A&S Magazine - Fall 2015

KENDALL COLLEGE of ARTS AND SCIENCES MAGAZINE

Fall 2015

the university of tulsa Kendall College of Arts and Sciences In this Issue F E AT U R E S 5 Seriously? Humor The Oklahoma Center for the Humanities will spend the school year exploring how humor shapes the human experience.

8 3D microscope opens door to the past The Department of Anthropology houses a three-dimensional microscope ideal for both anthropologists and engineers.

10 From student-athlete to business owner Former footballer Chris Ford is a media entrepreneur.

12 Award winner inspires local kids Hayley Higgs helps local children illustrate and publish a classic.

13 STEM for Native Americans Competition prepares Native American kids for STEM careers.

14 Road to Russia Fulbright winner Morgan Richardson reflects on her Russian experience.

15 Helping SHAPE student-athletes Program gives TU athletes a competitive edge.

Enjoy the Ride!

Barbara and Don (BA ’66) Blackburn have shared 55 amazing years together, raising their children, enjoying their grandchildren and building successful careers in places like Washington, D.C.; Wichita, Kansas; and Providence, Rhode Island. They even have a prized Harley-Davidson that’s carried them down life’s highways.

For the Blackburns, the road led back home to Tulsa after they retired in 2000. Recently, they became members of the CHAPMAN LEGACY SOCIETY by establishing a scholarship endowment through a planned gift.

“We want to give back to the right places,” said Don Blackburn. “TU is a wonderful school. It opened many doors for us, and our good fortune and careful planning will benefit future generations.”

What will your legacy be?

Chapman Legacy Society details at legacy.utulsa.edu.

16 True-Blue photography Popular after-school class helps develop kids’ talent and skills.

The University of Tulsa does not discriminate on the basis of personal status or group characteristics including, but not limited to individuals on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, gender, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, ancestry, or marital status in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, employment policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic and other University sponsored programs. Questions regarding implementation of this policy may be addressed to the Office of Human Resources, 800 South Tucker Drive, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104-9700, 918-631-2616.

Requests for accommodation of disabilities may be addressed to the University’s 504 Coordinator, Dr. Tawny Taylor, 918-631-2315. To ensure availability of an interpreter, five to seven days notice is needed; 48 hours is recommended for all other accommodations. TU#15135

TO CONTACT US OR COMMENT ON THIS MAGAZINE 918-631-3152 SUZY-THOMPSONI@UTULSA.EDU

17 The Fifth Horseman rode into Tulsa TU hosted a red-carpet premier for the docudrama on the world’s first best-seller.

D E PA R T M E N T S 2 A Message from the Dean 6 2015 – 2016 Calendar of Events 18 Faculty News 20 Student News 22 Alumni News Cover: Hayley Higgs with illustrations of Aesops’s Fables. Story on page 12.

This issue of the Kendall College of Arts & Sciences Alumni Magazine was produced with assistance from interns J. J. Cody (BA ’15) and senior Emalia Seto.

Welcome to this new format of our annual Kendall College of Arts & Sciences Alumni update. For years, the college has produced a tabloid-style newsletter, which has been quite popular. This year, we present this magazine-style publication that I hope you will find informative, entertaining, easy to display and even more pleasing aesthetically.

Featured in these pages are articles and news items highlighting the impressive achievements of current students, faculty as well as alumni. This past year saw the induction of TU Trustee and Kendall College alumna Michelle Beale into the Communication Hall of Fame. Michelle’s achievements span an illustrious career and are a great source of pride for the college. Michael Graves, who serves on our Arts and Sciences Board of Visitors was honored as a University of Tulsa Distinguished Alumnus at Homecoming 2014. Michael is a tireless and loyal advocate for our students, and we deeply appreciate his support.

Recent alumni are on their way to making a mark in their chosen careers: This past spring, TU football star Charles Clay signed a $38 million contract with the Buffalo Bills after playing for the Miami Dolphins from 2011-2015; Blondy Baruti has utilized the acting skills honed as a theatre major to land a primetime premier opportunity; and Dr. Shannon (Reynolds) Miles’ coauthored an article with Psychology Professor Al Harkness that has won them both the prestigious Martin Mayman Award of the Journal of Personality Assessment.

Excellence and innovation are the hallmarks of the Kendall College learning experience, and the success of our students is a resounding affirmation of the solid education they receive.

Our placement rate measured at six months after graduation is a hefty 94 percent this year. We continue to do well in securing competitive fellowships and placing our students in top tier graduate and professional schools. This year we have another Fulbright winner in Russian Studies and Political Science double major Morgan Richardson. Lauren Stanley, a Speech Language Pathology major, is headed to Harvard Law School

WGS degree added

The halls are alive with summer camp music

and Elise Bonine, philosophy major from the class of 2012 to Columbia Law. Sociology major Haley C. Stritzel is starting a Ph.D. degree program at UT Austin this fall.

Our faculty continue to exemplify the lofty standards they expect of their students. The stories in this magazine highlight some of the cutting-edge research, publications and creative endeavors in which they have been engaged this past year and the awards and accolades received by them as well as the students they mentor.

As dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, I am extremely proud of our accomplishments and ongoing commitment to excellence. As you read through these pages, I know you will be as well.

Neely and Sarah Thomas won the paid internship, sponsored by CMT. The four worked with young campers and performed twice during the week. Bucchianeri said the opportunity for undergraduates to teach and perform as paid interns is unusual for a liberal arts institution. She said the internship and camp will continue annually.

Kalpana Misra, Dean

2015-16 Arts and Sciences Board of Visitors Mitch Adwon BS ’79 Leta Bell Bartko Barbara Blackburn Don Blackburn BA ’66 Beth Bovaird Sarah Hummel Brown BA ’07, JD ’10 Laurie Brumbaugh BS ’80 Elaine Burkhardt BA ’77 Bill Derrevere BFA ’67, MA ’69 Harriett Derrevere BFA ’69 Lisa Dewey BA ’90 Linda Feagin BS ’66 2 John Finley BA ’96

Thanks to a unique partnership with Chamber Music Tulsa (CMT), the TU School of Music hosted a summer chamber music camp for local youth. Diane Bucchianeri, applied assistant professor of cello, coordinated the camp, which featured four student interns chosen by competition. Music students Ellen Dauk, Micah Neely, Jeremiah

Linda Frazier MA ’80 Marc Frazier Lex Freiden BS ’71 Greg Frizell BA ’81 Michael Graves BA ’67, MA ’70 Wendy Gregory BA ’98 Brad Grow BA ’78 Jenk Jones Jerri Jones MA ’84 Jake Jorishie BS ’78, BA ’08 Cheryl LaFortune BED ’77, MA ’79 Mary Lhevine BS ’82 Bob McCormack BA ’61, JD ’69

Judy McCormack BA ’63, MA ’77 Paula Milsten BS ’61 Bob Mogelnicki BA ’79 Mahvash Karimi Moghaddam (Khosrowyar) BS ’81 Valerie Naifeh BA ’86 Tim Phoenix JD ’78 George Schnetzer Greg Spears BA ’84 Bill Watson BA ’86 Julia Watson Melissa Weiss PhD ’76 Martin Wing

Composers are Feagin Visiting Artists Through the J. Donald Feagin Visiting Artists Endowment Fund, last spring the Department of Film Studies hosted Dan and Sheryl Foliart, who shared their experiences and worked with music and film students. Dan, an Oklahoma native, is a composer known for scoring

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classic television programs like Happy Days and Beverly Hills 90210.

He also wrote the theme songs for popular programs, such as Home Improvement and Roseanne. Sheryl is the music supervisor for the Disney shows Austin & Ally and Shake It Up.

The Women and Gender Studies (WGS) interdisciplinary program added a combined bachelor/ master’s degree in WGS. Holly Laird, director of WGS and the Frances W. O’Hornett Chair of Literature, said the program may be the only one of its kind in the nation and will offer a unique opportunity for students who demonstrate outstanding academic ability.

