@utulsa Magazine - Spring 2023

utulsa

Brad Carson, President

Tricia Milford-Hoyt, Vice President, Strategic Marketing and Communications

Amanda Hodges, Creative Director

Mona Chamberlin, Senior Media Relations and Editorial Director

Leslie Cairns, Senior Graphic Designer

Ty Lewis, Visual Resources Manager

Kelly Kurt Brown, Photographer

João Pascoal, Publication Designer

Lily Rogers, Graduate Assistant

Clara Giddens, Intern

Jonathan Rice, Intern

To contact the publication team or comment on this magazine, please email magazine@utulsa.edu

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We recognize the Tribal lands on which The University of Tulsa’s main campus resides. We would like to honor and acknowledge the Indigenous tribes including the Ni-u-kon-ska (Osage), Kitikiti’sh (Wichita), and Kadohadacho (Caddo) Tribal Nations as the original inhabitants and keepers of the land and water of which we now call Tulsa, Oklahoma. TU recognizes that our campus is located on the Mvskoke (Muscogee [Creek]) Nation and Tsálăgĭ (Cherokee) Nation, as a result of the U.S. Indian Removal Act of 1830. We acknowledge that the university was first established as a Presbyterian School for Indian Girls with its own history and relationship to the land and campus. We recognize this foundation and assume the responsibility to educate ourselves and others on the history and importance of the land and water that we occupy.

IN THIS ISSUE

Research Frontier

At The University of Tulsa, scholarly activity has long been a core component of faculty work. From oil technology to oil tycoons, the subjects of research at TU have been as vast as the open prairie where Tulsa was founded.

Life-Saving Technology Associate professors’ developments are on the fast track toward fighting hard-to-treat cancers

19

Tequila with Friends

A thriving TU alumniowned business

In a Unique Position

TU is set to begin new trauma studies minor, building on its own location and history

Paving a Path to PostGraduation Success Unheard of Job Placement Guarantee is strongest arrow in TU’s outcomes quiver

Facets of Freedom Humanities events explore a theme that divides us deeply

Bridging the Gap Professor Emily Contois reflects on her first year as TU’s Faculty in Residence

Mark your calendars U PCOMING EVENTS

MAY

May 30 - June 4

Switchyard

6 days. 26 speakers. 14 bands. 101 E. Archer St.

Aug. 31

Tailgate and Football Season Opener

Tulsa vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Chapman Commons and H.A. Chapman Stadium

SEPTEMBER

Sept. 16

June 16

TU Uncorked benefiting Alumni Association Scholarship Fund Cain’s Ballroom

July 7 - 30

Oklahoma Center for the Humanities exhibition, TU Student Art Show 101 E. Archer St.

AUGUST

Aug. 4 - Sept. 23

Oklahoma Center for the Humanities exhibition, Cherokee Freedman 101 E. St. Archer

Tailgate and Football Game

Tulsa vs. Oklahoma Chapman Commons and Stadium

Sept. 20

Friends of Finance

Shane Wharton, President of Love's Travel Stops and Country Stores Student Union, Great Hall

OCTOBER

Oct. 3

Presidential Lecture Series

Danielle Feinberg, Visual Effects Supervisor at Pixar Animation Studios

Lorton Performance Center

Oct. 18

Friends of Finance

Sharon Prince, (BSBA ‘85, MBA ‘86), CEO, Grace Farms Foundation Student Union, Great Hall

NOVEMBER

Nov. 2 - 5

Homecoming 2023

Parent and family weekend. tualumni.com/homecoming

Nov. 3

Pre view TU Admission event for high school juniors

Campus-wide

Nov. 15

Friends of Finance

Judy McReynolds, President and CEO of ArcBest Student Union, Great Hall

For additional details and a complete list of events, scan the QR code or visit calendar.utulsa.edu.

WORLD CLASS

TU has a rich tradition of attracting students from around the globe to pursue their academic dreams. Since 1931, when we welcomed our inaugural group of four students from Venezuela, TU’s international alumni network has expanded to more than 100 countries. International students play a pivotal

role in the vibrant Golden Hurricane community, and TU is currently home to more than 350 students from over 67 countries. They contribute to the diversity of our academic environment and enhance our research and innovation efforts by sharing their individual perspectives.

Ezequiel Valeff, Argentina

“I hope to become a complete geoscientist. I believe this is a fundamental aspect to my work in this field, to be able to interact with geologists and engineers, to have critical insight and add that to the different projects. TU has been really helpful in every way.”

Geosciences master’s student

“I am passionate about making a positive impact on society, and I believe that working in the nonprofit sector will allow me to do that. The Center for Global Engagement has been particularly helpful in giving me a sense of community and support. They treat international students like family members and are always there to help us with any personal or academic issues we face.”

“On a small campus, you know you will run into your friends. TU is a peaceful place to study, and Tulsa is a city without the distractions of a (large) metropolis. I love TU, and I love Tulsa. I say this from my heart.”

“Apart from professors and even the (interim) dean of the Oxley College of Health Sciences who helped me with incorporating the academic and athletic aspects of the student life, academic and athletic advisers really helped me to stay on top of my schoolwork while still dealing with the big cultural shift. Given that the majority of the people in my surroundings are international and come from different ethnicities and religions, I believe it’s truly important to highlight the fact that diversity at TU plays a big role.”

“I love all of my experiences here at TU as an international student. It throws back to my first move-in time last semester. I received a package from the Center for Global Engagement, and they gave me all the personal and school supplies that I needed while living here. This gift warmed my heart greatly because it is so sweet when people welcome you to their country like that.”

