their energy and effort into building this edifice, not because they knew what we would become, but because they believed that whatever we would become would be worth their effort.

I invite you to read the stories written on the pages that follow and accept them as confirmation that UCO is committed to educating our citizens toward shaping a better tomorrow.

Best wishes to you,

Patti Neuhold-Ravikumar President

Our future, like our history, will be grounded in a strong respect for tradition with an entrepreneurial spirit.

The Road to Education

Written by Sarah Ward, Photos by Lauren Bieri

CENTRAL ALUMNA CELISE

Curry is prepared to be that teacher for her first class of fifth-grade students, at Chisholm Elementary School in Edmond, Oklahoma. Prior to her inaugural year of teaching, Curry graduated from UCO in May 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in elementary education.

Curry was driven to education through her passion for the next generation. Even as she prepared her classroom for the upcoming school year, she shared lesson plans and ideas she’d researched on new ways to get her students excited about learning and connected to the material.

As a nontraditional student, however, Curry’s road to a degree was anything but easy.

“I returned to UCO after a decade of marriage and joined the education program so I could provide for my three children, after getting a divorce and being a stay-at-home mom,” Curry said.

“I had to deal with the complications of navigating life after divorce, which meant humbling myself to ask for help and figuring out how to find resources to help pay my bills, put food on the table, get clothing, car troubles, sewage and fire issues in my rental home, then being homeless for two months on top of several illnesses.”

In fact, many other student teachers face similar hardships to Curry and still persevere to earn hands-on training and learn effective teaching methods through Central’s education program.

Once accepted into the teacher program, student teacher candidates can expect a rigorous schedule. After completing 124 hours of coursework, including 60 hours of in-classroom observations, candidates participate in student teaching for 16 weeks. During this time, teacher candidates work alongside an expert mentor, who has at least three years of successful teaching experience and has completed Central’s co-teaching training.

However, like many student teachers, Curry was unable to work during two years of the teacher education program. Both inclassroom observation and student teaching require long hours. In addition to staying in their student teaching classroom, candidates also create lesson plans, attend required after-hours school events and grade papers. Students also must attend classes and complete coursework to earn their degrees. It’s not uncommon for student teachers to face additional financial burden as well, in the form of paying for multiple certification tests, fingerprinting, certification fees, and general tuition and fees.

With what some may consider an uphill climb to getting a degree, why continue? For Curry, and for so many others, the answer is simple.

“Never forget your passion, the reason you chose this profession, the children. You are important and valuable because you will influence the future,” Curry said.

In fact, Curry is confident that her UCO education has prepared her for this first year of teaching and the years to come.

“I know that there is no way I will do everything right this first year, but I also know that UCO’s program has equipped me with as much knowledge and experience possible to be successful and the confidence to reach out for additional help and resources when I make mistakes and learn from them,” she said.

Bryan Duke, Ph.D., director of Educator Preparation and interim associate dean for Central’s College of Education and Professional Studies, echoes Curry’s confidence in UCO’s teaching program.

“Your success and your students’ success is based on how well you’re trained,” he said. “When our graduates leave, depending on other teachers and the principal, they may not get any support. However, with the student teaching program they are at least getting 16 weeks of mentorship. With that, our candidates can start off with a good jumping point.”

UCO teacher candidates often are referred to as comprehensively prepared. Candidates experience opportunities to teach independently, coteach, organize a classroom, collaborate with other educators, partner with parents, create effective lesson plans and learn what works best in the areas of classroom management and teaching strategies, all before they graduate.

The support that Central student teachers receive from faculty, staff, fellow students and mentors provides them the opportunity to focus on what really matters – educating youth – and less on what may be holding them back.

And, this approach seems to be paying off. According to a self-assessment by the UCO College of Education and Professional Studies, 80-85 percent of graduates from Central’s teacher program go on to teach within 60 miles of UCO.

And Curry is proudly one of those graduates.

“I feel a strong calling to encourage others that they can achieve their dreams no matter what obstacles they may face now or in the future,” Curry said. “You will make mistakes, but if you choose to learn from them, they can be your greatest teacher.”

During childhood, nearly everyone had a favorite teacher – the one that inspired them, helped them grow as students; the one that invested their time and energy into molding those students into better people.

Advocacy for Acceptance

Written by Rachel Baugh, Photos by UCO Photographic Services

It’s been more than 40 years since Donna Nigh, former first lady of Oklahoma and the University of Central Oklahoma, first began her advocacy of equal opportunities for the state’s special needs population. As her legacy continues nearly three generations later, Nigh, and Central, reflect on the path it took to get here.

“THROUGH THE YEARS, THIS HAS BEEN MY PASSION. I feel like every one of us needs a passion in life, outside your own family, and I felt like this truly was a God-given passion,” Nigh said.

This passionate work began while her husband, George, served as Oklahoma’s lieutenant governor throughout the ’60s and ’70s. After touring all of the state’s facilities, including three mental institutions at the time, Nigh saw the need for additional services and advocacy for those with disabilities in the state.

“My exposure and knowledge about this special group of people was absolutely nil,” she said. “In making those visits, I became so aware of what I perceived as so many older residents that I felt were not as much mentally challenged as they were just socially challenged – because they had spent their whole life in an institution.

