Historical Marker Details Tulsa History
OSU-Tulsa IT Director Receives Patriot Award
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PHOTO / OSU TULSA
From left are OSU-Tulsa trustee Sean Kouplen, OSU-Tulsa President Howard Barnett, Oklahoma Sen. Jabar Shumate, Tulsa City Councilman Jack Henderson, OSU-Tulsa trustee and Standpipe Hill Historical Marker Committee Chair Glenda Love, Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett, John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation Executive Director Julius Pegues, Oklahoma State Regent for Higher Education Jay Helm and OSU-Tulsa Trustees Chair Henry Primeaux at the historical marker dedication ceremony. SU-Tulsa and the University Center at Tulsa Authority dedicated the Standpipe Hill Historical Marker in June. The marker is located south of John Hope Franklin Boulevard between Detroit Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard on the OSU-Tulsa campus. “Standpipe Hill played a role in the tragic unfolding of the Tulsa Race Riot, which had a lasting impact on this area of our city,” says OSU-Tulsa President Howard Barnett. “The ceremony recognized the lasting impact of that event and other significant occurrences that happened at Standpipe Hill as well as the role it continues to play as part of OSU-Tulsa.”
The Standpipe Hill Historical Marker Committee worked with the Oklahoma Historical Society to research documents and legends. Tulsa’s first water tower was built atop Standpipe Hill in 1904, giving the location its name. According to local lore, the hill also served as a lookout point for the Dalton gang to check if the area was clear of lawmen. During urban renewal in the 1980s, it became part of land set aside for higher education. On Jan. 1, 1999, OSU-Tulsa was created and the university’s new Signature Gateway was recently constructed at the pinnacle of Standpipe Hill.
PHOTO / OSU TULSA
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U.S. Department of Defense agency honored OSU-Tulsa Information Technology Director Randall Popp in April with the Patriot Award for his support of an Oklahoma National Guard member deployed during Operation Enduring Freedom. Air National Guard Maj. Ginger Turcotte presented the award in recognition of Popp’s support of Jon Russell, an OSU-Tulsa telecommunications technician. “Randall fully embraced his employee’s call to duty without hesitation and made certain Jon was aware of OSU’s military leave policies,” Turcotte says. “Jon walked away from his life for six months, and his service in Qatar would not have been possible without the help of his family, friends and his civilian family at OSU in Tulsa.” Russell, a staff sergeant and cyber transport craftsman with the Oklahoma Air National Guard, had worked at OSU-Tulsa for seven months when he was deployed in 2012 to Al Udeid Air Base to provide communications support to thousands of U.S. and coalition forces serving in Operation Enduring Freedom.
Jon Russell, left, and Maj. Ginger Turcotte present the Patriot Award to Randall Popp during a ceremony at OSU-Tulsa.
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FALL 2014