STATE magazine - Fall 2023

The official magazine of Oklahoma State University

SERVING OKLAHOMA COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE CELEBRATES 75 YEARS OF LAND-GRANT EXCELLENCE

Pictures won’t tell the full story of how a college changes the way it welcomes new students and faculty, the way it supports innovative inquiry and the way it radiates respect for all. That can only be experienced by those who live it, and I have faith the people of OSU Agriculture will create something special.”

Dr. Thomas G. Coon, Outgoing Dean and Vice President of OSU’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources S TAT E M AG A Z I N E .O K S TAT E . E D U 1

In T his Issue

Celebrating 75 Years The Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine has been helping animals, large and small, for three quarters of a century. Learn about the past and future of the state’s only veterinary institution. Pages 60-65 (OSU CVM student Madyson Werner poses with a horse in a field.

Cover photo: Phil Shockley)

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71

Aiding the Community

The Cowboy Way

Veterinarians provide a crucial service in the state with practices in both rural and urban areas. OSU CVM alumni have made their mark on their communities.

Dr. Jennifer Rudd is studying One Health and how animals’ well-being can affect the health of humans.

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Energy Excellence OSU welcomes U.S. secretary of energy and second gentleman to commemorate launch of Great Plains Center of Excellence.

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Boone’s Impact

16

Forever loyal and true, T. Boone Pickens Foundation makes $120 million gift to OSU.

Plus ...

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Female-led Philanthropy OSU Foundation celebrates 15th anniversary of Women for OSU Symposium with recordbreaking crowd.

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Living the Code OSU President Kayse Shrum starts new Inside OSU video series highlighting those who embody the Cowboy Code.

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Editor’s Letter

5

Socially Orange

7

President’s Letter

94

Cowboy Chronicles

102

Campus News

110

Chapter News

114

Alumni Update

115

In Memory

117

Births

42

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Saving a Life Cowboy alumnus Denny Kellington saved Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin in a January game by being ready for the moment.

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A Day in Their Shoes STATE magazine followed an Opportunity Orange Scholar around to see what the new program offers students.

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Letters

OSU B R A N D M A N A G E M E N T Megan Horton | Interim Associate Vice President of Brand Management Lance Latham | Chief Communications Officer Erin Petrotta | Director of Marketing Shannon Rigsby | Associate Director of Public Information Mack Burke | Associate Director of Media Relations Casey Cleary | Associate Director of Marketing Strategy Andy Wallace | Associate Director of Multimedia Dave Malec | Design Coordinator Jordan Bishop | Managing Editor Codee Classen, Cody Giles, Chris Lewis, Stephen Matthews, Michael Molholt and Benton Rudd | Design Phil Gahagans and Karolyn Moberly | Advertising Gary Lawson, Elizabeth Rogers and Phil Shockley | Photography McKinzie McElroy and Meghan Robinson | Video Kurtis Mason | Trademarks and Licensing Kinsey Garcia and Kara Peters | Administrative Support Contributors: Jordan Bishop, Mack Burke, Mandy Gross, Samantha Hardy, Jeff Hopper, Christy Lang, Kirsi McDowell, Sam Milek, David Peters, Sara Plummer, Grant Ramirez, Jillian Remington, Sydney Trainor, Mak Vandruff and Kaylie Wehr Department of Brand Management | 305 Whitehurst, Stillwater, OK 74078-1024 405-7446262 | okstate.edu | statemagazine.okstate.edu | editor@okstate.edu | osu. advertising@okstate.edu

O S U A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N Kurt Carter | Chair Scott Eisenhauer | Vice Chair Tina Parkhill | Immediate Past Chair Dr. Ann Caine | President Jake Wilkins | Vice President of Marketing and Engagement David Parrack | Vice President of Finance and Operations Treca Baetz, Thomas Blalock, Susan Crenshaw, Benjamin Davis, Deedra Determan, Todd Hudgins, Sonja Hughes, Ginger Kollman, Brian Krafft, Chris Moody, Aaron Owen, Joe Ray, Cecilia Robinson-Woods, Darin Schmidt, Taylor Shinn, Baloo Subramaniam and Matt Waits | Board of Directors Lacy Branson, Will Carr, Chase Carter and Jillian Remington | Marketing and Communications OSU Alumni Association | 201 ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center, Stillwater, OK 740787043 | 405-744-5368 | orangeconnection.org | info@orangeconnection.org

O S U F O U N D AT I O N Bill Patterson | Chair Blaire Atkinson | President Robyn Baker | Vice President and General Counsel Donna Koeppe | Vice President of Administration and Treasurer Scott Roberts | Vice President of Development Pam Guthrie | Senior Associate Vice President of Human Resources Blaire Atkinson, Bryan Begley, Ann Caine, Brian Callahan, Bryan Close, Ann Dyer, Joe Eastin, Jennifer Grigsby, David Houston, Brett Jameson, Griff Jones, Robert Keating, Diana Laing, Shelly Lambertz, John Linehan, Greg Massey, Ross McKnight, Gail Muncrief, Bill Patterson, Jenelle Schatz, Terry Stewart, Vaughn Vennerberg, Beverly Walker-Griffea and Darton Zink | Trustees Bryanna Freer, Samantha Hardy, Jennifer Kinnard, Chris Lewis, Estefania Martinez-Vazquez, Amanda Mason, Heather Millermon, Michael Molholt, Grant Ramirez and Benton Rudd | Marketing and Communications OSU Foundation | 400 South Monroe, P.O. Box 1749, Stillwater, OK 74076-1749 800-6224678 | OSUgiving.com | info@OSUgiving.com STATE magazine is published three times a year (fall, winter, spring) by Oklahoma State University, 305 Whitehurst, Stillwater, OK 74078. The magazine is produced by the Department of Brand Management, the OSU Alumni Association and the OSU Foundation, and is mailed to current members of the OSU Alumni Association. Magazine subscriptions are available only by membership in the OSU Alumni Association. Membership cost is $50.

Call 405-744-5368 or mail a check to 201 ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center, Stillwater, OK 74078-7043. To change a mailing address, visit orangeconnection.org/update or call 405-744-5368.

Oklahoma State University, as an equal opportunity employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding non-discrimination and affirmative action. OSU is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all individuals and does not discriminate based on race, religion, age, sex, color, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity/ expression, disability, or veteran status with regard to employment, educational programs and activities, and/or admissions. For more information, the director of equal opportunity/Title IX coordinator is located at 401 General Academic Building and can be reached at 405-744-1156 or by visiting https://eeo.okstate.edu.

This publication, issued by Oklahoma State University as authorized by the vice president of enrollment management and marketing, was printed by Royle Printing Co. at a cost of $1.24 per issue: 35,238 | August 2023 | No. state232 | Copyright © 2023, STATE magazine.

All rights reserved.

From the Editor's Desk Frank Eaton was inducted into the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 2022, but he was already a long-established legend at Oklahoma State University.

When he joined the Armistice Day parade in 1923, it marked the beginning of a storied tradition that would later see OSU redefine itself through Eaton’s image in the form of a mascot that is today as beloved as it is recognizable — Pistol Pete.

This year, OSU commemorates the 100year anniversary of that momentous occasion with a slate of events dubbed “The Year of the Cowboy.” It’s a celebration of all things Pistol Pete and all the students and alumni who have added to and carried that legacy (and the 36-pound head) that will culminate with America’s Greatest Homecoming from Oct. 22-28. Find out how you can join the celebration at okla.st/yearofthecowboy, and look for full coverage in the winter 2023 edition of STATE. In this issue, we salute the 75th anniversary of the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine. After three quarters of a century, the state’s only college of veterinary medicine is poised to expand its impact in the state and beyond with a focus on One Health — an initiative focused on improving the lives of all species, human and animal, through the integration of human medicine, veterinary medicine and environmental science (Page 60).

This year also marks 15 years of impactful philanthropy for Women for OSU (Page 42), a new record for Give Orange (Page 72) and the 75th anniversary of the OSU Fish and Wildlife Research Unit’s work to advance knowledge and conservation management (Page 58).

This spring, OSU broke ground on the Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center in Tulsa (Page 24) and welcomed the U.S. secretary of energy and second gentleman to announce the creation of the new Great Plains Center of Excellence (Page 16). In April, OSU welcomed the long anticipated in-concert return of beloved alumnus Garth Brooks, who thrilled student and alumni audiences for two nights at The McKnight Center for the benefit of student scholarships (Page 38).

Rounding out a busy spring was the announcement of OSU’s new bachelor’s of nursing program — another milestone in OSU’s ongoing quest to become the nation’s preeminent land-grant institution and address society’s most pressing challenges.

The work is never done, but as the Cowboy Code (Page 50) says …

We have a passion to do what's right, even when it's hard.

Go Pokes!

Mack Burke Editor STATE Magazine

Oklahoma College Public Relations Association | 2022 Magazine Grand Award

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305 WHITEHURST OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY STILLWATER, OK 74078

EDITOR@OKSTATE.EDU STATEMAGAZINE.OKSTATE.E D U

#okstate

Join the conversation on social media with the Cowboy family.

Capitol Cowboys @okstate

Tradition You Can Wear @OKStateAlumni

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A sea of orange at the Capitol! The largest university system in the state was well represented at the Capitol in April as more than 100 #okstatealumni, students and supporters advocated for sustained investment in the state’s land-grant institution.

Capitol Cowboys is a one-day event for members of the #CowboyFamily to create awareness and share their passion for #okstate at the State Capitol.

Life-Changing Scholarship @OSUFoundation

The only OSU tradition you can wear! Congratulations to all of this semester’s #OKStateRing recipients. May your ring be a permanent, tangible connection to our alma mater wherever you go! #okstate #GoPokes #LoyalAndTrue

Global Cowboys @BeAnOSUCowboy

Thanks to the generosity of @okstate alumnus Bryan Close, Alicia Garrett received life-changing news. Alicia will start her teaching career debt-free after being awarded the Bryan Close Teaching Endowment.

Welcoming Newcomers @OSUAthletics

From North America to Southeast Asia, we're spreading orange across the globe! #GlobalCowboys #FutureCowboys#okstate27

Welcome to the Big 12! #GoPokes

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Visit social.okstate.edu for more social media connections.

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A OKState Cropped Jersey S-XL | $40 B OKState Cowboys Full Pete Split Dyed S-XL | $38 C Bandstand Short Sleeve Tee S-XXL | $34.95 D Nike Core Short Sleeve Top S-XL | $32 E Nike Varsity Fleece Crew S-XL | $60 F Nike College Coaches Polo S-3XL | $68 G Tie Dye Hooper 6M-24M | $32.95 H The Keeper Stripe OSU Cowboys Tee S-XXL | $30.95

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ALUMNI A S S O C I AT I O N

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Cowboy family, Last fall, we announced an ambitious goal to become the nation’s preeminent land-grant university. As we embark on another academic year ripe with opportunity, I am happy to report we are making substantial strides toward achieving that goal.

Though there’s much work ahead, I’m extremely proud of the progress we’ve made, and that our primary focus is on our students. For the second straight year, we were able to hold tuition and mandatory fees flat, maintaining quality higher education access for countless students.

By addressing student costs, working to reduce student debt, reimagining general education and putting a renewed emphasis on career readiness, we are honoring our commitment to students and showcasing the incredible and unique value a modern land-grant institution can provide. Our students are at the core of our strategy, and we strive to empower them to learn, grow and solve society’s biggest challenges.

Many of these societal challenges involve the intertwined health of people, animals and the environment. With a “One Health” approach, OSU is mobilizing expertise and resources across the university system to enable better health outcomes in Oklahoma and beyond.

In the past 18 months, we’ve launched the Human Performance and Nutrition Research Institute, created a bachelor’s of science in nursing program at the Stillwater campus, broken ground on a new psychiatric hospital in Tulsa and launched a partnership between OSU’s National Center for Wellness and Recovery and the University of Arizona to combat the opioid crisis and chronic pain through research, treatment and education.

Oklahoma is experiencing a critical shortage of veterinary services across the state. If left unaddressed, the shortage could have serious detrimental effects on the state’s livestock, agricultural and food distribution industries.

The OSU College of Veterinary Medicine and the veterinary teaching hospital are undergoing transformational changes to address those challenges and to significantly increase the school’s competitive position in the recruitment of the best and brightest faculty and students.

Many of these exciting developments are the result of the Oklahoma Legislature recognizing and prioritizing the critical need for veterinary services across the state. This past May, in a vote of support, the Legislature created the Oklahoma State University Veterinary Medical Authority, which, for the first time, provides a reliable and sustainable funding source for the veterinary college and hospital.

For those reasons and many more, it’s a great time to be a Cowboy. We appreciate the ongoing support of the Cowboy family and the many friends of the university, including the T. Boone Pickens Foundation, which in the spring announced a significant gift to support student scholarships. At Oklahoma State, we dream as big as the sky, and, through our “We Are Land-Grant” strategy, we will reach new heights together.

Go Pokes!

Dr. Kayse Shrum OSU President osupres@okstate.edu

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HOW MUCH IS IT? • $600 for students (with a $400 credit from the Alumni Association) • Payable in full or with monthly, biannual, quarterly or yearly payments via Bursar or credit card • Benefits continue for life after graduation!

HOW DO I GIFT A LIFE MEMBERSHIP TO A STUDENT? Scan the QR code or visit ORANGECONNECTION.org/giftlife!

A Cowboy Gives Back Carter reflects on being named chair of the OSU Alumni Association’s Board of Directors

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n July, Kurt Carter, ’81 public relations, became the new chair of the Oklahoma State University Alumni Association’s Board of Directors.

As he starts the first year of his two-year term, he sat down with STATE magazine to introduce himself to readers and reflect on his new role.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you ended up at OSU? I am originally from south Oklahoma City and attended Western Heights High School. I transferred to OSU from UCO (then Central State University) in my sophomore year after hearing about all the fun my friends were having. Once I was here, it just felt like home. I graduated from OSU in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in public relations. I am a certified financial planner and registered principal with Carter Byford Wojtek Group of Raymond James in Oklahoma City. My wife, Jenny, and I both serve on the Board of Governors for the OSU Foundation. She is also a member of Women for OSU. Both of our children live and work in New York City.

What were some of your favorite things about your time at OSU? OSU was so welcoming. I found it easy to get involved on campus, first with the Student Union Activities Board (SUAB), then the Homecoming Steering Committee. At the end of my junior year, I saw an advertisement in the O’Colly for Pistol Pete tryouts. I went to the audition and was shocked when they chose me. My senior year, I was full tilt on campus activities. In addition to being Pistol Pete, I served as Homecoming Executive Chairman, emceed Varsity Review and spoke at 31 honors banquets for the OSU Alumni Association. It was quite a year, and something that gave my life a whole new trajectory.

What made you want to stay involved after graduation?

The year after I graduated, I joined the staff of the OSU Alumni Association as an advisor to America’s Greatest Homecoming and coordinator of the honors banquets. Two years later, I moved to the OSU Foundation for a couple of years to run the Greater University Fund, then spent six years as director of athletic development. So, I was thrilled when asked to join the OSU Alumni Association Board of Directors and to ultimately have the opportunity to chair the organization.

How does it feel to be the chair of the OSU Alumni Association’s Board of Directors?

I am truly delighted to serve an organization and a university that gave me so much. Together with our partners across the campus, we are constantly reimagining how to best connect with our 250,000 alumni.

In your view, why should alumni be members of the Alumni Association?

The velocity of societal and technological change provides ongoing challenges for us to remain the leading connection for our alumni to their alma mater. We need all our alumni to become members of the Alumni Association. It’s a wonderful way to deepen your pride in this great university.

STORY JILLIAN REMINGTON | PHOTO SIMON HURST

S TAT E M AG A Z I N E .O K S TAT E . E D U 9

VP AND DEAN TOM COON RETIRES AFTER NINE MONUMENTAL YEARS AT OSU

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s a kid growing up in Iowa, Tom Coon loved being outdoors. He spent a lot of time in corn and soybean fields and baling hay, but what he enjoyed most was spending time along a river, creek or pond.

After nine years of serving as vice president and dean of Oklahoma State University’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Dr. Coon decided to hang up his many hats and reconnect with his family and love for aquatics.

“It’s not just the fishing,” Coon said. “It’s going back to that kid in Iowa and finding joy in discovering a larval fish in a small stream in the woods. Reconnecting with that sense of joy I’ve had throughout my life taking part in anything aquatic.”

From July 2014 to July 2023, Coon provided dedicated service and leadership to the Ferguson College of Agriculture and the university’s two state agencies: OSU Extension and OSU Ag Research.

“Dr. Coon is a visionary leader and has been a driving force of transformational progress for OSU’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and the Ferguson College of Agriculture,” OSU President Kayse Shrum said.

“His record-breaking fundraising efforts in the New Frontiers capital campaign provide a new college home for generations of students and vastly increase the space and resources for academic support and agriculture research. Dr. Coon has made a significant impact on the agricultural landscape for 40 years and is leaving behind a remarkable legacy of dedicated service.”

Coon earned a Bachelor of Arts in biology from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and a Master of Science and doctorate in ecology from the University of California, Davis.

He began his career as an assistant professor of fisheries and wildlife at the University of Missouri. He then worked as an assistant professor and associate professor of fisheries and wildlife at Michigan State University before becoming a full professor.

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Coon also served as the director of Michigan State University Extension before assuming his leadership role at OSU. As vice president and dean of OSU Agriculture, he worked extensively with public and private agencies, community leaders, and state and local elected officials. He served as chief OSU administrator for more than 200 faculty, 300 Extension staff, and 300 support and administration staff located on campus and across the state.

Coon said he is most proud of the relationships he’s built with faculty, staff and students, but also with alumni, donors and the industries OSU Agriculture serves.

“The thing that is special about this place, this college and this division is those relationships,” he said. “I’ve been fortunate to be able to come into this family as an outsider and be included and considered part of the family.”

Coon said deciding to retire was two-fold.

First, it felt right from a personal standpoint to be able to spend more time with his wife, Rhonda, two sons and daughters-in-law, and four grandsons.

Throughout Coon’s career, Rhonda has been supportive and a sounding board for decisions.

“Her agreeing to come to Oklahoma was the most important thing,” Coon said. “She didn’t hesitate. There was a sense of adventure. My nature is not to be all that outgoing, and hers is.

It’s been helpful for me to think things through from her perspective. She’s always been a great resource for me to bounce things off and gives me honest feedback, but she’s a lot more than just a support system.”

Secondly, he felt it was the right time for a transition in OSU Agriculture.

“Before moving into the new building, I think it’s important the new leader is on board and experiences that move-in,” Coon said. “If I were to stay on and go through the move-in and then retire, I feel like that puts my successor in a tough spot.”

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To learn more about Coon and the legacy he lef t at OSU, visit okla.st/drcoon.

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“They need to have a sense of what it’s doing to people to make this move, because we’re not just changing offices, we’re changing how we do our work.”

Coon was the driving force behind New Frontiers, a capital campaign to raise funds for a $115 million state-of-the-art teaching, research and Extension facility for OSU Agriculture.

In January 2020, OSU, in partnership with alumni Kayleen and Larry Ferguson, announced a $50 million gift from the Ferguson Family Foundation that renamed the ag college to the Ferguson College of Agriculture, created a $25 million endowment for the college’s operation and designated $25 million to kickstart the $50 million New Frontiers campaign.

Construction is expected to be completed in the summer of 2024.

Rodd Moesel, Oklahoma Farm Bureau president and owner of American Plant Products and Services in Oklahoma City, said most people would say New Frontiers was the highlight of Coon’s tenure at OSU, but he would credit the relationships Coon made both on and off campus.

“Dr. Coon was able to get OSU Agriculture and the Ferguson College of Agriculture back in people’s mindsets and get them to the table in so many different efforts and causes, developing relationships,” Moesel said. “Those relationships made the fundraising possible despite times when we were dealing with budget cutbacks.”

Rick Davis, member of the OSU/A&M Board of Regents, said it’s hard to overlook Coon’s ability to engage with alumni and donors.

“When you look at the building, Dr. Coon had the ability to cultivate relationships with not just the Ferguson family, but also with a large group of donors,” Davis said. “He gets them to buy into the vision the Fergusons have for OSU and the division.

The building and the resources he’s leaving will impact lives in a far different way than it has been

for many, many years now. It’s going to help in every different aspect from recruiting to retention to research — you name it.”

Davis said Coon was hired during a challenging time in Oklahoma higher education with difficult budget restraints.

Even through difficult times, Coon rose to the challenge and focused on what OSU Agriculture could do.

“No leader wants to be the one to maintain through attrition and downsizing and becoming less relevant,” Coon said. “Even before the pandemic, morale was a challenge. The possibility to do facility and infrastructure projects was a subliminal message to people that we are not done yet. There is a future, and we have these new facilities.”

Coon put a plan together for a series of infrastructure investments, which were accomplished by external fundraising, agency funds and university buy-in. The plan resulted in several infrastructure improvements, including the Charles and Linda Cline Equine Teaching Center; Ferguson Family Dairy Center; Oklahoma Foundation Seed Stocks Building; Greenhouse Learning Center; Animal Nutrition and Physiology Center; Dr. Raymond Sidwell Research Facility at the North Central Research Station in Lahoma, Oklahoma; and more.

“All those things and the culmination of New Frontiers were important investments at a time when we needed some sign of positivity that we have a future,” Coon said. “Our master plan identified that’s not the only thing we have left to do. The Agronomy Farm is another one, and other facility needs are critical to advancing OSU Agriculture even further.”

Coon is recognized nationally as a leader in agriculture and natural resource management.

During his career, he was actively involved in the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, serving on multiple committees, including the Board of Directors and Academic Heads Section for the Board on Agriculture Assembly and the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy.

Coon said the main reason he’s been active in national organizations is to make sure OSU Agriculture is not only learning from others but also influencing the university’s federal partners.

“I knew about Oklahoma State when I was at Michigan State because of the interactions I had with the delegates and leaders from Oklahoma,” he said. “Oklahoma State is known for its leaders nationally and being part of the leadership team among land-grant institutions.”

Dr. Cynda Clary, associate dean of the Ferguson College of Agriculture, said Coon is one of the most genuine people she’s ever met and has been a strong mentor for faculty, staff and students.

STORY MANDY GROSS | PHOTOS TODD JOHNSON AND KRISTIN KNIGHT

“To students, he’s been a great role model. When they were around him, he was Dr. Coon or Dean Coon, but that’s not how they felt around him. They felt like he was someone they knew cared about them. I think that’s a special quality to have in a leader.”

DR. CYNDA CLARY, ASSOCIATE DEAN OF THE FERGUSON COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE

“To students, he’s been a great role model,” she said. “When they were around him, he was Dr. Coon or Dean Coon, but that’s not how they felt around him. They felt like he was someone they knew cared about them. I think that’s a special quality to have in a leader.”

When Coon was asked what his plans were after retiring, his answer was fishing, travel and grandkids. He now resides in southwest Michigan in Portage, 50 miles from Lake Michigan, two hours from his lake cabin and 1 1/2 hours from Michigan State.

“I joke with people about why I left in the middle of July,” Coon said. “It’s because salmon fishing picks up in the last half of July in Lake Michigan. In all seriousness, Rhonda and I are in good health, and there are a lot of things we want to do like travel and spend more time with our kids and grandkids.”

Even after retiring, Coon is optimistic about the future of OSU Agriculture.

“I see it as a great opportunity for OSU and a great opportunity for the division to have a new leader come on board,” he said. “The culture we have here, I didn’t create that. That’s been here. It’s organic. It’s a part of who this place is, and that’s not going to change.”

Scholarship created to honor the Coon Family

The Coon Family Study Abroad Endowed Scholarship was established to honor Thomas and Rhonda Coon’s passion for student study abroad experiences through the Ferguson College of Agriculture. Members of the Cowboy family recently endowed this scholarship to create a legacy in the Coons’ name and honor their dedication and support to OSU during the past nine years.

“Dr. Coon took OSU Agriculture to new heights and was the driving force behind making the New Frontiers capital campaign successful,” said Heidi Williams, associate vice president of constituent development for the OSU Foundation. “It’s only fitting that their legacy in the Ferguson College of Agriculture continues with this scholarship supporting students gaining experience outside the classroom. Many alumni and donors were quick to join in and give back to honor the Coons and make this endowed scholarship a reality.”

Gifts to the Coon Family Study Abroad Endowed Scholarship can be made at OSUgiving.com/CoonFamilyScholarship.

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From left: Pistol Pete, Rep. Trish Ranson, OSU President Kayse Shrum and OSU Alumni Association President Ann Caine on the floor of the State Chamber.

Cowboys for Higher Education OSU Alumni Association hosts annual day at the Capitol with Oklahoma lawmakers

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he largest university system in the state was well represented at the Capitol on April 19 as hundreds of Oklahoma State University alumni, students and supporters arrived in orange to advocate for sustained investment in the state’s land-grant institution.

Capitol Cowboys is a one-day event for members of the Cowboy family to create awareness and share their passion for OSU at the State Capitol.

“This was an opportunity for OSU to get involved with what is happening at our State Capitol,” OSU student Sydney Adkins said. “As many people know, we are a land-grant university, and one of the main goals of our institution is to not only improve our students’ lives but also the lives of everyone in Oklahoma.”

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Approximately 100 current OSU students and 50 alumni from across the state visited with elected officials, emphasizing the pivotal role OSU has played in their lives and the importance of higher education in Oklahoma.

“I think it’s important for us to be at the Capitol so we can inform our legislators about the things that are going on at OSU,” OSU student Braden Smith said. “As well as encourage them to think about OSU when considering funding education, growing our population and more.”