Aytaj Ismayilova, Azerbaijan MBA student

Diem “Betty” Lam, Vietnam Media Studies/Film Studies freshman

Wen Cao, China Petroleum Engineering doctoral student

Vanja Bogdanović, Serbia Exercise and Sports Science sophomore

In university life, perhaps the only thing that could come close to rivaling the importance of teaching is the importance of scholarly activity. Investigating complex ideas and discovering new knowledge is often the most exciting work for faculty and research staff – and students – across campus.

Research A Reputation for

At The University of Tulsa, scholarly activity has long been a core component of faculty work. From oil technology to oil tycoons, the subjects of research at TU have been as vast as the open prairie where Tulsa was founded.

“Every great city has a great university that drives the economy, feeds the culture and raises the bar for education. TU is that engine for Tulsa,” said President Brad R. Carson. “Part of what makes a university great is the commitment to pursuing research at the highest level – receiving major awards and grants, publishing books and papers in peer-reviewed journals, making groundbreaking discoveries. This is TU’s destiny.”

TU’s smaller size allows a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach to myriad research opportunities, which is a boon as the university seeks to step up from a proud legacy as a level 2 research institution in the Carnegie Classification into the top tier, or “R1” status. Led by Carson and Vice President for Research & Economic Development Rose Gamble, TU is on a trajectory to achieve this elite designation in fewer than 10 years.

“Faculty are excited about this prospect. It unites the university in the quest to increase investments in research and scholarly activity and build the momentum to achieve and sustain R1 status,” Gamble said. “While building on existing strengths in cyber and energy, we’re also expanding our footprint in opportunities from neuroscience and robotics to cancer treatments and trauma studies. Given the strength of

the TU faculty, the goal is definitely achievable.”

TU has a storied research history. For a century, TU has been building infrastructure to advance technology in petroleum and chemical engineering. North Campus is the university’s largescale research facility, with acres of buildings and equipment that allow faculty to test theories in a real-world environment. North Campus has grown over 55 years to serve more STEM disciplines, including mechanical engineering, computer and electrical engineering, cybersecurity, chemistry and geosciences.

“North Campus is a completely unique facility. There’s not another one like it in world,” said Cem Sarica, the Floyd M. Stevenson Distinguished Professor of Petroleum Engineering. “It may

not be well known locally, but it is known internationally among the biggest oil and gas companies.”

Sarica directs three industry-supported consortia at North Campus: Fluid Flow, Paraffin Deposition and Horizontal Well Artificial Lift Projects. “The university provides results of technological research to companies that are members of the consortia, so it directly benefits businesses while providing resources to faculty and students,” he said.

Much like the oil that they examine, graduate and undergraduate students come to North Campus as crude and rudimentary researchers and emerge refined and prepared at commencement. Those who are specifically interested in combatting climate change and implementing energy transition also call TU home. Ongoing and upcoming projects include:

• Oil and gas pipeline security.

• Carbon sequestration.

• Hydrogen production, transportation and storage.

• Solar power production and storage.

• Methane emission measurement, estimation and remediation.

• Produced-water management.

While TU’s past as an energy education and research giant is legendary, the university also has a rich history of significant scholarship in fields such as biology and biochemistry, psychology and sociology, anthropology and history, English and literature, kinesiology, business, law and much more.

External grants from government agencies and nonprofit organizations as well as funded research through corporations is the rocket fuel that propels academic pursuits. These entities have a vested interest in the novel findings that universities produce. TU has devoted resources to aggressively pursue new forms of financial support for this activity and to add to the ranks of

clockwise from left:

Doctoral student Qianwei Zhu

Hema Ramsurn, the A. Paul Buthod Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering

Professor Parameswar Hari, director of the Summer Undergraduate Research Program in Physics

the already outstanding faculty, doctoral students and post-docs.

As part of the research enterprise, the Technology Transfer Office, manages the patents that come from the work carried out by TU researchers. Director Bill Lawson shepherds proprietary findings through the patent process so the investigators – and the university – can claim the rights. Gamble’s office also is ingrained in the commercialization of research and is now working with the Collins College of Business’ new Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship. Staff and advisers have been carefully selected to offer expert guidance and sometimes financial support to get an idea off the ground and into market.

Each of these examples of support helps fulfill the requirements necessary to reclassify TU as an R1 university, which is reserved for those performing the most impactful research. The designation also brings a heightened awareness among peer institutions and a reputational bump in the higher education realm.

“Continuing to advance our research capabilities is a winning strategy for TU,” Gamble said. “It allows us to attract bright, promising students and faculty. It brings in more revenue that, in turn, generates more opportunities. It builds a better future for our city and our state, and it creates new knowledge and new leaders to improve our world.”

While building on existing strengths in cyber and energy, we’re also expanding our footprint in opportunities from neuroscience and robotics to cancer treatments and trauma studies.

–ROSE GAMBLE

clockwise from top left: Professor Mohan Kelkar, director of TU’s McDougall School of Petroleum Engineering

Presentation at the 2023 Student Research Colloquium

Professor of Computer Science Sandip Sen (top left) and Chapman Professor of English Laura Stevens (bottom right) work with students in an artificial intelligence lab

TUFFP turns 50

Tulsa University Fluid Flow Projects (TUFFP) is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The TUFFP is a cooperative industry-university research group is supported by multiple oil and gas corporations, technology and equipment companies, and government agencies.