The WGA interdisciplinary program will launch its next fiveyear theme, “Women and Health,” with a year-long focus on women and sexuality. Public programming will include guest lectures, panel discussions and other events that explore the topic. WGS completed its five-year programming theme “Women and Poverty” this year.

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A message from the Dean

Time magazine cites TU professor emeritus Robert Hogan, professor emeritus of psychology, was a source for the Time article, “Find Out If Your Personality Fits Your Job,” by Eliza Gray, appearing in the June 22, 2015 edition. Hogan and his late wife, Joyce (also a psychology faculty member), cofounded Hogan Assessments and pioneered the use of personality assessments to improve workplace performance. In the Time article, Hogan weighed in on how questions that seem unrelated to the job can be used to identify the ideal employee. A gift from Hogan Assessment Systems has funded a new graduate student lounge and offices for the psychology department. Located in Lorton Hall, the long-used area needed updating to better serve current students as well as attract new students who visit.

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Viewing the future in the past

Captain John Smith and Party Landing at Jamestown, May 14, 1607 John Mix Stanley, oil on canvas, Gilcrease Museum

Associate Professor of Anthropology Thomas Foster led a team of students on an excavation dig at the Muscogee Creek Council house in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. The Creek Nation’s Native News Today featured Foster and three doctoral students: Katie Garner, Alicia Odewale and Kelsey Clardy.

Foster received his doctorate from Pennsylvania State University and is the author of Archaeology of the Lower Muskogee Creek Indians, 1715–1836 and The Collected Works of Benjamin Hawkins, 1796-1810.

He recently co-edited a book, Viewing the Future in the Past: Historical Ecology Applications to Environmental Issues, which is a collection of essays that presents a wide range of authors, loci and subjects that together demonstrate the value and necessity of looking at environmental problems as a longterm process that involves humans

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as a causal factor.

Foster and his fellow editors argue that it is increasingly apparent to environmental and earth sciences experts that humans have had a profound effect on the physical, climatological and biological earth.

Consequently, they suggest that understanding any aspect of the earth within the past 10,000 years means understanding the density and activities of Homo sapiens.

The essays reveal the ways in which archaeologists and anthropologists have devised methodological and theoretical tools and applied them to pre-Columbian societies in the New World and ancient sites in the Middle East.

The contributors provide evidence that past and present ecosystems, economies and landscapes must be understood through the study of human activity over millennia and across the globe.

Early Americanists coming to TU in 2017 TU will serve as host to the 2017 Biennial Conference of the Society of Early Americanists. Laura Stevens, associate professor of English, recently became the president of that society and will coordinate the conference.

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Seriously? Humor

Digital Studies minor added The Kendall College of Arts & Sciences recently added a minor in digital studies. Students will be able to earn the minor beginning in the fall of 2015. Digital studies explores the interdisciplinary relationship between communication and digital technologies.

The digital studies certificate is one of several certificate opportunities available in the college. To earn a certificate, students complete 18 to 24 additional credits. While traditional majors and minors generally focus on a particular area of study, certificate programs incorporate the study of a particular theme across disciplines.

Indigenous Studies Alliance formed The Tulsa Indigenous Studies Alliance is a collaborative effort among TU, Oklahoma State University, Philbrook Museum and the Zarrow Center. Cofounder Brian Hosmer, H.G. Barnard Associate Professor of Western American History, said the alliance formed a few years ago when he and his counterparts at other institutions realized they were teaching and researching related topics and offering similar outreach efforts in the Tulsa community.

“By thinking more broadly and coordinating our efforts, we are reaching more people through arts and humanities, through public lectures and events,” Hosmer said.

“Our goals are to raise awareness of indigenous studies in Tulsa and connect academic and nonacademic audiences.”

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DID YOU HEAR THE ONE ABOUT THE SCHOLARS WHO WONDERED HOW HUMOR SHAPES OUR HUMANITY?

THEY SPENT A YEAR TALKING ABOUT IT. Okay, it’s not a side-splitter, but the Oklahoma Center for the Humanities’ (OCH) 2015-2016 theme will focus on the role of humor in today’s world.

“One of our goals at OCH is to show that humanities aren’t just esoteric themes,” said Sean Latham, director of OCH and the Pauline McFarlin Walter Endowed Chair of English and Comparative Literature. “The humanities affect all of us daily: They connect to every area of our daily lives.”

Last year, OCH’s inaugural year focused on privacy, with an added focus on the 100th anniversary of World War I. The center hosted 23 events in its first year, with several hundred attendees from across the campus and community. This year’s events likely will prove to be just as popular.

“Humor is what fundamentally and distinctly makes us human,” Latham said. “Humor relates to all other human areas — politics, free speech, privacy, and everything else that shapes what it means to be human.”

Scheduled events include a humor-themed Tulsa episode of the popular podcast Literary Death Match; a lecture and performances from Bruce Adolphe; a political cartoons exhibit and symposium; a lecture on Richard Pryor; and a Big Lebowski-themed arts festival and conference at the Guthrie Green. Several additional events are scheduled or in the planning stages.

“The OCH is unique among humanities centers in that we have at least two members of the general public as fellows each year,” Latham said. “They provide a perspective that ensures our focus and events relate to the world outside academia.”

OCH was founded in 2014 to serve as the state’s first center for the humanities. Themes for the next two years are food (2016-17) and maps (2017-18). Latham said he hopes each year’s activities will serve a larger geographic region of the state, eventually reaching communities throughout Oklahoma.

For event information, check the Oklahoma Center for the Humanities at TU website: humanities.utulsa.edu

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Calendar of Events

Nancy Friese September on the Lieutenant River 2012 Watercolor mounted on linen: 85 x 60"

OCTOBER 1 Exhibit: Norbert Herber, Hogue Gallery, Phillips Hall. Artist lecture: 5 p.m., Jerri Jones Lecture Hall, Phillips Hall. Exhibit through Oct. 29 1 Concert: Jazz artist Conrad Herwig’s Latin Side All-Stars, 7:30 p.m., LPC 2 Exhibit: Joe Johnson, photography.

Zarrow Center, through Nov. 29 8-11, 15-18 Theatre: The Hourglass Project by Lee Blessing, Chapman Theatre, Kendall Hall. Senior Matinee: Oct. 9, 2 p.m.

8 Concert: Concerts with Commentary, 7:30 p.m., Sharp Chapel 14 Event: Literary Death Match, cosponsored by OCH and Booksmart Tulsa, 7 p.m., Living Arts Gallery, 307 East M.B. Brady Street 22 Homecoming Pep Rally and Bonfire, 7:30 p.m., Dietler Commons 23 Homecoming, TU v Memphis, 7 p.m. kickoff, H.A. Chapman Stadium 23 Lecture: Stephanie Boulard, “Victor Hugo and the Death Penalty,” cosponsored by OCH and the Depart-

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ment of English, 6 p.m., Adelson Auditorium, Tyrrell Hall 24 Gold Medallion Society Lunch (50 years or more alumni), 11:30 a.m., Great Hall, Student Union 25 – Nov. 1 Theatre: New Musical Workshop with Feagin Guest Artist Kyle Dugan. Kendall Hall. Reception after the performance on Oct. 30 26 Concert: TU Symphony Orchestra 28 Concert: Eighth Annual Jazz Youth Concert, 10 a.m., LPC 29 Concert: TU Jazz Concert, Pat Kelley, guest guitar soloist, 7:30 p.m., LPC 29 Lecture (OCH): Whitney Phillips, “LOLing at Tragedy; Facebook Trolls and Memorial Pages,” 7 p.m., Adelson Auditorium, Tyrrell Hall 30 Final Friday (OCH): Hungry for the Humanities, 12-1 p.m., Tyrrell Hall.

Visit humanities.utulsa.edu for details.