“It weighed on my heart what I saw, so I came home and I became a volunteer for various organizations that dealt with these [groups of] people.”

In fact, Nigh not only brought her newly sparked passion home, she also took it to the governor’s mansion.

“When George ran for governor in 1978, I made him promise that if he did win, that we would do something about the situation of trying to get some of these people out of the institutions, that we felt could live in society and hold down jobs, could have access to things that all of the rest of us have access to.”

George fulfilled that promise, allocating funds for a pilot group home program, on one condition: Nigh had to convince the legislature.

Nigh attends the unveiling of the newly christened Donna Nigh Department of Advanced Professional and Special Services in March 2014.

And, she did. She worked with legislators who passed a bill establishing the pilot program, which included 10 group homes. Additionally, Nigh partnered with local city governments to facilitate the homes, another task that proved difficult.

“It took several years,” Nigh said. “No one wanted one in their neighborhood. It was because they really didn’t know what we were talking about. They were fearful.”

However, after years of education and advocacy, the group homes proved to be a success, as well as various workshops created to ensure group home residents were able to find employment.

Her tireless efforts did not go unnoticed, and while her time as Oklahoma’s first lady came to an end, her work for the special needs community continued.

In 1985, Nigh’s friends formed the Donna Nigh Foundation

to recognize her work, allowing her to carry on her efforts, even today. The foundation awards grants annually to organizations and individuals to provide direct services and assistance to those with disabilities.

“We award grants to groups or individuals that sort of fall through the cracks when the government is helping people,” she said. “I feel so strongly about it, and it just thrills me to go into a business to see that they have employed developmentally disabled people. And, to see how happy they are, that they’re good employees and they’re contributing to society.”

In addition to her work statewide, her contributions to the field have helped transform the special education program at Central. In 2012, Nigh and George, along with several members of the university, recognized a need for opportunities to support students

“I feel like things around us cannot be right for any of us until they’re right for everybody.”

Pictured from left are former UCO First Lady Jeanie Webb, former UCO President Roger Webb, former UCO First Lady Susanne Betz, former UCO President Don Betz, Donna Nigh and former UCO President Gov. George Nigh. The group gathered at a celebration of Central’s 125th anniversary.

planning to enter the field of special education, and the Donna Nigh Scholarship for Special Education Majors was created.

The scholarship is awarded annually to three juniors and three seniors majoring in special education, a career field that has been in high demand for qualified graduates for more than a decade. On average, there are 60,000 students, ages 3-21, in special education programs across the state of Oklahoma – all in need of teachers with proper training.

“There’s a shortage of teachers, but particularly special ed teachers,” Nigh said. “We felt like we needed to help those that showed us that they truly were going to follow through – that they were sincere about wanting to follow through with their education in special education.”

Joseph Corley, a senior special education major, was the recipient of the Donna Nigh scholarship this past spring. He is a father of three and the first in his family to pursue a bachelor’s degree. As he prepared to begin his semester of student teaching in fall 2019, he was faced with the challenge of continuing to provide for his family while also finishing school.

“Donna Nigh may not know it, but she has been a part of changing my life,” Corley said. “In my house she is considered a hero; proof that there are still people out there that care.”

The Donna Nigh Scholarship has made it possible for him to complete his degree at Central and fulfill his dream of being able to impact others through his career in special education.

In fact, since the establishment of the scholarship, the program now averages more than thirty graduates per semester.

In 2014, UCO honored Nigh and her work with the naming of the Donna Nigh Department of Advanced Professional and Special Services (DNAPSS). The distinction was chosen to celebrate Nigh’s dedication of advocating for those with special needs across the state and her contributions to Central.

The department remains the only academic unit on campus to bear the name of an individual and houses many unique programs that share the mission of Nigh’s advocacy efforts. Programs such as speech language pathology, school counseling, educational leadership and special education are all housed in DNAPSS, and all are a testament to Central’s commitment to meeting the needs of individuals in the community, much like the work of Donna Nigh.

“I feel like things around us cannot be right for any of us until they’re right for everybody,” Nigh said. “[Those with special needs] have the same rights that we do, and we should continue working to make sure that we don’t forget that and that we continue to help in any way that we can.

“I just want more than anything for people to acknowledge this group of citizens and to know they’re one of us.” ON

Under a New Wing

Written by Sarah Neese, Photos by KT King

During the past 50 years, nearly every Central student has walked through the doors of UCO’s Liberal Arts building. Each new generation of students excitedly begins their college career – often their first class – at one of its many desks. However, this year, Central’s newest class of students walked through a new set of doors.

FALL 2019 MARKS THE FIRST SEMESTER OF USE FOR THE CAMPUS’ newest building, the Liberal Arts South Wing, a 55,000-square-foot adjoining addition to the original Liberal Arts structure. The South Wing incorporates 15 new classrooms, 30 faculty and staff offices and several new student-centered spaces, all of which provide opportunities for both traditional and transformative learning.

While its doors opened this fall, the South Wing began as an idea in 2015. After identifying the growing needs of its facilities, the UCO College of Liberal Arts recognized that expanding one of the university’s busiest buildings was a necessity.