Its mission is to conduct applied research and develop solutions for problems encountered by companies about fluid flow (oil, gas, water) in pipes and processes. Annual fees from members – such as Chevron, ExxonMobil, Baker Hughes, Halliburton, SLB, Saudi Aramco, Mitsubishi, AspenTech, Expro, Petronas, Petrobras, and PSRE, among others – support the important research. Since the beginning, 88 companies have been members.

Based at North Campus, TUFFP is currently working on 11 projects simultaneously studying the effects of size and pressure upscaling and liquid viscosity on multiphase flow behavior utilizing state-of-the-art facilities and instrumentation. TUFFP is also helping the industry reduce its carbon footprint by studying the transport, injection, and storage of CO2 into proper reservoirs. Since 1973, TUFFP has completed 142 projects, graduated more than 144 highly skilled multiphase flow and flow assurance professionals, and published 244 technical papers. TUFFPgenerated models are mostly used in commercial flow prediction software packages aiding the oil and gas industry.

TU will host a daylong golden anniversary celebration for the consortium on May 12 in the Student Union on the main university campus. TUFFP alumni, guests and speakers worldwide will attend the event. A special honor is planned for Professor Emeritus Jim Brill, who is the namesake of a new research fellowship that is being endowed to continue the cutting-edge work carried out through TUFFP. If interested in supporting the fellowship, please contact Cem Serica at cem-sarica@utulsa.edu

Since 1973, TUFFP has completed 142 projects, graduated more than 144 highly skilled multiphase flow and flow assurance professionals, and published 244 technical papers.

TU names new VP for research

Tandy Professor of Computer Science & Engineering

Rose Gamble, D.Sc., has been tapped by University of Tulsa President Brad R. Carson to serve as vice president for research and economic development.

“This is my dream job. I’m honored to work with President Carson on his vision for TU to achieve R1 status,” Gamble said. “Research produces new knowledge, and that new knowledge changes the world.”

A brilliant scholar who has taught hundreds of students while at TU, Gamble has published 47 journal articles and book chapters, in addition to 140 conference articles. She previously served as senior associate dean for the College of Engineering & Natural Sciences and director of the Software Design Laboratory, which supports a wide range of software

engineering and architecture projects. She was awarded the inaugural University of Tulsa Outstanding Researcher Award in 2019.

Gamble’s research projects focused on security and functional assurance for autonomous and selfadaptive systems. She and Robert Baird (Ph.D. ’11) were awarded a patent in 2015 on a multi-claim auditable security token that gathers service identity and message transmission data to perform web service and cloud security forensics. She also was part of the research team developing adaptive operational threat analysis technology that involves the critical domains

of electric power, additive manufacturing, and pipelines. As the lead research investigator or part of a research team, she has secured more than $20 million in funded research across federal, state, industry, and philanthropic partners. Always curious about scholarly activity in every corner of campus, Gamble said she leaves her office every day thinking about what else she and her team can do to raise TU’s research excellence profile and wakes up in the morning with a fresh vision and a new to-do list. “There’s a lot to do, but it’s all exciting and impactful,” she said.

Life-saving research

Associate professors’ developments are on the fast track toward fighting hard-to-treat cancers

Angus Lamar, an associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, has been working on cancer research since he arrived at The University of Tulsa in 2015. An expert in organic and medicinal chemistry, Lamar’s investigations are focused on developing organic reactions that support the discovery and design of novel cancer-fighting drug compounds.

“At the outset,” explained Lamar, “my early research efforts concentrated on developing new organic reactions that produced molecules containing

sulfonamide units that were previously inaccessible using traditional synthetic approaches.” By 2018, he and his team had amassed a library of novel compounds that could turn out to be anticancer and antibacterial agents.

Joined by Robert Sheaff, also an associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and funded by a grant from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology, Lamar and his co-researchers began testing those compounds for biological activity against

a variety of cancer cell lines. Since 2019, Lamar and Sheaff’s collaboration has resulted in five publications and multiple patents that feature synthetic methods for preparing sulfonamide compounds and screening them for biological activity.

“One of the interesting things about the collaboration between Dr. Sheaff and I is that we can make new compounds and test them for activity simply by walking down the hall,” said Lamar.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer. Through their research

into new compounds, Lamar and his team are combating that grim reality: “We’ve seen exciting results in targeting pancreatic cancer, and we have created new compounds that, when used in combination with an FDA-approved drug – 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) – selectively kill pancreatic cancer cells but leave normal healthy cells and other types of cancer cells unharmed.”

Recently, Lamar’s team, which has included graduate and undergraduate students, had success targeting glioblastoma cells – an equally deadly form of brain cancer – with a similar approach, using different compounds synthesized in their lab.

In addition to pancreatic and brain cancer, the discoveries by Lamar and his fellow researchers hold the potential for tackling breast cancer.

“We recently returned to older data and found several compounds that, when combined with 2-DG, selectively target breast cancer cells instead of normal healthy cells or other types of cancer cells,” reported Lamar. “We intend to explore this data further and are planning future investigations that center around synthetically modifying those promising initial compounds in order to create a more potent drug to target breast cancer.”

Additionally, this discovery of novel technologies was licensed by FortySix Venture Capital LLC (46VC) for commercialization efforts earlier this year. Based on the teams’ research, the technology has the capability to radically change the time and expense required to target therapeutics for the deadliest forms of cancer.

TU and 46VC executed a license arrangement that will accelerate the commercialization of these findings. Under the arrangement, 46VC will undertake efforts to commercialize the technology by building a business team; secure the necessary regulatory approvals; and, ultimately, bring the technology to market.