NOVEMBER 1 Theatre: WomenWorks – Rubble by Eugenie Carabotsos. Theatre II, Kend-

all Hall, through Nov. 7 5 Exhibit: Nancy Friese, the Ruth Mayo Distinguished Visiting Artist, Hogue Gallery, Phillips Hall. Artist Lecture: 5 p.m., Jerri Jones Lecture Hall. Reception: Nov. 12, 6-7 p.m., Exhibit through Dec. 17 6 Concert: Cappella & TU Chorale Concert 8 Concert: Chamber Music with Harp, 3 p.m., Meinig Recital Hall, LPC 9 Concert: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, 7:30 p.m., Gussman Concert Hall, LPC 12 Concert: Concerts with Commentary, 7:30 p.m., Meinig Recital Hall, LPC 14 Lecture/Performance: Bruce Adolphe “Red Dogs and Pink Skies” cosponsored by OCH, Philbrook, Tulsa Symphony, 1 and 2 p.m. Philbrook Museum 15 Concert: “Tough Turkey in the Big City,” 3 p.m., Gussman Concert Hall, LPC. Tickets: $10/adult, $5/children, myticketoffice.com 20 Concert: Opera Workshop DECEMBER 4 Exhibit: Zarrow Center, through Jan. 24 6 Concert: Lessons and Carols, 7:30 p.m., Sharp Chapel.

2016 JANUARY 8 Theatre: I Hate Hamlet, Guest Director Erin McClain, Chapman Theatre, Kendall Hall. Reception after the performance on Jan. 29.

14 Exhibit: Tom Huck, printmaker, Hogue Gallery, Phillips Hall, through Feb. 18. Artist Lecture: Jan. 21, 5 p.m., Jerri Jones Lecture Hall, Phillips Hall 29-31 Exhibit: Abstract Painters Group, artists from Oklahoma and Arkansas. Zarrow Center, through February 28

8 Concert: TU Symphony Orchestra, 7:30 p.m., Gussman Concert Hall, LPC 11 Concert: Concerts with Commentary, 7:30 p.m., Meinig Recital Hall, LPC 16 Concert: Bella Rózsa Composition Competition & Concert, 7:30 p.m., Gussman Concert Hall, LPC 18 Concert: TU Jazz Concert, 7:30 p.m., Gussman Concert Hall, LPC 22 Film: Spring Film Festival, 7:00 p.m., Meinig Recital Hall, LPC 25 Concert: Bella Rózsa Memorial Concert, 7:30 p.m., Gussman Concert Hall, LPC 25 Exhibit: MFA Thesis Exhibition, Hogue Gallery, Phillips Hall. Reception: 5 p.m. Exhibit through Feb. 28 MARCH

Dec. 3 - Holiday Medley of Song and Dance Jazz Concert and Theater Performance: “Holiday Medley of Song and Dance” performed by TU Jazz Band, Jazz Singers and TU Dance students, 7:30 p.m., Gussman Concert Hall, Lorton Performance Center

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April 22 - Earth Day

FEBRUARY

2 Concert: TU Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Winds, 7:30 p.m., Gussman Concert Hall, LPC 4 Exhibit: The Art of Politics, Zarrow Center, through May 1 10 Concert: Concerts with Commentary, 7:30 p.m., Meinig Recital Hall, LPC 26 Lecture: Mark Jackson, “Woody Guthrie’s Humor,” Woody Guthrie Center. For more information, visit www. humanities.utulsa.edu 31 Exhibit: 48th Annual Gussman Juried Student Exhibition. Hogue Gallery, Phillips Hall. Reception: 5 p.m. Exhibit through April 21 31-April 3 Theatre: Sondheim on Sondheim with Feagin Guest Cathy Venable, Gussman Concert Hall, LPC. Reception: after the performance on March 25.

Senior Matinee: April 1, 10 a.m.

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For more information, visit humanities.utulsa.edu.

APRIL 8-9 Symposium: “Giving Offense: Political Cartoons in American Democracy” cosponsored by the OCH and the Oklahoma Humanities Council. Friday Keynote, Mike Luckovich; Saturday panel, Tulsa World cartoonist Bruce Plante and others. Vista Room, Gilcrease Museum. For more information, visit humanities.utulsa.edu.

8 Concert: Opera Workshop Performance, 7:30 p.m. Meinig Recital Hall, LPC 10 Concert: Chamber Music with Harp, 3 p.m. Meinig Recital Hall, LPC 14 Concert: TU Jazz Concert, 7:30 p.m., Gussman Concert Hall, LPC 15 Concert: Cappella Spring Concert, 7:30 p.m., Gussman Concert Hall, LPC 15 Event: Arts and Humanities Festival (in conjunction with TU Preview Day).

All day event, LPC and campus. For schedule, visit humanities.utulsa.edu.

17 Concert: TU Chamber Players, 3 p.m. Meinig Recital Hall, LPC 18 Concert: TU Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Winds, 7:30 p.m., Gussman Concert Hall, LPC 21 Concert: Concerts with Commentary, 7:30 p.m. Meinig Recital Hall, LPC 22 Concert: TU Concert Chorale (Cappella/TU Chorale/TU Symphony), 7:30 p.m. Trinity Episcopal Church, 501 S. Cincinnati.

22 Theatre: Theatre X (Dance), 8 p.m., Theatre II, Kendall Hall.

25 Concert: TU Symphony Orchestra President’s Concert, 7:30 p.m., Gussman Concert Hall, LPC 28 Exhibit: School of Art, Senior Exhibition, Hogue Gallery, Phillips Hall.

Reception: 5 p.m. Exhibit through May 6 MAY 6 Exhibit: Tulsa World Photography, Zarrow Center, through May 29 6 Film: Annual Senior Film Night, 7 p.m., Adelson Auditorium, Tyrrell Hall JUNE 3 Exhibit: James Joyce’s Ulysses. Zarrow Center, through June 26 16 Event: Third Annual Bloomsday Tulsa, Zarrow Center. For more information, visit humanities.utulsa.edu.

In Other Words Henry Zarrow Center for Art and Education 124 M.B. Brady Street, Tulsa LPC: Lorton Performance Center OCH: Oklahoma Center for the Humanities First Friday Art Crawl Monthly, 6 p.m.-9 p.m., Zarrow Center TU alumni receive complimentary tickets to theatre performances.

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State-of-the-Art

Microscope Opens a View to the Past

Associate Professor of Anthropology Miriam Belmaker plucked a tiny, fossilized tooth from a clear bag, pushed it into a dollop of clay and placed it under the microscope. After several adjustments and refocusing efforts, a nearby computer monitor displayed an image that looked more like a colorful topographical map than dental enamel.

The tooth was from a million-year-old rat from the early hominid site of Gladysvale in South Africa, and the microscope was one powerful enough to create a colorful 3-D image of tooth area 60 microns square and 6 microns deep. A single micron is about 100 times smaller than the finest grain of sand.

By analyzing the fossilized teeth of prehistoric rodents, Belmaker and other anthropologists are able to draw conclusions about the climate and plant life available during early periods of hominoid evolution.

“Wherever you find groups of hominoids in archaeological sites, you’ll also find rodents,” Belmaker said. “By analyzing the micro-striations left by the food particles those rodents ate, you can draw conclusions about the types of plant life in the environment at that time.”

Specimens with patterns of straight and parallel striations indicates the environment was grassy and lush with plant life. Heavily pitted teeth indicate the presence of nuts or other hard, drier foods. This allows anthropologists to determine climate changes over time and analyze how that affected human migration patterns in prehistoric eras.

“This is a good way to recreate the environment and see the climate changes,” Belmaker said. “When there’s climate change, it might not always change the animals, but it always changes the foods they eat.”

The microscope Belmaker uses in her research is the Sensofar S-Neox Profiler. What looks like a typical large microscope is capable of producing complex, three-dimensional images far beyond the capacity of a normal microscope. Belmaker partnered with physics and engineering faculty at TU to secure the microscope through a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant last year.

“I think we were successful getting this $230,000 grant from the NSF because we were able to show that researchers from a variety of disciplines would be able to use the microscope,” Belmaker said. “We also had an ideal home for the microscope in the anthropology department, with proper climate controls and hardware connections; and that helped too.”

Belmaker said the Sensofar S-Neox microscope is used commercially in manufacturing and engineering. More recently, the use of the microscope in anthropological study was developed by Professor Peter Ungar at the University of Arkansas. Belmaker first used that technology during her postgraduate work at Harvard University, when she visited Arkansas to use the machine for her research.