“The impetus for the South Wing was actually a need to remodel the Pegasus Theatre, [the building’s original lecture and performance hall], which was not [Americans with Disabilities Act]-compliant and had been long-awaiting a makeover,” said College of Liberal Arts Dean Catherine Webster, Ph.D. “At the same time, the college had a need for about 30 offices to allow our full-time faculty to enjoy private spaces, and the traffic in the Liberal Arts building meant that we were far exceeding the space utilization recommended by the Regents.”

Creating a more efficient and up-to-date use of space was imperative, but the key priority for all involved, including the architectural team at Beck Design, was clear: Central’s students.

“Students were consulted throughout the process,” Webster said. “Beck Design did some surveys and on-site consulting with students, and members of the College Student Advisory Board talked through their ideas for the atrium space, study areas and café.”

Additionally, students offered input in decision-making for the building’s finishing touches, including carpet, tile, wall coverings, accent colors and textures. Every step of the process encompassed capturing and enhancing the student experience.

Those who walk into the building’s atrium are greeted with wide open space and high ceilings, filled with natural light and an inherent brightness. On either side of the atrium sit Pegasus Café, offering students coffee, drinks and snacks between classes, and the wing’s new lecture hall.

The hall will host student events, public lectures, film screenings and other campus happenings. The new hall also serves as a storm shelter, in the event of severe weather. An upgrade from its predecessor, the lecture hall feels airy and welcoming for all who enter, regardless of mobility, and could quickly become a favorite gathering space among many Liberal Arts patrons.

“It’s a brilliant successor to the original theatre, and I’m convinced it will accommodate the needs of the college and contribute to the university for many years to come,” Webster said.

According to her, each of the addition’s 15 new classroom spaces, which include four computer labs, were all designed to be comfortable and flexible, with transformative teaching and learning in mind.

In fact, comfort and flexibility are themes that run throughout the building. Beyond the café and lecture hall, the atrium gives way to multiple lounge areas and a new study stair – a space specifically designed for students to study, gather and interact.

“The public spaces of the South Wing are all designed to be inviting to students to relax, charge their devices and enjoy the Liberal Arts community,” Webster said. “Rather than rushing onto campus, grabbing a snack or drink from a vending machine and hurrying on to class, the atrium welcomes students to enjoy some unstructured down time, perhaps to review notes, study with a classmate over a decent cup of coffee or connect with a faculty member in an informal setting.”

While the Liberal Arts building, imbued with decades of student experience, still stands, it now serves as a bridge to new student experiences within the walls of its sister structure. With this new structure, the college looks toward the next 50 years of student learning and takes many new generations of students under its wing.

All of the spaces in the new South Wing, including the lecture hall, student café and its many classrooms, were designed with a wide-open, student-centric layout.

The South Wing atrium presents a bright welcome to students and visitors entering the addition. Just past the new lecture hall, the stairs lead to various offices and classrooms, doubling as a study stair area for students to gather.

A Future of Their Own

How one Central program propels former foster youth forward

Written by Sarah Neese

The prospect of attending college can be daunting for any adolescent. As a teenager or young adult, juggling decisions regarding how to pay for school and where to live, while also choosing a career path, can feel overwhelming. For those in foster care, however, college can seem too far out of reach.

“GENERALLY, STUDENTS IN HIGH SCHOOL HAVE families; they have parents who are getting them ready for college,” said Taylor McClellan, an outreach specialist with Central’s Fostering Student Success program. “They already have a plan, and they already have someone there guiding them and holding their hand along the way. With foster youth, there’s a lot of instability; there’s a lot of inconsistency. On top of that, they have all of this trauma that they’ve endured.

“Being a teenager is hard enough already. I can’t imagine being a teenager in foster care. You don’t have that family support. You don’t have that person in your life all the time, holding your hand and guiding you and telling you what to do.”

McClellan and her cohort are working to change that.

The Fostering Student Success initiative began after staff members of the UCO Center for Counseling and Well-Being noticed that former foster youth students seemed to be falling through the cracks.

“We encountered former foster youth who were never enrolled in Oklahoma’s Promise, students who showed up in our office distressed because they were challenged by navigating the bookstore, students who were disconnected and distrusting of helpers on campus,” said Julia Reed, senior director for the UCO Center for Counseling and Well-Being and one of the facilitators of the program.

And so, with the help of Central’s Division of Student Affairs, as well as financial support in the form of grants from the Arnall Family Foundation and Eckerd Connects, Fostering Student Success kicked off, aiming to help reverse the trend of foster youth who graduate high school without plans to pursue higher education.

“Our primary goal is to support students in not only accessing higher education or career pathways, but to successfully navigate their higher education experience so that they can graduate,” Reed said.

The first step in supporting these students is starting while they are still in high school. McClellan focuses on educating foster youth on available resources like Oklahoma’s Promise, scholarships and technology stipends.

“My goal is to get them that exposure, let them know that there are resources out there, help them understand the college application process, understand why your GPA is important, why it’s important to prepare for the ACT and have proper test-taking skills,” McClellan said.