For many students, this was their first time visiting the State Capitol and meeting legislators.

Students and alumni engaged in personal conversations, while also bringing light to prominent issues the university is facing.

STORY JILLIAN REMINGTON | PHOTOS GARY LAWSON

“Our students are the real stars of the show,” OSU alumnus Joe Ray said. “The conversations are really focused on bringing their stories and their personalities to the legislators, and it’s a real breath of fresh air for our elected officials.”

The event also included a pep rally in the Capitol rotunda with Pistol Pete, the OSU Spirit Squad and OSU Pep Band, along with comments from OSU President Kayse Shrum, Gov. Kevin Stitt and OSU Alumni Association President Ann Caine — all OSU graduates.

“As the largest university system in Oklahoma, we appreciate everything our state leaders do to support our students, faculty and staff and university communities,” Dr. Shrum said. “We can’t deliver on our commitment to students without the strong partnerships we have with the governor, our senators and representatives, our alumni, and our students. These partnerships are critical, and it’s why we appreciate the Cowboy family coming together today.”

Stitt offered some additional words of encouragement to those in attendance.

“Never lose sight of your goals,” he said.

“Don’t think your dreams can’t be accomplished.

You can accomplish anything you want right here. Oklahoma State offers a great education and community.”

Along with sharing their personal stories, Cowboys’ conversations with legislators touched on the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education budget request, which focuses on workforce development in crucial growth sectors for Oklahoma’s economy — nursing, STEM education and teacher training programs. They also highlighted the ongoing push for the creation of the OSU Veterinary Medicine Authority through HB 2863, which will secure long-term support for clinical training at the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine. Since the day of Capitol Cowboys, HB 2863 has passed both chambers.

“OSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine plays a vital role in the land-grant mission,” OSU student Elizabeth Purdue said. “Being able to be here today with alumni to show the legislators we really appreciate their support, especially with the passage of HB 2863, it truly shows our mission as a land-grant institution.”

Members of the Cowboy family gathered in Oklahoma City for Capitol Cowboys day in April.

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EMPOWERING INDUSTRY ACROSS THE REGION O

klahoma State University’s Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) has helped manufacturers reimagine their operations for more than four decades, identifying a combined $132 million in potential cost savings and educating hundreds of renowned energy engineers.

This spring, an OSU campus visit from U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff trumpeted the creation of a new entity that will expand OSU’s footprint across the region, amplifying its land-grant impact — The Great Plains Center of Excellence at OSU. The new center — which will be housed within OSU’s IAC in the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology — is one of five competitively selected higher education

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institutions to serve as centers of excellence for the Department of Energy’s Industrial Assessment Centers Program. “[OSU’s IAC] is one of 37 Industrial Assessment Centers that we have through funding with the Department of Energy,” Granholm said as she addressed a crowd during an April 7 news conference at OSU’s ENDEAVOR lab. “And the thing that is so important is that it does give students this hands-on ability to see technology in action to see how to reduce the carbon emissions price of energy, reduce energy use on-site, and that is so critical for what we want to do in both attracting and retaining engineering students, making sure that those students see in themselves a future in reducing Co2 emissions and in reducing energy use and in generating clean energy into the future. … And it’s those innovative

STORY JEFF HOPPER AND MACK BURKE | PHOTOS PHIL SHOCKLEY

U.S. SECRETARY OF ENERGY ANNOUNCES

U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm visits the ENDEAVOR Lab to celebrate the launch of the Great Plains Center of Excellence at OSU.

CREATION OF GREAT PLAINS CENTER OF EXCELLENCE AT OSU

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U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm speaks to students and faculty during her visit to campus to celebrate the launch of the new Great Plains Center of Excellence at OSU. Granholm was joined by Second Genteleman Doug Emhoff (center), OSU President Kayse Shrum and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt.

technologies that are being used right here that caught our eye.

“And so today, I am proud to announce that we are awarding nearly $19 million to five universities who will host new IAC Centers of Excellence, including the Great Plains Center of Excellence right here at OSU.” Of the combined $18.7 million in funding slated for the five new centers, the GPCoE has received a nearly $7 million funding award. That funding will directly impact the center’s ability to conduct industrial assessments aimed at helping clients reduce energy usage and increase productivity while educating the next generation of energy, waste and productivity professionals using next-generation, integrated tools and technologies, such as smartphone apps, drones and virtual/augmented reality.

The GPCoE also will focus on developing interactive learning environments for teaching, training and workforce development activities through an interactive virtual curriculum for IAC personnel, manufacturers and employees, and university and community college students.

The creation of the GPCoE will allow OSU to further its land-grant mission

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“... we are awarding nearly $19 million to five universities who will host new IAC Centers of Excellence, including the Great Plains Center of Excellence right here at OSU.” JENNIFER M. GRANHOLM, U.S. SECRETARY OF ENERGY to address society’s most pressing challenges through innovative, worldchanging research.

“As the largest university system in the state of Oklahoma, part of our land-grant mission is to be an economic growth engine and to deliver cuttingedge research that benefits our state, our region and our nation,” OSU President Kayse Shrum said. “And this award for

the Great Plains Center of Excellence certainly supports our land-grant mission and will further propel our efforts to solve society’s most pressing challenges.”

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, Sen. Tom Duggar, Rep. Trish Ranson and Dr. Hitesh Vora — OSU IAC director and principal investigator for the new center of excellence grant — were also on hand to celebrate the momentous announcement, which Stitt praised as another positive milestone for OSU and the state.

“Secretary, we’re so excited that you’re in Oklahoma and you’re investing in the state of Oklahoma,” he said. “We really appreciate your leadership on everything energy, especially renewables and hydrogen.

And congratulations to Oklahoma State University for this award.

“You know, Oklahoma has an all-ofthe-above energy approach. We’re so proud of our oil and gas industry. And what most people don’t realize is we’re also No. 2 in the country in wind energy, and we produce about 65% more energy than we consume. We’re a net exporter of that energy. And we’re one of only four states that over 40% of our energy comes from renewables. And that’s why Google’s largest data center is located

in the state of Oklahoma and a lot of companies are looking to Oklahoma because of our affordable, reliable energy grid.”

Granholm followed Stitt’s remarks by highlighting the cooperative push behind the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which was enacted in 2021.

“This initiative, which is all about investing in America, is one piece of a grand strategy for us as a country to be able to get back the manufacturing jobs that we have lost over the past couple of decades,” she said. “And this is something that I know Democrats and Republicans can agree on — the importance of bringing back manufacturing in this country.”

The news conference followed a tour of OSU’s state-of-the-art ENDEAVOR lab, where Granholm and Emhoff got a firsthand look at the unique hands-on learning and research opportunities available to OSU students, even as undergraduates. The second gentleman — a noted college football fan — also enjoyed a brief meeting with OSU football coach Mike Gundy.

“Yes, I got the football from Coach Gundy, but that was a surprise,” Emhoff

said. “What was really not a surprise was to see the excellence here at Oklahoma State University; to see the passionate colleagues that you have, the students, the grad students, just to see the work that’s being done. You can see it. That’s what I love so much about this tour. … You can literally see the future in front of your eyes.”

One of those students is chemical engineering senior Tionne Fultz. She has worked in OSU’s IAC for the past two years, and the impact the center has had on her personal and professional growth has been immeasurable.

“Since the very first day I started at the IAC, Dr. Vora has always encouraged me to speak up in meetings with clients and has consistently asked for my unique opinion on how the program is run,” she said. “All the experience I’ve gained has helped me get internships and even a full-time position as an environmental engineer after I graduate. I can’t even begin to imagine where I would be had I not joined the IAC.” After five years as IAC director, Vora couldn’t be more excited about the future. He said the Great Plains

FAST FACTS: INDUSTRIAL ASSESSMENT CENTER • Since its official founding in 1979, the IAC has been responsible for nearly 1,100 assessments, accounting for $132 million in potential savings for its clients.

• The IAC’s clients are manufacturing companies, water and wastewater treatment plants, and, as of recently, commercial buildings.

• OSU’s Industrial Assessment Center’s current region of impact: Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas and part of North Texas.

• Through energy savings, the IAC program at OSU has helped to displace 1.91 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions from industrial sources in its four decades of service.

• IAC alumni are hired almost twice as fast on average as their peers into an energy efficiency position.

• Many of IAC OSU alumni have been hired in companies such as Pepco Energy Services, EMCOR Group, Siemens, GE and more.

Others have gone on to work overseas in countries including Russia, China and India. Some alumni have chosen to become educators at schools, such as OSU and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to pass on their knowledge.

From left: Dr. Chuck Bunting, Dr. Hitesh D. Vora, Will Gibson, Diwas Subedi, Abinash Kumar Gupta, Snehal Durugkar, John Smegal, Tionne Fultz, Rahul Nomula, Emma Cooley, Hemal Keerthipati Sumanth, Aditya Shete, Rep. Trish Ranson and Dr. Kenneth Sewell pose together following the launch announcement for the new Great Plains Center of Excellence at OSU.

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FAST FACTS: GRE AT PL AINS CENTER OF E XCELLENCE • The IAC will continue its work while the new regional center of excellence expands OSU’s footprint to bolster other IACs across a 13-state region — Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and areas within New Mexico, Colorado and Texas.

• Great Plains Center of Excellence (GPCoE) will serve as a regional hub for the Department of Energy and 12 Great Plains states, with seven states home to partnering IACs. • The GPCoE’s main objective is to develop, deploy and test the next generation of integrated tools and technologies in the form of smartphone apps, drones and virtual/ augmented reality (VR/AR) to allow virtual/remote data collection. It aims to produce competent, motivated energy engineers, provide resources and expertise to complement energy conservation technologies, equitably develop the clean energy workforce and form significant collaborations to improve regional industrial competitiveness.

• The new center — which will be housed within OSU’s Industrial Assessment Center in the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology — is one of five competitively selected higher education institutions to serve as Centers of Excellence for DOE’s Industrial Assessment Centers Program.

• The new regional ‘Centers of Excellence’ will expand a Department of Energy program that works with employers to train clean energy workers and identify ways to reduce energy and save money.

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Dr. Hitesh Vora speaks to U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm during a tour of the ENDEAVOR Lab. Vora is director of the OSU Industrial Assessment Center and served as principal investigator for the new center of excellence grant.

Center of Excellence will allow for rapid advancement of new technologies to be shared across the region in a way that meets the region’s specific needs. The region is predominantly rural in nature and encompasses vast numbers of census tracts designated as “disadvantaged communities.” The project design includes strategies for reaching manufacturers in those communities. Because of its central location in Oklahoma and its reach into northern Great Plains states, this project will have a substantial positive impact on Native American interests in the region.

“The needs on the East Coast and in the West are so much different than we have here in the middle of the country,” Vora said. “The Great Plains Center of Excellence will allow us to provide a customized solution to IACs all over the region, providing new technology

development and training so that they can work properly.”

The benefit for these centers and the industries the new Great Plains Center of Excellence will serve is immense. But Vora said the benefit to students is life-changing.

“The student is the ultimate winner of this,” he said. “At OSU, we teach them theory in class, but any manufacturing plant can serve as a lab. These students get hands-on experience working with real data, analyzing that data and communicating it to clients.”

Vora said the opportunity to “turn stone into gold” is what drives him.

“That’s why I’m here,” he said.

“These students come here without any experience, and they leave with extremely valuable experience. It’s real life experience, and they’re making a real impact on the world, even as students.”

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Critical Care

New on-campus Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree will aid state’s health care industry

A

much needed and highly sought after degree program is finally coming to Stillwater.

Oklahoma State University’s work to prepare health care professionals and enhance the health of Oklahoma took another step forward with the university welcoming its first class of nursing students to campus this fall. The new Bachelor of Science in Nursing on the flagship campus will help meet Oklahoma’s ongoing and critical shortage of nurses.

According to the Oklahoma Nurses Association, the state is ranked 46th in the U.S. for the number of registered nurses per capita. In 2021, the national average was 1,100 nurses per 100,000 people; in Oklahoma, there were only about 700. In 2021, 35% of the licensed nurses in Oklahoma were at or near retirement age, exacerbating the issue.

“The shortage of qualified health care providers in Oklahoma is only going to intensify without a focused effort to provide pathways of opportunity for aspiring nurses,” said OSU President Kayse Shrum, who started in the medical field as a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. “As a physician, I learned firsthand the immense value nurses provide in patient care. You cannot run a hospital or clinic without their expertise. Increasing the number

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of graduates in critical areas is a key tenant of our land-grant mission, and I’m excited about the impact this new program will have, certainly for students, but also for patients and health care entities across the state.”

While OSU-Stillwater has offered an accredited, fully online RN to BSN completion degree since 2017, there has been strong interest from prospective students and health care partners in a four-year, on-campus degree.

“We have traditionally had hundreds of students each year inquire about a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. There’s a real desire to come to OSU, to be part of the nursing profession,” said Dr. Jon Pedersen, College of Education and Human Sciences dean.

Pedersen said he is grateful to Dr. Shrum and Provost Jeanette Mendez for their leadership and support in making the new BSN a reality.

“We feel very fortunate to be able to develop this program and to recruit not only from Oklahoma but surrounding areas. We want to make sure we get it right,” he said.

Dr. Alana Cluck, who is an RN, has served as director for the online RN to BSN completion degree, which has been ranked among the nation’s best online degree programs by EduMed.org.

STORY CHRISTY LANG | PHOTO KELLY KERR

Cluck diligently worked to develop the on-campus, four-year degree. Housed in the School of Community Health Sciences, Counseling and Counseling Psychology — which is part of CEHS — the program is already accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).

Once the university announced the program in March, preparations shifted into high gear. Faculty and staff worked for the remainder of the spring and early summer to admit the first class of students to the professional program and hire additional faculty.

Visiting assistant professor Dr. Chris Fisher and clinical assistant professor Georgie Stoops have joined Cluck and clinical faculty Amy Birchfield. Renovation plans to create a new, fully equipped simulation lab also moved forward.

Cluck said the program is committed to an exceptional learning experience for students.

“We are ready to prepare leaders to meet the health care needs of individuals, families and communities in complex, challenging environments,” Cluck said. “Our students will have an opportunity to focus on underserved

and rural populations as they learn to infuse prevention and total wellness practices in health care systems.”

Students will participate in 600 hours of clinical experience through partnerships with medical facilities such as Stillwater Medical Center, OSU Medical Center in Tulsa and more, gaining hands-on experience with patients in both rural and urban settings. Graduates will be well prepared to meet the dynamic health care needs of individuals, families and communities upon completing the program.

The new bachelor’s degree in nursing adds to a strong collection of health-focused programs in CEHS. “About one-third of students studying in the College of Education and Human Sciences are pursuing degrees related to nutritional, physical, mental or relational health. With this new BSN, we’re strengthening our work to prepare graduates for high-demand jobs in the growing health care sector,” Pedersen said. “I’m excited about new opportunities to collaborate across degree programs and to expand on our existing partnerships with the health care partners.”

INTERESTED IN AN OSU NURSING DEGREE? Prospective students who want to pursue a degree in nursing must complete OSU’s undergraduate admissions application and select nursing as their major. In the semester prior to completing the 59 hours of prerequisite coursework, students in the nursing major will complete a competitive secondary application for admission into the professional nursing program required to complete the Nursing (BSN) degree. Learn more about prerequisites and the secondary application here: okla.st/BSN Already an RN looking to complete a four-year degree?

Learn more about the fully online RN to BSN completion program here: okla.st/RNBSN

From left: Tracy Hernon, Jackalyn Patterson, Ally Bartley, Anna Hester, Kinsley Fitzsimons and Citlally Salgado are some of OSU-Stillwater’s students in the new nursing program.

S TAT E M AG A Z I N E .O K S TAT E . E D U 23

From left: Tulsa City Councilor Phil Lakin, Tulsa Mayor GT Bynum, ODMHSAS Commissioner Carrie Slatton-Hodges, Oklahoma Sen. Roger Thompson, Oklahoma Rep. Cyndi Munson and OSU President Kayse Shrum take part in a ceremonial groundbreaking for the Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center in Tulsa on March 30.

Building a Foundation New care center to provide services for mental health issues

O

klahoma State University has celebrated another milestone in its effort to improve mental health care access.

An unprecedented public-private partnership for better mental health was showcased March 30 at a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center in downtown Tulsa.

The 106-bed hospital will replace the current Tulsa Center for Behavioral Health and will feature a 24-hour crisis response Urgent Recovery Center.

Projected to open in 2025, the $70 million center represents a partnership between the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS), OSU Center for Health Sciences, the City and County of Tulsa as well as several philanthropic organizations led by the Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation,

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said ODMHSAS Commissioner Carrie Slatton-Hodges.

“This is one of the single largest investments in behavioral health ever made by Oklahoma lawmakers,” Slatton-Hodges said. “We are grateful that so many Oklahomans are beginning to recognize the value and importance of treating mental health issues, and that our legislators are leading the charge.”

The facts surrounding mental health in the Tulsa area are grim.

Approximately 140,000 residents in the city and surrounding communities suffer from some sort of mental health challenge each year. Nearly 8% of children and youth in the greater Tulsa area have a serious emotional disturbance, according to ODMHSAS. Construction is now underway on the 140,000-square-foot Psychiatric Care Center located in the OSU

Academic Medical District in downtown Tulsa, next door to the new VA Hospital in Tulsa and the OSU Medical Center. Of the $70 million needed to construct the hospital, Oklahoma legislators provided $38 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, while private donors and governmental partnerships covered the remaining costs, she said.

“The Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center is a true public-private partnership, and the best version of one. It will be a state-owned asset made better by private support and strong local partnerships,” said Bill Major, executive director of the Zarrow Family Foundations. “Mental health care is especially worth investing in to improve the lives of Oklahomans and return people to wholeness. The new psychiatric hospital will expand and

STORY SARA PLUMMER | PHOTOS MATT BARNARD

The new Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center depicted in the rendering and model above will feature a 24-hour crisis response Urgent Recovery Center.

deepen experiential learning of our medical students in Oklahoma.”

OSU-CHS President Johnny Stephens said he and OSU President Kayse Shrum share a vision of the university being the undisputed leader in mental health services and patient care.

“Building strong partnerships has become a hallmark of OSU. We wouldn’t have construction happening on two new hospitals in downtown Tulsa without the dedication of so many people working toward the same goal — bringing care to those who need it most,” Dr. Stephens said.

OSU Medicine physicians and residents, as well as third- and fourthyear medical students on rotation, will treat patients at both the Psychiatric Care Center and the new VA hospital.

An estimated 100 additional residency spots will be created between the two new facilities, along with about 30 new clinical faculty positions.

“The new psychiatric center in the OSU Academic Medical District will offer the chance to expand care and services to these patients while at the same time enabling us to grow our behavioral health staff and residency programs,” he said. “This will be a tremendous offering for our medical students, residents and physicians in terms of more learning and patient care opportunities.”

The Oklahoma Psychiatric Care Center will nearly double the number of beds available to patients and is expected to add 100 new jobs. It will serve an estimated 1,000 or more additional patients a year, reducing

“Building strong partnerships has become a hallmark of OSU. We wouldn’t have construction happening on two new hospitals in downtown Tulsa without the dedication of so many people working toward the same goal — bringing care to those who need it most.”

DR. JOHNNY STEPHENS, OSU-CHS PRESIDENT

mental health-related emergency department visits, incarcerations and homelessness.

“When people step into this building, they will be uplifted, not discouraged.

We want to fill them with hope,” SlattonHodges said. “People need to know that behavioral health challenges, including substance use, can be treated just as successfully, if not more so, than other types of illnesses. This is not a secret, and this new hospital stands as a testament to that.”

Oklahoma first lady Sarah Stitt, who attended the groundbreaking ceremony and has been a proponent of improving mental health care in the state, said she knows the feeling of hopelessness that comes when you can’t get a loved one the treatment they need.

“Mental health and addiction have long been issues that have faced our state. We must address the crisis at hand,” Stitt said. “This facility will change the lives of Oklahomans for the better and will be a place where generational cycles of addiction trauma are broken.”

FROM ODMHSAS AND THE URBAN INSTITUTE: • TULSA RESIDENTS LIVING WITH A MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGE HAVE A LIFE EXPECTANCY OF UNDER 50 YEARS. THESE EARLY DEATHS ARE MOST OFTEN CAUSED BY ACCIDENTS, SUICIDE, HOMICIDE AND OVERDOSES. • ONLY ABOUT 40% OF PEOPLE IN OKLAHOMA WITH A SERIOUS MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGE RECEIVE TREATMENT. • IN THE 2022-23 FISCAL YEAR, $94 MILLION IN STATE FUNDS WERE INVESTED IN THE TULSA AREA’S MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION TREATMENT SYSTEMS.

S TAT E M AG A Z I N E .O K S TAT E . E D U 25

A top-ranked medical school in the heart of Tulsa.

And Tahlequah.

We’ve Earned a Top Spot in US News and World Report’s Best Medical Schools Rankings.

IT FEELS GREAT TO BE ON TOP. OSU Center for Health Sciences has earned the No. 1 ranking in the percentage of graduates practicing medicine in Health Professional Shortage Areas, and No. 10 in graduates practicing in rural areas from the U.S. News and World Report’s annual medical school rankings.

HPSAs designate areas and population groups, both rural and urban, that are experiencing a shortage of health professionals and can also be called medical deserts. About 50% of OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine graduates are practicing in HPSAs, according to US News data. Not only are we educating physicians in the heart of Tulsa, we’re also educating the next generation in rural Oklahoma at our Cherokee Nation campus in Tahlequah.

With a mission to educate physicians for rural and underserved populations in Oklahoma, this news is just another confirmation we are making good on that promise. Getting nationally recognized for it is the (orange) cherry on top.

medicine.okstate.edu

The 2023-24 “U.S. News and World Report” rankings are from a survey of 192 accredited allopathic and osteopathic medical schools in the United States, which grant M.D. and D.O. degrees, respectively.

Retired CAS faculty member continues to impact students' lives 28 FA L L 2 0 2 3

STORY SAM MILEK | PHOTOS GARRETT KIRKSEY, COURTESY OF MYR-LOU ROLLINS WADE

has a love for M yr-Lou Rollins the performing

arts. A love that has spanned almost her entire life and a love that reminds her of the times she felt weightless as she danced on stage.

More than 30 years after retirement, Rollins attends as many performances and recitals put on through Oklahoma State University’s Greenwood School of Music as she can. At 88, it’s a challenge sometimes getting to the event, but she remains loyal and true to the university that has given her so much.

Rollins’ decadeslong love for the performing arts began in her hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas. Born Myrtle Louise, she quickly came to be known simply as Myr-Lou. The daughter of a hardware salesman, she and her family lived frugally, but didn’t let that deter their happiness.

She began to take dance lessons at an early age. Her first instructor, Ella Ilse, played an influential role in Rollins finding her passion through ballet.

“She not only taught me to dance, but she also taught me that the body should be treated properly through posture and exercise,” Rollins said.

At just 14, Rollins had the opportunity to travel around surrounding towns to assist another dance teacher, Margaret Collins.

She danced for two years to cover the cost of dance shoes and costumes, before returning to Ilse’s tutelage for her senior year of high school.

Rollins attended Del Mar College in Corpus Christi after high school, though her heart was still set on dance. Not too long after, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity presented itself.

Her former high school dance partner, Lowell Purvis, was headed to Los Angeles to continue dancing and wanted Rollins to join him. Much to the hesitation of her parents, Purvis assured them he would take care of their daughter.

“My parents didn’t think I should venture alone, plus the financial strain,” Rollins said. “Lowell guaranteed them that he would help me.”

Just like that, the eager young Texan was on her way to Hollywood.

Myr-Lou Rollins Wade

S TAT E M AG A Z I N E .O K S TAT E . E D U 29

A Content Career

Upon arrival, Rollins landed a room at the Dixon Manor located behind the iconic Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

Purvis introduced her to the Hollywood School of Dance, African Contemporary and Ernest Belcher ballet.

Rollins said that attending each of these required her to master the complex L.A. bus system to get from studio to studio.

As time went on, though, she decided the Hollywood lifestyle was not for her. Returning home in 1953, she attended a dance program at Texas State College for Women (TSCW) in Denton, where she was able to travel and perform around the country for communities and other colleges. She graduated in May 1956 and after her last performance, she met Glenda Williams, head of women’s physical education at Oklahoma A&M College.

The following June, Rollins and a group of friends from the TSCW modern dance group traveled to New York City where they met Ruth St.

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Denis, who at the time was considered a pioneer in modern dance. It was also around this time, when she was contacted by Williams, who offered Rollins a job as a dance instructor.

Rollins said she and her family eagerly awaited a contract in the mail.

After what she said felt like forever, they received a confirmation letter from Valerie Colvin, who had taken Williams’ place. Her only concern for Rollins was finding a place to live in Stillwater.

However, they discovered a newly constructed apartment complex, which Rollins was able to secure a spot in.

Her first month’s rent only cost her $60, and it’s the same apartment Rollins lives in to this day.

For the next 30 years, Rollins taught dance and organized performances at OSU throughout the old Field House, now Gallagher-Iba Arena; the Bartlett Center for Visual Arts; and the Seretean Center for the Performing Arts.

Her teaching career at OSU was all Rollins could have hoped for. She opened the world of dance to students and organized performances like her former high school instructors did when she

was a student. She even had the chance to instruct students who later achieved popularity of their own, like Wally Funk. “[Funk] was a physical education major at the time and was required to take dance classes, which she wasn’t interested in,” Rollins said. “She was more interested in flying. She would come and tell me all of the fine experiences she had with it.”

In 1985, Rollins met Kenneth Wade at a ballroom dance in Stillwater. She said she had no interest in dating at first, with school being her top priority.