“There are not many of these microscopes being used in taphonomy research. TU has the only one in Oklahoma, and it is the latest model available,” Belmaker said. She explained that taphonomy is the science of studying items that have fossilized.

Belmaker said fossilized rodent remains are better determinants of climate than other animal remains, such as deer or other game animals, which may have been brought into the early human community after hunting expeditions to other areas.

“Rodents accumulate naturally and that makes them the most unbiased source of information,” Belmaker said. “If I can see shallow and short micro-striations on a rodent from one time period and pits and deeper striations on another rodent from the same location but a different period, I can measure changes in diet, which indicates a climate shift.”

Shifts in climate are one explanation of why early man may have migrated from Africa to Eurasia two millions years ago.

Being able to pinpoint the approximate time of that climate

change, its extent and which species it affected, helps determine how much of a factor it was in the migration.

Belmaker’s research centers on archeological excavations in the Middle East. She is analyzing materials from a dig in Huqoq and Bethsaida in Israel and has a new research project in Armenia where she spent the last two summers on a new dig.

She also has conducted research on sites in Jordan and Georgia.

What she brings back from digs can be analyzed by the microscope, even if it isn’t teeth. Researchers can analyze ceramics, stone tools and other items to determine how they were used and what surfaces they touched.

“This can open many research doors in anthropology as well as other disciplines,” Belmaker said. “I look forward to the day when researchers from other disciplines or even other institutions come here to use this equipment for discovery.”

Professor Miriam Belmaker (second from right) engages (l-r) Matt Luetjen, Sarah Gilcrease and Colleen Bell in a physical anthropology class.

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From student-athlete n n n

to business owner n n n

Chris Ford (BFA ’11) has never backed away from a challenge.

“I work hard because I want to prove to myself that I am capable of doing anything I put my mind to,” he said.

Ford is the founder and CEO of C Ford TV Network, a media consultant company offering a variety of services including presentation and video packages, social media planning, career development and mentor programs. The company’s mission is to provide development for entrepreneurs, entertainers, multilevel marketers and athletes through media production, project management and consulting.

Creating C Ford TV Network was a blessing in disguise. A natural class clown, Ford always loved to make people laugh.

During his junior year at TU, Ford was caught making a video on his laptop during class, which distracted other students from the professor’s lecture. Despite having, “received a few words from the professor,” not all of the attention Ford received was

negative. The incident inspired him to continue making videos, and Ford soon gained the attention of TU’s media department.

He was then enlisted by the athletic department to create an original web series — “On Board with Ford” — that was used to recruit potential athletes and showcase the culture of the university. It was shown during halftime at athletic events and on the TU athletic website.

Ford is accustomed to juggling multiple commitments.

During his time at TU, he played on the football team as a wide receiver, with a double major in film studies and theater. Ford had to juggle tests and papers with late night theater practices and daily workouts.

“My experience at TU was a little different than most. My commitments to football and theater often collided,” he said.

“It was tough to endure the late nights and sleepy days of practices and performances, but I learned to prioritize my time, and it prepared me for a busy life as a business owner.”

Ford received a lot of support from TU’s administration, and President Upham even made an appearance in an episode of “On Board with Ford.”

When it came time to choose a career path, Ford was torn between his love for football and his desire to be a business owner.

“I was faced with many obstacles when it came time to decide which career path to take,” he said.

He was encouraged to pursue a career in media and started looking for ways to move into the entertainment industry. By his senior year at TU, Ford had created C Ford TV Network.

Under the umbrella of C Ford TV Network, Ford created the #MediaRockStarz program, designed to give nonprofits the opportunity to reach their highest potential of growth through quality media exposures. Ford offers lowcost media packages for nonprofits and has a generous program that gives participating nonprofits compensation for every company they refer to C Ford TV Network.

Ford’s desire to help others inspired him to create Werk On Me, Inc., his own nonprofit organization.

“I have always had a drive to give back,” he said.

As Ford’s company grew he started incorporating programs that could benefit the less fortunate.

Werk On Me, Inc. offers youth mentor programs and internship opportunities.

“We specialize in mentorship and career planning,” Ford explains, “Werk On Me, Inc. is really just an organization of enhancement. We give kids a starting point and help them to be independent.”

C Ford TV Network is based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but continues to work with many companies in Tulsa.

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STEM competition for Native American students Award winner inspires local kids Her professors say Hayley Higgs (BFA ’15) may be one of the most talented and hardworking graphic design students TU has produced, but she would never tell you that. Instead, a long list of achievements and awards, as well as praises from her clients and professors, speak for her.

M. Teresa Valero, director of the School of Art, described Higgs as her “star student,” and said she was one of the best students in TU’s Third Floor Design program.

Last spring, Higgs won six Addy Awards in the annual competition that recognizes advertising professionals. She also won the Outstanding Senior Award from the School of Art. Higgs graduated in May with a BFA in graphic design, a certificate in advertising, a minor in art history and a minor in French.

Her senior year, Higgs led an illustration class for a group of Kendall-Whittier Elementary School students as a part of her Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge (TURC) project.

Higgs assigned each of the students two of Aesop’s fables. The students discussed the literature, then created illustrations of the scenes, which were then compiled into a book.

The purpose of the project was not only to teach fundamental illustration skills, but also to teach the importance of visual and critical thinking.

“In the visual art world, illustrators have sometimes been considered less important than fine artists and graphic designers,” Higgs explained. “But illustration is a high-value skill.”

Higgs also found that the project inspired the kids in other realms as well.

“One of the students, Alejandro, read the entire

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book of Aesop’s Fables and created some great illustrations,” she said. “Then one day late in the semester, he arrived with an old copy of Edgar Allen Poe poetry and informed me, ‘I’m kind of over the fables. I’m into poetry now.’”

The illustrations he had made of Aesop’s Fables sparked new creative interests for Alejandro, and Higgs considers that a total win.

Higgs’ project was incredibly well received by the students and their parents. Valero said that, during the final reception, one of the mothers commented, “You have no idea what this project has done for my daughter.”

“The mother said her daughter had very little interest in school before this class, but she loved going to ‘illustration club’ and never wanted to miss it,” Valero said.

From mentoring elementary children to winning industry awards for her own graphic design work, Higgs has set herself apart by demonstrating excellence, compassion and commitment.

“We throw a big net when we teach, and we don’t always catch everyone,” Valero said. “But Hayley’s work was some of the best I have ever seen from a student.”

According to U.S. News & World Reports, nearly 30 percent of Native American students say they want to pursue a career in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM), but only account for two percent of professionals actually working in those fields.

With the second highest total population of Native Americans in the nation, Oklahoma is the ideal place to pilot ways to engage those students in STEM education. David Brown, associate professor of urban education, is doing that through a carefully designed competition on the TU campus.

Last November, Brown organized the first Native American STEM Competition and Teacher Conference. More than 500 middle and high school students arrived on campus in 100 different teams and spent the day completing eight specific challenges.

“Students did not have to be Native American to attend the competition,” Brown said. “But each team had to have a majority of Native American students. Of the students who indicated their ethnicity, 79 percent said they were Native American.”

Challenges took place simultaneously at eight different locations across campus and included slingshot building, a Rube Goldberg design and a quiz bowl. Teams included 13 all-female teams, 12 all-male teams and 75 coed teams.

While their students were immersed in competition, the 45 teachers in attendance participated in STEM education workshops, gaining insight into ways they can better engage all students in STEM learning.

“You can’t just lecture about STEM topics, or you’ll lose the student,” Brown said. “They have to be moving and touching things and working collaboratively. If they are, they will not only learn, but also enjoy it.”

Brown has been coordinating STEM camps at TU for years with support from the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), the National Science Foundation, the Oklahoma State Regents of Higher Education and TU. The idea for a STEM event targeted to Native American students came from an advisory group of teachers and other professionals Brown meets with regularly.

“We meet to discuss how the program could evolve and meet current needs.

The group recognized that Native Americans are an underrepresented minority in STEM college programs and careers,” Brown said. “We wanted to use Native American values and cultures to encourage them to learn about STEM. In designing the competition, we got information from tribes, Native American students and teachers about what would work best.”