“The agreement with 46VC provides an opportunity to see our research efforts lead to better, more effective chemotherapeutics targeting hard-to-treat cancers,” Sheaff said.

“Great cities have great research universities, and Tulsa is no exception,”

said TU President Brad R. Carson. “This agreement demonstrates how The University of Tulsa is invested in supporting our faculty and students to commercialize their research and inventions.”

Bill Lawson, TU’s director of technology commercialization, led the charge for securing this licensing arrangement with support from faculty in the university’s Collins College of Business, including Mike Troilo and Chris Wright, whose interdisciplinary involvement carved the path for business plan development and venture capital investment.

“It’s an outstanding day when The University of Tulsa takes a big step forward in making our inventors’ intellectual

properties accessible to everyone,” Lawson said. “Drs. Lamar and Sheaff’s findings can literally save lives.”

Not only that – Lamar and Sheaff are working with undergraduate students as well as graduate students in their research.

Lamar received TU’s Outstanding Teacher Award in spring 2022 – 10 years after Sheaff was honored with the same award. It is little surprise, therefore, that these deeply committed educators actively promote opportunities for students to get involved in potentially life-saving research. A major benefit is that students can learn about and contribute to multiple aspects of the drug discovery process,

including synthetic organic chemistry and biochemistry/biological assays.

“I think this is something that is truly unique to the student experience at TU,” Lamar remarked. “I’m eager to see what our students will come up with as we start to expand research into breast cancer compounds. It will no doubt be impressive.”

One of the interesting things about the collaboration ... is that we can make new compounds and test them for activity simply by walking down the hall.

–ANGUS LAMAR

Angus Lamar

Robert Sheaff

A commitment to service

Pre-med senior’s work at TU displays her passion for helping others

Pre-med senior Reema Moussa has a track record of exceptional academic achievements and a strong commitment to leadership and service. She is pursuing a major in biology and a minor in Spanish at The University of Tulsa, reflecting her passion for health care and communicating effectively with a variety of people.

Between her second and third years, Moussa took on the Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge (TURC), which allows students to undertake hands-on research projects much earlier than they would at many large state schools.

Moussa began working in a chemistry/ biochemistry lab with professors Angus Lamar and Robert Sheaff.

“The research we were working on was taking a commonly used Alzheimer’s drug and altering it slightly to target brain cancer cells,” Moussa said.

“The best part of my undergraduate research experience was that the compounds we developed in the lab actually killed brain cancer cells at a significant rate,” she said. “That was just such an amazing experience because this could lead to medicine in the future that will target those brain cancer cells while not harming healthy human cells.”

Over the years, students have contributed greatly to cancer research, with some co-authoring publications and some winning nationally prestigious awards, such as the Goldwater Scholarship.

For her part, Moussa has earned membership in prestigious organizations such as Phi Beta Kappa and the Mortar Board Honor Society.

Apart from her classwork, Moussa is actively involved in campus organizations where she serves as a university ambassador, a peer mentor, and president of Global Health Brigades. These roles have enabled her to make a positive impact on the university community and beyond. Her skills have not gone unnoticed, as she has been recognized with numerous awards and honors, including the National Gold Leadership Award, the Global Health Brigades Leadership Award, and the Outstanding Student Leader Award.

“I started out my freshman year kind of

shy and then decided to jump in and get involved,” she said. “My experience at The University of Tulsa has pushed me out of my comfort zone. It turned me into a leader and has really prepared me for my future as a physician.”

And if all that wasn’t enough, Moussa was named a 2022-23 Jess Chouteau Outstanding Senior and was even crowned homecoming queen last fall.

“The freshman version of Reema would have never thought in a million years that she’d be homecoming queen,” she laughed. “It was just so fun to be surrounded by my friends and family and to get to celebrate with a lot of people that I really love and to get to represent a university that I love so much.”

In a unique position

TU set to begin new trauma studies minor, building on its own location and history

Five years ago, University of Tulsa scholars began seriously exploring how the city and campus communities could effectively learn from historic tragedies such as the Tulsa Race Massacre and the Trail of Tears. With ample support from TU’s president, provost and about 20 faculty members, this gem of an idea has has grown into a proposal for a new minor with promising research opportunities for undergraduates.

Earlier this year, the National Endowment for the Humanities awarded TU a $150,000 grant for its two-year project to develop coursework as part of the project titled Historical Trauma and Transformation: A Place-Based Humanities Minor. The project is spearheaded by Associate Professor of Psychology Lisa Cromer and Mary Frances Barnard Professor of 19th-Century American History Kristen Oertel, who work with the TU Institute of Trauma, Adversity and Injustice (TITAN). The new minor will use place-based learning to cultivate a deep understanding of American and world history by exploring how collective trauma and the subsequent responses have shaped society and institutional structures. Students can begin enrolling in the minor in spring 2024.

“TITAN has long been on the leading edge of trauma-focused interdisciplinary scholarship and providing this educational opportunity at the undergraduate level will have far-reaching impacts,” said Cromer, executive director of the institute and lead on the project.

“A key aspect of this unique program is a Summer Faculty Training Institute that will

Professor Lisa Cromer

bring trauma-focused, culturally humble teaching approaches to courses that are in the minor’s curriculum.”

The historical trauma and transformation program will engage students through meaningful class discussions, hands-on research with archival materials and excursions to museums and historic sites. Courses will examine contemporary social structures, values and beliefs within the context of their roots that include a history of racism, colonization, forced migration and/or genocide.