However, Wade was persistent and after Rollins ran out of excuses, the two began to date. She retired in 1986 as an accomplished emeritus faculty member.

“I just enjoyed teaching,” Rollins said.

“And the neat thing is, I would run into students later who would remember me, and we would chat about what year they were in and the memories they had.”

Rollins and Wade moved to the nearby town of Perry after marrying in 1989, still keeping the apartment in Stillwater for a place to stay when there were performances to attend.

Left: Myr-Lou Rollins Wade has lived an adventurous life from dancing on stage around the country to being an instructor at Oklahoma State University. Above: Rollins Wade is a fervent supporter of the Greenwood School of Music and attends nearly every GSM event at The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts.

Saving the Last Dance Even in retirement, Rollins knew she still had more to give to OSU. In 2002, she met Cathy Shuffield, then the development officer for the College of Education and Human Sciences, at an emeriti faculty luncheon. Eager to give back to the university, Rollins pitched a scholarship idea to Shuffield.

“She approached me and the former dean of the College of Education about making a gift,” Shuffield said. “She asked for suggestions on areas that needed funding. We suggested some scholarship options and the Dean’s Excellence Fund as possibilities.”

They eventually settled on the Myr-Lou Rollins Wade Endowed Scholarship for physical education majors interested in creative rhythms and movement. In 2004, the scholarship moved to the College

of Arts and Sciences for students majoring in theatre.

“The process of setting up her scholarship was inspiring,” Shuffield said. “She said that OSU had been a great part of her life, and she wanted to give something back.”

The Wades would often frequent concerts and recitals. After Kenneth passed away in 2019, Rollins moved back to Stillwater and devoted her time to attending as many performances at The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts as possible.

With age came new barriers, though. No longer comfortable driving at night, she found a helping hand in McKnight Center house manager Hannah Mans, who drove Rollins to and from a performance during the fall 2022 semester.

“Myr-Lou was having trouble finding a ride to the performance, and asked if I would be able to assist her, even if it meant she had to arrive much earlier

than normal,” Mans said. “I was able to give her a ride, and I am glad I did.”

It was at this performance that Mans also witnessed a heartfelt moment between Rollins and a group of students from the performance.

“After the concert, while she waited patiently in the lobby as I finished up my concert duties, a couple of students approached Myr-Lou,” Mans said. “They recognized her from all of the times she had attended their performances, and thanked her for being there and supporting them. MyrLou was visibly moved.”

In her 88 years, Rollins has achieved a life of adventure and success. Even 36 years after retirement, she remains dedicated to the creative minds in the performing arts at OSU. “I keep coming back because of how hard these students work,” she said. “It warms my heart to see these wonderful people put together such beautiful performances.”

S TAT E M AG A Z I N E .O K S TAT E . E D U 31

COWBOY CORRAL

AWAY GAMES

Start your game day at the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center!

Enjoy a free, family-friendly pep rally 2 1/2 hours before every home game.*

Elevate your away game experience with us! Join us for events Friday nights and Saturdays at all Cowboy Football away games.

Take pictures with Bullet steps away from the Spirit Walk and grab a game day snack before the game!

This year, we are offering an official travel package for a memorable weekend in Orlando, Florida against new Big 12 opponent Central Florida!

This three-night package includes deluxe hotel accommodations, tour welcome event, game day transfers, official pregame event and more.

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Members can enjoy a complimentary Iron Monk beverage and bottled water.

Check the day’s scores on surrounding screens, and snap some fun commemorative pics in our photo booth.

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MEMBER EXCLUSIVE!

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Additional information will be emailed to members this fall.

We also have hotel blocks available for fans traveling to the Arizona State game in Tempe and the game at Houston.

MEMBER TICKETS

*Excludes Friday and morning kickoff games.

ORANGE FRIDAYS OSU Alumni Association members 21 and older can enjoy one complimentary beverage at Iron Monk Brewing Company on Orange Fridays.

Join us from 5-7 p.m. Friday before the games designated on opposite page. Alumni and fans can also enjoy Iron Monk products at the OSU Alumni Center and outside on the patio at all home games.

OSU Alumni Association members may purchase game tickets at a reduced rate to the home games against Cincinnati (Homecoming) and BYU (Senior Day). Tickets are available online while supplies last at ORANGECONNECTION.org/athletics.

YOUR MEMBERSHIP MATTERS Every membership dollar supports game day events and programming for the Cowboy Family at the OSU Alumni Center and on the road!

HOMECOMING HUB The OSU Alumni Association is excited to welcome graduates and fans back for Homecoming 2023: “The Year of the Cowboy.”

The Cowboy family is invited to check in and start the celebration at one of two Homecoming Hub locations on Friday, Oct. 27.

ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center • Free Iron Monk Beer for members • Homecoming merchandise while supplies last • Photo booth for celebratory pictures South Library Lawn • Family-friendly activities for Cowboys of all ages

CHECK IN & WIN! Check in at any game day event, and you’ll be eligible to win!

2023 COWBOY FOOTBALL SCHEDULE 9/2 vs. Central Arkansas 9/9 @ Arizona State 9/16 vs. South Alabama 9/23 @ Iowa State

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10/6 vs. Kansas State

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STORY MACK BURKE | PHOTOS PROVIDED

F O R E V E R

Loyal &True OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY RECEIVES $120 MILLION GIFT FROM T. BOONE PICKENS FOUNDATION

S TAT E M AG A Z I N E .O K S TAT E . E D U 35

Oklahoma State University received a $120 million gift from the T. Boone Pickens Foundation in June, continuing a long list of generosity from the university’s greatest benefactor.

Pickens passed away on Sept. 11, 2019.

He was a legendary energy executive, proud OSU alumnus and transformative philanthropist.

A majority of the gift — $63.7 million — will go toward student scholarships, helping to ensure more students have access to higher education and can pursue their dreams without financial burden. This gift will be designated to the Pickens legacy scholarship funds and will double the impact of donor contributions.

Additionally, $25 million will support the recently announced OSU Human Performance Innovation Complex, which will enhance health and wellness among students, OSU studentathletes and the broader Oklahoma community. The facility will house the Human Performance and Nutrition Research Institute (HPNRI) and the Cowboy Football Center.

“Physical, mental and spiritual health played a big part in Boone’s life,” said Jay Rosser, T. Boone Pickens Foundation director. “Boone’s passion for health and research programs is evidenced by his philanthropic support for a wide range of world-class institutions, including MD Anderson, UT Southwestern, the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University, the Center for Brain Health in Dallas and the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the University of Calgary, among others. He would be pleased OSU is positioning itself through HPNRI to discover and apply evidence-informed solutions to improve lives.”

The gift also includes plans for renovating and reconstructing the acclaimed Karsten Creek golf course — home of the Cowboy and Cowgirl collegiate golf teams. Pickens enjoyed a long friendship with former OSU golf coach and athletic director Mike Holder.

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Pickens supported many of Holder’s extensive projects, foremost among them the reimagined and reconstructed football stadium, which bears Pickens’ name.

The gift includes donating Pickens’ vast personal and business archives to OSU for a museum to celebrate Pickens’ legacy as an entrepreneur and philanthropist. OSU will construct the publicly accessible museum inside the west end zone of Boone Pickens Stadium.

“We are incredibly thankful to the T. Boone Pickens Foundation for this extraordinary gift,” OSU President Kayse Shrum said. “Boone was a true leader and visionary whose investments, involvement and advocacy for energy independence drove America’s oil and gas industry for nearly seven decades.

But it was his generosity that had the most significant impact.

“Even today, almost four years after his death, he continues to make an impact for good through the generosity of his foundation. As a result, a new generation of Oklahoma State students will have access to life-changing scholarships, researchers to worldclass facilities, and student-athletes to outstanding academic and athletic facilities. Once again, one cannot overstate his impact on our university.”

Rosser echoed Dr. Shrum’s gratitude for the gift and Pickens’ unwavering support of OSU. “Boone Pickens’ love for Oklahoma State University knew no bounds,” Rosser said. “His unwavering commitment to seeing the university thrive academically and athletically was inspiring. We are proud to carry on his legacy with this $120 million gift to his alma mater. We hope this contribution will inspire others to continue supporting Oklahoma State’s endeavors, just as Boone did throughout his life and beyond. We are honored to be able to continue his legacy and support the university he loved so deeply.”

Established in 2006, the T. Boone Pickens Foundation has made significant philanthropic contributions to advance health, medical research, fitness, conservation, athletics and education. But nowhere has Pickens’ generosity been more impactful than at OSU. “Thanks to this gift, Oklahoma State will be able to provide more students with access to an excellent education while strengthening our position as a leader in research and athletics,” OSU Athletic Director Chad Weiberg said.

“Through his historic gifts, Mr. Pickens helped position Cowboy football as one of the nation’s winningest programs over the last two decades. OSU Athletics deeply appreciates the T. Boone Pickens Foundation’s incredible generosity and unwavering support. Health and performance were very important to Mr. Pickens personally and he was a leader in providing those opportunities for his staff and employees.

“Specifically, the gift to support the Human Performance and Nutrition Research Institute will help us advance our land-grant mission by uniting the academic expertise of our human performance and nutrition experts, led

by Lance Walker, HPNRI Executive Director, with data-informed strategies and resources that will benefit all of our athletic programs and all Oklahomans.”

The OSU/A&M Board of Regents acknowledged the $120 million gift from the T. Boone Pickens Foundation at its June 16 board meeting.

“This gift will have a lasting and transformative impact on our university community, providing vital resources and opportunities to students, faculty, athletes and staff,” said Jarold Callahan, chair of the OSU/A&M Board of Regents.

“We want to thank the T. Boone Pickens Foundation for supporting Oklahoma State University in its ongoing pursuit of excellence as one of the nation’s premier land-grant universities.”

“Even today, almost four years after his death, he continues to make an impact for good through the generosity of his foundation. As a result, a new generation of Oklahoma State students will have access to life-changing scholarships, researchers to world-class facilities, and studentathletes to outstanding academic and athletic facilities. Once again, one cannot overstate his impact on our university.”

OSU PRESIDENT KAYSE SHRUM

S TAT E M AG A Z I N E .O K S TAT E . E D U 37

Students lined up en masse to donate nonperishable food or hygiene products to receive a ticket to Garth Brooks’ student-only concert at The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts in April.

Bright Lights, Bright Students Country music superstar returns to alma mater, shares passion for supporting students

I

f tomorrow never comes, Oklahoma State University students can be content knowing they saw a Cowboy legend this spring.

Country music superstar and OSU alumnus Garth Brooks returned to campus April 14-15 to perform two concerts to support student scholarships at The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts.

The first concert was open to OSU students from all campuses. Brooks’ second concert was an exclusive event for alumni, donors, faculty and staff.

Brooks is no stranger to playing and singing on a big stage in front of thousands of people. When the music starts, he knows what to do. But his performance for students — his first Stillwater concert since the early 1990s

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— had him feeling more nervous than most.

“I think one of the reasons why I’m so nervous though, is the difference in age tonight will probably be the biggest difference I’ve seen,” said Brooks in a news conference prior to the student concert. “They bring children to the stadium all the time, but they’re there with their parents.”

Brooks had no need to worry.

Following the announcement, students flocked to donate nonperishable food or hygiene items to register for a ticket. Some waited in line for three hours — all to see the best-selling solo artist in U.S. history just a few blocks away from where he famously got his start at Willie’s Saloon on Washington Street, aka The Strip.

Matthew Laster was one of those students who inherited an appreciation for Brooks from their parents.

Dressed in his dad’s shirt — an exact replica of the brushpopper Brooks wore on the cover of his fourth studio album “The Chase” — Laster left Tulsa in the morning to be first in line for front row seats at the student concert that evening.

Laster saw Brooks on the stadium tour and attended his Industry Insights masterclass sessions on the Stillwater campus last fall.

“It was so great to see Garth come home and discuss his journey and influences with such a large group of students,” Laster said. “As an MBA student who is older than the typical student — in my mid 30s — it was

STORY SYDNEY TRAINOR | PHOTOS GARY LAWSON

fantastic to see that so much of the student body still recognizes him for not only his influence on music, but also his connection to OSU.” The evening was a once-in-alifetime experience for Laster. And through Brooks’ conversations with students, it was clear his passion extends past his music. Laster could tell how much Brooks loves OSU and the students.

“My favorite moment was at the very end when he led us all in the O-S-U chant,” Laster said. “Getting to hear Garth play in Stillwater and sing ‘Friends in Low Places’ with him will always be a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I am very thankful to have.”

The OSU college experience is one Brooks is thankful for. He said while growing up, his dad was convinced all his children needed four years of college.

“Our father did everything he could to get us to college. But the truth is, they could barely do it. I was the last of six kids,” Brooks said. “But we all got a shot to go to college, either through student government loans or athletic scholarships.”

With the help of a track and field scholarship and loans, Brooks attended OSU to throw javelin. In the now-School of Media and Strategic Communications, he studied advertising and learned to write short jingles.

In 1984, Brooks graduated with a degree in advertising and followed in his mother’s footsteps as he pursued a professional music career.

When he arrived in Nashville, Tennessee, looking to be a songwriter, he was met with rejection and headed back home to Willie’s in Stillwater. With a college degree from OSU to fall back on, he continued to chase his dream, found success, and now has a Las Vegas residency — Garth Brooks/PlusONE at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

“I’m so proud of Oklahoma State University. It’s so good. I’m so lucky to be from there. So lucky to have a degree from there — actually two degrees from there,” said Brooks while holding back tears during a weekly “Inside Studio G: A Monday Night Conversation” livestream.

During the livestream, Brooks shared how a college friend asked

Trisha Yearwood, Brooks’ wife, to sing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” acapella during soundcheck and the room at The McKnight Center came to life with a beautiful sound.

“The McKnight theater can rival any theater on the planet. They spent the perfect amount of money to build something that they’re so proud of,” Brooks said.

Brooks’ return to OSU was the perfect opportunity to get back to his Cowboy roots and support student scholarships.

Due to the success of his second studio album, “No Fences” in 1990, which reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart, Brooks was able to pay his student loans off early. Today, Brooks continues to emphasize the importance of a college education and limiting the burden of student debt.

“I’m very proud of this statistic that over 50% of the people that come here, leave debt free,” Brooks said. “And they’re not happy with that. Oklahoma State’s not. They want to keep pushing it up. For me, that means they have the student in mind more than the university itself.”

“I’m so proud of Oklahoma State University.

It’s so good.

I’m so lucky to be from there.

So lucky to have a degree from there — actually two degrees from there.”

GARTH BROOKS

S TAT E M AG A Z I N E .O K S TAT E . E D U 39

Many students saw Garth Brooks perform for the first time as he hadn’t played a concert in Stillwater since the early 1990s.

As a modern land-grant university, OSU aims to broaden access to higher education for an increasing number of students and their families. As OSU announced in its “We are LandGrant” strategy last October, it is enhancing efforts to extend access by working to reduce student debt through scholarships.

Decades of diminishing public funding and costs of operation across the higher education landscape means access is out of reach for an increasing number of prospective students and their families.

OSU President Kayse Shrum set out to raise a million dollars through the concerts to support students receiving degrees at OSU. The concerts exceeded expectations and raised more than $2 million, and the OSU Foundation is working with donors to secure additional support. Dr. Shrum said scholarships will help advance OSU’s land-grant mission to improve access to higher education by directly benefiting students pursuing degree programs at OSU. “You won’t be surprised to hear that when I told him that we had set an ambitious goal last year to increase student access to scholarships, the first

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thing he asked was, ‘How can I help?’

Actually, the first thing he said is, ‘Ms. Kayse, how can I help?’ And here we are today, kicking off a two-concert series as a part of a new fundraising initiative to support scholarships at OSU,” Shrum said ahead of the student concert.

It’s alumni like Brooks who help Cowboys chase their dreams.

Nearing the end of his high school career, Jeronimo Lara knew he needed to get a college degree to help him excel in his future and achieve lifelong goals.

However, the more he researched the next step in his education, the more he realized the enormity of the challenge.

“When I started looking at colleges, OSU specifically, and the price to be able to go, it became very apparent it was going to be something that — my parents even expressed this to me — they weren’t going to be able to help me very much to pay for school, because it was very expensive,” said the Shattuck, Oklahoma native.

Through mentors putting in the time to help him research scholarships, and OSU alumni who established funding for students looking to attend OSU, Lara is now an animal science pre-vet undergraduate with a goal of

applying to the College of Veterinary Medicine in September.

“My goals and dreams have always been to go back home and practice medicine, and really give back to the community that has given so much to me,” the junior said. “I mean, that’s always been such a goal and dream of mine, to go back and serve my community in a professional setting, such as practicing medicine.”

Access to scholarships allowed Lara to attend college, but it has also allowed him to participate in out of classroom experiences such as a pre-vet focused study abroad trip to Mexico.

Lara vocalized his desire to study abroad through the course because he knew this opportunity was within the realms of his interest and something he could benefit from beyond his academic career.

Lara said OSU faculty and the Ferguson College of Agriculture went above and beyond to ensure he received funding to study abroad.

“Without alumni making these funds, students like myself would not be able to experience or go to school to hopefully one day get the career or degree that we all so dearly want,” Lara said.

Garth Brooks performs a concert at The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts at Oklahoma State University in April.

S TAT E M AG A Z I N E .O K S TAT E . E D U 41

Honoring the

of OSU’s female-led philanthropy

Women for OSU celebrates 15 years, continues to impact the university through leadership and service

ith more than 640 in attendance, the 2023 Women for OSU Symposium’s recordbreaking crowd celebrated the power of women in philanthropy and another significant milestone — the program’s 15th anniversary.

Since 2008, Women for OSU’s success has been a culmination of giving and service from its council and within the Cowboy family. It is a diverse group of women who share a passion for inspiring leadership and financial support to the university.

On April 27, Women for OSU recognized Carol Morsani as Philanthropist of the Year. Alongside her husband, Frank, Morsani has committed more than $28 million to OSU. Their collective desire to make an impact at the university earned them honorary doctorates and the Henry G. Bennett Award for Distinguished Service, OSU’s highest humanitarian honor.

“Carol represents ‘loyal and true,’” OSU President Kayse Shrum said. “Throughout her lifetime, Carol has stayed connected to the university. She has this infectious, positive attitude,

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and she lights up when you talk about Oklahoma State University. She truly is an ambassador and very worthy of being Philanthropist of the Year.”

Fittingly, Women for OSU honored 15 outstanding student scholars — undergraduate and doctoral — studying various disciplines such as education, medicine, agriculture and science.

The council awarded the inaugural recipients the Student Philanthropists of the Year Award.

This distinction recognizes OSU students who are highly engaged in philanthropic efforts and demonstrate inspiring leadership. The 2023 recipients were senior Jentry Lemons from Ardmore, Oklahoma, who is studying physiology and pre-medicine; and Del City, Oklahoma, native Liza-Ann Suba, who is pursuing a doctorate of osteopathic medicine.

The event honored the impact of influential and unprecedented female leadership at the university.

Four of OSU’s most prominent executives and honorary Women for OSU council members were in attendance: Dr. Shrum, OSU Provost Jeanette

STORY GRANT RAMIREZ | PHOTOS OSU FOUNDATION

Mendez, OSU Foundation President Blaire Atkinson and OSU Alumni Association President Ann Caine.

Since its inception, Women for OSU has awarded more than $558,000 in scholarships to 127 students. When speaking to the audience, Atkinson recognized the historical impact female-driven philanthropy has on society.

“As we see in the leadership of Women for OSU, the role of women in philanthropy is more important than ever,” Atkinson said. “In the last decade, we’ve seen an increase in women in leadership positions in both the private and public sectors. Women are key decision makers in business and at home. With such growth and possibilities for women, philanthropic initiatives led by females — such as Women for OSU — have the potential to grow and impact our communities like never before.”

For the third year, Women for OSU recognized Partnering to Impact grant recipients. Partnering to Impact’s mission is to support unbudgeted projects across OSU that benefit health and wellness, education, campus beautification or arts and culture. The program has experienced incredible growth due to the increase in Partners — those who give a minimum of $1,000 annually to the Partnering to Impact Fund or $500 annually for those who are younger than 35. This year, the program funded five additional projects, making a total of 15 recipients since it began in 2021.

One of those recipients is the OSU Student Farm. Dr. Justin Quetone Moss, instructor and head of the OSU Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, said the grant will expand the Student Farm’s mission to grow and supply food to the community through Our Daily Bread Resource Center while providing OSU students with hands-on learning.

“We’re going to use the funds to help us build a produce washing and sanitation facility,” Moss said.

“We’re ready to produce and to harvest, and we’re ready to get the food to the people who need it.”

OSU Institute of Technology’s Growing DivHERsity is another 2023 Partnering to Impact grant recipient. Taler Adney, OSUIT instructor, said the grant will provide the necessary funds to recruit and retain female students in an effort to increase women represented in the IT industry.

“The funds will continue to build on other scholarships that industries are already providing female and minority students by alleviating their debt to the institution, and helping them be more successful through this program,” Adney said. “I am very appreciative and thankful to Women for OSU for offering this grant and for being the foundation that they are. This opportunity allowed me to create this program for female students.”

Women for OSU Director Jayme Ferrell said Partnering to Impact addresses significant campus and community needs that make a difference in the lives of students, faculty and programs.

“Partnering to Impact continues to advance OSU in several important areas,” Ferrell said.

“It provides the funding to support current OSU initiatives and new ones that will improve the student experience, our campuses and communities. It’s truly incredible work and we are thankful for our Partners who make it possible.”

To learn more about the 2023 Women for OSU Scholars pictured above, visit osugiving.com/women/scholars.

Keynote speaker Elizabeth Smart (left) and Symposium emcee Julia Benbrook

S TAT E M AG A Z I N E .O K S TAT E . E D U 43

Carol Morsani PH I L A N T H ROPIST OF T H E Y E A R

Carol and her husband, Frank, at the 2023 Women for OSU Symposium

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arol Morsani has always wanted to do what she could for those in need.

Born during the Great Depression, she was exposed to struggles at a young age. While her father was able to hold a steady job, many others were not as lucky. A Tulsa native, Morsani remembers men going up and down the street looking for work, accepting a few pennies for whatever job they could find.

“My home was stable, but there were so many people out of work, in bread lines,“ Morsani said.

“Growing up during that time and seeing all that certainly influenced my desire to give back.”

Morsani didn’t have the money to give at the time, but she looked for the little ways she could help out in her community, like being a role model as a Girl Scout leader and decorating her local children’s library with artwork. Since making those small gestures as a child, Morsani has impacted countless lives across the country through her philanthropy.

“Over the course of my career in higher education, I have not known or met another individual who embodies the ideals of Women for

OSU like Carol,” said Dr. Jon Pedersen, dean of Oklahoma State University’s College of Education and Human Sciences.

OSU President Kayse Shrum said Morsani’s philanthropic spirit is an inspiration to others.

“What we really want in our Oklahoma State family is someone who is dedicated to serving others in any capacity they can, and to me that’s something I hope others can see in Carol. She serves as a great example,” Shrum said.

Alongside her husband, Frank, the Morsanis have committed more than $28 million to OSU, including more than $10 million to The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts. In 2007, the Morsanis announced a $5 million gift to the College of Education that established the Frank and Carol Morsani Center for Ethics and Creative Leadership on the Stillwater campus. They’ve also funded numerous chairs, professorships and scholarships, with many of them focused on education and leadership.

The couple’s commitment to making a difference at OSU earned them honorary doctorates from the university as well as the

“Women are taking over the world, and we need to know how to do it. My hope is that these organizations are teaching women that sort of information and giving them these opportunities.”

Carol Morsani Henry G. Bennett Award for Distinguished Service, OSU’s highest humanitarian honor.

“The Women for OSU Philanthropist of the Year award recognizes women who have played a significant role in supporting their communities and Oklahoma State University — Carol Morsani is the epitome of that role,” said former OSU President Burns Hargis and his wife and 2022 Philanthropist of the Year, Ann. “Carol and her husband, Frank, exemplify the Oklahoma spirit and the American dream more than any other individuals I’ve ever met,” said former OSU-Tulsa President Pamela Fry. “They share qualities and values that reflect genuine success comes from hard work, honesty, humility and that a person should always help others and maintain a spirit of hope and optimism even during those challenging times.”

The Morsanis’ philanthropy isn’t limited to Oklahoma. They are incredibly involved in their community in Tampa, Florida, and at the University of South Florida, where they also were awarded with an honorary doctorate. Recently, they gave a historic gift to name the Morsani Honors College at the University of Tampa.

In the region, a large focus of theirs has been on health. The Morsanis donated a molecular lab and family patient room at the Moffitt Cancer Center, where they also serve as board members.

On the USF campus, they helped found the Morsani College of Medicine as well as the Carol and Frank Morsani Center for Advanced Healthcare. Morsani said the clinic is one of her proudest gifts.

“We are very eager to assist the medical field,” Morsani said. “And in Florida, we have the largest elderly population, so we need innovative medicine and research. We really want to invest in that sort of thing.”

Carol and Frank live by the mantra of “learning, earning and returning.” Giving back is a priority, and they want to leave their communities better than they found them.

Morsani’s involvement with Women for OSU inspired her to help start a similar program at USF, Women in Leadership and Philanthropy.

Both programs have a similar mission: to bring women together to make a difference at their universities and in their communities.

“Women are taking over the world, and we need to know how to do it,” Morsani said. “My hope is that these organizations are teaching women that sort of information and giving them these opportunities.”

The Women for OSU council gifted Carol with a custommade, hand-blown artistic glass vase to recognize her philanthropic support for OSU. .