Brown said the competition was successful enough to secure a second year of funding from EPSCoR, and with a growing awareness of the competition throughout the state, Brown expects to have a larger group of students compete in 2016.

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Road to Russia leads to Fulbright

Morgan on Richards

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Morgan Richardson (BA ’15) received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Fellowship for 2015-2016. In the fall, she will move to Kazan, Russia, to begin teaching English at The Institute of Economics, Management and Law. She was chosen to be one of only 25 Americans currently working in Russia through the Fulbright program.

Richardson, a Tulsa native, graduated last May with a BA degree in Russian studies and political science, with a minor in French.

When Richardson entered TU, she wanted to learn a new, unique language. Richardson was already bilingual, having studied French in high school, and she wanted to acquire a third language that would challenge her. After she heard about TU’s Russian studies program, she chose the language for its “mysteriousness.” Richardson said she fell in love with the language and culture almost immediately, and that love eventually led her to declare Russian studies as one of her majors. She spent her junior spring semester studying in St. Petersburg. While she was there, Richardson took five classes and became fully immersed in Russian culture, an experience she describes as being “like a dream.”

As an African American, Richardson said she expected some culture shock but was surprised by the lack of diversity in Russia.

“Coming from one of the most diverse schools in America, it was initially hard to adjust to the lack of diversity there,” Richardson explained. “You hear about Russia being ethnically diverse, but they are all just different shades of white. There was no way I could blend in!”

Richardson said she was uncomfortable by the many over-the-shoulder glances on the transit system, children staring and pointing, and people turning around to get a better look at her.

“Something as basic and elemental as skin pigmentation singled me out wherever I went,” Morgan said. “I suffocated in my skin; skin that I previously adored. At the time I didn’t understand their curiosity and became very angry.”

This anger prompted Richardson to do more research on racism in Russia. She soon realized that, rather than having negative feelings toward black people, most Russians are just curious, since they rarely see people with darker skin tones. As a culture, Russians tend to be unfriendly toward strangers, which made the attention even more uncomfortable.

In one of Richardson’s blog posts from her time in St. Petersburg, she wrote, “There are surprisingly large differences between typical Russian and American behaviors. It’s not that Russians are rude, or that we Americans are stupid. Rather, the reasons for our distinct behaviors are rooted in historical differences.”

Despite these challenges, Richardson loved her time in Russia so much that she applied for the Fulbright ETA fellowship to spend another year there. She said she found that, once she broke down the barriers and got to know them, Russians are some of the kindest people anywhere.

“There is a saying that Russians are like nuts. They are tough, but once you crack them, they are yours,” she laughed.

Richardson says she gained a lot of independence and confidence while in Russia, and she hopes her time in Kazan will prepare her for a potential future working as a Foreign Service Officer in the U.S. Department of State.

“My dream is to be a Russian Studies master,” she explains.

Richardson is on her way toward that dream. When she returns from Russia, she will enter the graduate Russian studies program at Indiana University on full scholarship.

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TU

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SHAPE student-athletes for conference success

According to the NCAA, there are 420,000 student-athletes in the United States who spend, on average, 45 hours per week in class, studying, and practicing their sport. As highprofile representatives of their institutions, they also devote considerable time traveling and competing, volunteering in the community and participating in promotional events.

Clearly, being a student-athlete requires managing a fastpaced and demanding schedule. So how do student-athletes maintain the top-level mental and physical performance critical to their success?

To find the answer, The University of Tulsa athletic department joined forces four years ago with the university’s Tulsa Institute of Trauma, Adversity and Injustice (TITAN).

This interdisciplinary partnership, called the Student Health Athletic Performance Evaluation (SHAPE), conducted longitudinal research to understand the physical and mental stress of TU student-athletes.

As part of the development of SHAPE, the research team gathered four years of information from confidential surveys done at the beginning of each academic year. Lisa Cromer, assistant professor of psychology and a SHAPE founder, describes the importance of the four-year research plan.

“We wanted to study an entire life cycle of a student-athlete at TU from freshmen year through graduation,” Cromer said. “We wanted to understand at what points in their careers were they most stressed and when, if and how that stress ever declined.”

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Knowing that stress affected both physical and mental performance, the SHAPE research discovered that poor sleep quality contributed to the majority of TU student-athletes’ stress. To reduce stress in student-athletes, the researchers realized they needed to provide services that would help studentathletes improve their sleep quality and make sleep a priority.

Over the past year, SHAPE presented individual team sleep seminars, where information was provided on the importance of sleep and the quality of sleep needed, as well as habits to help student-athletes incorporate better sleep quality into their busy schedules.

“We are seeing that when athletes sleep better, they are mentally tougher and less stressed. We also see that the studentathletes with higher GPAs are much less stressed than other athletes,” said Cromer. SHAPE wants to provide an opportunity for each student-athlete to perform at their top potential.”

In addition to Cromer, SHAPE team members include Joanne Davis, associate professor of psychology; Kathleen Strunk, clinical associate professor for the College of Health Sciences; and graduate assistant Emily Kaier.

Starting next year, SHAPE will offer services in areas such as developing an athlete’s mental toughness, strategies for studying and reaching academic goals, providing student-athletes with information regarding sleep quality, and toolkits to help them reach their peak mental and emotional strength for top-level performance in both the classroom and competition.

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The Fifth Horseman rode into Tulsa

True Blue photography class engages neighborhood kids In 2009, The University of Tulsa established True Blue Neighbors (TBN) to encourage students, faculty and staff to serve their communities and become more responsible citizens.

For the last six years, TBN has worked to improve the quality of life in the Kendall Whittier neighborhood.

The TBN Youth Mentoring Program partners with Kendall-Whittier Elementary School to create quality afterschool programs that will benefit the community. Children participate in mentorcoordinated activities such as community gardening, fine arts instruction and character development. Children also enjoy healthy snacks and complete dinners daily.

TU’s Photography Club (sponsored by Dan Farnum, assistant professor of art and photography) created a program to teach kids the basics of photography and allow them to explore and develop their creative skills.

Photography Club volunteers spend an hour a week working with children.

A popular subject of photos is the Kendall Whittier community garden. The students

are given a loose objective, such as finding different shapes or colors in the garden. They then use basic digital cameras to capture these images. This program fosters mentor relationships between the TU students and the Kendall Whittier kids while teaching the children the basics of photography, and why it matters.

“The purpose of this program is to teach the kids to use photography as a means of expression, and some of them have shown great artistic promise,” explained Farnum.

“These are some truly talented kids, and they have blown me away with their work.”

As the skills of the students improve, they are challenged with new objectives such as photo scavenger hunts, selfportraits and playground action shots.

Rebekah Hogan, president of TU’s Photography Club said she loved working with the Kendall Whittier children. “It was great to see the kids get so excited about creativity and photography! The kids took some really great photos.”

During these sessions, Farnum was inspired to take photographs of the children. These works, along with some works by the children, will be on display at the Circle Cinema September 22 through October 31.

Enrique Viciano, Pura Fernández, Chris Anderson, Rosana Pastor

Last November, internationally recognized literature and film scholars gathered in Tulsa to discuss their most recent research on the life and works of author Vicente Blasco Ibáñez. The 100th anniversary of World War I provided an excellent backdrop to feature Blasco’s novel, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, written in 1916 and often considered the world’s first best-seller.

The events that took place during the Comparative Literature Symposium and Documentary Film Debut were hosted by Professor of Spanish and Comparative Literature Christopher L. Anderson on November 10-12, 2014. These included eight public presentations delivered in the Ellen G. Adelson Auditorium (Tyrrell Hall); a viewing of the 1921 film of the novel (starring Rudolph Valentino); and the world premiere of the new docudrama dedicated to Blasco and the Great War, The Fifth Horseman: A Vision of World War I. “Blasco’s famous book tells the story of Julio Desnoyers, a playboy millionaire who transforms into a self-sacrificing French soldier of the Great War,” said Anderson. “Valentino’s portrayal of the character in the film established the ‘Latin

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lover’ as a film staple that continues today.”

