In Memoriam

Ambassador Edward J. Perkins

Ambassador Edward J. Perkins, former U.S. ambassador and first executive director of OU'S International Programs Center, a precursor to the College of International Studies, passed away Nov. 7, 2020, at 92.

Perkins joined OU as IPC executive director in 1996. While he did not plan to stay long, he grew to love the community. He remained at OU for a decade before retiring to Washington, D.C., where he continued to advocate for the advancement of internationalization and global diplomacy. Before his time at OU, Perkins held a lengthy career in service to his country. After serving in the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps, he joined the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Foreign Service. He was appointed ambassador to Liberia in 1985, and in 1986 became the first Black ambassador to South Africa, where he spent three years working to dismantle apartheid.

Following his time in South Africa, Perkins served as director general of the Foreign Service before becoming ambassador to the United Nations and U.S. representative to the UN Security Council in 1992. He served as ambassador to Australia until his retirement from the Foreign Service in 1996.

Perkins was honored with numerous prestigious awards, including the Presidential Distinguished and Meritorious Service Award; the Department of State’s Distinguished Honor and Superior Honor Award; the University of Southern California’s Distinguished Alumni Award; and the Director General’s Cup given by the Department of State. He published articles on foreign policy and co-authored Mr. Ambassador, Warrior for Peace, a memoir of his Foreign Service career.

Those who knew Ambassador Perkins remember him for his warmth, his enthusiasm for life and his wonderful stories.

The Edward J. Perkins Board Room in Farzaneh Hall was named in his honor in 2015 and houses rare copies of United Nations documents.

Harold J. Newman

Harold J. Newman, a beloved OU alumnus whose generous gift created both the Harold J. and Ruth Newman Chair and the Institute for US-China Issues (housed in the College of International Studies),passed away on Sept. 23, 2021, at 90.

Newman earned his undergraduate degree at OU, where he developed a lifelong interest in Asian studies. After earning a master’s degree in Southeast Asian studies from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Harvard, he launched a successful career in finance. But his interest in and support for Asian studies never abated. Newman was a trustee of the Asia Society in New York City, and his generous gift enabled OU to establish the Institute for US-China Issues (see page 41) and the Newman Prize for Chinese Literature, the first American award for Chinese literature whose first winner, Mo Yan (2009), went on to win the Nobel Prize in 2012. N

ewman touched many lives, from students to friends to colleagues at OU. “Everyone in our community who has ever met Harold knows that his enthusiasm for OU, theater, literature (especially poetry), and improving US-China relations was both boundless and infectious," said Jonathan Stalling, co-director of the OU Institute for US-China Issues. "His regular presence on the OU campus and his vision and passion for the Institute for US-China Issues and the programs his generosity made possible will be terribly missed.”