S TAT E M AG A Z I N E .O K S TAT E . E D U 45

Hope and Healing A F T E R T R AG E DY

bduction survivor, author and activist Elizabeth Smart served as the keynote speaker for the Women for OSU Symposium. Smart is the founder of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation and is a vocal advocate for change related to child abduction and sexual violence.

At 14, Smart was abducted from her home in Salt Lake City in the middle of the night.

After nine grueling months of abuse from her captors, the police found Smart and she was reunited with her family. Smart’s work focuses on overcoming trauma, finding peace with the past and embracing the future. Smart’s inspirational message is of hope and healing. She believes each person has a story to share.

“Because we all experience different things, that means we all have something unique to offer that nobody else can offer,” she said. “You have the ability to reach people that maybe no one else has the ability to reach because of your story and what you have been through.”

Smart detailed her story of survival while she advocated for change and prevention related to child abduction and sexual violence. As painful as her story is, Smart is determined to use it to instill hope in others’ healing.

“We do not have control over what happens to us. It’s easy to feel like ‘it’s so unfair’ or ‘this has

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ruined my life’ and ‘I didn’t deserve that,’” she said. “And you’re absolutely right. You probably didn’t deserve it. No matter what someone has done to you, nobody can take away your value or your worth.”

Smart encouraged the audience to reclaim their voice. She noted everyone has the power to control their life’s trajectory after tragedy.

“You define who you are,” Smart said. “We do that through our decisions. We can all get to a point in our lives where we can acknowledge that we are works in progress. But, when you look at yourself in the mirror in the morning you can say, ‘I am really proud of who I am. I am really proud of what I achieved. I am really proud of myself that I didn’t’ give up.’ This is something to be cherished.”

The event also included the announcement of the 2024 Women for OSU Symposium keynote speaker — Deborah Norville. Norville is a television journalist and a two-time Emmy Award winner and a The New York Times bestselling author. She is the host of the nation’s top-rated syndicated news magazine, Inside Edition.

For more information on becoming a Symposium sponsor or to join Partnering to Impact, visit:

OSUgiving.com/women

Keynote speaker Elizabeth Smart at the 2023 Symposium.

Thank you to our generous sponsors for making the 2023 Symposium an incredible success!

Thank you to the Women for OSU council, led by chairwoman Leslie Paris, for their dedication. We are grateful for your hard work to ensure the success of all Women for OSU programs.

DIAMOND SPONSOR

SILVER SPONSORS

Vickie Hall

BancFirst Brenda Buck and Tracie Chapman Kirsten Daniel Karen Gallagher Jeanene Hulsey and Tammy Lee Traci Jensen Judith Myers Kelly Pat Knaub Pam Martin OSU Center for Health Sciences OSU School of Accounting Beth Patterson Real Estate Professionals Saint Francis Health System Gwen Shaw Terry Slagle Melinda Stinnett Denise Weaver

PLATINUM SPONSOR Bank of Oklahoma

GOLD SPONSORS Julie Blanchard and Susan Glasgow Robin Byford and Becky Steen Chi Omega Linda Cline Kayleen Ferguson Goodytwos Toffee Company Anne Greenwood Mary Ann Grimsley Leah Gungoll Virginia Hellwege Joan Hert Vicki Howard and Amy Mitchell Claudia Humphreys Susan Jacques Sharon Keating Caroline Linehan Jami Longacre Jennie Moyes Gail Muncrief OSU Alumni Association OSU Athletics OSU College of Education and Human Sciences OSU College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology OSU Ferguson College of Agriculture OSU Foundation OSU President’s Office OSU Spears School of Business Pi Beta Phi 1978 Jan Polk Roxanne Pollard and Sharon Trojan Jenelle Shatz Karen Stewart Stillwater Medical Center Stock Exchange Bank - Sheryl Benbrook Lucina Thompson

SAVE

the DATE

ORANGE SPONSORS Jenny Carter Amy Gallegos and Territory Resources Donna Giles Lynn Hilst Patricia Hudson Jeanette Kern Retta Miller Lou Morris Oklahoma Central Credit Union Tina Parkhill Charlotte Pittman Jennifer Pittman Sue Schmidt Leslie Woolley

DIGITAL SPONSOR OSU College of Arts and Sciences

April 25, 2024 WO M E N for O S U S Y M P O S I U M

F E AT U R I N G K E Y N OT E S P E A K E R

Deborah Norville Television journalist, two-time Emmy Award winner and bestselling author S TAT E M AG A Z I N E .O K S TAT E . E D U 47

A PICTURE PERFECT LEARNING OPPORTUNITY The OSU Doel Reed Center in Taos extends the university’s reach to culturally rich northern New Mexico and provides unique opportunities for adult learners through Leisure Learning Courses, as well as captivating educational experiences for OSU students through tailor-made course credit classes. The Doel Reed Center is truly an Enchanted Place to Learn. There is something for everyone at the Doel Reed Center in Taos!

SUMMER LEISURE LEARNING COURSES HAVE BEEN SET FOR JULY 22-26, 2024!

To learn more about the Doel Reed Center and our upcoming Leisure Learning courses, contact Carol Moder at carol.moder@okstate.edu or visit doelreed.okstate.edu.

OCTOBER 10-14 IN HONOR OF WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY ON OCT. 10, OSU WILL HOST COWBOYS UNITED FOR MENTAL HEALTH FOR THE SECOND-STRAIGHT YEAR. THIS CAMPAIGN RALLIES THE COWBOY FAMILY TO RAISE FUNDS TO EXPAND OSU STUDENTS’ ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.

WHEN COWBOYS ARE UNITED, WE CAN ACCOMPLISH GREAT THINGS! TO LEARN MORE AND TO MAKE AN IMPACT, VISIT

OSUgiving.com/CowboysUnited

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living the code

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PRESIDENT SHRUM LAUNCHES VIDEO SERIES TO SHOWCASE THOSE WHO LIVE THE COWBOY CODE

STORY SYDNEY TRAINOR | PHOTOS PHIL SHOCKLEY

C

owboys from the Old West are known for their way of life in the saddle and abiding by a set of unwritten principles of honor and loyalty.

In his 2004 book, Cowboy Ethics: What Wall Street Can Learn from the Code of the West, James P. Owen created a list of 10 principles that capture the essence for the Code of the West he felt could still be applied to today.

Inspired by the novel, Oklahoma State University created a Cowboy Code for members of the Cowboy family to live by. The seven principles help people through action.

In 2023, OSU President Kayse Shrum launched a new video series with a mission to highlight unique stories of diverse people who embody the Cowboy Code daily.

“We need positive examples in life to emulate,” Dr. Shrum said. “We think of these as being notable historical figures, but we have remarkable people making a difference in the world right here on campus — people whose hard work, kindness, perseverance and integrity encourage everyone around them. Every day, I’m impressed with the character I see in our students, faculty and staff. I wanted the rest of the Cowboy family to hear their stories and be inspired.”

All Living the Code episodes can be seen on Inside OSU. www.InsideOSU.com

These stories of OSU students, faculty, staff, alumni and stakeholders can inspire the next generation of leaders and improve society as part of the land-grant mission.

SUBVERTING THE STATISTICS At 18, Tashia Cheves stepped into the unknown.

It was 2002 and she was starting college at OSU as a first-generation student with her 3-month-old son at home.

Cheves dreamed of being the first person in her family to set an example for her younger siblings and to change her life’s trajectory. However, as things transpired and unplanned events occurred, she stepped away from school two years later to focus on being a mom.

“Statistically, I should have never even made it through the door, just from my family experiences,” Cheves said.

“When I came to college, I was a teen mom … as a true freshman. And there were a lot of things that were stacked against me, and that I, in my mind, didn’t belong.”

Determined to finish her degree, she returned in 2013 and earned her undergraduate degree from the College of Education and Human Sciences in 2016.

Following graduation, Cheves continued her journey at OSU by working at the Colvin Recreation Center and then the LASSO Center. Now, the mother of 5 works full time as the assistant director of the Hargis Leadership Institute while simultaneously studying for her master’s degree in educational psychology.

Cheves knows challenges and circumstances outside of your control bring pain, but you must keep moving forward to the other side.

“While it’s very important to identify pain and to allow yourself to feel your feelings and to work through it, I think that the most important thing is to also remember to not stay there, to not let the pain win,” Cheves said. See Cheves’ story at okla.st/tashia.

NO LIMIT ON A DREAM Carolina Yanez is the daughter of migrant workers and grew up in a region where everyone spoke Spanish.

“Every day, I’m impressed with the character I see in our students, faculty and staff. I wanted the rest of the Cowboy family to hear their stories and be inspired.”

DR. KAYSE SHRUM, OSU PRESIDENT As a child, she loved to use her creativity by making different toys out of boxes and designing clothes. She could even be found cutting fabric to make existing clothing different.

Her dream to become a designer brought her to OSU. “I’ve been a designer since I can remember,” Yanez said. “I used to design for myself. I liked to glue things.

I didn’t know how to sew. I learned how to sew here in school. My mom didn’t believe the first garments I made. She’s like ‘You did not sew that. That wasn’t you.’ and I said ‘Mom, I promise you, it was me.’”

With two bachelor’s degrees from OSU, Yanez wants to change the world and create a place in her family’s hometown of Tulsa to help people grow.

“My father said ‘Carolina, dream as high as you want. There’s no limit.

It’s only you. It’s the limit that you put yourself,’” Yanez said.

S TAT E M AG A Z I N E .O K S TAT E . E D U 51

Attending college as a firstgeneration student didn’t come without its challenges, but Yanez finished what she started, and it’s been a worthwhile experience.

“I’ve learned so much from my classmates and from my teachers, so it’s been rewarding,” Yanez said. “And I think the challenges that I have faced, as a first-generation student have been really awesome, too, because I’ve learned so much through them. And I laugh about them now.”

Yanez said one thing she has learned in her experience is the value of perseverance.

“I’ve learned that if you really want something, you can get it,” Yanez said.

“It might take you a longer to get there.

But you can get there.” See Yanez’s story at okla.st/carolina.

Tashia Cheves sits down with Dr. Kayse Shrum inside the Spears School of Business to share her story on how she’s using her experiences to help students succeed in college.

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EDUCATING GENERATIONS For the past 26 years, Greg Owen has used his passion to help children make an impact in their communities as the 4-H educator with Pittsburg County Extension, based in McAlester, Oklahoma.

When Owen enrolled at OSU in 1989, he thought he wanted to be an accountant. With encouragement from his boss, he changed paths and received a master’s through the agricultural economics department.

With limited experience within 4-H, Owen was hired to be the 4-H educator in Pittsburg County to grow the program because of his experience with marketing.

“We had one radio program that our ag agent did and the Family and Consumer Sciences and 4-H didn’t.

Because I was comfortable on the microphone in front of people, they gave us our own,” Owen said. “So, we started a radio program. I bombarded our newspaper with news articles, they gave me a column that I have to this day and we created a television program ... And that made us more visible. That helped lead us to be the largest 4-H program in the state of Oklahoma around 1999.”

In his role, Owen helps his students become successful adults by developing character and life skills. He also helps his students create programs that

We end the day knowing we gave it everything we had.

We dream as big as the sky.

We know challenges come with pain, but pain will not win.

We have a passion to do what’s right, even when it’s hard.

We stand for what matters, even if we stand alone.

We finish what we start.

Being a Cowboy isn’t in our clothes, it’s in our character.

benefit the community even after they graduate.

“The No. 1 thing, I ask of you is, be passionate about what you choose to do, because if you do that, you’ll be better at it, and you’ll care about it more,” Owen said. See Owen’s story at okla.st/greg.

GIVING IT EVERYTHING In Shattuck, Oklahoma, Raedyn Magness grew up wearing her blue corduroy FFA jacket with the dream of one day trading it in for a white doctor’s coat.

Through FFA and OSU Center for Health Sciences, Magness received a Blue Coats to White Coats scholarship to attend OSU where she majors in biochemistry and molecular biology.

She was provisionally accepted to OSUCHS through the 3+1 Program, where she will join the College of Osteopathic Medicine.

“I want to go back home, or an area like home, rural Oklahoma and practice

family medicine,” Magness said. “... You don’t have a lot of physicians that want to come back and practice. So, I think I want to go back and get the hospital and, in turn, the town up and coming again.”

Although she is looking forward to a future of giving back to her community, Magness isn’t waiting to make her impact as she is the current vice president of giving campaigns at the OSU Student Foundation.

Through the foundation, she quickly organized the Walk the Block event in three weeks to educate students about the mental health resources available on campus. The walk was part of a five-day campaign that raised almost $200,000 for Cowboys United for Mental Health.

“We think if we can start with the students or start inspiring philanthropy, early in the student’s life, then when they graduate, they will be quick to give back and in turn, thank the donors who got them through college,” Magness said.

See Magness’ story at okla.st/raedyn.

S TAT E M AG A Z I N E .O K S TAT E . E D U 53

The Inside OSU team readies the set for Dr. Shrum’s interview with Betty Bowman inside the president’s office in Whitehurst Hall.

TOUCHING LIVES Betty Bowman attended Oklahoma A&M College in the mid-1950s, became engaged with campus through a variety of organizations and always finished what she started.

Bowman was a member of Kappa Delta sorority, serving as rush chair, vice president, treasurer and president.

She was also a member of Panhellenic Council, where she was elected to the Student Senate and eventually, president.

Bowman later became the first female president of the Student Association at Oklahoma State University.

Bowman’s involvement with students didn’t stop after graduation.

She became a teacher in Tulsa at Central High School where she met Cowboy basketball legend Eddie Sutton and wife Patsy, OSU wrestling star Ned Blass and former OU football star Chuck Bowman, her eventual husband. She

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even helped launch the Tulsa Coaches’ Wives Association.

In 1973, Chuck was hired as the first state director of the Oklahoma Chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes where she would serve as the office manager. Under the Bowmans’ leadership, Oklahoma FCA reached 90% of the high schools in Oklahoma.

The Bowmans mentored many OSU athletes including current Baylor University President Linda Livingstone, the Rev. Calvin Miller, NFL Hall of Famer Barry Sanders and Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Self.

Bowman is proud of the work they did at FCA and the lives they touched.

“I certainly didn’t feel myself as one that would get so involved in everything.

And here just recently, I’ve been thinking what happened.

And I think people just got me involved.

And I just took it from there,” Bowman said. See Bowman’s story at okla.st/betty.

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FREE

WHO IS EDUCATING TULSA’S WORKFORCE? OSU-TULSA IS RESPONDING TO THE NEEDS OF OUR REGION’S CURRENT AND FUTURE EMPLOYERS WITH INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS. Our workforce-responsive degree and certificate programs align with the economic priorities of our city and state, while flexible class options and support services keep students in the workforce while they learn. As we continue to grow the College of Professional Studies at OSU-Tulsa, we are building new, customizable pathways to rewarding careers through industry partnerships and world-class education.

When it comes to advancing careers in Tulsa,

ORANGE IS THE ANSWER.

Putting Down Roots

Alumna takes on university position supporting campus canopy

A

s Oklahoma State University students and alumni walk by iconic campus landmarks like Theta Pond, Library Lawn and Old Central, little do they know all the trees surrounding them are just as well-maintained as those historic places.

In fact, University Arborist Caitlin Gipson could probably name every tree dotting the Stillwater campus if she had to.

As a fifth-generation OSU graduate, Gipson has always had immense pride and love for her alma mater. After graduating in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in natural resources ecology and management, she worked a few years as a science teacher before making a career change.

Gipson officially started her role as university arborist in 2020.

Her uncle, Scott Hoffman, said she has always had a love for the environment and giving back to it.

“When she was a small girl to the adult she is now, Caitlin has always been conscious of what she is doing,” Hoffman said. “She is constantly thinking about how she can give back to the community.

When she works on campus, she is passionate about making the right decisions for all the trees and making the campus look amazing.”

Gipson had to become certified as an official arborist before taking on her role. To become an ISA-certified arborist, she was required to pass the International Society Arboriculture Certified Arborist exam. She applied to the ISA using a combination of education and work experience.

Despite the rigorous process, Gibson was approved and passed the exam on her first attempt.

The campus canopy at Oklahoma State University is home to more than 4,000 trees representing 164 different species.

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STORY JILLIAN REMINGTON | PHOTOS GARY LAWSON

“We can’t place any tree anywhere on campus.

We always try to pick the right tree for the right place.”

CAITLIN GIPSON, UNIVERSITY ARBORIST

“Caitlin was studying constantly to get her certification to be an official arborist,” Hoffman said. “I was just so impressed with her dedication to go through with it, and that is the way she is with everything.”

That dedication pays off, with OSU being named a Level II Arboretum through the ArbNet organization in Gipson’s tenure. As of December 2022, the campus forest is home to more than 4,000 trees made up of 164 different species.

Director of Landscape Services John Lee said Gipson is solely responsible for the health, promotion and growth of OSU’s urban forest. Her daily activities include scouting for pest management, ensuring a healthy canopy of all our trees and pruning or training growth of trees, plus all new tree plantings.

“Adding to our campus forest has been a huge task for us,” Gipson said.

“With all the weather events in recent years, we try to plant trees in a strategic way. We can’t place any tree anywhere on campus. We always try to pick the right tree for the right place.”

Adding to the campus forest reinforces OSU’s mission as a land-grant university, effectively demonstrating dedication to excellence in growing a healthy campus forest and arboretum. Unfortunately, due to major weather events, soil compaction and other natural causes, the campus forest has suffered major losses the past few years. Gipson said approximately 100 trees were lost because of the ice storm in February 2023.

“We are always looking for resources and ways to take on the reforestation efforts and rebuild the campus forest,” Gipson said. “One way individuals can help in our reforestation efforts is through the Cowboy Family Tree Tribute Fund.”

The fund was created specifically for members of the Cowboy family to directly invest in our campus forest. Lee said with the unpredictable weather patterns in Stillwater, a fund like this is essential and allows Gibson to purchase and install new trees on campus.

“Having the funds immediately to respond to weather impacts is very

important for Caitlin to do her job,” Lee said. “Procuring trees quickly and very high-quality specimen trees for our campus is difficult. We want the best for OSU’s campus, and this funding helps to replace those damaged or lost.”

In the past, many have asked to plant a tree in memory or honor of someone on campus. With extreme weather events and the growth in campus facilities, this can be a risky endeavor. The Tree Tribute funding method allows donors to invest in overall forest health while being able to recognize loved ones and donors at the Cowboy Family Tree Garden and Statue on the east side of Theta Pond.

“This is our campus — the Cowboy family’s backyard, so to speak,” Lee said.

“When alumni or anyone who is a part of our family comes to campus, we want you to have shade. We want you to have a beautiful tree to have your picnic under or to take your photo with your family at graduation. We can only accomplish that with the supportive funding and efforts by people like Caitlin.”

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Keeping the Land Grand OSU Fish and Wildlife Research Unit celebrates 75 years of advancing knowledge in conservation and management

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hroughout Oklahoma’s vast array of wilderness and waterways, a dedicated group of people works to ensure they’re always teeming with wildlife.

Many of those stewards come from Oklahoma State University’s Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, which marks a significant milestone in 2023 as it commemorates 75 years of fish and wildlife research in the state.

J.D. Strong, director of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC), said the unit’s impact on preservation makes it a remarkable achievement in today’s rapidly changing landscape.

“It shows the long-term commitment that all of the partners in the program have had to advance our knowledge of fish and wildlife,” Strong said. “It

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shows the issues and concerns on the landscape and developing solutions and management options for addressing those fish and wildlife issues.”

The research unit has encountered various challenges over the decades, but the unit has recently garnered political backing, with U.S Congressman Tom Cole, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, advocating for its support.

“We’ve seen questions at the congressional level about whether or not to continue to fund and support the units,” Strong said. “Today, we’ve got strong support.”

Since its establishment in 1948, the OSU Fish and Wildlife Research Unit has contributed to the field by expanding the understanding of fish and wildlife issues and formulating effective

STORY MAK VANDRUFF | PHOTOS TANNER SCHOLTEN PHOTOGRAPHY AND W. TAYLOR

management strategies. The unit’s collaborative endeavors with the ODWC and the U.S. Geological Survey serve as notable examples of partnerships that have facilitated research and advanced graduate education in the field.

The unit’s graduates have become leaders in state and federal agencies, making significant contributions to wildlife conservation. Their education, which combines scientific training with practical field experience, has prepared them to address the complex challenges facing Oklahoma’s diverse ecosystems.

Dr. Tom Coon, former vice president, dean and director of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, said the unit provides a tremendous lift for the ODWC. “We’re doing the research they need in order to be good stewards of our game resources,” Coon said. “We’re also preparing their workforce. If you look up and down the Department of Wildlife Conservation, the leadership and professional staff, many of them graduated from our program here.”

Under the leadership of Dr. Jim Long and his team, the research unit operates

at full capacity, enabling the pursuit of diverse projects encompassing the study of spotted skunks, pronghorn, bears, as well as aquatic life subjects, like freshwater mussels and smallmouth bass genetics.

While the unit’s focus has shifted over time, its dedication to research and education remains front and center.

Originally established to regulate harvests and revive declining species, such as whitetail deer and wild turkey, the unit now focuses on addressing the needs of threatened and endangered species. This shift reflects the changing landscape of conservation efforts and the ongoing commitment to preserving biodiversity.

“The evolution of the program is now more on conservation concerns,” Long said. “The problems facing nonharvested animals are widespread.”

The research unit’s success can be measured not only in its extensive research portfolio but also in the number of graduate students it has supported. Since its inception, the unit has helped over 400 students obtain master’s and Ph.D. degrees,

preparing them for leadership roles in conservation and resource management.

“Our students who work with us now are directly plugged into several different areas that allow them later on to get a job,” Long said. “When our students come in, they’re automatically getting some of the best science on the ground, with some of the most innovative and up-to-date technologies available, and later on are able to get a job through that.”

Through its collaborations with the ODWC, the unit has conducted valuable research and provided graduate education opportunities.

The unit’s work has helped advance the understanding of key issues and develop effective management strategies.

With a steadfast commitment to scientific inquiry and partnership, the research unit continues to make contributions to the preservation and conservation of Oklahoma’s natural resources.

“We’re more relevant now than we ever were,” Long said.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: THERE WILL BE A LUNCHEON FOR ALL CURRENT COOPERATORS WITH THE UNIT ON OCT. 26.

ALL PROGRAM ALUMNI ARE INVITED TO ATTEND.

George Wint was one of the first graduates of the OSU Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. Here, he sits alongside a quail coop that he used for his research on the release of pen-raised quail for increasing wild populations. Wint later became director of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation in the 1970s.

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Animal K I N G D O M OSU College of Veterinary Medicine celebrates 75 years of serving the state

IN OKLAHOMA, VETERINARY MEDICINE RESEARCH STARTS IN STILLWATER. If a practice is hiring a veterinarian from an in-state university, they are coming from Stillwater.

When an animal — large or small — gets sick and needs help using the newest advances in medicine, they come to Stillwater.

And they have been for 75 years.

Learn more

about what it takes to become a veterinarian at okla.st/4hvet.

STORY KAYLIE WEHR | PHOTOS TAYLOR BACON, PHIL SHOCKLEY AND PROVIDED

The College of Veterinary Medicine plays an essential role in Oklahoma State University’s land-grant mission, contributing to the economic and agricultural success of the state of Oklahoma.

For three quarters of a century, the college has been educating veterinarians, providing essential services and performing innovative research that results in improved health for both humans and animals.

Today, the college continues to make advancements that contribute directly to the fulfillment of its mission to be innovators in animal and human health as well as the university’s larger mission to improve the lives of people in Oklahoma, the nation and the world.

“I cannot overstate the importance of the College of Veterinary Medicine to our state’s agriculture industry,” Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur said. “For years, the CVM’s educational work and innovative research has resulted in Oklahoma becoming one of the top states for animal health and medicine.

“Moving forward, I expect the CVM to become even stronger thanks to the support of President [Kayse] Shrum and the Oklahoma Legislature.”

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Answering a need

On the horizon

The future of veterinary medicine at OSU is bright. Despite its humble beginnings 75 years ago, the CVM has proven its worth time and time again.

Because of that, the Legislature recently passed HB 2863, creating the Oklahoma State University Veterinary Medicine Authority (OSUVMA) and securing long-term support for clinical training at the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine. Following HB 2863’s passage, Dr. Shrum thanked the Legislature for its support.

“This is a major step forward for Oklahoma’s economy and all who rely on crucial veterinary services, both at OSU’s veterinary teaching hospital and through our network of skilled graduates who are making a difference in communities across the state,” Shrum said.

“Oklahoma State owes special thanks to Sen. Roger Thompson, Sen. Chris Kidd and Rep. Kevin Wallace, who provided critical leadership that culminated in a nearly unanimous legislative vote of confidence in the future of the CVM and hospital.”

CVM Dean Carlos Risco said he is excited about the transformational impact the OSUVMA will have on the college.

“The OSUVMA will support the hiring of new clinical faculty and enhance student training and operation of the veterinary teaching hospital,” Dr. Risco said. “This authority will allow the college to expand its efforts in order to fulfill its mission of being innovators in veterinary medical education, animal and human health.”

The authority will aid in sustaining diagnostic services to agricultural producers and the continuation of research to improve human and animal health, furthering OSU’s strategic One Health goals.“The college is positioned to see great success in the future,” Risco said. “With the continued support of OSU administration, Oklahoma legislators and generous donors, the CVM will continue to grow, reaching new heights in teaching, research and Extension.”

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The CVM’s impact wasn’t always as recognized as it is now.