“There are a lot of barriers for foster youth in general, and I think being a teenager just adds onto it. They’re trying to figure out their identity and I think they’re so much in survival mode, they’re not thinking about long-term planning. That’s why I think education is important. I think it can really change their life.”

Although the program lives at Central, participants are offered resources to any college, institution or career tech, allowing them to find the path that works best for them.

“They’re going to make their own decisions, and that’s the power that they have,” she said. “They have the power of choice. They have the power to choose their future, and that’s the one thing that I really want to talk to them about and prepare them for.”

Reed wants to ensure that these students are provided with an additional layer of support and connection.

“Both the high school and college program have had some creative and exciting support,” she said. “Eckerd was able to provide trunks for students to use in their dorms and is also working to provide laptops and backpacks for students in our programs.

“We have had community members at local churches provide meals, school supplies, welcome and finals baskets and financial support to remove barriers for students. When the programs can align around purpose and mission, we have community partners who make sure students arrive with what they need.”

Since the program’s inception, students have been accepted to and attended Langston University, Rose State College and Oklahoma City Community College, in addition to Central.

However, support doesn’t end at high school graduation. McClellan works to connect students with campus resource officers at their respective schools, designated to help former foster youth; and, in the cases of students who attend UCO, Fostering Student Success guides them along the way.

“On the college side, we work to make weekly contacts with every enrolled student who has checked ‘ward of the court’ on their FAFSA,” Reed said. “We also monitor enrollment and follow up with students who have not yet enrolled in courses.”

Throughout their time at Central, the program offers students access to food and housing resources, connections to other programs on campus and therapeutic services, through the Center for Counseling and Well-Being, if needed.

While providing much needed support for the students in the program, including 40 current high school students, both Reed and McClellan are determined to do more.

“On the high school side, our goals are to engage at least 106 high school youth. On the college side, our goals are to make sure we identify every former foster youth enrolled at UCO,” Reed said.

“I’m hoping that this will expand across the state,” McClellan added. “I really think this is needed, even in secluded, isolated areas of Oklahoma. There are thousands of youth in foster care, and there are so many teens out there who do not get adopted, who have just given up on everything.

“I want them to be able to make positive choices… to encourage them to break the cycle. From whatever background they’ve come from, whatever they’ve experienced, I want them to know that their future can be different. Their future is up to them.” ON

A New Campus Connection

Written by Adrienne Nobles

Some of the University of Central Oklahoma’s newest students may never set foot on campus. In May, the university launched a pilot for online degrees through the UCO Connected Campus. The pilot included two Bachelor of Business Administration degrees – Human Resource Management and Marketing.

“We are learning a lot from the pilot effort that will help us improve our online offerings as we work to grow the Connected Campus in the coming years,” said Bucky Dodd, Ph.D., UCO’s chief learning innovation officer and coordinator of the Connected Campus project.

Students have been able to take online classes at Central for some time, but it is only recently that the university has focused on taking degree programs fully online.

Offerings are expanding for the next academic year to include the Professional Master of Business Administration and Master of Education in Library and Media Studies or Adult and Higher Education. Also coming fully online are bachelor’s degrees in Organizational Leadership, General Business and General Studies. These bachelor’s options are particularly ideal for adults who have previously earned college credit and want to complete their degree.

“Each program offers great potential for career growth and employment in the Oklahoma City metro and beyond. Our goal is to offer programs that prepare our graduates to meet the needs of their communities,” Dodd continued.

“The UCO Connected Campus pairs the flexibility and convenience of an online degree with the recognized quality and affordability of the University of Central Oklahoma. Now, the Central experience is accessible to those who may not be able to fit a traditional, oncampus program in their schedule.”

UCO Connected Campus students are assisted by a learner concierge who guides them through the admissions and enrollment process and will be available for questions as they pursue their degree. The concierges help ensure that students pursuing degrees online still receive a personal experience at Central.

To learn more about the UCO Connected Campus, visit online.uco.edu.

ABOVE Returning students, faculty and staff line the campus mall to cheer on incoming freshmen during the annual Freshman Convocation. Prior to the convocation ceremony, first-year students walk from Old North to Nigh University Center. During their walk, members of the Central community share their support and school spirit with cheers, smiles and even a few high fives.

RiGHT Family members help students carry boxes and belongings into one of Central’s residence halls during MoveIn Day, part of a week of activities focused on welcoming students to campus.

BOTTOM Students gather in the parking lot between Central’s Liberal Arts and Business buildings for a “drive-in” movie. The feature presentation of “Space Jam” allowed students to get together, meet new people and reconnect with old friends as the fall semester kicked off.

CAMPUS HAPPENiNGS

LEFT The College of Business recently opened a hybrid classroom in its building, which allows students to experience firsthand practical examples and practices while actively listening to and learning from their professors. Combining the traditional classroom setting with an element of technology provides an immediate opportunity to connect a lesson with a real-world implementation. The hybrid classroom hosts classes from across disciplines, including accounting, information systems and finance.

MiDDLE A student leads a group of incoming freshmen around campus during Central Locate, a Welcome Week event in which experienced students help new students find the locations of their scheduled classes.