“We are leveraging our strengths in history, psychology, English literature, anthropology, sociology, art, philosophy, religion, and media studies to offer students a truly interdisciplinary approach to studying the various ways humans have suffered, endured and triumphed over trauma,” Oertel said. “The University of Tulsa is uniquely positioned to become a

leader in the study of historical trauma and transformation because we are located at the juncture of significant historical events like the Tulsa Race Massacre and the forced removal of dozens of Native American tribes to this region.”

Reuben Gant, executive director of the John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation, said his organization “looks forward to bringing attention to and constructively addressing historical trauma and its impacts on community for generations. This initiative will enhance the understanding of our community’s history and provide insight into the lingering effects of trauma on society.”

Students will use trauma theory and an understanding of historical and intergenerational trauma transmission to address present-day problems. Students will also learn how people and cultures survive, thrive and transform trauma as they shape

societal change.

“While the trauma studies field is growing nationwide at the graduate level,” Oertel said, “we believe we are the only university in the world that is creating an undergraduate program that is humanitiesbased, and we are excited to provide this opportunity for research and place-based learning to our students.”

TITAN faculty members (left to right): Elana Newman, Joanne Davis, Kristen Oertel, Lisa Cromer, Laura Stevens and Laura Wilson

Professor Kristen Oertel

Students will be challenged to mix theories from different disciplines. We will get to know our past in new ways by exploring through different lenses.

–LISA CROMER

African-American

Tulsa

Cromer commented that she has never led a project that was so well received by so many partners on and off campus. “This program is so needed, and every community partner we approached was eager to participate,” she said.

“This new minor will create opportunities for not only critical thinking for our students, but for creative and innovative thinking. Students will be challenged to mix theories from different disciplines. We will get to know our past in new ways by exploring through different lenses,” Cromer said. “We want students to show us what we can’t see because our past experiences create different lenses for us.

“It’s about wrestling with and reconciling the past and really charting a path forward for healing and hope.”

(Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.)

Examining

TRAUMA

Junior psychology major Adrian Melton has always had a special interest in Black history, but after learning about the Tulsa Race Massacre and living through the Black Lives Matter movement, she realized the societal changes she could make, especially in the field of psychology.

At The University of Tulsa, she chose to write about the Tulsa Race Massacre for her psychology lab SPARTA (Study of the Prevention, Adjustment and Resilience to Trauma and Adversity). Studying the Massacre through this lens transformed Melton’s interest into a passion to learn more about African American historical trauma and ethnic identity and how it can influence psychological symptoms. This passion would lead Melton to apply for the Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge (TURC), where she would research African American historical and racial trauma, focusing on colorism, microaggressions, PTSD and ethnic identity.

“Getting into TURC gave me an opportunity to hone my research skills and knowledge,” she said. Her advisers, Associate Professor of Psychology Lisa Cromer, History Department Chair Kristen Oertel, and graduate student Aviva Johns,

helped guide her through the research process.

“Doing interdisciplinary work with the Psychology and History departments was amazing and challenging, but this work is important and much needed,” Melton said. “I get to learn so much about my ancestors – and not only the ways they persevered, but how they have continued to lift up generations of people.”

Throughout years of racial and historical trauma, the African American community never sat idle in oppression. “At every point in the history of slavery in the Americas, Black people were resisting, that resistance is resilience,” Melton stated. That resilience, and all the ways the Black community has resisted oppression, has pushed her to become a greater student and researcher.

Melton plans to continue researching how ethnic identity influences reactions to historical trauma in the fall and spring of her senior year, with goals to eventually apply to social or clinical psychology graduate programs with a focus on African American racial trauma. “I would love to get into other aspects of Black racial trauma and potentially even create measures further down the line.”

African-American Family Standing by a Truck, June 1, 1921

Woman and Children Sitting Truck, June 1, 1991

Race Massacre of 1921 archive, 1989-004. The University of Tulsa, McFarlin Library, Department of Special Collections & University Archives.

Advocating for a healthier future

Project spurs law student to focus on rehab and recovery access vs. incarceration

Working with the public defender’s office gives me an outlet to help people suffering from addiction legally as well as through the lens of public health.

–AUSTIN STEWART

Tulsa’s music, art, sport and culinary scene combined with its commitment to community service makes the city one of the best places to build dreams. However, many issues, from health to law to education, impact Tulsa residents. The Tulsa Albert Schweitzer Fellowship — a 12-month health leadership program — addresses some of these issues by focusing on Oklahoma’s health disparities.

Each year, 10-15 applicants are selected through a competitive process from a wide range of graduate and professional degree programs at Tulsa-area universities including The University of Tulsa, University of Oklahoma-Tulsa, Oklahoma State University-Tulsa, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences and Langston University. The fellowship is housed at The University of Tulsa’s Oxley College of Health Sciences and is one of 13 sites across the country.

Austin Stewart, a law student in his final semester, is one of two fellows from The University of Tulsa serving their community for the Tulsa Albert Schweitzer Fellowship’s 2022-23 term. An advocate for recovery resources, Stewart’s project is designed to connect individuals charged with low-level drug offenses with the recovery resources that are available in the Tulsa area.

Defending the public

The Schweitzer Fellowship has given Stewart the opportunity to serve and develop his leadership abilities in unimaginable ways, he says.

“The fellowship has helped me combine the skills I was learning in law school with my passions for criminal justice reform and public health,” Stewart said.

Prior to the fellowship, Stewart interned at the public defender’s offices in Topeka, Kansas, and in Tulsa during his first two years of law school.

