CENTRAL LIFETIME MEMBERS

We want to keep in touch with you!

We appreciate your dedication to the UCO Alumni Association as a Lifetime Member. As the university continues to progress forward, we are excited to offer readers the convenience to read Old North on their phone, tablet or computer while also being more eco-conscious.

To continue receiving Old North without interruption, we ask that you update or verify your contact information by calling 405-974-2771 or visiting centralconnection.org/register. This will also ensure that you will stay connected to member benefits as well as receive our monthly e-newsletter that will keep you up-to-date on all things Central.

If you feel the digital version of Old North magazine is not the best option for you, a limited number may be available to be mailed. Please notify the UCO Alumni Relations office with your preference.

Did you know there are other benefits available to you? Benefits include:

Checking out up to five items from the UCO Library Discounts on student performances at Mitchell Hall and the UCO Jazz Lab

Discounted membership to the Wellness Center And more!

Discover all Lifetime Member benefits at centralconnection.org/benefits.

Thanks for being a dedicated Broncho for life! We look forward to your response by Jan. 19, 2021.

Earning Hall Of Fame Honors

Col. Stanley Evans (BBA ’77) was inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame and received the Maj. Gen. Douglas O. Dollar Award for his civic contributions to Oklahoma City and the state of Oklahoma at large. Evans served for 32 years in the U.S. Army, after enlisting following graduation from Douglas High School in 1964, eventually rising to the rank of colonel. Following retirement from the Army, Evans attended the University of Oklahoma School of Law, where he now serves as assistant dean, nearly two decades later.

In 2019, Evans was named as the Rita Washington Lifetime Service Achievement Award recipient at the 2019 Juneteenth Music and Arts Festival in Oklahoma City. During his childhood in Oklahoma City, Evans participated in Clara Luper’s civil rights sit-in movement, sitting at the Katz Drug Store counter in 1958. As part of his military career, he was the first African American to serve in command at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, as well as dean of the Army’s Command and General Staff College. Evans is known across the community for his pro bono legal work, scholarship provisions and service to the community.

LEADING THE NATION’S NAVY

Gregory J. Slavonic (MEd ’77) was appointed as the acting under secretary of the U.S. Navy by President Donald Trump. In this current position, Slavonic serves as the deputy and principal assistant to the secretary of the Navy, as well as chief operating officer and chief management officer for the U.S. Department of the Navy. Before the appointment, Slavonic served as the assistant secretary for the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, as well as chief of staff for U.S. Senator James Lankford.

Slavonic first enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a seaman recruit, later retiring at the rank of rear admiral in the U.S. Navy Reserve. During his military career, he served in combat deployments in Vietnam, Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Before retirement, he was the Navy’s sixth special assistant to the chief of information and director of the Navy Reserve Public Affairs program. Notably, also during his service, Slavonic was co-chair for the design and building of the USS Oklahoma Memorial at Pearl Harbor to remember the 429 sailors and marines who served on the battleship and lost their lives Dec. 7, 1941.

Alumni Notes

’68 Stan Brownlee (BS ’68) was appointed by Gov. Stitt to the Northern Oklahoma College (NOC) Board of Regents. From Enid, Brownlee was reappointed to serve another five-year term on the board.

’73 Judge Rick Woolery (BEd ’73), who recently retired, received the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Joe Stamper Distinguished Service Award for his longtime service to the association and his contributions to the legal profession.

’86 Shirley Erp (BS ’86) became the new chief information security officer for the City of Austin in Texas. A longtime cybersecurity professional, Erp will manage the city’s Information Security Office, where she will be responsible for executing the citywide information security program, which includes keeping the city’s information, data and technology infrastructure safe and running.

’86 Monty Grider (BS ’86, MEd ’91) was elected McIntosh County Commissioner District 2 in Oklahoma.

’87 Paul Beavers (BS ’87) was named the chief technology officer at PCS Software, which provides software for the trucking industry. Beavers previously served 22 years at BMC Software.

’88 Tracie Collins, M.D. (BS ’88) was appointed as the secretary of the New Mexico Department of Health by New Mexico’s Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Prior to her appointment, Collins served as the dean of The University of New Mexico College of Population Health. She also chaired the Department of Preventative Medicine and Public Health at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Wichita, Kansas. In addition to her degree from Central, Collins earned her MD at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, with an internal medicine residency, followed

Alumni Notes

by ambulatory care and general internal medicine fellowships and a Master of Public Health from Harvard University, as well as a Master of Science in health care delivery from Dartmouth College.

’99 Linda Sealey, Ph.D., (MS ’99) received the Oklahoma Speech-LanguageHearing Association’s 2020 Honors of the Association Award for her demonstration of noteworthy professional service and exceptional accomplishment in the field of communication disorders. Sealey is an associate professor in Central’s Donna Nigh Department of Advanced Professional and Special Services and serves as program coordinator for its undergraduate and graduate speech-language pathology programs.

’02 Jay Chaney (BBA ’02) joined Bullard & Associates as an attorney in the firm’s Oklahoma City office. Chaney is a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association and the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Workers’ Compensation section.

’05 Jessica Clayton (BA ’05) was named the president and chief executive officer of Daily Living Centers of Oklahoma. She previously served in executive positions at the Mercy Health Foundation and First United Bank. Clayton currently is serving her second term as honorary commander for the Tinker Air Force Base 552nd Air Control Wing.

’11 Paco Balderrama (MA ’11) was named the chief of police for the Fresno Police Department in Fresno, California, becoming the city’s first Hispanic police chief. Balderrama previously served in the Oklahoma City Police Department for 22 years, culminating in his service as deputy chief.

Want

Please send Alumni/In Memory notes, along with any accompanying photos, to University Communications, ucomm@uco.edu, with “Alumni Note” in the subject line.

In Memory Alumni

Ralph Bullard (BS ’60)

Mary Jane Hess (MEd ’80)

Ruth Christner Hopper (BS ’47)

Margaret Bushree Querna (BS ’68)

Geneva Gilbert Young (BS ’82, MS ’84)

Students

Marissa Murrow

Miguel Angel Alvarado Sixtos

Kyle Ward

Hall Duncan, a former longtime professor of advertising, design and cartooning at Central, died Nov. 30, 2020. Prior to his time at Central, Duncan served in the U.S. Army during World War II, receiving a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge. To honor his service to its liberation during the war, France bestowed their Legion of Honor to Duncan and named a town square on his behalf. After retiring from UCO, Duncan went on to illustrate children’s books and became a member of the Territory Tellers. Duncan’s connection with Central lives on through the symbolic mace carried by the university’s president during commencement ceremonies, which he designed.

In Memory Faculty And Staff

John Brothers

Janice Ford

Cal Francis Guthrie

Carrie Cook Hill

Ellen McKown

Carol Marie Parker

William “Billy” Stumbaugh

Julie Wallar

Richard Dana Walts

Mike McAuliffe, a UCO alumnus and member of the UCO Alumni Association Board of Directors, died Nov. 29, 2020. McAuliffe graduated from Central with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism in 1981, later earning the Distinguished Alumni Award from the UCO Alumni Association in 2005. McAuliffe was the president and CEO of Oklahoma City Events and Entertainment, which produced major events like the OKC Jazz Festival, Oklahoma BBQ Championships and the OKC Holiday River Show. Prior to forming his company, McAuliffe served as chief of staff for two Oklahoma City mayors, Ron Norick and Andy Coats. He was an involved community member and wellknown across the city and state.

Parting Shot

The UCO Teacher Education program held a drive-through celebration for its graduating seniors, celebrating its students for their outstanding achievement.