To enhance the authenticity of the film’s viewing at Tulsa’s historic Circle Cinema, it was accompanied by Bill Rowland of the Sooner State Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society.

The University of Tulsa’s Lorton Performance Center was the site of the red-carpet premiere of the Blasco-focused docudrama’s English-language version. The Fifth Horseman was produced and directed in Spain by Enrique Viciano and Rosana Pastor, both of whom were in attendance.

“Many of the scholars attending the event were featured in the film,” said Anderson, who was also one of the scholars in the docudrama. “Following the premiere, we had a lively and lengthy question-andanswer session, which demonstrated the audience’s keen interest in Blasco and this film.”

The event, titled “Vicente Blasco Ibáñez and World War I: History, Literature, and Film,” was presented under the auspices of The National Endowment for the Humanities, The Oklahoma Center for the Humanities, and The University of Tulsa’s Faculty Internationalization Grant Program.

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Jon Arnold, associate professor of history, authored Theoderic and the Roman Imperial Restoration, published

by Cambridge University Press.

Michael Basso, McFarlin Professor of Psychology, will serve as associate editor of the Clinic Neuropsychologist, the premier official journal of the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology.

During a sabbatical year, Joseph Bradley, professor of history, held two major fellowships: The W. Glenn Campbell and Rita RicardoCampbell National Fellowship at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University; and the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in European Studies at the University of Warsaw.

Bradley continues in his role as coeditor of Russian Studies in History.

Briggs Buchanan, assistant professor of anthropology, received a grant from the Konrad Lorenz Institute Workshop entitled “Altenberg Workshop on Convergent Evolution on Stone Tool Technology,” which led to 15 published papers and 7 invited papers and workshops.

Associate professor of economics Scott Carter coauthored the book Towards a New Understanding of Sraffa: Evidence from the Archival Research, published by Palgrave Macmillan.

Susan Chase, professor of sociology, wrote “Narrative Inquiry: Toward Theoretical and Methodological Maturity,” to appear in the fifth edition of The Handbook of Qualitative Research.

Josh Corngold, associate professor of education, was appointed to the review board of the journal Educational Theory.

The U.S. military will begin using professor of psychology Joanne Davis’ treatment to address nightmares in people with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Jeff Drouin, assistant professor of English, became codirector of the Modernist Journal Project and authored the book James Joyce, Science, and the Modern Print Culture: “The Einstein of English Fiction,” published by Routledge Series in Twentieth Century Literature.

Economics professor William Dugger received the Special Presidential Award for Scholarly Leadership and Organization from the Association for Evolutionary Economics.

Randall Fuller, Chapman Chair in English, was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and a National Endowment for the Humanities stipend.

Professor of Psychology Al Harkness and his coauthors were honored with the Mayman Award from the Society for Personality Assessment for the best article of 2014 in the Society’s Journal of Personality Assessment.

Jeff Hockett, professor of political science, published the book A Storm Over This Court, with the University of Virginia Press.

Jacob Howland, McFarlin Professor of Philosophy, received a National Endowment for the Humanities summer stipend for the project, “Plato’s Republic: Socrates, Glaucon, and the Drama of the Soul.”

Sean Latham, Walter Professor of English and Comparative Literature wrote The Cambridge Companion to Ulysses, published by Cambridge University Press.

Avi Mintz, associate professor of education, is serving as the contributing editor and program committee member for the Philosophy of Education Society.

Kristen Oertel, Mary Frances Barnard Associate Professor of 19th Century American History,

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authored the just-released book Harriet Tubman: Slavery, the Civil War, and Civil Rights in the Nineteenth Century, published by Routledge.

Last October, Benjamin Peters, assistant professor of communication, organized and hosted an international conference on the theme of Digital Keywords.

Music Professor John S. Powell served as the musicological consultant for an historical reenactment of MarcAntoine Charpentier’s 1673 Malade imaginaire, performed last November in London’s Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. Adjacent to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, the Wanamaker Playhouse is a Jacobean-style theatre built in 2014 to mimic a 17th-century theatre.

Powell advised on instrumentation appropriate to the era, helped select music numbers and provided English translations of the original lyrics. Powell’s work also received the 2014 Best Opera Recording Grammy award. Powell provided the score for The Boston Early Music Festival’s recording of Charpentier’s La Descente D’Orphe’e Aux Enfers.

Ryan Saylor, associate professor of political science, published State Building in Boom Times: Commodities and Coalitions in Latin America and Africa with Oxford University Press.

Michael Whalen, professor of anthropology, coedited Ancient Paquime’ and the Casas Grandes World, published by University of Arizona Press.

Andrew Grant Wood, Stanley Rutland Professor of American History, authored Augustin Lara: A Cultural Biography, published by Oxford University Press.

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New Hires • Danielle MacDonald, assistant professor of anthropology • Keija Parssinen, assistant professor of English • Daniel Arthurs, assistant professor of music • Jennie Choi Ikuta, assistant professor of political science • Paulo Tan, assistant professor of urban education

Promotions • Kim Childs to professor of music • Lisa Cromer to associate professor of psychology • Joanne Davis to professor of psychology • Eduardo Faingold to professor of Spanish • Maureen O’Boyle to applied associate professor of music • Jamie Rhudy to professor of psychology • Joanna Shadlow to applied associate professor of psychology • Jessica Vokoun to associate professor of theatre

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Retirements Don Henry, professor of anthropology, retired after a long and very productive career at The University of Tulsa. Henry received 14 national grants, published six books, 47 articles in refereed journals and lectured worldwide.

His research has been discussed in a number of prominent media outlets, including the journal Science, the New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times.

Henry plans to remain engaged in his research in retirement and has a number of ongoing projects.

Thomas Horne, professor of political science, retired in 2015.

Horne came to TU in 1983 with a doctorate from Columbia University.

In addition to his role as a professor, he served 11 years as the dean of the Kendall College of Arts & Sciences (1994-2003).

Kara Gae Neal ended her three-year term as director of the Schoolof Urban Education. Neal headed up the new school in 2011, after serving as superintendent and CEO of Tulsa Technology Center.

From 1986 to 1992, Neal served on the TU Board of Trustees.

In Memory The college honors the memory of those colleagues who have passed away. You can read their obituaries online at www.artsandsciences. utulsa.edu

Joseph Kestner McFarlin Professor of English & Professor of Film Studies, 19782015

Brad Place Director, School of Art, 1947-1986

Charlotte Stewart Assistant to the Provost, Founder, Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature, 1971-1998

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BLOOP studentnews

BY NICHOLAS WEAVER The ad program received first place at the National Advertising Student Competition for its promotional Pizza Hut Campaign.

Twenty-three students participated in the campaign.

Graduate art student Nancy Andrasko was accepted into the Dallas Regional Ceramics Exhibition.

Film students Tim Ashton and Brian Du interned with the Heartland Gaming Expo last spring. Aston won the Expo’s Video Game Score contest, and Du was runner-up.

Brandon Baney was awarded Outstanding Senior for the 2015 Spring Film Festival and will pursue

an MFA in cinematography at Chapman University. Other awards included: Grant Goodner, Best Film and Audience Choice Awards; Steven McDonald, Best Original Score; and Anna Bennett, Best Actress.

Sarah Beam received the best in show award from Stylus: a Student Journal of Art and Writing. Beam also received first in painting. Other first-place awards were presented to Pamela Prescott, drawing; Nancy Andrasko, sculpture; Victoria Steinhart, photography; Sam Walton, printmaking; Jason Young, mixed media; Hayley Higgs, digital; Meg Smith, poetry; and Kelsey Erwin, prose.

Lotti Bublitz and Cameron Still accepting Sarah Clark Graphic Design Awards from Ben and Nancy Clark and John Hamby, the parents and grandfather of Sarah.