“Something felt different after I completed these internships,” Stewart said, “Having loved ones who have suffered deeply from addiction and seeing their struggles was my catalyst. I wanted to work alongside people who were on the front lines of this work.”

The Tulsa County Public Defender’s Office, Stewart’s current project site, provides legal counsel to any person in the county who is charged with a crime, regardless of that person’s ability to pay. Public defenders are court-appointed defense attorneys for impoverished clients; the Public Defender’s Office defends 80% of

all people charged with a crime in Tulsa and the surrounding area. This means that team is a firsthand witness to the devastation caused by the war on drugs.

Recover and rebuild

In the world of public defense, Stewart claims there is a growing movement to approach a client’s case holistically. This kind of defense work advocates for a client’s legal case as well as their other needs such as health care, housing and employment.

“Working with the public defender’s office gives me an outlet to help people suffering from addiction legally as well as through the lens of public health,” Stewart stated.

Through his involvement with the Tulsa County Public Defender’s Office, Stewart attends proceedings at the courthouse, jail and various prisons. These meetings allow Stewart to find and interview men and women either charged with or serving time for drug crimes, which allows Stewart to develop a personalized recovery plan that’s often contained in the participant’s broader re-entry program. For participants serving prison time, these plans are included as part of a presentation before the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole board.

Stewart’s goal is to ensure that participants of his project are set up for success upon their release from custody or supervision and to acknowledge and fulfill their needs for rehabilitation and recovery.

Fewer incriminations, more options

When it comes to implementing policies that effectively address addiction-riddled populations without relying on criminal penalties to assuage the problem, Stewart has a few methods to offer: “Allocating time and community funds away from the prosecution of drug crimes and toward treatment programs is a more cost-effective way of addressing the issue of addiction.”

Stewart also maintained that treatment is more effective than law enforcement and that tasking police officers with arresting addicts does little to improve the public safety interests of the community.

“We already ask our police officers to do everything from dog catching to solving murder,” he said, “Additionally, invasive policing practices are expensive and have led to increased rates of children growing up with a parent in prison while doing little to decrease rates of substance abuse.”

Most of all, the kind of work that Stewart is involved with requires understanding and

kindness.

“People who are suffering from addiction have a disease,” he said, “and this disease strips so much away from their lives until there is little left of the person they once were before their addiction. These people need a bed in a hospital, not in a prison cell.”

Stewart is set to take the bar exam in July, after which he hopes to work as a public defender.

“My Albert Schweitzer project has given me vital experience with representing clients charged with drug crimes both in a legal and rehabilitative manner” Stewart said, “as well as the opportunity to learn how to advocate holistically for my future clients’ needs.”

Albert Schweitzer

Fellowship Tulsa, 2022-23 Fellows

Catherine Browne

The University of Tulsa Oxley College of Health Sciences

Project Site: Tulsa Dream Center

Camilo Simancas

The University of Tulsa Collins College of Business

Project Site: Will Rogers College High School, Tulsa Public Schools

Austin Stewart

The University of Tulsa College Of Law

Project Site: Tulsa County Public Defender’s Office

Mohamad Akel (BS ’20)

OU-TU School of Community Medicine

Project Site: Islamic Society of Tulsa

Lana Mnajjed (BS ’21)

OU-TU School of Community Medicine

Project Site: Islamic Society of Tulsa

Alec Camacho

OU-TU School of Community Medicine

Project Site: Sequoia Elementary, Tulsa Public Schools

Andrew Wilburn

OU-TU School of Community Medicine

Project Site: Sequoia Elementary, Tulsa Public Schools

Natalie Frech

University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

Project Site: Lindsey House

Deseree Jones

Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences

Project Site: Phoenix Rising Alternative School

Paul Delgado

Oklahoma State University College of Medicine

Project Site: Uma Center of Tulsa

Sadie Schiffmacher

Oklahoma State University College of Medicine

Project Site: Cherokee Elementary School in Tahlequah

Shaelyn Ward

Oklahoma State University College of Medicine

Project Site: Cherokee Elementary School in Tahlequah

Empowering vulnerable populations

DNP student seeks to improve wellness through education

Catherine Browne is a doctoral candidate in the nurse anesthesia program at The University of Tulsa. She expects to graduate in May 2024 – but not before completing her project that addresses chronic disease and hypertension management and prevention with clients at the Tulsa Dream Center’s Good Samaritan Clinic with the Tulsa Albert Schweitzer Fellowship.

Located in North Tulsa, the Tulsa Dream Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in an area afflicted by poverty, a lack of resources and income disparity. The center focuses on addressing critical needs that include economic empowerment, educational advancement, health and wellness, and character and leadership.

Having been on the receiving end, Browne knows that her work makes people feel seen.

“Many times, those with a lack of resources, a language barrier and no support are overlooked,” Browne said. “Giving back to my community allows me to show those less fortunate that they also matter.”

Medication education

Browne’s fellowship focuses on providing educational resources to those living with chronic hypertension. Many of her patients are on one to three types of blood pressure medications.

“The goal is to provide information on implementing a healthy diet and exercise and to educate participants on how to manage the stressors of living with hypertension, accurately obtain blood pressure at home and bring all these aspects together to have some quality of life.”

The reasons why these health issues are prevalent in North Tulsa can be traced all the way back to the Tulsa Race Massacre, a destructive event that resulted in lasting racial alienation and a lack of basic resources in the area.