It may come as a surprise to many that a school so vital to Oklahoma and OSU’s land-grant mission wasn’t a priority in the early years of OSU, then known as Oklahoma A&M College.

Although veterinary science has been part of the curriculum from the beginning, the then School of Veterinary Medicine did not open its doors until 1948.

The school was initially established in 1913 (23 years after OAMC was founded), but a lack of funding for clinical staff and interest from students prevented the program from taking off until the creation of the Oklahoma Veterinary Research Institute in 1945.

Enrollment in veterinary courses increased, primarily from veterans who were enthusiastic about crafting a better life after the end of World War II. At the same time, OAMC president Henry G. Bennett was transforming the college into a premier agricultural and mechanical institution by expanding its educational offerings — perfect timing to reinitiate the idea of a veterinary school.

With the growing interest in veterinary medicine, and only two other veterinary schools in the southern United States, Oklahoma veterinarians began to push for the creation of the state’s own veterinary school. They emphasized that “such a school could make a major contribution toward research into animal disease, especially cattle, the second largest industry in the state.”

Acknowledging the educational and economic needs of the state, Bennett ordered the school’s organization with the first class set to begin in 1947. In a May 1947 interview, Bennett said the veterinary school “answers one of the foremost educational needs in the progressive post-war college program.”

In his book, A History of the Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine, author Eric I. Williams noted that the value of the school to the livestock industry and to its future in Oklahoma would be inestimable as the death losses of cattle, sheep and swine in 1946 alone added up to more than $5.5 million.

Dr. Clarence H. McElroy was appointed as the first official dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine and its doors opened on March 1, 1948. Dr. Duane R. Peterson gave the first lecture and lab on the topic of anatomy to the inaugural class, which consisted of only 31 students. While the program now takes four years to complete, the first class graduated in 1951 — after only three years and three months.

Oklahoma had its veterinary school.

“Addressing challenges in the One Health arena is a focus of the university’s larger strategy. The College of Veterinary Medicine’s success is a priority as it contributes to furthering the One Health mission in Oklahoma.”

OSU President Kayse Shrum

The school expands

1955

the first female Over the next several years, veterinarian, faculty worked diligently to turn Dr. June Iben, the school into a premier institution. graduates from A formal research program Oklahoma A&M. debuted in 1953 when the Veterinary Research Institute was established. The school has since been on the forefront of veterinary research in diseases such as anaplasmosis and coronavirus.

The Comparative Biomedical Sciences Graduate program houses 45-55 graduate students on average each semester. Established in the early 1950s, the program produced its first Master of Science in 1956 and its first Ph.D. in 1957 — a milestone that propelled the school to further growth.

“Not only did the program help provide a new generation of veterinary medical scientists, its very existence helped attract faculty and enhanced the scholarly atmosphere in which students wishing to become veterinarians were taught,” Williams wrote.

S TAT E M AG A Z I N E .O K S TAT E . E D U 63

Open house is an annual event that invites the community to explore the college and veterinary profession through demonstrations and hands-on activities for all ages.

The first open house was April 28, 1962.

Over the years, the class size continued to grow and in 2017 it was expanded to its current count of 106 seats. With the expansion of class size, it became evident a new classroom space was necessary. Construction on a new classroom space that would include three large, versatile classrooms and a dedicated study space began in 2018. The Roger J. Panciera Education Center, named after the prominent CVM alumnus and faculty member, opened in 2021. Dr. Kelly Black, a 2001 OSU veterinary alumnus, has recently returned to lead the team at the veterinary medical center.

Veterinary medicine and One Health

BY THE NUMBERS

96%

North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE) pass rate for OSU students in 2023

10%

OSU’s percentage above the national average NAVLE pass rate in 2023

1

OSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine is the only veterinary college in the state and one of just 33 nationwide.

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In 1957, OAMC became Oklahoma State University and the School of Veterinary Medicine became the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Under the new moniker, the college continued to grow. The Oklahoma Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory opened in 1975, serving producers and animal owners in the state through its diagnostic services.

The college celebrated two milestones in 1981 — opening the Boren Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital and receiving full academic accreditation by the American Veterinary Medical Association for the first time. The 1980s brought other milestones, including faculty member Dr. Eric Williams receiving the first Oklahoma Veterinarian of the Year award in 1980 (the first of many for the CVM) and the class of 1990 being the first freshman class to include more women than men.

The college would change names once again, becoming the Center for Veterinary Health Sciences in 2004. Things came full circle in 2019 when the name was changed back to the College of Veterinary Medicine, which is how it’s known today.

Animal health has become more entwined with human health than ever, making the CVM’s purpose even more crucial. Veterinary and human medicine are deeply connected to each other and much of the research done within the scope of veterinary medicine has implications for human health.

For this reason, researchers and clinicians at the CVM approach everything through the lens of One Health, which is the concept of recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants and their shared environment.

The concept of One Health may not be new, but widespread formal recognition of it within the scientific and medical communities is. Efforts to implement a formal organization didn’t begin until the early 2000s. It’s no surprise that the OSU CVM was at the forefront of this mission.

In the years since, One Health has become an integral part of OSU’s land-grant mission.

“Addressing challenges in the One Health arena is a focus of the university’s larger strategy,” Shrum said. “The College of Veterinary Medicine’s success is a priority as it contributes to furthering the One Health mission in Oklahoma.”

Dr. Lee Denney, a 1978 CVM alumna who served as the speaker pro tempore in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, said the One Health initiative is vital to the state’s food animal economy.

“One of our largest industries is beef cattle. Of course, we have pigs, sheep, goats, all the food animals, and keeping vigilance with these animals on foreign animal diseases coming into the state and keeping our food supply healthy is paramount to the state, and the vet school does that with their research,” Denney said. “… Then, you have to go to the small animal side of where we are in our society today with our pets. Dogs and cats, fish, birds, small rodents have become part of our families and working with that population, not only from a public health perspective to keep those animals healthy, but also from just an animal perspective, is taking care of a member of someone’s family.”

Denney, who said she has seen the school grow immensely since her time as a student, applauded the Legislature for passing HB 2863.

“I’m very excited about what the Legislature did for the vet school,” Denney said. “I think through the lean years, we just haven’t paid attention to what we should have as far as veterinary medicine and the plan that Dr. Shrum has for the vet school.

It’s very fitting to be unveiling all these plans during our 75th anniversary.”

To highlight and advance the One Health initiative, Dr. Ashish Ranjan, CVM professor, initiated the creation of the Institute for Translational and Emerging Research in Advanced Comparative Therapy.

The institute leads the One Health mission of OSU by bringing together clinicians, scientists and researchers involved in fundamental discoveries, industry and foundations together.

Furthering the land-grant mission

While research is a huge part of the CVM’s academic side, its outreach with producers has been crucial to Oklahoma’s agricultural industry.

Agriculture remains one of Oklahoma’s largest industries with economic impacts that are essential for both our rural and urban economies, according to the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Foundation on Agriculture.

Oklahoma is the second largest beef cowproducing state in the nation, yet many areas lack the veterinarians necessary to service cattle operations, which reduces opportunities for rural prosperity and economic development. To address this issue, the Integrated Beef Cattle Program was developed.

“OSU’s Integrated Beef Cattle Program is a cross-disciplinary partnership across veterinary medicine, animal science, agricultural economics, Extension and agricultural leadership,” said Dr. Rosslyn Biggs, OSU CVM director of continuing education and OSU Extension beef cattle specialist.

“This program addresses the current challenges

in veterinary medicine and puts 20 practicing veterinarians alongside 20 veterinary students to help them develop various skills.”

The program, which was launched in 2020, has been received well by students, veterinarians and producers.

“The interest in the program has been outstanding and feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive,” Biggs said. “We are starting to see the connections that practitioners and students are making and look forward to continued growth.

“The program will lead to greater retention of new graduates in beef cattle practice and sustainable veterinary practices that provide enhanced animal health and welfare. We hope to address shortages in food supply veterinarians for years to come.”

MAKING THEIR MARK CVM researchers, faculty and alumni have left their mark in the veterinary medicine field with numerous advancements in research, diagnostics and treatment over the last 75 years.

Several years of research into anaplasmosis in cattle led to the development of the first vaccine in 1965 by Dr. William Brock, Dr. Charles Pearson and Olin Kliewer.

Dr. Anthony Confer, class of 1972, is known for his work to advance Bovine Respiratory Diseases research while Dr. Katherine Kocan, a longtime OSU Regents Professor and Fellow, is a world-renowned veterinary pathologist whose research focused on the development of vaccines for control of ticks and tick-borne pathogens. Dr. Leroy Coggins, class of 1957, developed the “Coggins Test,” which is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s official test for equine infectious anemia, a disease similar to human AIDS. More recently, advancements in cancer, coronavirus and other infectious disease research, to name a few, have continued to put OSU among the top research institutions in the nation and around the world.

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S U C C E S S

Unleashed Veterinary medicine alumni share the impact of their OSU degrees

WHILE A VETERINARIAN’S FOCUS MAY BE ON ANIMALS, THEIR IMPACT GOES FAR BEYOND OUR FOUR-LEGGED FRIENDS. Since Oklahoma State University’s College of Adopting a Passion

Veterinary Medicine was founded in 1948, more than 2,300 individuals have graduated from the program and gone on to personify our land-grant mission of teaching, research and Extension, highlighting the critical need for a vital veterinary medicine program in Oklahoma.

For Drs. Jeremy Cramer and Rebekah Hartfield, the training they received from OSU paved the way for careers of service and success.

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Cramer, a small animal veterinarian in Oklahoma City, grew up on a small ranch in southeastern Colorado. He came from a rural area where there was only one veterinarian in the entire county. For many rural areas, that remains the case.

“I actually wanted to be a professional wrestler,” Cramer said. “I did everything Hulk Hogan said I needed to do to succeed, but clearly, I just didn’t end up with the body for wrestling. So, I had to give up that dream. A little bizarre but I don’t have the story where I had a sick pet as a little kid and wanted to fix it. I was in high school and about to go into college when I started to realize my goal.”

Born and raised in Texas, Hartfield always knew she had a love for horses and life on her grandparents’ cattle ranch.

She never thought she would work toward a veterinarian career in Oklahoma, but after working in a veterinary clinic in Texas, she decided to pursue a degree in veterinary medicine.

Hartfield applied to OSU CVM. After receiving her acceptance, she decided to stay in Oklahoma.

On campus, each veterinarian experienced their own hardships and trials while completing their degrees. And they have all taken different paths after graduation.

STORY JILLIAN REMINGTON | PHOTOS GARY LAWSON AND TARYN LARAE

Dr. Jeremy Cramer Lakeview Animal Hospital | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

On Call

After graduation, Hartfield took up a position as a veterinarian in Cushing, Oklahoma, alongside Dr. Brian McNeil. After two years, an opportunity to purchase a clinic in Holdenville, Oklahoma, came up, and Hartfield took it.

“I see a mix of small and large animals,” Hartfield said. “During breeding season, I see a lot of horses. I do enjoy working on cattle, and I have quite a few large animal clients. But I am the only vet in the county, so I see a variety.”

Hartfield spends her spare time working with the animal shelter in Holdenville and writing children’s books geared toward teaching the importance of veterinary medicine. She wrote her first book, Rosie the Pig, while attending OSU, which is also where Hartfield treated the pig for pneumonia. She has since written three more books — Pistol the Horse, Maud the Cow and Rowdy the Dog.

“My fourth year of vet school is when I decided I wanted to do something else,” Hartfield said.

“Other than being a veterinarian, I kept asking myself what else I could do to help encourage kids to want to go into this field. So, that’s when I got with my sister and decided to write a book.”

Nestled in the northwest corner of Oklahoma City, Lakeview Animal Hospital provides a safe, fear-free environment for small animals under Cramer’s leadership. He has prioritized the experience animals have while visiting his clinic.

“We are one of three practices in Oklahoma City accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association,” Cramer said. “We are the only hospital in Oklahoma that is both Fear Free Certified and AAHA accredited. We work hard to recognize fear, anxiety and stress in animals, and in recognizing those, we try to find ways to minimize them.”

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Dr. Rebekah Hartfield Dr. Hartfield | Holdenville, Oklahoma

Cramer also heavily prioritizes their involvement with Oklahoma City and surrounding communities. He said if he was not connected with the community, he wouldn’t relate to the people. He loves the aspect of medicine, but also the importance of relationships.

“A few Christmases ago, our medical director saw a post from clients of ours online about their little boy who had a stuffed monkey,” Cramer said.

“He loved this monkey, but their dog got ahold of it. She told them we’re not a seamstress, but we’re surgeons and we would love to take a crack at putting your monkey back together. Long story short, we fixed the monkey with the little boy watching — gowned him up and everything.

“It was a cool thing for our team and for that family.”

Paying It Forward

Another important trait many CVM alumni share is a desire to give back to the university and support future Cowboy family veterinarians.

Cramer and Hartfield each host current CVM students in their clinics during preceptorships.

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Cramer works every day inside an operating room fully decorated in America’s Brightest Orange. Outside of his unique facility, he enjoys staying connected with OSU by serving on the selection committee that interviews potential students for the veterinarian program.

“I feel a duty to select the best students coming into OSU because they’re going into our profession going forward,” Cramer said. “That has been a great volunteer opportunity for me, and I’ve done it for about four consecutive years.”

In addition to her mentoring current CVM students, Hartfield has served all of Oklahoma as one of four veterinarians on the Oklahoma Veterinarian Board, which serves as a voice for the public to help with licensing veterinarians and client concerns.

Both veterinarians say they continue to give back to OSU because they have each been individually impacted by the university.

“I think OSU really is a big family,” Hartfield said. “I feel now more than ever, any time I go back, professors and clinicians are asking about me and my life. I always feel so welcome when I go back.”

“I think OSU really is a big family.

I feel now more than ever, any time I go back, professors and clinicians are asking about me and my life. I always feel so welcome when I go back.”

Dr. Rebekah Hartfield

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THE COWBOY WAY

During her undergraduate studies at Oklahoma State University, Dr. Jennifer Rudd fostered a deep appreciation for the interconnectedness of human and animal health and its impact on the world.

That One Health perspective shaped her into the accomplished scientist and veterinarian she is today.

Rudd — a first-generation American whose parents emigrated from South Africa and Zimbabwe — obtained a bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences from the College of Arts and Sciences in 2008.

She continued her academic pursuits by completing a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2011.

After working as a general practitioner for a few years in Columbia, Missouri, and Owasso, Oklahoma, Rudd transitioned back into academia with a renewed passion for research. In 2018, she received a doctoral degree from the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine and joined the faculty ranks in 2018. Now an assistant professor of veterinary pathobiology, Rudd said she couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

“Part of me feels that I lucked into it, but I also know that’s not completely true because I think that each one of us has a bit of a journey to find that perfect job for us,” Rudd said.

Rudd finds joy in her work, which is evenly divided between teaching and research. She educates second-year veterinary students on infectious diseases and teaches in several other courses. Her research primarily focuses on respiratory viruses, which naturally led her to extensively study COVID-19.

Rudd has conducted significant research on the immune system’s response to the virus and ways to improve treatment.

“I just have really great people that I work with, but the other side of it that really drives my passion is that I know what I’m doing is important,” Rudd said.

Rudd’s ultimate objective lies in improving outcomes for individuals grappling with infectious diseases. Her approach involves applied and clinical research, leveraging her degrees from OSU. She firmly believes her work is reshaping medical practices and remains deeply passionate about the impact she can make. Each experience and accomplishment throughout her academic and professional journey has fortified her expertise. But it’s the students that continue to inspire her.

Stepping into the classroom each morning, Rudd finds fulfillment in engaging with students, empowering future veterinarians and advancing her field. Rudd has a DVM, but she doesn’t feel she has to fit the traditional model of what people think that needs to be.

“I can take that DVM and use it in ways that really work to make me the best veterinarian and best professional I can be,” Rudd said.

STORY MAK VANDRUFF | PHOTO PHIL SHOCKLEY

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A Record-Setting Give Orange

Ambassadors, OSU Foundation’s Board of Governors elevate campaign engagement

O

n April 4-5, Give Orange 2023 included a record 2,383 donors and raised $1,200,941 thanks to a significant increase in campaign ambassadors and the generosity of the Oklahoma State University Foundation Board of Governors.

Give Orange is OSU’s annual day of giving that aims to encourage the Cowboy family to financially support students, faculty and programs.

Ambassadors are highly engaged members of the OSU community who amplify the campaign’s message, sharing with their friends and family how their support transforms the university. This year, the number of ambassadors more than doubled to 380. They accumulated 520 gifts, reaching $49,918.

Ambassadors who inspired the most donors through their unique ambassador link earned additional funds for their orange passion.

“In a campaign like Give Orange, we look at the number of donors to measure success,” said Adrian Matthys, assistant vice president of annual giving at the OSU Foundation. “This year, we set a new donor record, which is the direct result of high engagement from a robust ambassador program and our chief ambassador, First Cowboy Darren Shrum, who amplified the Give Orange message at every opportunity.

“When we reach out to members of the OSU family and ask them to spread the word about Give Orange, we are building a community that is proud to support and celebrate the great things happening at OSU.” The OSU Foundation Board of Governors — alumni and friends who provide significant financial support and volunteer services to the university and the foundation — collectively contributed $60,750 to a general fund that was used for challenge dollars and matching gifts. In total, the general fund brought in $328,797 from 1,106 donors, which resulted in 1,435 gifts to 212 different funds at OSU. “The Board of Governors’ generosity instills confidence and inspires other donors to give by example,” said Becky Steen, a governor and Give Orange ambassador. “This dedicated group

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$1,200,941 2,383

GIVE ORANGE 2024 is April 2-3.

To learn how you can get involved and make a difference in the campaign, contact Adrian Matthys at amatthys@OSUgiving.com.

STORY SAMANTHA HARDY | PHOTOS BRYANNA FREER AND OSU HOCKEY

“When we reach out to members of the OSU family and ask them to spread the word about Give Orange, we are building a community that is proud to support and celebrate the great things happening at OSU.” Chief Give Orange Ambassador and First Cowboy Darren Shrum with members of the OSU Student Foundation during Give Orange 2023.

plays such an important role in helping build relationships between the OSU Foundation and current and prospective donors.”

Steen was one of the top three ambassadors to inspire the most donations during Give Orange. She said she engaged with her network throughout the campaign and leaned into the competitive spirit of ambassadorship.

“Very few needed more than one nudge, so I continued to send updates and always acknowledged people who gave with shoutouts and thanks on group emails and text,” Steen said.

“Creating a friendly competition always inspires people. I’m very grateful to everyone in my network who so generously supported Give Orange this year.”

During the PhilanthroPete Leaderboard Challenge, the OSU hockey team received the highest number of donors, with a total of 92, to win an additional $1,000.

Jacob Thompson, a senior from Plano, Texas, is the founder, past president and current OSU hockey team captain. Similar to Steen’s strategy, Thompson said the team started early promotion with their players, staff and past donors weeks before Give Orange launched. Two weeks before their PhilanthroPete project closed, they ramped up communication, and they made a huge push during Give Orange.

“We structured the strategy like how we pitch to businesses that we want to sponsor us,” Thompson said. “We gave them a list of our accomplishments, and we had photographs and videos from the season on our webpage.”

The team’s website detailed a donation’s impact.

“Donate $100 and we could get one hockey stick for a player,” Thompson said. “We wanted to be as descriptive as possible. Our strategy was to send the link out to players and staff so they could

ADRIAN MATTHYS, ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT OF ANNUAL GIVING AT THE OSU FOUNDATION

The OSU hockey team’s PhilanthroPete project reached nearly $8,000 during Give Orange. The funds will be used to purchase equipment and cover ice rink rental fees for practices and games.

disperse it. We have 9,000-plus followers on social media, so we posted the link on social media a lot.

We also have donors who know a lot of people and they spread it around.”

It worked. OSU hockey’s PhilantroPete project raised approximately $8,000 during Give Orange.

The OSU Foundation’s annual giving team’s goals for 2024 are to continue to build the ambassador program and grow the general fund for challenge dollars and matching gifts.

“When we have a large general fund, we are able to increase the amount awarded to our challenge winners to give back to their area of choice,” said Rebecca Nievar, the OSU Foundation’s director of annual giving. “The College Leaderboard Challenge is a great example. We were able to award more than $10,000 among the top five winners, with first place, the College of Education and Human Sciences, winning $5,000 to support needs-based scholarships. Expanding the general fund affords us more incredible opportunities to support programs and students at OSU.”

S TAT E M AG A Z I N E .O K S TAT E . E D U 73

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Travel to 34 countries and all seven continents with a variety of land travel, river and ocean cruises! Enjoy a worryfree experience as our staff and travel partners take care of all the arrangements so you can explore and relax. While visiting exotic, historical or educational destinations, you will have the added value of traveling with other Cowboys and reconnecting to your alma mater in an exciting way!

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PHOTO PROVIDED BY TRAVEL PARTNERS

SCAN QR CODE TO VISIT ORANGECONNECTION.ORG/TRAVEL

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NORTHERN IRELAND PANAMA POLAND PORTUGAL SCOTLAND SOUTH KOREA SPAIN SWEDEN SWITZERLAND TURKEY USA

S TAT E M AG A Z I N E .O K S TAT E . E D U 75

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STORY JORDAN BISHOP | PHOTOS PHIL SHOCKLEY AND PROVIDED

OSU alumnus Kellington uses quick thinking to save a life on national television

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Within 10 seconds, two lives were changed forever.

With 5:58 left in the first quarter of a Jan. 2 Monday Night Football game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals, Damar Hamlin collapsed. It was 8:55 p.m. when the 24-year-old nearly died because of a rare cardiac event.

Time stopped.

At least it did for everyone watching around the world along with all the fans in the stadium and back home in southern Ohio and western New York.

But the clock had just begun for Denny Kellington and the Bills athletic training staff. It was something every athletic trainer in the NFL prepares for every week, no matter the unlikelihood

of the event, as part of their emergency action planning.

In those 10 seconds, all those meetings, all the certifications and all the years of repetition after more than two decades in the profession proved crucial as Kellington provided CPR for the first time in his 27-year career.

The ensuing minutes of resuscitation and stabilization saved Hamlin’s life and forever altered Kellington’s.

Practice, Practice, Practice

In 1996, two years before Hamlin was born, Kellington enrolled at Oklahoma State University to become an athletic trainer.

A Midwest City, Oklahoma, native, Kellington is the son of Denny G., who worked at General Motors, and Donna, a nurse. Denny grew up with his sister, Robyn, and brother, Tony, looking for ways to help people. It was the Kellington way. Denny G. and Tony both served in the military with

Robyn later following in her mother’s footsteps as a nurse.

Kellington became inspired to be an athletic trainer after Don Fields and Dick Bobier, Midwest City High School athletic trainers, introduced him to the profession. Kellington, who played football, said it was something that sparked his interest.

What drew him to OSU was the chance to get on-the-job training while he was an undergraduate.

“That’s what athletic training is, it’s time on task,” Kellington said. “So, then the next four-and-a-half years was just getting as much experience with different sports, different injuries, different athletes, different coaching styles. All those are things that help you become a better athletic trainer.”

Kellington, who was a health and human performance major with an athletic training minor, came to Stillwater at the perfect time. Not only is hands-on training mostly reserved for graduate students nowadays, but when

Denny Kellington (circled) was a member of OSU’s athletic training staff in the 1990s, working with several teams in his time as an undergraduate.

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he came in the mid-1990s, it was only a few years after the program had even been established.

Dr. Marilyn Middlebrook, OSU associate athletic director of academic affairs, was part of a contingent of professors that wanted to start an athletic training program at the institution.

Eventually, the then College of Education, where Middlebrook taught, added the degree.

“So, Denny was a result of an initiative that the college didn’t think was going to be successful and ended up being unbelievably so. Much more so than they ever anticipated,” Middlebrook said.

Kellington was only required to work 1,500 hours as part of the program. He had that by the end of the first year and overall spent almost 10,000 hours in his four years working from sport to sport.

“There weren’t as many people around as there are now as far as working staff. So, we all had to work hand in hand to be the managers, athletic training students, GAs just working on the ground floor together,” said Matt Davis, OSU’s assistant director of facility operations and Kellington’s classmate.

One of the sports Kellington worked with was Cowboy wrestling. Legendary coach John Smith said Kellington made an impact as a student trainer.

“We rely so much on [athletic trainers], that sometimes they become another coach for us, trying to get them back on the mat and keeping their mind intact,” Smith said. “And I’ll just say that he did a hell of a job with our teams during that time.”

In December 2000, Kellington graduated from OSU, earning his first station as an intern for the Denver Broncos, starting a long association with the NFL.

Humble BeginningS

Ask anyone who has met Kellington and they will tell you he doesn’t heap much praise on himself.

He stands tall but likes to work in the background.

“He was always very kind of laid back and quiet, wasn’t boisterous, very

Denny Kellington and Scott Parker, OSU head football athletic trainer, met up in 2022 as Kellington returned to campus to see how the athletic facilities had changed since his time as a student.

unassuming. And man, I really enjoyed working with him,” Middlebrook said.

The ‘hero’ moniker he was later given following Hamlin’s full recovery never fit him, Kellington said. He was more excited about the national conversation around his actions using CPR and an automated external defibrillator (AED) on Hamlin and increasing the machines’ availability.

For him, his actions will always speak louder than his words. And for two decades with stops in Denver, with the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe, at Ohio State University (where he earned his master’s degree), then Syracuse University and now the Bills, his actions did the talking.

He was known as an athletic trainer that both the players and coaches could trust, one who showed off his

OSU pride by playing Garth Brooks in the locker room.