Mike Teal received the best of show award at the 47th Annual Gussman Juried Student Exhibition. Other awards place winners were Taryn Singleton, first graduate award; John Lohrey, first undergraduate award; Emily Taylor, Jerri Jones Research Award; Beth Brady-Edwards, Thomas Manhart Ceramics; Hayley Higgs, senior award; Savannah Walton, Sarah Clark Printmaking; Lotti Bublitz and Cameron Still, Sarah Clark Graphic Design; Candace Gilstrap, Sarah Clark Art History; Megan Curtis, Burt Holmes Painting (graduate); and Jessica Howard, Burt Holmes Painting (undergraduate).

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Farra Dykes was chosen as the Outstanding Senior in elementary education.

Music student Abigail Gshwend completed a study abroad at the Fredyryk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, Poland, as part of a new partnership between the School of Music and the Chopin University.

Nicole Hager and Morgan Richardson received the William Vernon Holloway Award for the Outstanding Political Science Major.

Economics graduate student Payne Hennigan will attend the University of Colorado-Boulder to pursue a Ph.D. degree in economics.

Philosophy major Josh Hinchie had an article accepted by the undergraduate St. Olaf College philosophy journal The Reed.

Lacy Holleman, Russian studies and history senior, studied a full year in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Anthropology M.A. student Kim Ivey was selected as 201516 Student Research Fellow at the Oklahoma Center for the Humanities.

Clinical psychology doctoral student Edward Lannon was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) for 2015. Chosen from some 16,500 applicants, Lannon will receive $138,000 over three years to pursue his advanced degree.

Anthropology doctoral candidate, Alicia Odewale, received two national awards; the Minority Dissertation Fellowship of the American Anthropological Association and the Building Future Faculty Program Award, North Carolina State University.

Sociology and political science senior, Stephen Place, is now the program director of Tulsa Hub, a nonprofit that provides bicycles, bike

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equipment and bicycling education to schools and to those in or near poverty.

Shelby Poor won First Place in Photography at the Pryor Area Arts and Humanities Council.

Mark Rideout’s paper, “‘With what’s unreal thou coactive art’: Gender and the Forces of Illusion in The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest,” was awarded the M. Rick Smith Memorial Prize for Best Graduate Student Essay at the Ohio Valley Shakespeare Conference last October.

Carter Scarborough was chosen as the Outstanding Senior in secondary education.

Lauren Stanley is headed to Harvard Law School this fall.

Haley Stritzel, sociology and women’s and gender studies (WGS) senior, won the sociology department’s award for Outstanding Academic Achievement. She also received the WGS Charlotte Cathey Stewart Award for Outstanding Achievement. She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and received a National Science Foundation Summer Research Grant. In the fall, Haley will enter the doctoral program in sociology at the University of Texas with a full fellowship. During her tenure as an undergraduate researcher at TU, she was invited to present a paper at the American Sociology Association Conference.

Emily Taylor won the Jerri Jones Research Award, which funded her trip to Paris this summer.

In Paris, she researched medieval art and architecture. She also received a research grant from the TU Center for Global Education to assist in her trip.

Economics student Kylie Thomas earned induction into Phi Beta Kappa and will be attending American University to pursue a master’s degree in economics.

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Kyle Walker, a physics and philosophy senior, was the first Oklahoma student to receive an Overseas Press Club Foundation Scholar Award last spring. Walker was among 15 aspiring foreign correspondents selected by a panel of leading journalists from a pool of 175 applicants.

Graduate student Blake Walinder was accepted to the Mount Gretna School of Art summer painting program in Pennsylvania.

Chuyi Wen won First Place for Photography Portfolio at the Oklahoma Collegiate Media Association last spring.

Lauren West, history masters student, was accepted into Russian studies masters’ programs at the University of Illinois and at the University of Kansas.

The TU chapter of Kappa Delta Pi, the international honor society in education, inducted nine students last spring: Shalynne Chaplin, Kristen Hackbirth, Aubrey Hercyk, Brittany Johnston, Tameko Lloyd, Brianne Mobley, Julia Tandy, Kaitlyn Westfall and Anna Wheeler.

Students from the TU School of Art and the Department of Communication were recognized for their advertising and design skills at the 48th Annual Addy Awards in February. The event, hosted by the American Advertising Federation of Tulsa, celebrates the highest standards of creativity in advertising.

Senior Hayley Higgs received the Best of Show award as well as three Gold Awards, two Silver Awards and a Bronze Award. Silver Awards went to Cameron Still, and the ad program for a Mary Kay Campaign. The work being recognized was part of the Third Floor Design student advertising agency at TU.

The only God you and I will ever know lies buried at the bottom of the ocean.

In 1997 it sent us a love letter in sonar.

It reached up through cracks in the ice noise with the same arms that cradled and crushed the big wooden ships of our forefathers.

Its heart is a shifting tectonic sliding puzzle of hurt.

Its eyes scream out for the majesty of colors.

It is father to all the parasites, picking clean the bones of whatever falls in from the daylight zone.

It is the creator of all circles that are not circles, and the flurry of fine-toothed creatures that graze its blind body are regarded as nothing less than angels.

One day we will sit at the harbor and throw our bibles to the rising tides.

We will paint black letters on white sheets to hang from telephone wires, proclaiming in loud letters: there is something in the sea.

And although you don’t know what that something is, it almost certainly knows you.

Because at night, down there, it dreams about us.

We are the chosen, we are fantastic, we are all gorgeous in its sight.

Nicholas Weaver Junior, Film Studies major Tulsa, Oklahoma

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1960s Michael Bleier (BA ’62), a partner in the Pittsburgh law office of ReedSmith, received the prestigious Frank Simpson III Award from the American Bar Association’s Banking Law Committee.

1970s William J. Carl III (BA ’70) was the president and professor of homiletics at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary since 2005.

Last July, he accepted a call to the Independent Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama.

Gilbert O. Sanders (EdD ’74) received the Gold Medal for Life Achievement in the Practice of Psychology by the American Psychological Association (APA) in fall 2014. This is the highest award given by the association.

1990s Melinda L. Pash (BA ’91, MA ’96) wrote In the Shadow of the Greatest Generation: The Americans Who Fought the Korean War. Pash received a doctorate from the University of Tennessee in 2005 and teaches at the Fayetteville (N.C.) Technical Community College.

Kevin Grawer (BA ’95) was recognized as a Breakthrough Principal from the Alliance for Excellent Education and the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

Kevin A. Smith (BA ’95) is a sports reporter in Calgary, Canada.

His son, Jaxon, an eight-yearold drumming prodigy, has been featured on international media including The Today Show and Good Morning, Japan.

Doug Wedge (BA ’96) coauthored The Cy Young Catcher, which tells the story of catcher Charlie O’Brien, who, during his 15-year major league career, was catcher for 13 Cy Young Award winners.

Last December, Happy Hands Education Center received the Congressional Nonprofit in the

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Spotlight Award. Janine Pride (BA ’97) is the long-time executive director of Happy Hands, Oklahoma’s only full-time care provider for preschoolers with communication disorders.

Brian Surratt (BA ’98) was named director of the Seattle Office of Economic Development last May. 2000s David Arthurs (BM ’03) accepted a tenure-track position of assistant professor of music at the University of Northern Texas.

Paul Glasier (MA ’04, PhD ’07) passed the ABPP for clinical neuropsychology.

Makaria Green (BA ’05) is a supervisory intelligence analyst at the Homeland Security Emergency Management Agency at the Washington (D.C.) Regional Threat Analysis Center.

Brandon Baughman (MA ’06, PhD ’08) passed the ABPP for clinical neuropsychology.

Amelia Nelson (MA ’06, PhD ’11) passed the ABPP for clinical neuropsychology.

Cristiana Prado (BFA ’06, MA ’09, MFA ’13) was accepted into the Dallas Regional Ceramics Exhibition last fall.

Emily Price (BA ’06) and Emily Landry (BA ’06) wed in November 2014. The two live in Tulsa, where Price works at Stonehorse Café, and Landry owns Mama Massage Doula.

Nicki Wood (MFA ’06) was named executive director of the Multi Arts Center in Stillwater.

Sarah Bazih (BA ’08) spent a year teaching in Volgograd, Russia, before finishing a masters in Russian studies at the University of Kansas. She is now pursuing a doctorate at the University of California in Los Angeles.