“Data has shown that North Tulsa residents experience more

deaths from heart and lung diseases, diabetes, cancer and lower life expectancy,” Browne said, “and they experience these health issues three times more than the national average. It is very alarming.”

Browne’s contributions often have a lasting impact on her patients as adequate education may not be provided when patients begin new medications.

“Sometimes they’re under the impression that their medication will automatically fix their problem. I remedy this by helping patients understand how taking their prescribed medication is congruent with exercising and eating healthy foods.”

Other at-risk communities could easily benefit from Browne’s approach.

“Educational resources will always be beneficial to the public because it reiterates the promotion of a healthy lifestyle,” she said.

Entrepreneurial nursing

Once Browne completes her schooling, she hopes to begin her career as a nurse anesthetist at a Level 1 trauma medical center.

“The environment will allow me to obtain exceptional hands-on experience to make me a great CRNA that can provide quality care to the sickest of the sick,” said Browne, who would eventually like to become a nurse anesthetist entrepreneur to provide pain management resources to those living with chronic pain.

Browne added that the work she is doing at the Tulsa Dream Center and with the Schweitzer Fellowship has built her confidence in speaking with diverse patient populations and providing individualized care. Browne has surpassed her comfort level in leadership and social skills and is successfully providing safe and cost-efficient care and resources for those who might have never learned otherwise.

Global perspective results in better health care

In summer 2022, nursing senior and track-and-field student-athlete Rachel Hamel completed an externship at a labor and delivery unit at Hillcrest South Hospital in Tulsa. At its conclusion, Hamel traveled to Guatemala, where she volunteered at a rural nonprofit health clinic for three weeks. Hamel initially had difficulty studying abroad due to the pandemic and her busy schedule as a student athlete and nursing student. “I made a trip that combined all the elements that I wanted it to without compromising my other commitments,” she said. Hamel also went to Panama with JumpstartTU, which confirmed her desire to study abroad again. “I also have a minor in Spanish,” said Hamel, “and wanted to go somewhere I could practice my fluency while also developing my nursing skills.”

The clinic where Hamel volunteered focused on the nutritional and primary health care needs of the surrounding communities.

“I worked alongside the doctor and the clinic staff assessing patients, creating an inventory system for medications and hosting educational sessions for the communities,” she stated. Some days, Hamel’s clinic had nutritional educational events with more than 50 women and children of smaller communities: “We welcomed women and children to come on the same scheduled day to the clinic for a checkup, an educational session about nutrition and when to come back to the clinic. These were called ‘una jornada,’” Hamel said. Other days, they went directly to homes whose children needed a medical or nutritional intervention.

“This trip deepened my interest in global health and opened my eyes to the vast health care needs, barriers and opportunities outside of the United States. I feel proud to have had the opportunity to take the knowledge that I learned at TU abroad and come back to Tulsa with new perspectives to integrate into my nursing career.”

Hamel has accepted a job at the pediatric intensive care unit at Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa. Working with children in Guatemala piqued her interest in the pediatric field of health care: “My time in Guatemala opened my eyes to how significant primary care is.” Additionally, Hamel’s externship with Hillcrest allowed her to witness newborns in need of additional post-natal support. “Both experiences helped me determine that I wanted a career in pediatrics.”

Facets of Freedom

OCH events explore a theme that divides us deeply

The Work of Sovereignty

Freedom.

“Few words stir more agonized debate just now than freedom,” says Oklahoma Center for the Humanities Director Sean Latham. “We value it deeply, yet remain divided by what it means in our individual, social and political lives.”

That dichotomy spurred Latham and The University of Tulsa’s Oklahoma Center for the Humanities to offer a spring lineup of events that delved deeply into freedom.

“Our events at OCH have explored reproductive rights, indigenous sovereignty, American history, campus speech and the world of classical Greece, with the aim of opening a space for the kind of informed, civil debate on which our democracy depends,” Latham said.

Two exhibitions and symposia sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities anchored the semester’s programming. OCH’s January exhibit explored the foundations and potential of Oklahoma’s 13 historic all-Black towns. In February, local and state leaders, historians and other experts studied these all-Black spaces and their promise of freedom and opportunity for Black Oklahomans during a symposium that drew more than 100 attendees from across the state.

In March, OCH opened a second NEH-funded exhibit titled The Work of Sovereignty. In addition to providing 13 paintings of her own, OCH Fellow Carly Treece curated the work of 15 other

contemporary Native artists, which were paired with historical documents organized by OCH Assistant Director Dayne Riley to show the struggle for Native sovereignty throughout the history of Oklahoma and ways contemporary Native American artists exercise sovereignty and reinterpret the land.

Accompanying this exhibit was a three-day symposium, co-organized by the university and TU’s College of Law. The event featured leading thinkers in law, history, art and culture, who explored the complex history and future of Native sovereignty.

OCH – along with TU’s Women and Gender Studies program, the Office for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and University of Tulsa Institute for Trauma, Adversity and Injustice – hosted a third symposium in March focused on the future of reproductive freedoms in Oklahoma and across the nation. Panelists discussed teaching reproductive rights in the classroom and Indigenous approaches to reproductive care.

More than a two dozen free, public talks covered current threats and challenges to freedom, Latham noted, including two events on Ukrainian punk music and identity, an evening with a Russian writer who chose exile at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a talk on artificial intelligence and its relationship to academic freedoms.

Underscoring the programming was Oklahoma Center for the Humanities’ move to TU’s new downtown property at 101 E. Archer St., which will allow the organization

Reproductive Rights Symposium

Documentary screening for The Janes

to accommodate more visitors and host larger events.