“I treat everybody equally and fairly with respect, and that’s where you earn trust from those individuals,” Kellington said. “If you don’t have trust, then you might as well go try something else.

When we’re working with people, it is vital for their livelihood to trust you knowing that you’re doing everything you can to help them become better athletes or recover from an injury to get back to what they love.”

In fact, until that January night, he was practically unknown aside from his friends and family.

“Guys in our profession, it’s a thankless job,” Davis said. “You don’t look for pats on the back. You just do your job, you’re behind the scenes, the team behind the team.”

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Denny Kellington has been humble since the event on Jan. 2. He has avoided doing interviews and has instead concentrated on raising awareness of CPR and AEDs. When he returned to his alma mater in May to deliver the commencement address, he took time with Inside OSU’s Meghan Robinson to do an exclusive interview.

To watch this interview, go to: okla.st/AED.

Scott Parker, OSU’s head football athletic trainer, crossed paths with Kellington when Parker was a graduate student at Syracuse right around the time Kellington started working there.

As the years went on, Kellington and Parker kept in touch, especially around the time of the draft if there was a chance of any OSU prospects coming to the Bills. Kellington and his wife, Jennifer, and two kids, Sydney and Bryton, came to Stillwater in 2022 — with Kellington even running into Davis at the Oklahoma City airport — and were given a tour of OSU’s facilities by Parker.

Little did he know, he would be returning to campus a little more than a year later … with much more fanfare.

Being Ready

Within 5 minutes of Hamlin collapsing on the field, an ambulance was on scene. In the coming hours, the nation would follow along with every update of his health and millions of dollars were donated to his charity.

On Thursday, Jan. 5, Hamlin woke up.

In the Bills’ next game, Hamlin watched from his hospital room as a storybook ending came to life. Buffalo running back Nyheim Hines returned two touchdowns, including the opening kickoff.

Hamlin has since made a full recovery, with doctors saying he could make a return to the NFL. His story

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has been forever connected with the man who was there 10 seconds after he collapsed, the person Hamlin would later say in an interview was the “savior of my life.”

Davis knew immediately Kellington was the one administering care to Hamlin, and tweeted out that he was an OSU graduate. Parker was notified by his parents and turned it on, seeing Kellington work through every athletic trainer’s worst nightmare. In fact, Parker had used an AED on an OSU player who suffered a cardiac event during a 2019 practice, and it was surreal seeing his fellow athletic trainer do the same on national TV. “We’re not doctors and we’re not paramedics who do it on people multiple times a day,” Parker said.

“Most athletic trainers don’t do it ever.

I went through my training, thinking I probably would never do it on an athlete. … You’re just praying that everything goes well.”

Bills coach Sean McDermott later said in a news conference the athletic training staffs for both organizations and the city’s medical staff were all important in every role. But the most praise went to Buffalo’s assistant athletic trainer.

“For an assistant to find himself at that position and needing to take the action he did and take charge and

step up,” McDermott said. “There were others on the field as well. It is nothing short of amazing and the courage that that took, you talk about a real leader, a real hero in saving Damar’s life.”

An Unexpected Door

While boarding a plane to be recognized at the Super Bowl, Kellington received a call with an offer he couldn’t refuse.

OSU Athletic Director Chad Weiberg was on the other end, inviting Kellington to be the spring commencement speaker at his alma mater.

“He wanted a little time to think about it,” Weiberg said. “Partly because he wanted to make sure the Bills organization was agreeable to it, as he would be back in rookie mini-camp by then. And partly because he just wanted to make sure he could do it right. I’ve learned, that’s just how Denny is.”

Parker mentioned that Kellington struggled with the attention early on but realized he could share the importance of CPR and AEDs with his unexpected platform.

“He called me one night, we talked for a while and kind of went over a lot of the different stuff that he’s kind of talked about in some of his interviews now about how they’re calling him a hero,” Parker said “He said, ‘Maybe I did a heroic effort, I guess. But it’s tough to

be considered a hero. Hopefully this will be good exposure for the profession and for the need to care for these student-athletes.’”

After thinking OSU’s offer over, Kellington agreed to speak for the first time publicly since the event, inspiring graduates with his speech.

“I am genuinely grateful for the role that this university played in my personal path to success,” Kellington said in his commencement address.

“But also, I’ve realized I’m now the experienced guy in the room, and I take my responsibility to share my knowledge with others seriously, hopefully, like a lot of older people did for me when I was the one sitting where you are.”

Kellington told students to trust in their experiences when facing the unexpected, just like he did on the night he saved Hamlin’s life.

“All the attention I’ve received for simply doing my job has been overwhelming. I’ve said repeatedly that I am not a hero, but I will tell you what I was that day, I was ready,” he said.

More than six months since that fateful evening, he still doesn’t know how much his life will continue to change. But if there is one thing Kellington is known for, it’s being prepared, because you never know how important something seemingly miniscule like 10 seconds might be.

“Understand this,” Kellington said.

“Small things done with passion and

intention have the potential to make a lasting impact with ripple effects that you may never understand.”

When someone experiences a cardiac event, you should first call 911 and then administer CPR. Many CPR and AED courses can be taken through the American Heart Association and the Red Cross.

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Investing in the Future

OSU hosts Heritage Society for tours of O’Brate Stadium, University House

Donors who attended the Heritage Society celebration have accounted for nearly $75 million in lifetime giving to OSU.

E

very person in the Wes Watkins Center ballroom held the same commitment: to change the life of someone they will never meet.

On May 5, Oklahoma State University welcomed members of Heritage Society back to campus for a special celebration of their generosity. The group consists of alumni and friends who have made a commitment to OSU by will, revocable living trust, life insurance, life-income gift, retirement account designation or other deferred gift arrangement.

Those in attendance accounted for nearly $75 million in lifetime giving to the university, including more than $46 million in planned gifts.

“The passion this group has for OSU is special,” said Derrick Davies, assistant Derrick Davies, assistant vice vice president of gift planning. “I always president of gift planning look forward to this opportunity to share

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with them the impact these gifts have had, and will continue to have on campus.”

Heritage Society, which has 1,922 total members, continues to grow, adding 37 new members in the past year. In total, the group has donated more than $725 million that will one day benefit OSU. In the past two years, realized estate gifts have supported everywhere from larger funds, such as general university and academic affairs, to more specific interests, such as integrative biology and fire protection and safety technology.

“It’s really incredible to see the range of areas these donations touch,” OSU Foundation President Blaire Atkinson said. “Nearly every corner of the university will be impacted by these planned gifts.”

The event began at O’Brate Stadium, where Heritage Society members took guided tours for a look inside OSU’s state-of-the-art baseball complex. They walked through the locker room,

STORY GRANT RAMIREZ | PHOTOS BRYANNA FREER

Top left: A Heritage Society member gets into his batting stance during the O’Brate Stadium tour. Bottom left: Donors enjoy a dessert reception featuring sopapillas and other treats on the University House lawn. Right: President Shrum spends time chatting with donors during their walkthrough of the University House.

heard from staff members and even played a quick game of ping-pong in the lobby.

After the tours concluded, everyone was shuttled to the Wes Watkins Center to enjoy a wonderful lunch while hearing from university leaders, including OSU President Kayse Shrum.

“At OSU, we understand the significance of your commitment,” Dr. Shrum said. “We cherish those who choose to invest in OSU and the thousands of students who will use their education to improve the world.”

Raedyn Magness, a senior studying molecular biology, has firsthand experience of the impact Heritage Society has on students. She is a recipient of multiple planned giving scholarships.

During lunch, Magness shared that her mom was impressed by the friendliness and inclusiveness her daughter received by strangers at a scholarship reception. She credited donors for making the Cowboy family what it is today.

“You all have established this family culture at OSU,” Magness said. “And you continue to pour into us and our campus so that we can continue

to inspire those same feelings for so many more generations of students.”

The day ended with an opportunity to walk through the newly renovated University House, the home of the OSU president. Donors had the opportunity to chat with Shrum and enjoy a dessert reception on the front lawn.

To learn more about making a planned gift at OSU, contact Derrick Davies at ddavies@ osugiving.com or 405.385.5661.

“Heritage Society represents more than just giving. It’s transformational giving that represents accomplishment, planning and legacy to have a positive impact on future generations.”

DR. KAYSE SHRUM

S TAT E M AG A Z I N E .O K S TAT E . E D U 83

ALUMNI A S S O C I AT I O N

ONCE A COWBOY, ALWAYS A COWBOY Continue your Cowboy legacy at Oklahoma State University with a flexible online graduate degree.

We offer graduate degrees in high-demand and rewarding careers along with all the support and services of an in-person degree.

OSU waives the application fees for Cowboy alumni and has a special nonresident tuition rate, making an OSU graduate degree even more affordable.

OSU Online is ranked #1 “Best Online College in Oklahoma”

by Intelligent.com

Learn more at osuonline.okstate.edu

ORANGE A N

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Editor’s Note: STATE magazine spent a day with a member of Oklahoma State University’s new postsecondary program for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

K

aden White’s day began with a 9:30 a.m. class for the Opportunity Orange Scholars (OOS), Topics II, where he sat front and

center.

“I can’t believe we’re so far into the semester,” he quipped to the class.

The first half of class was spent discussing how to be professional in communication with professors and others in their networks regarding texting, calling and emailing.

White chuckled when Elizabeth Thomas — OOS project manager and instructor — asked if texting habits with friends and family should be different from texting with his boss or colleagues.

“Oh yeah, very different!” he said.

Discussion shifted to announcements about upcoming assignments. During the next class session, they would be cooking in the University Commons West dormitory kitchen while learning a recipe for microwave tacos.

With this new information, White perked up with excitement and assignments were made for which portions of the recipe each student would be responsible for providing.

“We tried to have a family dinner last week, but our schedules were too busy,” he shared of the OOS

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group while on the topic of meals. “We were going to make chicken sandwiches, so we’ll have to reschedule!”

Class carried on into conversation about preparing dorms for move out — this would be the final exam for the class.

Thomas spoke highly of White’s character in the classroom.

“He not only wants to be successful for himself, but he genuinely wants his peers and the other scholars of OOS to be successful,” she said. “He is always encouraging and motivating others along the way, which aligns perfectly with his career interest of wanting to work as a coach or have a leadership role for a professional sports team.”

After class, White took a route through the Student Union to check out what food options were available.

With his favorite restaurants not yet open, he made his way to the OOS space in the basement of Nancy Randolph Davis West.

During this break between classes, White joined some of the other OOS students and their academic partners to talk through their courses and extracurriculars. Fellow OOS student Matt Sitton recruited White to help him film a short video for his emergency management elective. White, willing and ready, answered Sitton’s questions about the kinds of natural disasters that could occur in Oklahoma, dorm evacuation procedures and tornado preparedness.

Once filming ended, White joined Dr. Emily Tucker — OOS program director — and the other students to go over enrollment for their next semester of coursework

STORY KIRSI MCDOWELL | PHOTOS GARY LAWSON

L I F E O N C A M P U S W I T H K A D E N W H I T E

S TAT E M AG A Z I N E .O K S TAT E . E D U 87

Q&A with KADEN What has been the best part of your experience as an OOS student?

What has been the most important thing you have learned?

The best part of OOS was coming to OSU as a freshman and experiencing college life. Learning how to become mature and independent has been important to me.

What made you choose sports marketing as your elective?

I chose sports marketing because I thought it would be a fun class to take and prepare me for my chosen career path.

What about your internship are you most excited for?

I will be working with athletics staff at games, getting to throw T-shirts and set up before football and basketball games and wrestling matches.

I’m excited to have a sports pass to go to the events I’m not working.

What is your favorite part of your job at the Colvin?

I get to learn about multiple sports and see how they work.

There are always new experiences. Plus, it’s within walking distance of where I live.

What are your hopes for yourself after completing your program at OSU? I would like to live on my own somewhere in Oklahoma, with my own car and start a job as a basketball coach at a high school.

The ultimate dream? To help bring an NFL team to Oklahoma City.

What advice do you have for the new group of OOS students that will be joining you in the fall?

College goes by fast, and it can be easy if you do your homework, keep up with class work and show up on time. Don’t skip class and keep yourself motivated. There are a lot of opportunities out there so don’t be afraid to ask for help and just be yourself. Choose the right friends to hang out with and don’t sit in your room all day playing video games — join a club or play sports at the Colvin.

A FEW FUN FACTS: Favorite social media platform?

Snapchat Favorite meal in the Student Union?

Chick-Fil-A: 12 count nugget meal with fries and a large Powerade Favorite sports team?

OKC Thunder (After OSU, of course!)

Freshman year highlight?

Meeting the Cowboy basketball team and OSU hype man Les Thomas.

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SCAN THE QR CODE TO VIEW “KADEN AND THE COWBOYS”

at OSU. Ahead of the game, White had already submitted his enrollment, so he spent his time showing the others how to navigate the process.

Tucker shared that White has been a model student in the program.

“We have absolutely loved having Kaden in the program for our first year of having OOS students on the OSUStillwater campus,” she said. “OOS was designed for students just like Kaden. He is hard-working, motivated, passionate about OSU and ultimately just wants to develop a community he can meaningfully be a part of. It has been so fun to watch him thrive by getting involved in intramural sports on campus and to see him build connections with other students, faculty and staff across the university.”

Chelby Inman, fellow OSU student and White’s academic partner, arrived in the basement to check in with him.

“Working with Kaden has been nothing short of wonderful,” Inman said. “One of my favorite memories I have of him was during his first week of his sports marketing class. He told me that I needed to meet him in University Commons West by 6:45 a.m. to get to his class by 8 a.m. Granted, the walk from his dorm to the Spears School of Business was only about 20 minutes, but he did not want to risk being late.

“I got there right on schedule, and he was already sitting in the lobby waiting for me. As time went on, he got more comfortable with leaving later for class and was even able to tell me that I did not need to join him anymore.”

First on their to-do list — checking emails. White’s sports marketing professor, Clay Billman, helped to coordinate a meeting about an internship opportunity so they discussed developing a response. With the email complete, White told Inman all that was left to do was update his resume with his job at the Colvin Recreation Center.

“Throughout the semester, I saw him grow as a student and become more confident in his abilities,” Inman said.

White then met with Abbey Jeffries, also an OOS academic partner, to go over campus engagement goals and check CampusLink for upcoming events and activities. Kickball and pizza was

the event he decided to attend for the week.

Jeffries shared how working with the OOS has been a source of personal growth as much as it has been a chance to provide support to the students.

“I initially heard about OOS from a parent of a student in my high school that I had peer-mentored for two years as part of our school’s inclusive program,” she said.

“I had reached out to OOS leadership to become a volunteer and decided to apply as a program partner.

This position has been a wonderful opportunity for me to go to school alongside the scholars and be someone for them to lean on academically, but also to build genuine friendships with them. I love seeing the progress the individual scholars make but also the progress of the program, especially in their first year.”

Approaching time for his next class, White made his way back across campus, stopping for lunch along the way.

Once again, he joined the OOS students for another program specific course titled seminar, led by Dr. Brandt Gardner.

Class started with casual chatter about what the group was up to before proceeding into the day’s topics.

“Who was the first person you told you’d been accepted to OSU’s Opportunity Orange Scholars program?” Gardner asked the class.

White coyly answered, “I told my mom before anyone else.”

The next person to learn the news was a favorite former teacher White referred to as Ms. Summers, from his hometown of Hominy, Oklahoma.

Throughout the period, White bantered with OOS classmate Maggie Suter about OSU Unified flag football.

Suter plays on the team while White serves as a referee.

“I was told to throw the flag with purpose!” White laughed in response to her jests.

The students discussed their upcoming project, a meeting with selfselected individuals who would be part of their “Circle of Support.” The goal of the exercise is to identify individuals who the students can lean on in their areas of struggle and trust to keep them

accountable to the goals they have set for themselves.

The assignment for the day was to determine an agenda for their personal meetings, with categories on what they were doing well, what they would like to do better and how their Circle of Support can help.

Much like any other student, the most common areas of improvement shared were in eating healthier, creating better sleep habits and sticking to exercise routines.

In White’s favorite elective, sports marketing, he shines. Sharing his insight on players’ stats and recent sports events is something Billman appreciates about White as a member of his class.

“He was a bit reserved at first, but he quickly became comfortable sharing his thoughts and opinions,” Billman said. “I know I can count on him to fill us in on the latest happenings. He is my NBA expert.”

His hard work and passion for sports landed him an internship with OSU Athletics working with the gameday marketing and promotions team for fall 2023, allowing him hands-on experience alongside other students and athletic department staff.

“I really hope OSU is able to expand OOS program in the coming years and provide a collegiate experience for many more students like Kaden,” Billman said. “It’s a game-changer, for sure.”

OOS is an inclusive postsecondary education program for students with intellectual disabilities, where students are fully immersed in the OSU experience as they live and learn on campus.

OOS is designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a comprehensive transition program.

For information on how to apply to the program as a student or become otherwise involved with OOS, visit okla.st/ooscholars.

S TAT E M AG A Z I N E .O K S TAT E . E D U 89

STUDENT NEWS

IMPACT Spotlight

Hometown: Oklahoma City Major: Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine

Women for OSU Rewards Students for Academic Excellence and Service The Women for OSU Endowed Scholarship is a prestigious award that recognizes academic, philanthropic and volunteer activities among Oklahoma State University's students.

Women for OSU awards annual scholarships to students who are passionate about making a positive impact in the world around them.

For more information and to support Women for OSU Scholarships, visit: OSUgiving.com/women.

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Limayre Mendoza Graduate

How have scholarships impacted your time in college?

I am the proud daughter of Guatemalan immigrants.

My parents’ highest level of education was grade school. I was the first in my family to complete high school, obtain a bachelor’s degree and will become the first physician. However, this journey has been only possible due to grants and scholarships that I have received. Education is an investment that oftentimes is not feasible for families like mine, but donors have ensured that high-potential students can focus on their academic aspirations without the financial burden. I am grateful for the financial support that I have received throughout the years.

How is your Women for OSU scholarship going to help you reach your career goals/dream job?

I am entering my fourth and final year of medical school. Some would argue that this year is not only mentally challenging, but also financially challenging.

Applying for medical residency is an expensive process that costs thousands of dollars with the hopes of matching your top specialty and program. The scholarship that I have received will allow me to apply to residency programs broadly without worrying about the financial burden. Further, less than 10% of physicians in the U.S. are of Hispanic/Spanish-speaking backgrounds.

Financial support like this ensures that I can finish medical school and serve underserved communities.

Hometown: Enid, Oklahoma Major: Political Science

Sarah Easterly Senior

Why did you choose OSU? In high school, I attended a couple of leadership conferences hosted by the President’s Leadership Council at Oklahoma State University. The students really showed that they cared about OSU, and I saw that OSU really cared about these students. Through these leadership conferences, I got a glimpse of what the Cowboy family looks like, and I wanted to be a part of that family. The atmosphere on campus was very calm and welcoming, which made me feel that OSU was where I needed to be for the next four years of my life.

What does receiving a Women for OSU scholarship mean to you?

Receiving a Women for OSU scholarship means that these women believe in me and my future philanthropic efforts. My scholarship is also allowing me to start a new chapter, which will be attending law school. I am blessed that Women for OSU is playing a huge part in the process of reaching my future goals. This scholarship will also allow me to reach my future volunteer efforts of being a Court Appointed Special Advocate for children who have experienced abuse or neglect.

What would you say to the donors who made your scholarship possible, if given the chance?

Because of you, I am able to start my dream of becoming a family law attorney. Not only are you helping me, but you are helping my family. My younger sister is attending OSU and this scholarship is helping lessen the financial burden on my family. I am forever grateful and blessed for your generosity, and I will pay it forward by making it a goal to give to others.

Coralee

Hometown: Wayne, Oklahoma

Castle

Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Junior

How have scholarships impacted your time in college?

Scholarships are the reason I get to do what I do. When I decided to attend OSU, I gave up the opportunity to get a full athletic scholarship. By God's grace, I have had the honor to receive several scholarships at OSU that have made it possible for me to continue my education and also compete for the OSU rodeo team. Scholarships have allowed me to concentrate on my studies and roping rather than my financial status. The people and organizations that make these scholarships happen are making my education possible.

What does receiving a Women for OSU scholarship mean to you?

The Women for OSU scholarship means the world to me because of what the organization embodies. I am truly honored to have been chosen. To me, receiving the scholarship also brings responsibility and accountability. It also means I have a community that I belong to.

How is your Women for OSU scholarship going to help you reach your career goals/dream job?

The Women for OSU scholarship helps me accomplish my goals in two ways. First, it helps me save money so that I am able to attend medical school in the future with the plans of becoming a surgeon. Second, it has helped me build up confidence. I am able to see all these amazing women at OSU that have strived for and achieved big things.

The scholarship also provides peers and mentors that I can look up to and remind me that dreams are possible.

S TAT E M AG A Z I N E .O K S TAT E . E D U 91

Legacy Village is the

Preferred Senior Living Community for OSU Alumni and Friends

“It’s the goal of many OSU alumni to return to Stillwater when they retire and rejoin the community that meant so much to them during their college days,” says Dr. Ann Caine, OSU Alumni Association president. “We have watched Legacy Village develop over the past three years into a truly premier facility with passionate, caring staff, and we’re excited to endorse them to those Cowboy family members who are ready to retire in Stillwater.”

Call (405) 591-5956 to learn more about life at Legacy and schedule a tour!

Independent Living • Assisted Living • Memory Care 5 6 01 N . WA S H I N G TO N S T. | S T I L LWAT E R , O K 74 07 5 | L E G A C Y V I L L A G E S T I L LWAT E R . C O M

Cowboy100 Gala The

Hosted by the Riata Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in partnership with the OSU Foundation and JTaylor & Associates, the Cowboy100 is designed to acknowledge the business and leadership achievements of OSU graduates.

Additionally, it provides opportunities for students to engage with industry leaders, while establishing the Riata Center as the reference point for entrepreneurship throughout the university.

In 2023, the Cowboy100 recognized 95 Oklahoma State University alumni-led or -owned companies. Fifty-seven companies were brand new to the Cowboy100 and 38 companies made the list for a second time. Twenty of the Cowboy100 honoree companies are led by women, 10 are minority-led and two are veteran-led. Twenty states were represented, with Oklahoma having the most, along with eight foreign countries. 10 of the Cowboy100 honorees were represented on the Cowboy100 Blazing10 list — which highlights the highest revenue-generating companies.

202 3 -24 I M P O R TANT DATE S August 1, 2023 October 31, 2023 November 30, 2023 February 2024 March 29, 2024

Nominations & Applications Open Nominations Close Applications Close Alphabetical List Announced Cowboy100 Honoree Gala Wes Watkins Center for International Trade Development

COWBOY CHRONICLES

Aggies in the South Pacific OAMC and the Territory of Guam

S

ome students attending Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College in its formative years were from families that had been pioneers. Some of the students later became pioneers themselves.

With the knowledge, experience and skills gained during their college years in Stillwater, they became some of the first international ambassadors for the institution.

A NEW TERRITORY As a result of the SpanishAmerican War, Guam became a territory of the United States in 1899; only 10 years after the Territory of Oklahoma was opened for homesteaders.

The island was under the administration of the U.S. Navy.

Located in the South Pacific, roughly 7,000 miles from Stillwater, Guam is about 30 miles long and 5 to 7 miles wide — a fourth of the size of Payne County.

First included in a U.S. Census in 1910, Guam had a population of almost

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12,000, most of whom were indigenous Chamorro, but included Filipinos, Japanese and other Pacific Islanders.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture established an agricultural experiment station in 1908 in an attempt to encourage agricultural production on the island and reduce the need for food subsidies and imports.

Andrew Cleveland Hartenbower, known as A.C. or Cleve, was the first OAMC graduate to work in Guam. He was an agriculture graduate in 1905 with 20 classmates. Hartenbower was born in Douglas, Kansas. His mother was the daughter of Irish immigrants who had fled during the Great Potato Famine. In 1889, the Hartenbower family relocated to a farm in Payne County. Young Hartenbower began attending classes at the college in 1901 when he was 16. Hartenbower worked part time during his undergraduate years for the School of Agriculture and after graduation, he accepted a position as an assistant in the agricultural department for nine months. He was then hired as an assistant professor of agronomy at the Territory of New

“Cleve” Hartenbower was a member of OAMC’s 10th graduating class in 1905 and first known Oklahoma alumni to work overseas.

Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts in Mesilla Park.

Returning to Oklahoma in December 1907, Hartenbower married Eathel Fleming in Perry, Oklahoma, and the young couple

STORY DAVID C. PETERS | PHOTOS OSU ARCHIVES

The German ship Cormoran remained in Apra Harbor for over two years until sunk by its captain with the U.S. entrance into WWI.

immediately left for South America.

Hartenbower accepted a position as chair and professor of agriculture at the National School of Agriculture and Veterinary Science in Lima, Peru. The new college, created in 1902, needed young, energetic faculty to create curriculum and establish an agricultural experiment farm.

Hartenbower was placed in charge of all agricultural research work.

The Hartenbowers traveled overland to Houston, then by ship to the Panamanian Isthmus, overland to the Pacific coast, and again by ship from Panama City to Lima. The Panama Canal wouldn’t be completed for another seven years.

The trip took several weeks and covered almost 4,000 miles.

Hartenbower later commented: “My two years stay in Peru gave me a taste of tropical life that has created a desire for more. The call of the tropics has caught me.”

The couple returned to the United States and Stillwater in 1910, and he served as an assistant professor of agronomy until 1913. Hartenbower was then appointed principal of short courses on campus for the next year. In 1914, the federal government recruited Hartenbower for an opportunity to experience tropical life again when he was offered a chance to direct the agricultural experiment station in Guam.