Natalie Henshaw (BA ’08, MA ’09) is a crew leader at HistoriCorps, a nonprofit orga-

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nization that saves and sustains historic places. She also serves as a history instructor at the Savannah Technical College in Georgia.

Blake Martin (BA, BSBA ’09) received a Fulbright scholarship to attend law school at the University of Washington.

2010s Hunter Cates (BA ’10) is lead content specialist and copywriter at BlueView Marketing and Digital agency. Cates and Chris Galegar (BA ’09) started the podcast War Starts at Midnight.

Adam Connors (BA ’10) is local director of operations for the Tulsa American Film Festival taking place in the fall of 2015.

Kevin Kisling (BA ’10) is working at OrientWatchUSA.com. In 2014, Kisling’s film, Quivera, was accepted into the United Film Festival in Los Angeles.

Adrienne Tyrey (BA ’11) is in the doctoral program in history at Michigan State University. She received a Fulbright to conduct research in Morocco.

After teaching in Japan, Elise Bonine (BA ’12) began studying at Columbia Law School this fall.

Maria Copp (BA ’12) is an AmeriCorps volunteer in Chicago.

She plans to attend graduate school at Vanderbilt University.

Catherine Thomas (MFA ’12) was selected to be an exhibiting artist at the Art Now Invitational Exhibition in Oklahoma City.

Bailey Adkinson (BA ’13) received a Fulbright Fellowship and is teaching in Argentina.

Jen Boyd (BA ’13), gallery coordinator at 108 Contemporary (a Tulsa nonprofit arts organization), has been accepted to the University of Oklahoma’s Master of Museum Studies program.

Cara Dublin (BA ’13) accepted the position of grant and donor communications manager at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

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Isaac Holton (BA ’13) works as a lighting and sound designer for Theater Tulsa and became manager of the TUTV facilities at the university.

Carly Putnam (BA ’13) is a policy analyst at the Oklahoma Policy Institute.

Jake Turner (BS ’13) received a Fulbright Fellowship and spent a year teaching in Bulgaria. He is now teaching with Teach for America in Kansas City, Mo. Bailey Ardies (BA ’14) accepted a position on the television program The Pioneer Woman.

Anna Bennett (BA ’14) accepted employment with TulsaPeople magazine.

McKenna Leclear (BA ’14) earned a full fellowship to the sociology doctoral program at Notre Dame.

Stephen Place (BA ’14) is the programs coordinator for the nonprofit organization Tulsa Hub. Jessica Provencher (BA ’14) is pursuing a master’s degree in art history at Oklahoma State University.

Magdalena Sudibjo (BA ’14, BS ’14) will enter the doctoral program in sociology at Vanderbilt with a full fellowship.

Deanna Christianson (BS ’14) is working as an AmeriCorps volunteer in Rockford, Ill. She has been accepted into a number of graduate programs in sociology.

Matt Rahner (BA ’14) was hired as an assistant professor in photography and design at Missouri Valley College.

Casey Stack (BA ’14) is a sales associate with the film equipment sales and rental company Abelcine, based in Manhattan.

Carly Cockman (BS ’15) accepted a position with Freeport-McMoRan Climax Molybdenum in Empire, Colo.

Candace Gilstrap (BFA ’15) has been accepted to the masters program in art history at Oklahoma State University with full funding.

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Marcia Mott MacLeod Distinguished Alumna 2015 Growing up along the Red River in Marietta, Okla., attending The University of Tulsa seemed unattainable to Marcia (Mott) MacLeod. However, an influential acquaintance – then-Gov. Dewey Bartlett Sr. – intervened and encouraged the bright high school student to apply to TU. MacLeod received a full scholarship and began a journey that has taken her across the country and back to Tulsa.

“I’ve had a life filled with opportunity, and I’ve been able to reach out and grab those opportunities because of the confidence I gained at TU,” said MacLeod (BS ’75, JD ’80). “When I was notified that I had been selected as a Distinguished Alumna, I almost broke into tears.”

It’s the fundamentals – critical thinking and problem solving – MacLeod mastered in TU’s Kendall College of Arts & Sciences that led her to believe she could tackle anything. As a communications major, she also took classes in history, science and other areas that piqued her interest. Her favorite professor was James Watson, who taught American literature. “I love mastering new things, and I thrive on change,” she said.

The university can’t take all of the credit for MacLeod’s success. Her parents and grandparents were her biggest supporters, assuring MacLeod she was capable of making her mark in whichever career she chose. Today, her biggest fan is her husband, Ron. Currently senior vice president of human resources and administration at WPX Energy, MacLeod was handpicked to help WPX spin off from Williams and become a stand-alone, publicly traded corporation. Now her office sits on the 26th floor of the BOK Tower.

“The most important thing is to make a positive impact on those around me, especially those I work with,” she said. “And I love TU!” 23

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Michelle Beale, Communication Hall of Fame inductee University of Tulsa Communications Hall of Fame inductee Michelle Beale (BA ’66, JD ’77) attributes much of her career success to the mentors she had along the way, including three unforgettable professors at TU. Beale graduated TU with a bachelor’s in journalism and later received a law degree from her alma mater. Her professional career began at Skelly Oil Company, where she started as a staff writer. After Skelly, she worked at Getty as head of the public relations department, working in

Left to right: TU Trustee Steve Turnbo, TU Trustee and 2015 Communication Hall of Fame inductee Michelle Beale with A&S Dean Kalpana Misra and TU President Steadman Upham

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public affairs and government relations. Beale later made a transition from oil and gas to the beverage industry, where she worked at The Coca-Cola Company as senior vice president of the company’s noncarbonated beverage division. In 2001, Beale was recognized as a TU Distinguished Alumna.

For Beale, the mentors who supported her throughout her career began at TU during her undergraduate years.

“My professors had a huge impact,” she said. “Any success I’ve had started with my professors.”

She attributes her writing success to Tom Wood, who was her news and editing professor. As a writer, Beale reflects on Wood’s class as the foundation for her fast, accurate and succinct writing style.

“He had been an old-time beat reporter and was a stickler for accuracy,” Beale said. “If you made it through his class, you knew how to write.”

Ed Johnson, chair of the journalism department, was Beale’s advisor and mentor. Beale remembers meeting Johnson as a freshman and credits him with starting her career.

“He got me my first paying job,” Beale recollected. “It was in TU’s public relations department, and I worked after classes.”

When Beale was recognized as a TU Distinguished Alumna, she asked Ben Henneke, president of TU during her undergraduate years, to introduce her.

“Dr. Henneke was a wonderful mentor when I worked in TU’s public relations department,” Beale said. “He would come down and talk to me. He was always taking time for his students.”

Reflecting on her career, Beale sums it up in a sentence: “At the end of the day it’s how you build relationships with people.”

Beale currently serves as a member of TU’s Board of Trustees. Retired from The Coca-Cola Company, Beale and her husband, Richard Anderson, live in Houston, and she is president of her own management consulting firm. She devotes much of her time to volunteer activities with The Nature Conservancy of Texas and the Houston Grand Opera, as well as her life-long goal of seeing the world and meeting new people.

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What did you do this summer?

Kendall College hosted several camps for hundreds of local children and youth including instrumental and vocal music, STEM education, visual arts, film studies and more. Faculty, guest facilitators and TU students provided instruction and mentoring to kids who had a great time while learning.

“Summer camps are a tremendous benefit for everyone involved,” said Dean Kalpana Misra. “The children and teens enjoy the campus, make friends and spend time with top experts. Our faculty enjoy teaching in a more relaxed and creative way. I have had many faculty say that some campers have never been on a college campus before.

Thanks to a fun activity like camp, they start to see themselves going to college.”

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800 South Tucker Drive Tulsa, OK 74104-9700 ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

TU School of Music and Marching Band Reunion and Cookout

TU School of Music and Sound of the Golden Hurricane Marching Band alumni and patrons are invited to a reunion. Pre-game Cookout: Friday, Oct. 23, 3:30 p.m., Band Annex. For more information, visit tualumni.com and search “music reunion 2015”.

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