BELOW Faculty and staff members with the UCO School of Criminal Justice interact with students during this year’s College of Liberal Arts Open House event, part of UCO Stampede Week. Each of Central’s colleges hosts an open house for students to explore majors, ask questions and see the college’s clubs, programs and other offerings.

2019 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD

A Distinguished Honor

Each year during Homecoming Week, the UCO Alumni Association honors some of its most outstanding alumni with the Distinguished Alumni Award. This prestigious award recognizes alumni who have become world-class ambassadors of UCO.

Award recipients have demonstrated distinctive and notable accomplishments in their careers and professional lives, as well as service to their communities and to the university.

The 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients have brought families home; furthered education for thousands of students and citizens in and around the Oklahoma City metro; worked tireless hours in the health care and nursing industries; supported and facilitated the arts throughout the community; helped ensure the rights and well-being of the state and nation’s seniors; and, served and sacrificed in the U.S. Armed Forces. The pages explore what makes each of these award winners distinguished alumni.

2019 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD

Jack Evans (BBA ’94)

Since 2003, Jack Evans has been in the business of bringing families home. After spending several years in

finance, Evans founded and became managing partner of Oklahoma Citybased TimberCraft Homes, whose communities include Chisolm Creek Farms and Princeton Park in Edmond, Oklahoma, as well as two communities

in Mustang, Oklahoma, and two communities in Yukon, Oklahoma.

After graduating from UCO in 1994 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance, he gained experience with home mortgages at MidFirst Bank, which would later influence his decision to enter the homebuilding industry.

He has previously served as the event chairperson for Oklahoma City’s annual Parade of Homes, coordinated by the Central Oklahoma Home Builders Association, of which he is a member.

Through TimberCraft, Evans also has participated in the construction of multiple custom homes for the annual St. Jude Dream Home fundraising program, which benefits the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

Having learned the value of a strong work ethic from his parents, Evans was a nontraditional student who worked throughout college. His wife, Theresa, also worked two jobs to help support his education, and in 2018, Evans established the Theresa Sue Evans Endowed Scholarship for Real Estate at Central, to honor her support.

Evans and Theresa, are a proud aunt and uncle to his twin brother Jay’s five children, and to Theresa’s nieces, who are fraternal twins. The couple resides in Edmond.

ALUMNI AWARD

Tom Friedemann, Ed.D. (MEd ’74)

For more than 30 years, Tom Friedemann, Ed.D., has served education in Oklahoma.

Friedemann began his career as a marketing education teacher with Putnam City West High School before serving as assistant superintendent at Great Plains Technology Center in Lawton, Oklahoma.

In 1974, Friedemann graduated from Central with a Master of Education in counseling psychology, later receiving his Ed.D. in occupational and adult education from Oklahoma State University in 1991.

After his time at Great Plains, Friedemann served nearly 20 years in the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education as assistant state director, before joining Francis Tuttle as chief of staff in 1997. Friedemann retired in June 2019 as superintendent and CEO of Francis Tuttle Technology Center, after a decade in the role.

Friedemann is widely recognized as a leader in his field. In 2009, he was named the recipient of the Arch Alexander Award, presented by the University of Oklahoma. The award is one of the most prestigious given in

career and technology education.

He also earned the Distinguished Service Award from the National Council of Local Administrators, the Francis Tuttle Career Excellence Award and was named one of The Journal Record’s “Most Admired CEOs” in 2015.

In February 2019, Friedemann was honored as the recipient of the 2019 InnoVision Award, an award sponsored by the Francis Tuttle Foundation, Inc. Outside of career technology and

education, Friedemann has been active in many civic organizations, including the OKC Downtown Rotary Club, Edmond Chamber of Commerce and Leadership Oklahoma, among many others.

Friedemann and his wife, Cindy, are proud parents to four adult children and have six young grandchildren. They reside in Oklahoma City.

2019 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD

Linda T. Hohenberger Fanning (BS ’80)

It’s been nearly 40 years since Linda T. Hohenberger Fanning began her career as a registered nurse.

Her career kicked off in 1980, when she graduated from UCO with a Bachelor of Science in nursing. In 1996, her career shifted to hospital administration, as she became director of quality resource management at Deaconess Hospital in Oklahoma City.

During her time at Deaconess, she received her Master of Science in nursing

from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in 1998.

In 2003, she left Deaconess to join the Mercy Hospital system as director of medical surgical services. After spending 11 years with the Mercy Hospital system, she returned to Deaconess in 2015 as its chief nursing officer. In 2018, INTEGRIS acquired Deaconess and promoted Hohenberger Fanning to vice president and chief nursing officer of INTEGRIS Deaconess, a 238-bed, acute-care hospital that is part of INTEGRIS Health, where she served until earlier this year.

Professionally, Hohenberger Fanning has served as president of the Oklahoma Nurses Association from 2010-12 and as

committee chair for the March of Dimes Nurse of the Year Gala in 2012 and 2018.

Hohenberger Fanning is a member of Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society, the American Organization for Nursing Leadership, American Nurses Association and Oklahoma Nurses Association.

This December, she plans to receive her doctorate in nursing practice for advanced practice nurses and nurse executives, from the MGH Institute of Health Professions graduate program in Boston.

