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.

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 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