He had originally declined the position, but after officials from Washington, D.C., visited him in Stillwater, he accepted the assignment as the new director of the United States Department of Agriculture Experiment Station in Guam.

DESTINATION GUAM After a quick trip to Washington, D.C., Hartenbower and Eathel left Stillwater in late May and traveled by train to San Francisco where they

sailed for Guam on June 5, arriving on the island on June 29 to start in his new role.

In a letter addressed two weeks later, which took two months to reach Stillwater, Hartenbower stated: “Guam is most delightful, and the people who have lived here for some years assert that Guam has the most delightful climate in the world. The evenings are always cool, and in the shade during the day, a cool breeze is always blowing.”

During his three years in Guam, Hartenbower supervised the construction of additional facilities, expanded holdings in the experiment station library and increased the number of research experiments, planting a variety of crops and encouraged developments in the livestock breeding program.

While on Guam, the Hartenbowers witnessed the blockade of the armed German warship Cormoran in Apra Harbor. The ship had arrived in December 1914 low on coal. When U.S. authorities declined to provide coal, the Cormoran and its crew of 370 were placed under detention due to the war in Europe. When the U.S. entered WWI on April 7, 1917, the crew were considered prisoners of war and rather than surrender the ship, the captain blew it up after most of his crew had jumped into the harbor and were rescued. This incident was the first military action between the Americans and Germans during the war.

Hartenbower resigned in 1917 to accept a position at Kansas A&M College. The couple returned to the U.S. after a short visit to Japan.

Guam’s agricultural experiment station was located behind the village of Piti, which served as a landing for smaller ships.

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Glenn Briggs brought five students from Guam to the OAMC campus in the fall of 1919. Pictured from left: Briggs, Jose L. G. Rios, Antonio A. Shimizu, Juan R. Rosario, Raymon M. Sablan and Antonio L. Cruz.

WORK NEVER STOPS As the Hartenbowers prepared to leave Guam, Glenn Briggs agreed to continue their work.

Born in Clay Center, Nebraska, Briggs attended OAMC, majored in agriculture and served as the editor of the Orange and Black newspaper before graduating in June 1916. Briggs was assigned to the Guam Agricultural Experiment Station as the new agronomist and horticulturalist. His wife, Valle, taught in the local schools.

They married on March 24, 1917, traveled west on what they considered their honeymoon and boarded a ship Glenn Briggs heading to Guam.

The ship had few passengers as it was designated to transport the captured Germans from the island to prisoner of war camps in the U.S. Briggs maintained an active correspondence with the OAMC newspaper during his three-year stay, including reports of a typhoon which hit Guam on July 6, 1918. The experiment station sheltered many residents from

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Japan; Manila, Philippines; and finally, the village of Piti during the storm. The to Guam. island’s governor then commandeered Green was recruited to the island Briggs to assist with recovery efforts. before the typhoon and concentrated He was placed in charge of 50 on agricultural extension efforts to marines and local farmers to begin expand services for local cultivating 25,000 acres of tillable land farmers learning about to increase food production, reducing the developments their dependence on imports. and research Briggs Briggs focused much of his effort was undertaking on improving varieties of fruits at the agricultural and vegetables, replacing banana station. and coconut trees lost during Gladys gave birth the typhoon, and increasing rice to their oldest son on cultivation.

May 3, 1919. In efforts After the typhoon, citizens of William Green to move from subsistence Guam and others stationed there agriculture, the naval government relied on monthly military transports required farmers to increase areas of providing supplies and correspondence. cultivation under their control, and A second, and more deadly challenge when this requirement failed to meet occurred when the monthly transport expectations, landowners were forced USS Logan arrived in port on Oct. 26. to either cultivate their property or Ninety-five percent of the American lease it to someone else who would. sailors suffered from influenza with With these agricultural challenges, one death and carried the pandemic to Green had to navigate the social, Guam. The indigenous population then cultural and economic stresses suffered a death rate of 10%. which impacted extension work William J. (Bill) Green, another with farmers. The Green and Briggs member of the Class of 1916, joined families spent several years working Briggs in January 1918. Green was together on the island assisting with a Kansas native whose family had the recovery efforts and improving settled in Wakita, Oklahoma. Green agricultural production and and his wife, Gladys, traveled by way sustainability. of Vladivostok, Russia, then Nagasaki,

PACIFIC PIONEERS In October 1919, Briggs accompanied five students from Guam to assist with their enrollment at Oklahoma A&M. Government officials on the island sponsored four of the young men and another entered college paying his own expenses. Two were teachers —Juan R. Rosario and Jose L. G. Rios — who enrolled for one year in Stillwater with the mandate they return to Guam and their teaching duties. Raymon M. Sablan and Antonio L. Cruz were admitted for four years. The fifth student, Antonio A. Shimizu, enrolled in the School of Commerce taking marketing courses, preparing to assist his father who was in the importing and exporting business. If the project worked well, the government considered sending two additional students each year.

Raymon M. Sablan At OAMC, the students from Guam made an impression in athletics and cultural affairs. Shimizu set a school record in a swimming event and placed first in several others. In one of the precursors to later varsity revue programs raising funds for the annual yearbook, the students from Guam played musical instruments and sang. They would also perform for the Omega Literary Society and the Cosmopolitan Club.

Sablan played oboe in the OAMC orchestra and was active in many other campus organizations before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in science and literature. Over the years, their younger siblings, children and other students from Guam ventured to Stillwater.

In 1920, Briggs organized the “Far Eastern Alumni Association of OAMC” with members residing in Hawaii, the Philippines, Japan and Guam. These individuals were part of the first generation of OAMC graduates leading efforts to establish the land-grant model for citizens in locations around the world.

The Guam agricultural experiment station supported a number of exhibits on the island during industrial and agricultural fairs. (Top) Cattle exhibit showing improvements from the station breeding program. (Middle) Station goats cross-bred offspring of native goats and the herd sire named Bismark, a Toggenburg buck imported from Europe. (Bottom) Carabao water buffalo were used to plow under cowpeas with a single one-handed plowshare.

S TAT E M AG A Z I N E .O K S TAT E . E D U 97

New Life Members

The Oklahoma State University Alumni Association would like to recognize and thank the following individuals who are now connected for life to OSU through their new life memberships purchased Feb. 1 - May 31, 2023.

ALUMNI A S S O C I AT I O N

Visit ORANGECONNECTION.org/life to see how easy it is to become a life member today or call 405-744-5368.

*An asterisk designates life members who joined as OSU students.

Gregory Allen, '91 Joe Allen, '99 Jason Allen* Abby Allison* Ranae Almos, '81 Grace Anderson* Kristen Anthamatten* Daniel Badger Jr., '80 Lily Ball* Barbara Barker, '87, '92 Michelle Barlow, '89, '94 Elise Barnett* Anna Lee Barton Laura Basden, '82 Larry Basden, '81, '82 Ric Baser, '81, '92 Kari Baser, '82 Ashley Bauer* Catherine Baxter* Christopher Beck, '22 Jim Behrends, '60 Sherrie Bellamy, '81 Allen Bellamy, '88 Jo Ann Bene'* Shondel Bennett, '96, '98 Randy Benson, '92 Larry Betche, '70 Stephanie Blevins, '87 John Blevins, '87 Teresa Bockus, '71 Craig Boelte, '85, '86 Sara Bomhoff* Camryn Bond* Keith Boren, '82 Matthew Boutwell* Anna Boyd* Christopher Brady* Christian Branch, '21 Ellyn Brashear* Theressa Brewer* Richard Brown Owen Brown* Paula Brown, '85 Julia Brungardt, '86, '00 Gunnar Buescher* Michael Bullington* Larry Burdick, '54, '62, '67 Teresa Burk, '04 Jordan Burns, '14, '14 Luke Burrell* Olivia Buss*

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Xiaoping Cai, '95 Brian Caldwell, '96 Suzanne Campbell Katherine Cantrell, '19 Janet Cantrell, '86 Morgan Carr* Madison Carr* Cindy Carr, '87 Madison Cassens, '20 Lynn Cavalier, '03 Devone Chezem Stephanie Cipolla, '88, '91 Brieze Clark* Jo Clarke, '66 Bill Clarke, '69 Thomas Claytor, '71 Bill Coatney, '64 Paul Cobb, '68 Jo Ann Cochran, '79 Shane Coffman, '96 Harlene Colen, '93 Tatelon Collie* Brooke Collins* Steven Cook, '93 Duncan Coons, '71 Janice Cooper, '85 Camden Cope* Richard Cordill, '75 Bryce Cormack* Ian Cornwell, '02 Jill Crivelli, '68 Matthew Crofut, '01 Jackson Culp, '96 Cindy Cummings, '95 Christian Cummings, '22 Kevin Dale Cole Daugherty* Dennis Davis* Chandra Davis, '79 Doug Davis, '73 Kyndra Dearth* Madison Deeds, '21 Dustin Dersch, '01 Gary Dickerson, '74 Gregory Dies, '74 Maeghan Douthit* Connor Drake, '18 Patti Drennan, '74 Philip Duncan* Elizabeth Dworkin, '22 David East, '73

Linda Edmondson Lisa Ekstrom, '91 Gerald Ellis, '72 Kyla Ellis Woodbridge* Bill Emerson, '65, '74 Jay Engelbach, '59 Keith Enlow II, '78 Mary Erdmann* Clyde Estes, '56 Madison Evans* Woody Evans, '84 Dax Ewbank, '99 Josh Exline* Johnny Faccinto, '19 Katlyn Farrer* Brenda Ferguson Jacob Fish* Kirk Fitch, '93 Lindsay Flesher, '03, '06 Jim Flesher, '73 Jordan Fogg, '21 Jorden Ford* Lynn Forsyth, '91 L. A. Fowler, '63 Michelle Fox* Bernadean Gates, '78 Alice Gehrke, '58 Henry Gehrke Jr., '58 Kaylee Glasscock* Courtney Glasscock* Patrick Glenn, '96 Hope Goodwin* Ron Graham, '81 Collin Graham, '97 Michael Gray, '80, '81 Roland Greer, '08 Carrie Gregory, '02 Kim Griffin, '83 Michael Griffin, '92 Carlyn Guthrie* Elizabeth Guy, '91 Dean Guy, '89 Earla Haggard, '91 Pat Halley Sr., '95, '14 Trystan Hamilton* Deanna Hamilton Danny Hamilton, '73 Delania Hammack, '02 Nicki Hammack* Corbin Hane* Rebecca Harper, '22 Roberta Haskit, '66 Jayden Hayes*

Carol Haygood, '89 John Hays, '94 Mikel Head, '69 Ashley Heatherman, '03 Kay Henry, '78 Larry Henry, '78 Wyatt Hensley* Derek Henson, '12 Josh Henson, '98 Amy Hercules* Liz Herring, '89 Brittany Hicks* Nathan Higdon, '17 Greg Highfill, '82 Logan Hilcher* Norman Hobson, '74 Mary Hobson, '73 Mackenzie Hodges* Betty Hondronastas Kiley Horton, '22 Mirijan Hovsepian* Barry Howell, '83 Nancy Hudson, '72 Jim Hull III, '78 Ethan Hunter* Jim Hurst, '63 Catherine Hutchinson, '75, '77 Brendan Ingram* Steve Iulo, '84, '88 Richard Jacobson Derrick James* Bailey James* Dan Jefferies, '81 Kelsey Jenkins* Jackson Jobe* Kassi Johnson, '00, '02 Grayson Johnson* Samantha Johnston, '91 Erik Johnstone* Laura Jolly, '79, '83 Weston Jones* Sara Keck* Jacob Keck* Scott Keith, '94, '97 Denny Kellington, '00 Kale Kennedy* Donna Kiplinger Michael Knight* Autumn Knowles, '13 Jonathan Kuykendall* Amy LaFevers, '79 Kathleen Lambert, '92

Tim Lambert, '84 Shelley Lamle Joe LaPilusa, '72 Jimmy Lawhorn, '98 Justin Lawson, '99 Robert Layman, '96 David Leblanc* James Leewright, '94 Hallie Lenochan* Jocelyn Levengood* Emma Linsenmeyer* Garrison Locke* Emily Loewen, '12 Michael Looper, '99 Odalis Lopez-Saenz* Naila Louis* Elizabeth Luttrell* Ron Luttrull, '59 Cameron Mackenzie* Holly Mahon, '05 Ryan Mankin, '10 Jennifer Mansell* Erika Martens, '13 Donald Martin, '71, '72 Tricia Mason, '84, '86 Andrew Mathis* Gary Matthews, '62, '64 Delany McCauley, '17 Courtney McClure, '11 Janet McClure* Trace McCollough, '21 Bob McCraw, '93, '98 Courtney McDonald* Kirk McGinnis, '07, '07, '10 Monica McGraw, '98 Steven McNabb, '92 Paula McNair Margaret McNew, '73 Aaron McRee Karsten Melton* Johnna Menefee, '11, '13 Roxy Merklin, '69 Steve Meyer, '85, '86 Scott Middleton, '91 Don Mitchell, '71 Andrew Mock, '11 Hayden Montpas* Thomas Moon, '69 Matthew Moreland* Ilya Morrison* Rob Murphy III, '81 Cindy Nally, '75

Emily Nations* Paul Nault, '79 Berry Nault, '80 Paul Neal Jr., '79 Madison Neighbors* Herman Nesser, '58 Daniel Nimmo, '08, '12 Callie Norris* Melinda O'Brien, '92 Rachel Oftedahl, '21, '21 Arthur Oldehoeft, '57, '59 Clayton Olsen* Crystal Olsen Bobby Olsen Bobby Olsen* Max Ott, '72 William Padek, '79, '81 Lee Ann Parker, '80 Zachary Patterson* Scott Patterson, '84 Monty Patton Trevor Payne, '21, '21, '22 Jimmy Peters Ken Petrashek, '15 Jeff Phillips, '93 Gregory Pierce, '70, '85 Brian Piotrowski* Kathryn Plotkowski, '83 David Pope, '70, '71 Cheryl Post, '89 Jim Poteet III, '90 Trey Powell* Judy Powell, '72 Mike Powell, '67 Elias Prado Morales, '22, '22 Leslie Pritchard, '77 Don Pryor, '76, '78 Jacob Pulley* Chelly Quinn, '86 Joe Quinn, '86 Michael Ramsey, '92 Samuel Ratermann, '04 Peggy Ray David Reber Jr., '79 Traben Redgate* Kellie Reed, '83 George Reed, '82 Morgan Reiner, '15 Dale Reinschmiedt, '73 Catherine Rhodes, '71 David Richey, '68

John Riley, '57 Helen Riley, '57 Matthew Ring* Blake Ring* Shelby Roberts, '18, '20 Jim Robertson, '71 Hunter Rose* Macy Rosselle* Laura Roush, '01, '10 Justin Roush, '99 Megan Royall, '19 Andrea Sartin, '09 John Schaefer, '85 Alan Schmitz, '80 Mark Schmitz, '86 Jessalyn Schrock, '12 Robin Schulz, '94 Jennifer Schutter, '97, '01

Kyle Scott, '97 Melanie Secrest, '09, '12 Steven Seidenberger, '75, '79 Keith Selby, '79 Ben Semola, '21 Dal Shannon, '67 Mackenzie Shaw* Brad Shepherd, '78 Mary Kay Shepherd, '69 Dick Shepherd, '69, '71 Kris Shurts Eric Sims, '03 David Singleton Hudson Smith* Abby Smith* Regan Smith* Jeanie Smith, '66, '69 Katie Speakes, '02

Jason Speakes, '01 Debbi Spellman, '81 Chris Stacy, '75 McCall Stephens* Erin Stewart* Cathy Stieb Louis Stieb Andre Storey, '09 Cody Swearingen* Betsy Sweiger* Lizzy Sykora* Barbara Taggart, '75 Teresa Taylor, '94 Carolyn Taylor, '99 Sydney Taylor* Bill Thomas, '58 Bert Thomas, '90, '01 Sue Thompson, '72 James Thompson, '67

Anya Thompson* Dre Thompson Dawn Tingler, '98 Charles Tobin, '78 Carl Tompson, '04 Diane Totty, '85 Miguel Troncoso, '04 Erin Trowbridge Edward Truitt, '72 Taylor Vaden* Zachary Van Buskirk, '22 Lana Van Cleave, '74, '76 Andrew Vanaman, '22 Ben VanNess, '10 Sherri Vaughan, '79 Rosalie Vaught, '85 Stephanie Vazquez*

Stan Vogt, '77 Robert Walker, '82 Georgann Ward Irish Watrous* Bruce Watts, '13, '14 Clint Weathers* Kayla Webb* Kennedy Weedon* Maddison Weinhold* Jonna Whetsel, '22 Miles White, '61 James White* Katie Whitfield* Mazie Will, '72, '77 Zachary Willis, '21 Josh Wing, '06, '08 Mitchell Wolf* Dalton Wolf* Cheryl Wolff, '84

Marilyn Wolgamott, '91, '94 Thad Wolgamott, '90, '95 John Wood, '64 Chas Wright* Olivia Yearber Meghan York, '13 Waldo Zerger Jr., '70

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Chad Johnson (left) and his father, Gary Johnson (right), on a “gold key tour” inside John Deere’s Waterloo, Iowa, assembly plant with Chairman Tim Rhodd (second from left) of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska and member Kyle Rhodd (third from left).

Building Akana

OSU alumnus’ company named 2023 American Indian Business of the Year

C

had Johnson came to Stillwater to play football but ultimately found the path toward his future.

Now president of Akana Group, Johnson remembers Oklahoma State University as the place where he found his love for international business.

Johnson’s family moved every few years because of his father’s career with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). After moving up and down the I-35 corridor, throughout South Dakota, Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma, Johnon returned to his father’s home state after high school graduation to pursue his bachelor’s degree at OSU. Johnson was a defensive lineman on the Cowboy football team and studied political science with a focus in international relations. He said the athletic department had to hire tutors specifically to help him with Japanese because the courses were so new at the time.

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“Being in Stillwater provided me with this insatiable curiosity,” Johnson said. “A curiosity for knowledge, but I learned the languages because I didn’t know them and that bothered me.”

Johnson now speaks five languages: Choctaw, English, Japanese, Mandarin and Vietnamese. He discovered a passion for international business on a study abroad trip to Vietnam.

“Back when Vietnam first gained our most favored nation status, there was a group of Oklahomans that went over there on some type of trade mission,” Johnson said. “Oklahoma State was involved because a lot of it involved agriculture.

I got to go along. I think that’s really where I got into my languages and got into the business of international trade.”

Johnson graduated from OSU in 2004 and quickly became involved with business.

In 2013, he started the Akana Group, which is a Native American-owned business focused on

STORY JILLIAN REMINGTON | PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHAD JOHNSON

Chad Johnson shares his wisdom as he accepts the 2023 American Indian Business of the Year award on behalf of the Akana Group at the 2023 Reservation Economic Summit.

building strategic partnerships with the federal government. The group is an equipment provider specializing in agriculture construction, forestry, seasonal maintenance and commercial cleaning equipment.

“Akana means ally in Choctaw,” Johnson said.

“Out of the 574 tribal nations in the United States, we work with a little over 300 of them. We provide the original land stewards equipment service and support to farmers, ranchers and producers.”

The Akana Group is made up of seven separate entities. Akana Equipment developed quickly after Johnson and his team made their first deal with John Deere. Today, Akana Equipment is the largest Native-owned equipment provider in North America and the only fully Native-owned provider partnered with John Deere.

Recently, Johnson and his team started trading with foreign nations like Australia. His team traveled to Australia and started making deals on equipment. Akana has now incorporated in Australia, becoming the first Native American company to do so.

“We really see a great value of cultural connection and connecting Indigenous people globally,” said Benson Saulo, Australian consulgeneral and senior trade and investment commissioner. “There is amazing opportunity in Australia to be able to partner and collaborate with Indigenous communities and indigenous enterprises. The Akana Group is the first Native American owned enterprise established in Australia and we see it as a huge opportunity to grow that relationship but also open doors for other partnerships in the future.”

After 10 years of building Akana into the business it is today, the company was recognized as the 2023 American Indian Business of the Year.

Despite their remarkable success, Johnson still defines Akana as a small business and credits his talented team for all their accomplishments. He loves to say his job is to just get out of the way and let his people do what they do best.

“It was really my team’s award. I learned very quickly that you don’t know what you don’t know,” Johnson said. “My job is to empower the people around me to make decisions and do what they do best. They are the ones who lift the brand and sell the brand.”

As an OSU alumnus, Johnson encourages students to be curious and look outside of their comfort zone. With just a little bit of curiosity, students can have the ability to see the world and connect with people anywhere.

“Just because you’re graduating, doesn’t mean your education stops,” Johnson said. “Wisdom is taught in many different venues, and you’ll have a lot of different teachers over your lifetime.”

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CAMPUS NEWS

Oklahoma State University hired a new vice president of the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources in Dr. Jayson Lusk, who will also be the dean of the Ferguson College of Agriculture, replacing the retired Dean Tom Coon.

Lusk named vice president, dean of OSU Agriculture Oklahoma State University has named Dr. Jayson L. Lusk as vice president and dean of the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

Lusk was selected following a national search and will provide leadership for the Ferguson College of Agriculture, OSU Extension and OSU Ag Research. The OSU/A&M Board of Regents has granted interim approval for the appointment.

OSU Provost Jeanette Mendez said the extensive search process returned a strong pool of candidates.

“I am delighted that Dr. Lusk, a member of the Cowboy family, has chosen to return and lead the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources,” Dr. Mendez said.

“Oklahoma State University is a national leader in agriculture, and I believe Dr. Lusk will continue to build on the strong foundation of retiring vice president and dean Dr. Tom Coon.

“As part of the systemwide strategy OSU unveiled in October 2022, the university has a focus on fighting food insecurity with the concept of using research to help ‘nourish the world.’

Dr. Lusk’s background in partnering technology and agriculture dovetails perfectly with OSU’s commitment to leveraging research and innovation

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to improve the world’s food shortage and staff are doing good things, and issues.”

OSU Agriculture is well positioned with Lusk worked at OSU from 2005 to support of alumni and stakeholders 2017, first as an agricultural economics to have an even bigger impact in professor and Willard Sparks Endowed Oklahoma and beyond.”

Chair and then as a regents professor.

Lusk earned a bachelor’s degree Since 2017, he served Purdue in food technology from University as a distinguished Texas Tech University and professor and head of the a doctorate in agricultural Agricultural Economics economics from Kansas State Department.

University. He held previous Lusk began his duties appointments at Mississippi leading OSU Agriculture State University and the in August. This includes French National Institute for overseeing academic programs Agricultural Research. as well as Extension and Lusk has received agricultural research efforts on numerous awards including campus and statewide. the Borlaug Communication Dr. Jayson L. Lusk He also will lead the Award from the Council move-in and transition to for Agricultural Science the New Frontiers Agricultural Hall, a and Technology and the Lou Ann $115 million state-of-the-art teaching, Aday award — Purdue University’s research and Extension facility for OSU most prestigious research award in Agriculture. Construction is expected to the humanities and social sciences. be completed in the summer of 2024.

He has served on the executive “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity committee of the USDA National to come home to a place where I Agricultural Research, Extension, worked for 13 years and help build on Education and Economics Advisory the foundation in place to move the Board and has testified before the college and our state forward,” Lusk U.S. Congress on multiple occasions. said. “It’s an opportunity to make an He also is a fellow and past impact and to make a difference. It’s president of the Agricultural and also a place where the students, faculty Applied Economics Association.

Rick and Gail Muncrief Executive Director Lance Walker demonstrates a workout at the Human Performance and Nutrition Research Institute.

OSU launches first-of-its-kind Athletic Training - Sports Medicine ECHO In collaboration with the Oklahoma State University Human Performance and Nutrition Research Institute (HPNRI), OSU Center for Health Sciences launched an Athletic Training - Sports Medicine Project ECHO line Wednesday, May 24.

“This new ECHO line, developed in partnership with OSU’s Human Performance and Nutrition Research Institute, will allow us to support health providers caring for student-athletes across the state,” said Dr. Johnny Stephens, OSU-CHS president. “More than half of the counties in Oklahoma have zero athletic trainers or sports medicine professionals to aid in the health and well-being of our young athletes.

“The goal is to share knowledge specific to treating student-athletes in order to reduce injury and keep them active and healthy. We are grateful to the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) for providing $4.5 million in funding to OSU-CHS to expand Project ECHO’s lines of care to support more health providers and physicians across the state with the goal of improving health outcomes, particularly in rural areas of Oklahoma.”

Project ECHO provides access to specialty care for complex health

conditions, especially in rural and underserved communities where specialists are fewer in number and more difficult to access. Project ECHO brings best-practice health care to patients who normally wouldn’t receive it because of where they live. Instead of moving people, Project ECHO uses a hub-and-spoke telementoring model to move knowledge, so local primary care providers can access expertise to provide high-quality, specialized care to patients in their communities.

The new ECHO line — the first ever to focus on athletic training — will reach athletic trainers and sports medicine providers at schools across the state to give them access to a multidisciplinary team of athletic training, sports medicine, counseling and nutrition experts in a virtual mentoring and educational network through Project ECHO. The Athletic Training - Sports Medicine ECHO will be held from noon to 1 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month. Anyone providing care to student-athletes is invited to participate in the new ECHO, including: athletic trainers, athletic directors, coaches, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants,

physical therapists, rural physicians and school administrators.

Rick and Gail Muncrief Executive Director Lance Walker leads HPNRI. A licensed physical therapist and an internationally recognized expert in fusing sports performance, sports science and sports medicine, Walker has seen significant shifts in the industry over the last 30 years.