She and her husband, Tom, have two adult sons, two daughters-in-law and three grandchildren. They reside in Oklahoma City.

Oren Lee Peters (BS ’50)

Oren Lee Peters joined the U.S. Army National Guard while in high school, going on to serve in the Army during World War II.

After WWII, Peters returned to Edmond, Oklahoma, and was a teacher and football, track and basketball coach at Edmond High School from 1945-47. He graduated from UCO, then Central State Teachers College, in 1950 with a Bachelor of Science in education, and soon after graduation, he went on to serve his country in the Korean War.

After his return from the war, he met and married his wife, Lucille, in 1953.

Peters has been recognized with more than 20 honors related to his military service, including the Purple Heart, Silver Star and Bronze Star.

In 2017, the UCO Office of Veteran Support Services named the Lt. Col. Oren Peters Veteran Appreciation Award in his honor.

After his retirement from the military, Peters became more involved with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) organization, having been active with the Boy Scouts since his adolescence.

Through his more than 80 years with

the Boy Scouts, Peters has earned the title of distinguished Eagle Scout. He also has served on the National Boy Scout Community Relations Task Force and was Scoutmaster for BSA Troop 78, based in Edmond, for 21 years.

Committed to serving his community, Peters also has been a leader with the Edmond Kiwanis Club, Masonic Lodge 37, the Edmond Chamber of Commerce and First Presbyterian Church in Edmond.

Peters and Lucille were married for 53 years before she died in 2006. He resides in Edmond and has four children, 10 grandchildren and six greatgrandchildren.

Shannon Price (BA ’91)

For Shannon Price, connecting the arts and the community have been a life’s work.

Over the past 26 years, Price has held many positions at the Fine Arts Institute in Edmond, Oklahoma, including art instructor, special events coordinator and assistant director.

Price currently serves as the executive director of the institute, a nonprofit community arts organization offering educational enrichment for adults and children in visual and performing arts.

Under Price’s leadership, the Fine Arts Institute sponsors community programming and events, such as the

Edmond Youth Chorus, a statewide Youth Impressions Juried Art Show, monthly gallery exhibits, three annual children’s plays and a wide variety of classes and camps for all ages.

Price graduated from UCO in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts in graphic design, a minor in advertising and a K-12 teaching certificate.

During her time at UCO, Price was active in many organizations, including Sigma Kappa sorority. She and her family have remained connected to the university and are proud to offer an annual scholarship in her father’s name through the UCO Foundation – the Tommy C. Beavers Memorial Scholarship.

Active in her community, Price also

is involved with Oklahoma Leadership Arts, Executive Women’s Forum, Oklahomans for the Arts, Leadership Edmond, Edmond Rotary Club and the Oklahoma Arts Council Statewide Learning Advisory Committee.

In 2017, Price received the Woman of the Year award, sponsored by Prosperity Bank, from the Edmond Area Chamber of Commerce.

Price and her husband, Cris, have two children, Andrew, 23, and Addison, 20. Andrew is a graduate of Oklahoma State University (OSU) and currently attends the University of Oklahoma School of Law. Addison is a junior at OSU and was named Miss Oklahoma 2019. Price and Cris currently live in Edmond.

2019 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD

Lance Robertson (MPA ’15)

Lance Robertson has dedicated his career to public service.

After serving nearly a decade in the U.S. Army and U.S. Army Reserves, Robertson earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Oklahoma State University (OSU) in 1993 and later graduated from UCO, with honors, in 2015, with a master’s degree in public administration.

Robertson was an administrator for 12 years at OSU, where he co-founded the Gerontology Institute at OSU and directed the regional professional association Partnerships for Aging.

He then went on to serve as the director of aging services for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services from 2007-17.

In August 2017, Robertson was appointed by

the White House administration as the assistant secretary for Aging for the Administration for Community Living, with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Additionally, Robertson has been involved with several professional and civic organizations, including serving as past president of the National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities, as chairperson of the U.S. Access Board, as a board member on the Oklahoma Healthy Aging Initiative and as a leader on Oklahoma’s

Alzheimer’s State Plan Task Force.

Throughout his long career in aging and disability services, Robertson also has been recognized with several professional honors including the National Association of States United for Aging & Disabilities President’s Award, National Care Heroes Professional Award and the Oklahoma Aging Professional of the Year Award.

Robertson and his wife, Lori, have two daughters, who are both attending OSU. He and Lori reside in Washington, D.C.

’17Barbara Jackson (BS ’17) was named as Southwestern Christian University’s (SCU) new head volleyball coach. Jackson becomes SCU’s third head coach in program history. As a player, Jackson was a four-year starter at Central. Jackson was named MIAA Player of the Year and was a first-team NCAA Division II All-American.

‘19Marissa Thelen (BFA ’19) has been hired as a full-time graphic designer for Robot House, a strategic brand development agency in Oklahoma City. Thelen already has earned two national American Advertising Awards (ADDYs) while attending Central, as well as 10 local and six district ADDYs.

