DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI RELATIONS LETTER

This year has been a much-needed blessing. We have returned to many of our missed events that provide the opportunities to reconnect, in person, with our Ranger family. Homecoming 2021 was back with the unmistakable Ranger Spirit. The Northwestern Sports Hall of Fame celebrated two years of inductees – outstanding athletes and coaches who are a part of our athletic legacy.

For the annual Spring Alumni Reunion, we prepared for three years’ worth of honored classes – 18 total classes – to return and celebrate their Northwestern journeys. Percefull Fieldhouse was filled with these incredible alumni and their Ranger enthusiasm.

With each event and celebration – and with every conversation with alumni, donors, students, faculty, staff and community – I recognize the enduring strength of Northwestern. Its history details decades of challenges and adversity. Yet, it also records the perseverance, the vision and the successes of the institution. To borrow half of a slogan that cities, companies and other entities have used, we are NorthwesternStrong.

We now are pleased to offer you this edition of roundUP. This issue provides a look into the busy lives of four of our remarkable alumni, individuals who well represent Northwestern Oklahoma State University.

Actress Sarah Acosta, ’14, earned a role in “1883,” the limited-run television drama which first aired in 2021 on Paramount+. Sarah shared some of her on- and off-set experience with us earlier this year.

We caught up with Dr. Dudley Darrow, ’02, who became superintendent of Chisolm Public Schools in the fall of 2022. Proud of his Northwestern roots, Dudley offers enthusiasm in his passion for public education.

Natalie Sacket-Evans and Jordan Evans, both 2016 graduates, are making an impact on Oklahoma City in both their careers and their volunteer work for several civic groups. And like Sarah and Dudley, they acknowledge Northwestern as a foundation that continues to be a strength in building their careers.

This year also marked the retirement of Dr. Janet Cunningham, who provided extraordinary leadership as Northwestern’s president for 16 years. The next chapter of Northwestern leadership did not miss a beat as Dr. Bo Hannaford was appointed the 20th president of the university and assumed his role on July 1, 2022. Enjoy Dr. Hannaford’s profile on page 12.

Thank you for your part in the Northwestern story. We are looking forward to the year ahead, and we hope to meet and visit with as many of you as possible. Mark your calendars now to join us October 7, 2023, for Homecoming.

Ride, Rangers, Ride.

John Allen

Director, Alumni Relations Northwestern Foundation & Alumni Association