Walker said the new ECHO line will provide the kind of practical and research-supported solutions that will make a difference for athletic trainers, sports medicine professionals and the people they serve.

Along with the athletic training ECHO, HPNRI has contributed educational components to the pediatric obesity ECHO and plans to create a healthy school communities ECHO, adding to the expanding catalog of OSU ECHO lines, which also includes topics like mental health, veteran care and ending the HIV epidemic.

“That’s what HPNRI is all about — helping Oklahomans live better lives through a performance mindset. We do that by making connections, providing resources and operating as thought leaders on the cutting edge of the industry,” he said.

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CAMPUS NEWS

The College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology announced Dr. John Veenstra will serve as interim dean, replacing the outgoing Dean Paul Tikalsky.

Veenstra named interim dean in the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology Dr. John Veenstra, professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering (CIVE), has been named the interim dean designate for the Oklahoma State University College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology. This took effect on Tuesday, Aug. 1, when the former dean, Dr. Paul Tikalsky, stepped down from his position.

Following a thorough review of input received from numerous faculty, staff and university administrators, as well as meeting with several individuals who expressed an interest in the interim dean position, OSU Provost and Senior Vice President Jeanette Mendez announced on May 16 that Veenstra was selected.

During his long tenure at OSU, Veenstra served as a professor and department head of CIVE, as well as the department head of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering in the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

Before his retirement in 2021, Veenstra was an active member of various college and university committees, including serving as chair of the OSU Faculty Council and of the

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to work with the college leaders, Oklahoma State Regents for Higher faculty, staff and students to grow Education Faculty Advisory Council. going forward was one that I couldn’t He is an evaluator for the Accreditation pass up,” Veenstra said. “I hope to Board for Engineering and Technology leave CEAT a better place as the new (ABET) and has been a member of dean assumes their responsibilities. the National Council of Examiners for We all owe a debt of gratitude to Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) Dean Tikalsky for his work Civil Exam committee for over with the OSU and CEAT 30 years. Veenstra’s areas community.” of expertise include water Tikalsky spent the and wastewater treatment, last 11 years leading the air pollution treatment and college to record freshman groundwater treatment, and retention, degrees, a he is a registered professional 4-year completion rate engineer in Oklahoma and and research expenditures.

Iowa.

Among his many “It was apparent during achievements, he was our discussions that building responsible for raising more consensus is John’s leadership Dr. John Veenstra than $250 million to support philosophy,” Dr. Mendez world-class learning facilities said. “He believes the dean’s and programs, scholarships, endowed position should facilitate the success chairs, industry research partnerships, of CEAT faculty, staff and students K-12 STEM education programs, in order for all areas to excel in the the ENDEAVOR interdisciplinary production of the three pillars of the experiential learning environment in OSU mission as articulated in the CEAT and he was the architect behind president’s strategic plan.”

Oklahoma’s engineering initiative to This summer, a national search for a fund a major expansion in engineering new dean was initiated. graduates across the state.

“Few opportunities could draw me out of retirement, but the ability

Carl and Marilynn Thoma Distinguished Chair in Hospitality and Tourism Management Awarded to Thapa more. Their contributions include a $5 A new chair has been established in Carl and Marilynn for their continued million gift to The McKnight Center the Spears School of Business thanks to engagement and dedicated support. for the Performing Arts — which the generosity of two alumni and long“The new endowed chair is a further endowed the executive director time supporters of Oklahoma State testament to their commitment to position — establishing the Thoma University. further advance the mission of the Fund for Entrepreneurship and heavily The Carl and Marilynn Thoma school, with an academic program investing in the OSU Student Success Distinguished Chair in Hospitality and that is ranked top 20 in the world.

Center.

Tourism Management will support Additionally, as tourism is Oklahoma’s The Thomas are also visionaries the head of the Hospitality third largest industry, it is and founders of the Wine Forum of and Tourism Management important to sustain and Oklahoma, a biennial event hosted department, who brings support workforce and

by HTM. Since 2009, the event has distinction to the school economic development.” provided attendees with world-class and the university through The Thomas have wine education, played a key role research, outreach activities long been involved with in the development of students and and a commitment to student philanthropy, establishing benefited the community and food learning and leadership. the Carl & Marilynn Thoma and wine industry partners.

“We are proud to support Foundation in 1986. The Carl and Marilynn both studied the School of Hospitality and foundation recognizes that at OSU, earning bachelor’s degrees Tourism Management with this education and arts enhance Dr. Brij Thapa in Agricultural Economics and Home gift,” the Thomas said. “We the lives of individuals and Economics Education, respectively. In hope the chair will help this their communities, and it is 2010, they were inducted to the OSU program continue its success in serving inspired to make contributions with a Alumni Association Hall of Fame. The students and making a positive impact wide-ranging yet personal impact.

Thomas are also members of OSU’s across the region.”

At OSU, the Thomas have given to Proud and Immortal Society.

The inaugural Carl and Marilynn a wide variety of areas ranging from Thoma Distinguished Chair has been the arts to student programs and awarded to Dr. Brij Thapa, professor and head of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM).

Established in 1937, HTM has expanded to a business-focused curriculum and engaged in research and outreach programming for hospitality, tourism and economic development.

Thapa also serves on the Oklahoma Restaurant Association’s Advisory Board.

In this role, he will foster student mentorship and placement of graduates in key industry sectors. Thapa will also prioritize advancing research targeted for industry and community practice as well as work with industry and government stakeholders to make an impact across Oklahoma as part of the land-grant mission of OSU. “It’s an honor and a privilege to serve as the inaugural Carl and Marilynn Thoma Distinguished Chair in Hospitality and Tourism Management,” Thapa said. “This is an amazing opportunity to foster momentum and progress for our students, programs, research and Carl and Marilynn Thoma have endowed a distinguished chair for the School of Hospitality and outreach activities. HTM is grateful to Tourism Management.

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CAMPUS NEWS

Dr. James Payne will replace the retired Dean Ken Eastman in the Business Building this fall.

Payne named dean of Spears School of Business Oklahoma State University has named Dr. James Payne as dean of the Spears School of Business following a national search.

Payne has served as dean of the Woody L. Hunt College of Business at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) since May 2019. Payne’s appointment was approved by the OSU/A&M Board of Regents at their regular June meeting in Oklahoma City.

“Filling the dean’s role at the Spears School of Business was going to require an educator, administrator and researcher with the right experience to take the reins at a college that has enjoyed such a successful history,” said Dr. Jeanette Mendez, OSU provost and senior vice president. “I am pleased the search attracted a scholar of Dr. Payne’s caliber, who is also an experienced administrator and sitting dean.

“Thanks to retiring dean Ken Eastman and the faculty and staff, the Spears School of Business has an incredible foundation to build on, and I’m confident Dr. Payne can continue the forward momentum. Feedback from faculty, staff, students and external friends of Spears has been

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Business (AACSB), having secured extremely positive. I look forward to successful reaffirmations at two working with Dr. Payne as we advance business schools. He has been an the university’s systemwide strategy.” active member of several AACSB peer Payne began his duties at Spears review teams, too.

Business on Aug. 1.

During his tenure at UTEP, Payne “With the excellent reputation of oversaw the restructuring of the Spears School of Business, the Ph.D., MBA, and master’s I am excited to work with the in economics programs; students, faculty, staff, alumni the redesign of the and donors to continue the undergraduate business core school’s positive trajectory curriculum; and the launch in advancing Oklahoma of several online programs.

State University’s land-grant He also implemented a new mission,” Payne said. strategic plan and managed At UTEP, Payne was the successful national responsible for overseeing searches for 30 new faculty the Hunt College of Business members. on the main campus and the Dr. James Payne Payne has over 20 downtown Graduate Business years of higher education Center in advancing programs, administrative experience to include serving 3,200 undergraduate and department chair, dean and provost graduate students. As dean, he at both public and private institutions. recently helped secure the largest He received a bachelor’s degree in single gift in UTEP’s history and first economics from Berea (Kentucky) naming of a college at the university College in 1985, a master’s degree through a $25 million gift to establish in economics (1987) and Ph.D. in the Hunt College of Business. economics (1989), both from Florida Payne has extensive accreditation State University. experience with the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of

OSU to salute 100 years of Pistol Pete with ‘The Year of the Cowboy’ celebration When Frank Eaton joined Stillwater’s Armistice Day parade in 1923, it marked the beginning of a storied tradition that would later see Oklahoma State University redefine itself through Eaton’s image in the form of a mascot that is today as beloved as it is recognizable — Pistol Pete.

This year, OSU commemorates the 100-year anniversary of that milestone with a slate of events dubbed “The Year of the Cowboy.” It’s a celebration of all things Pistol Pete and all the students and alumni who have added to and carried that legacy (and the 36-pound head).

“The spirit of the cowboy is part of the heart and soul of Oklahoma State University,” OSU President Kayse Shrum said. “The students who saw Frank Eaton at the 1923 Armistice Day parade knew it, and it remains true today. The cowboy embodies a culture where people do what’s right even when it’s hard and finish what they start. Pistol Pete has been a symbol for the Cowboy family for the past 100 years. He belongs to all of us — students, faculty, staff, alumni and fans.”

The OSU Alumni Association also has adopted “The Year of the Cowboy” as the theme for America’s Greatest Homecoming 2023. Pistol Pete will be involved in many of the Homecoming events between Oct. 22-28, along with several of Eaton’s descendants, who will take on a special role. Special release merchandise will be available at select retailers this fall, as well.

“We’re excited to announce Frank Eaton’s living grandchildren will serve as the grand marshals of this year’s Sea of Orange Homecoming Parade,” said Dr. Ann Caine, OSU Alumni Association president. “Eaton himself was involved in many of the early

Homecoming parades dating back to 1930, and we are honored to have members of his family carry on the tradition for this special occasion.”

The idea to celebrate the anniversary originated with leaders from the Pistol Pete Alumni Club.

Scott Petty, known in Pete circles as Pete No. 40, served as Pistol Pete from 1985 to 1987. He said the group met with Senior Vice President for Executive Affairs Kyle Wray and other OSU leaders about 11 months ago and received eager support.

“We held a few substantive meetings with OSU Brand Management about developing an icon or logo to celebrate and bring awareness for Frank Eaton’s legacy. What emerged was this amazing campaign that we’re really looking forward to,” Petty said. “It is important to note how meaningful it is to those of us who have served as a Pistol Pete, but also how meaningful it is for us to educate students, faculty, staff and alumni that he’s been our mascot image for 100 years.”

Pete No. 93 Traber Smithson, who served as Pistol Pete in the fall of 2022 and spring of 2023, said Pistol Pete is synonymous with OSU. He said he’s looking forward to celebrating Eaton’s legacy with the Cowboy family.

“He is the face of OSU, and is able to celebrate some of life’s biggest

moments with fans all over the country, which contributes to why he is truly loved by the loyal and true,” Smithson said. “Getting the opportunity to celebrate 100 years of Pistol Pete with the Cowboy family is very exciting. Pete means so much to our alumni, fans and students, and I think that will create a very special atmosphere as we celebrate homecoming this year. I know that all of the Pistol Petes and the Eaton family are very thankful and honored to be a part of the celebration.”

OSU Spirit Coordinator and Pom Coach Beki Jackson has been part of the Pistol Pete selection process — a challenging evening of tests and interviews — for 11 years and has helped select 14 students to take on the coveted role. She said it’s hard to imagine what OSU would be without Pistol Pete.

“He is OSU in every aspect,” she said. “Whether it’s a brand on a T-shirt, or the little kid dressed like him for Halloween. When you see Pistol Pete, you are taken back to your glory days and you feel pride for the university. Pistol Pete is a symbol of true Cowboy Heritage. He represents the grit and spirit we all strive to have as OSU Cowboys.”

For more information about “The Year of The Cowboy” celebration, visit okla.st/yearofthecowboy.

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The OSU Foundation thanks Jerry Winchester for his commitment and service to Oklahoma State University.

As the former OSU Foundation Board of Trustees Chair, Jerry led the Foundation through transformational change and growth. We are grateful for his dedicated leadership.

Jerry served on the OSU Foundation Board of Trustees from 2011-23 and has been a member of the OSU Foundation Board of Governors since 2014. He began his career at OSU in 1978 and was a member of the OSU football team. A letterwinner and a member of the Academic All-Big Eight First Team, Jerry is a 1983 graduate of the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology.

In 2012, he was inducted into the CEAT Hall of Fame and was named an OSU Distinguished Alumni. Jerry was also a member of the OSU Alumni Association Board of Directors from 2004-2009 and served as Board President from 2007-09.

Thank you, Jerry Winchester, for sharing your talents with us through your years of leadership and dedication to the Cowboy family. You are an example of Loyal and True!

“Jerry’s commitment to OSU has made a lasting impact on the university. He evokes the Cowboy Culture, and we sincerely thank him for his service to the OSU family.”

– Blaire Atkinson, OSU Foundation President

CHAPTER LEADER PROFILE

Maggieann Green, Black Alumni Society Maggieann Green wanted to be an Oklahoma State University Cowboy from the start. And when she sets a goal, she achieves it.

Green, originally from Oklahoma City, attended Northwest Classen High School as a part of an integration plan in Oklahoma City Public Schools in 1972. She graduated in 1976 and followed her older sister to OSU the same year.

“My first memory at OSU was after my mother dropped me off at my dorm,” Green said. “I opened my course catalog and thought, ‘How am I ever going to get 120 hours?’ It was frightening.”

Green acclimated quickly once on campus, getting involved in activities within her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha.

She was constantly involved and engaged through her chapter, whether it be community service or working within the National Pan-Hellenic Council community.

After her graduation from OSU in 1980, Green pursued a business career with IBM. She worked there for 20 years, then retired as a purchasing official for Oklahoma in 2019.

“OSU sets the standard with graduates,” Green said. “There were only two people hired by IBM in the state and both of us were OSU graduates.”

As an alumna, Green loves when she gets the opportunity to return to campus. Her favorite memories include America’s Greatest Homecoming, working with the OSU Black Alumni

Society and taking her two children, Maggie and Bryson, to Cowboy football games in the family fun zone.

Green serves as a board member of the OSU Black Alumni Society. She credits OSU as the place where her leadership journey started and has continued throughout her life. She has a passion to lead and network with people to plant seeds of leadership.

“Don’t wait to get involved with an alumni chapter,” Green said. “Just do it and get engaged now. Networking alone is worth the time and the investment of your resources. Do it to become a part of a bigger community because your education at OSU doesn’t stop when you go across the stage at GallagherIba Arena. It’s really the beginning of the rest of your Cowboy career.”

Maggieann Green is a board member of the Oklahoma State University Black Alumni Society. She graduated from OSU in 1980.

STORY J I L L I A N R E M I N G T O N | PHOTO RAMON DICKENS JR.

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CHAPTER NEWS

NORTH TEXAS (Above) Nearly 200 Cowboys from the North Texas OSU Alumni Chapter enjoy OSU Night with the NHL’s Dallas Stars.

(Below) The North Texas Cowgirls meet for an evening of dinner and conversations.

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PHOTOS PROVIDED TO OSU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

OKC METRO (Above) Members of the Cowboy family meet at Oak Tree Golf and Country Club in Edmond for the OKC Metro Alumni Chapter Golf Tournament. The annual tournament is held to raise money for scholarships for local students.

(Left) Future Cowboy Declan Harp joins members of the Cowboy family in cheering on the Oklahoma City Dodgers.

CHEROKEE STRIP The Cherokee Strip OSU Alumni Chapter take in a Cowboy baseball game at O’Brate Stadium.

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CHAPTER NEWS

KAY COUNTY Members of the Kay County OSU Alumni Chapter dressed in their Kentucky Derby-inspired outfits and watched the race at Marland Mansion in Ponca City, Oklahoma.

CLEVELAND COUNTY The Cleveland/McClain County OSU Alumni Chapter hosts OSU director of football recruitment Todd Bradford and his wife, Sonda, at their monthly chapter meeting.

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HOUSTON Houston OSU Alumni Chapter members visit Minute Maid Park to cheer on the Houston Astros.

EAST TEXAS The East Texas Alumni Chapter host local members for their monthly board meeting. Cowboys and Cowgirls mingled and were updated on upcoming chapter news.

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ALUMNI UPDATE

1958

1970

1998

’60s

Joyce Primo, ’58 elementary education, celebrated a special day with her family on Dec. 17, 2022. Her granddaughter, Kayla Elizabeth Hendrickson, ’22 university studies, graduated from OSU. She became a fourthgeneration graduate.

Henrietta Mann, ’70 master’s in English, was recognized as a National Humanities Medal recipient by President Joe Biden on March 21 during an East Room ceremony in the White House. She was one of 12 recipients to receive this honor, surrounded by fellow writers, historians, educators and activists.

Delton Gordon, ’98 family relations and child development, has been elected president of the Southwest Association of College and University Housing Officers (SWACUHO).

’70s

1965

1999

1981

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of his repatriation as a prisoner of war from Hanoi, Vietnam, OSU alumnus Dick Francis, ‘65, was invited to fly the Air Force’s supersonic T-38C trainer at Joint Base San Antonio - Randolph AFB on March 24, 2023. A retired USAF lieutenant colonel, Francis now holds the record as the oldest USAF pilot to fly the T-38C at 79 years, 11 months, and two weeks of age. Francis, right, met with Lt. Col. Matt Baan, a T-38C instructor pilot, following this milestone flight.

Joseph Harrison, ’81 doctorate in osteopathic medicine, retired from clinical practice in 2022.

He is now working part time in emergency medicine. Harrison married Linda Carlson in May 2023. The two are currently living in Plano, Texas. He is looking forward to traveling from coast to coast to keep up with their combined 10 children and 13 grandchildren. Their house is divided, but he is working hard teaching the next generation to at least stay north of the Red River.

Shelagh Curtin, ’64 zoology, turned 82 in June 2023. Her fondest memories are of her time at OSU. She loves OSU sports and watches them on TV whenever possible.

Carlos E. Johnson, ’66 master’s in business education, ’77 doctorate in business education, retired from BKD LLP. He is now representing two companies, BankOnIT and Jim David Capital Partners, as an independent contractor.

Richard W. Poole Jr., ’76 secondary education, retired in 2014.

’80s

Angela R. Shipley (Davidson), ’85 clothing textiles and merchandising, filled in as a kindergarten teacher for the first time. Shipley said it is never too late to try something new. She will be starting her own training business once school is out for summer called RAE Training Solutions.

’90s

Kimberly Pearson, ’99 general business, was recently named the first female CEO of Osage Casinos. Check out the 2023 edition of Engage@ Spears magazine for a full feature.

1999

John C. Harned, ’90 master’s degree in accounting, was appointed as president of Mount St. Mary Catholic High School in Oklahoma City. As the new president, Harned is committed to building upon the strong foundation established at Mount St. Mary Catholic High School.

Bryce Herkert, ’96 political science, ’98 master’s degree in speech, was assigned as the resident agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s office in Springfield, Missouri.

John Carothers, ’97 turf grass management, is celebrating his 20th anniversary at Cherokee Hill Golf Club at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tulsa.

’10s

Casie Bazay, ’99 elementary education, recently published a young adult novel, Not Our Summer.

Alexandria Henson-Kinney, ’18 aviation management, recently got promoted to supervisor at an Aviation Fixed Base Operator in Dallas. She got married to the love of her life in July 2021. Henson-Kinney and her husband are expecting their first baby and living in their first house, which they built. She said none of their dreams would have been possible without the help of OSU.

Friends

Deborah J. Mann celebrated her son, Blaine Mann’s, graduation from OSU on May 13, 2023, with a degree in geospatial information science.

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In Memory

Benjamin Harjo Jr., ’74 fine art, died on May 20, 2023, at the age of 77. He was referred to by many as the “Picasso of Native American art.”

“The passing of Benjamin Harjo Jr., a beloved member of the Oklahoma State community and a renowned Native American artist, marks the loss of a significant treasure for our university and state,” OSU President Kayse Shrum said.

“Our thoughts and condolences are with his family and friends as we join together to mourn his loss and celebrate his life.

Ben’s unique artistic skills, dedication to his beloved Native American heritage and service to our country have profoundly impacted our world, and his legacy will continue to inspire future generations.”

Harjo began his studies at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

He went on to produce soughtafter artwork for more than five decades, with his pieces now part of the Oklahoma State Art Collection, the First Americans Museum, Red Earth Art Center, Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian.

“We were fortunate to exhibit Benjamin Harjo Jr.’s artwork in 2018, exploring his connection to heritage and indigenous communities in ‘Benjamin Harjo Jr.: We are a Landscape of All We Know,’” said Vicky Berry, director and chief curator at the OSU Museum of Art.

“During the exhibition, I remember a child sketching while Harjo was present. He approached her, introduced himself and encouraged her art with gentle guidance. His generous spirit and passion for art inspired everyone he met, leaving an indelible mark on our memories.”

Among his many honors, Harjo received the 2002 OSU Distinguished Alumni Award, was named the 2003 Red Earth Festival Honored One, was recognized by the OU Health Center foundation in 2009 as an Oklahoma Living Treasure and was inducted into the OSU Alumni Hall of Fame in 2012.

“As one of only 199 members of the OSU Hall of Fame, the impacts Benjamin Harjo Jr. made on our alma mater and the art world are as numerous as the bright colors in his paintings and prints,” OSU Alumni Association President Ann Caine said. “He was one of the nation’s leading American Indian artists, and he never lost sight of his roots and the education he received at Oklahoma State.”

Thomas Oscar Black Jr., ’52 civil engineering, passed away Jan. 28, 2023, in Tulsa. He was born Aug. 25, 1926, in Glenwood,

Arkansas, to Bertie Lenora and Thomas Oscar Black Sr. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to Guymon, Oklahoma, where he grew up. Black proudly served his country as a private first class in the 43rd Infantry Division of the Army, stationed in the southwest Pacific. After meeting in college, he married the love of his life, Mary Lou Armstrong, in July 1952. They were happily married for 66 years before her passing in June 2019. Black started his career with Cities Service Oil Company; after several moves, finally settling in Tulsa in 1963.

After 40 years in the oil industry, he started a second 25-year career in residential real estate.

Black was a servant-leader, active in both his church and his community. Through the years, he was involved in Sigma Nu; Kiwanis Club; Key Club; Cities Service Oil Company Retirees; Habitat for Humanity; New Haven United Methodist Church and Choir; Miss Oklahoma Pageant Scholarship Board; OSU Alumni Association; and Red Cross blood donor. He always participated with his entire heart, not only joining but being a tireless, enthusiastic leader. Black’s passions touched thousands of lives and were well exhibited by setting up over 10 Key Clubs in Tulsa area high schools and donating over 52 gallons of blood for patients near and far.

Joel S. Williams, ’74 geology, passed away in April 2022 from a long illness. He was always a proud alumnus, along with his wife of 50 years, Rebecca A. Williams, ’72 fashion merchandising. He worked as a geologist and independent oil producer for many years.

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Births Amy Allison (Mitchell), ’10 psychology, and her husband, Travis Allison, ’09 industrial engineering, ’11 master’s degree in industrial engineering and management, welcomed their son, Brock Mitchell Allison, on March 24, 2023, in Frisco, Texas. The two are so excited to welcome the newest addition to the Cowboy family.

Aaron Cathey, ’00 history, and his wife, Rachel, welcomed the newest member of their family, Cosette Cathey, into the world on March 3, 2023.

Brooke N. Kibble (Duncan), ’17 accounting, ’19 MBA, and her husband, Geoffrey Kibble, ’15 mechanical engineering and aerospace engineering, ’17 master’s degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering, welcomed their son, Bryson Lee Kibble, on Aug. 26, 2022.

Tim Krenz, ’15 strategic communications, and wife, Jordyn Krenz (Wynn), ‘15 communications sciences and disorders, ‘17 master’s degree in speech language pathology, met through OSU Greek life. They welcomed their daughter, Mollie Anne Krenz, on Jan. 26, 2023.

Kelsey G. Moton, ’22 business education, and her husband, Jesse Moton, welcomed their daughter, Madeline Grace Moton, on Feb. 24, 2023.

Natalie Stinchcomb (Scott), ’16 strategic communications, and her husband, Trent Stinchcomb, ’16 business administration, welcomed their son, Patrick Paul Stinchcomb, on Jan. 4, 2023. He is the grandson of alumni Tandy Stone Scott, Marty Clay Scott, Christi Stinchcomb, Glenn Paul Stinchcomb and great-grandson of Glenn Stinchcomb, the donor of Stinchcomb Hall on the OSU campus.

Allison

Cathey

Kibble

Krenz

Moton

Stinchcomb

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Wedding Katzee (Reese) Ballagh, ’18 strategic communications, ’20 master’s degree in global studies, married Wade Ballagh after a six-year relationship that blossomed during their college days. Wade and Katzee wed in a small intimate ceremony in front of their parents, grandparents and siblings at Marland Grand Home in Ponca City, Oklahoma.

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AN ESTATEPLANNING TIP FROM

Pistol Pete Any account with a beneficiary designation (such as IRA and retirement funds, life insurance policies and annuities) can be used to support OSU.

» Easy to do » Easy to give to OSU » Easy on your heirs » Easy to learn Visit OSUgiving.com/estateplanning or call the OSU Foundation’s Estate & Gift Planning team at 800-622-4678 to discover more.

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PARTING SHOT | 6. 29. 23 Unmanned Systems Research Institute students Karrick Ray, Emalee Hough, Zach Yap and Jarrett Schwarz prepare a pair of helium-filled balloons for a “grand slam” launch at the unmanned aircraft flight station east of Stillwater.

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