Faculty/Staff

MeShawn Conley, director of Central’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, was awarded the Empowerment for Excellence

“Women Who Inspire” Award this year. She has played an active role in the development of multiple campus diversity organizations and initiatives, including the African-American Faculty/Staff Association, University Committee on Diversity, Black Male Initiative, Black Male Summit, Women’s Outreach Center and the university diversity climate survey, among others.

Paul Shinn, a former UCO professor, joined Oklahoma Policy as senior policy analyst. Shinn taught political science and public administration at the University of Oklahoma, University of Central Oklahoma and California State University. Shinn served as budget manager and operating finance officer at the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. His work for Oklahoma Policy has included multiyear budget forecasts and an in-depth report on Oklahoma’s Reading Sufficiency Act.

# FutureBronchos

Bonnie Hand (BA ’10) and her family celebrated their daughter Charlotte turning three months old in August 2019. Bonnie says that Charlotte is already excited to be a future Broncho. Nicole Sukenis (BBA ’13) and her family welcomed Kennedy Kafee, a 7 lb. 21 oz. bundle of joy and future Broncho in the making, March 9, 2019.

i N MEMORY

Alumni

• Opal Elaine Murphy (BSEd ’42)

• Frank G. Stepp Sr. (BA ’56)

• Donald K. Cox (BS ’61)

• Betty P. Harris (BSEd ’64)

• Ronald Lewis Bruce (BA ’65)

• Jimmie Dean Jones (BA ’69)

• Cdr. Craig A. Morin (BS ’73)

• Jolene Schwind (BSEd ’73, MEd ’76)

• Carole Ann Heitz (MA ’74)

• Jolene Schwind (MEd ’76)

• Michael Jenkins (BS ’78)

• Sandra Kay Emrich (MEd ’79)

• Deanne Upchurch (BSEd ’80)

• Glenda Boeckman Wolf (BA ’88)

• Gregory Riggs (BMEd ’02)

• Melissa Diane Kamphaus (BSEd ’06)

• Brett Thomas Rawdon (BS ’09)

• Victor Keith Seidel III (BA, BS ’13)

Former Faculty and Staff

• Mary Lou Bond (MEd ’71)

• Ruth Boring

• John Finch

• Cheryl R. Hensch

• James L. Stovall

• Michael Walker (MMEd ’94)

• Mack Robert Wedel, Ph.D.

A Legacy, Broadcasted

Keith Alan Swezey, Ed.D., died July 29, 2019. Swezey built the award-winning student broadcast program at Central, which he joined after 15 years of radio news experience. He began as a state capitol correspondent for KOMA radio in 1975, moving to WKY radio in 1976 as public affairs editor amd later as news director from 1983-88. At Central, he directed Academic Broadcast Education Association and advised the UCO chapter. An associate member of The Emmys, he won numerous state and national awards for teaching and radio news, including RTNDA’s Edward R. Murrow Award for best documentary. In 2011, Swezey was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame.

Lauren Best writes Alumni Notes/ In Memory. Want to highlight a birth, wedding, achievement or other important life event of a Central alumnus? Please send Alumni/In Memory notes, along with any accompanying photos, to University Communications, ucomm@uco.edu, with “Alumni Note” in the subject line.

Khandaker Receives Fulbright Award

Morshed Khandaker, Ph.D., professor of engineering and physics in the UCO College of Mathematics and Science, received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to travel to Turkey for the 2019-20 academic year. While there, Khandaker will conduct research at Bursa Uludag University, in Bursa, Turkey, as part of a project titled “Effect of Laser Induced Microgrooving on Total Knee Replacement Implant.”

Khandaker joined Central’s faculty in 2008 and has since led research exploring potential uses of nanotechnology in the field of biomedicine. In 2016, Khandaker received a grant to pursue a project that focused on improving the design of biomedical implants. Through the development of an engineering manufacturing process, Khandaker, and researchers on the project, focused on using this process to more efficiently restore and maintain long-term functionality of damaged tissue in the human body.

The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in the U.S. Department of State and awards grants to further its mission of increasing mutual understanding between the people of the U.S. and the 160 other participating countries.

Eitrheim Earns Fellowship for National Study

The Interactive Online Network of Inorganic Chemists (IONiC) recently named Eric Eitrheim, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry in the UCO College of Mathematics and Science, one of its Virtual, Inorganic, Pedagogical, Electronic Resource (VIPEr) Fellows for a national chemistry study.

The study, titled “Improving Inorganic Chemistry Education,” is a collaboration between IONiC and the National Science Foundation’s Improving Undergraduate STEM Education program. It will use classroom observations, analysis of student work, surveys and interviews to observe how changes in the classroom environment affect students’ learning, interest and motivation. The project aims to eventually create a flexible, foundation-level inorganic chemistry course that maximizes student learning.

Eitrheim joined UCO in August 2017 and has taught inorganic, environmental and general chemistry courses, while also being active in several research projects. He is one of 20 faculty selected as the first cohort of fellows for the project.

School of Music Becomes All-Steinway

In August, the UCO School of Music earned the designation of an “AllSteinway School.” The designation signifies that all performance spaces, teaching studios and practice rooms for piano majors are equipped with Steinway pianos. In addition, these pianos must be kept in performance-quality condition.

This designation endcaps a 20-year effort to entirely equip the School of Music with Steinway pianos. In 1999, UCO purchased its first Steinway grand piano for Mitchell Hall Theatre. However, nearly a decade later, the AllSteinway Initiative gained traction, with the majority of funds raised during that time. This success would not have been

possible without the help of donors and School of Music faculty. More than half of the school’s 52 Steinway pianos were

purchased within the last five years –a testament to the momentum of the initiative in recent years.

Feinberg Named to New Role

UCO President Patti Neuhold-Ravikumar named Diane Feinberg as the university’s first vice president for People and Culture. In this role, she will oversee the newly developed Division of People and Culture, which includes Employee Relations, Talent Acquisition, Talent Development, Benefits Administration, Payroll, Inclusive Community, Workers’ Compensation, Risk Management, and Environmental Health and Safety.

As an alumna, graduating from Central with a master’s degree in adult and higher education with an emphasis on training, Feinberg previously served the university as assistant vice president for Human Resources. She has senior-level certifications from the Society of Human Resources Management and the Human Resources Certification Institute, as well as more than two decades of experience in human resources, financial planning and budgeting, safety and risk management, operations, and training and leadership development.

ENGAGED CiTiZENS AND LEADERS

Fields Selected for Youth Exchange

Recent UCO graduate Terance Fields (BA ’19) was selected as one of 75 participants for the 2019-20 Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals. The program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the German Corporation for International Cooperation, allows 75 American and 75 German students to spend one year in each other’s countries – to study, intern and live with hosts as part of the cultural immersion program.

While at Central, Fields, a citizen of the Pawnee Nation, served as the vice president of the Native American Student Association and as a mentor for the UCO Native American Success and Hispanic Success Initiatives. Prior to his selection for the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange, Fields interned for U.S. Congressman Don Young, representing UCO and the Pawnee Nation, on Capitol Hill as part of the Native American Congressional Internship through the Udall Foundation.

Duvall Begins Peace Corps Service

Central alumnus Stockton Duvall (BBA ’19) recently began training as an English Education Teaching volunteer with the Peace Corps. During the first three months of his Peace Corps service, Duvall will live with a host family in Madagascar to become immersed in the language and culture. After learning the necessary skills to assist his community, he will be assigned to a community in Madagascar where he will live, work and serve for two years with the local people.

Duvall is one of 47 Oklahoma residents currently serving in the Peace Corps and

more than 1,416 Oklahoma residents who served in the Peace Corps previously. Duvall also joins more than 160 volunteers in Madagascar, working with communities on agriculture, education and health

projects. Those serving in Madagascar learn to speak Malagasy and various other Malagasy dialects, according to the region in which they serve.

Your Interest. Your Impact.

The UCO Foundation has launched a campuswide crowdfunding platform to give alumni, students, friends, faculty and staff a new way to engage back to the university.

Whether it’s building a human-powered vehicle, supporting student scholarships or improving the wellness of our students with more therapy dogs on campus, our students are showing their Broncho Pride. Support the UCO cause that is most important to you! give.uco.edu

UCO President Patti Neuhold-Ravikumar welcomes a student to campus for the start of the fall semester.

100 North University Drive, Edmond, OK 73034

uco.edu uco.bronchos UCOBronchos

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For tickets, more events and other information, visit cfad.uco.edu

Macabret

Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 24-26, 6:30 p.m. & 9 p.m.

UCO Jazz Lab

brown, carmine, and blue. by Le’Andra

LeSeur

Artist Talk & Workshop- Movement as Resistance: Oct. 24, 5:30 p.m.

Melton Gallery

Jazz Ensembles Concerts

Oct. 28-29, Nov. 26, 7 p.m.

UCO Jazz Lab

Peter and the Starcatcher

Thursday–Saturday, Oct 31–Nov. 2, 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 3, 2 p.m.

Mitchell Hall Theatre

Marilyn Maye

Friday, Nov. 1, 7:30 p.m.

CHK|Central Boathouse

Jazz Combos Concerts

Nov. 18-19, 7 p.m.

UCO Jazz Lab

Kaleidoscope Dance Company

Fall Concert

Friday–Sunday, Nov. 21–23, 7:30 p.m.

Mitchell Hall Theatre

My Big Operatic Wedding

Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 21-23, 7:30 p.m.

UCO Jazz Lab

UCO Wind Symphony Concert

Tuesday, Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m.

Mitchell Hall Theatre

UCO Symphony Orchestra Concert

Thursday, Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m.

Mitchell Hall Theatre

Art Senior Capstone Exhibit Exhibit open Dec. 5–12

Reception: Thursday, Dec. 5, 5:30–7:30 p.m.

Melton Gallery

There’s No Business Like Snow Business

Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 5-7 and Dec. 1214, 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 8, 5 p.m.

UCO Jazz Lab

UCO Choirs in Concert

Saturday, Dec. 7, 7:30 p.m.

Mitchell Hall Theatre

Dance Senior Project Fall Concert

Thursday, Dec. 12, 7:30 p.m.

Mitchell Hall Theatre

Macabret (2017)

Kaleidoscope (2018)

Macbeth (2018)