“With the acquisition of 101 Archer, the university now serves as the gateway to the Tulsa Arts District, welcoming campus and community alike to this diverse crossroads of art, creativity, commerce and ideas,” Latham said. “Our programming will draw on the distinctive tools of the arts and humanities to address some of our most urgent challenges and opportunities.”

2023-24 Oklahoma Center for the Humanities Theme: Movement

“The least movement is of importance to all nature. The entire ocean is affected by a pebble.”

Blaise Pascal, French theologist, mathematician and philosopher

Throughout the 2023-24 academic year, TU’s Oklahoma Center for the Humanities will explore the theme of movement, from the subtle yet resonant trembling of Pascal’s pebble to the massive technological changes that seem to make each new year a revolution. The theme will touch on everything from dance to politics, disability studies to civil rights, artistic innovation to musical structure and urban design to historic Route 66. A select group of fellows will work as an interdisciplinary think tank in the heart of downtown Tulsa to help us develop upwards of 40 inclusive public programs – all based in 101 Archer and culminating with the 2024 Switchyard festival.

To learn more, visit humanities.utulsa.edu.

All-Black Towns

Alexandre Ho gue AT 125

Artist Alexandre Hogue, former head of TU’s Department of Art and namesake of the Alexandre Hogue Gallery in Phillips Hall, would have appreciated The University of Tulsa School of Art, Design and Art History’s celebration of his 125th birthday.

Hogue 125 Inspired: Oklahoma Landscapes demonstrated Alexandre Hogue’s legacy and continued impact on the art world. Influenced by his reverence for nature, OklahomaLandscapes presented the work of 25 contemporary artists who approached the idea of landscape—whether physical, political, or social—in different media and styles.

Prior to the celebration, Hogue’s daughter, Olivia Hogue Mariño, who served as TU’s J. Donald Feagin Distinguished Artist, gave a lecture, reflecting on her father’s legacy. More than 200 people filled the lecture hall and two overflow galleries for her talk.

Alexandre Hogue (1898-1994) was a talented artist, teacher, and scholar best known for his deeply moving landscape paintings that portrayed the devastation of the Dust Bowl. He shared his remarkable talent and knowledge with students at various institutions through the years before accepting the position as chair of TU’s Art Department in 1945.

During his 23-year tenure at TU, Hogue continued his artistic work teaching drawing, painting and lithography and earning the admiration of generations of students due, in part, to his unique ability to mentor them into successful careers through his dedicated feedback and firm guidelines. For example, he banned

masking tape in a time of straight edge painting, instead opting to encourage his students to train their hands and eyes with a free brush. His advice on color theory and composition also was preserved in letters in McFarlin Library’s Special Collections.

“He relished teaching and thrilled to the accomplishments of his students,” Mariño said. Following his 1968 retirement from TU, the university established the Alexandre Hogue Gallery as a testament to his contributions to the art program.

Nineteen students, including undergraduate students in art, art history, and arts, culture and entertainment management, as well as graduate students in museum science and management, dedicated their time to organizing, creating, planning and promoting two exhibitions commemorating the artist Hogue 125:

Original and Inspired

Led by Samuel Krall, an applied assistant professor, and Kirsten Olds, interim dean of the Kendall College of Arts & Sciences, the students formed teams that focused on various aspects of the exhibition, such as programming, promotion, registration, and interpretation.

“Not much has been written on Hogue’s later works,” said graduate student Bea Carrington, whose focus was promotions for Hogue 125 Inspired. “Getting to add to

the literary discourse as a writer and an artist is something I’ll take with me after my time at TU.”

In recognition of Hogue’s impact as a professor, a former student has anonymously established the Alexandre Hogue Endowed Scholarship in Art. This fund provides financial support for an undergraduate student enrolled in any major in the School of Art, Design, and Art History.

“From loaning works and funding the catalog to creating an endowment in Mr. Hogue’s name for student scholarships, the community support for the students’ efforts has been tremendous,” said Olds. “We’re so honored that this celebratory year has allowed us to connect current students with alumni to show the continuity of the TU student experience.”

Olivia Hogue Mariño (center front) is surrounded by students and faculty from TU’s School of Art, Design and Art History

Hogue 125 Inspired

May 30 — June 4, 2023

6 days. 26 speakers. 14 bands.

Speakers

PEN America

FIRE Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression

Rebecca Makkai

Art Spiegelman

Alex Marzano-Lesnevich

The New York Times

Ilya Kaminsky

Maia Kobabe

Katy Farris

Poetic Justice: Lisa Loftus and Ellen

Stackable

Reginald Dwayne Betts

Natasha Trethewey

Cass Sunstein

Margo Price

Greil Marcus

Jessica Hopper

Stevan Weine and Holly George-Warren

Happy Traum

World of Bob Dylan

Valeria Luiselli

Bands

Willi Carlisle

Jaimee Harris

Pilgrim

Steph Simon

Saugeye

Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley

Rodney Crowell

Jacob Tovar

John Fulbright

Seth Lee Jones

Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams

Robbie Fulks

Paul Benjamin Band

74103

Switchyard is a national festival of literature, music and ideas organized by The University of Tulsa. Running across six days, it will feature a dozen keynote events with some of the

nation’s most creative thinkers and performances by more than 30 local and national performance artists—all based in the heart of Downtown Tulsa.

www.switchyardtulsa.com

Seeding Entrepreneurship

The city of Tulsa has been immersed in efforts to establish itself as a leader in the region for entrepreneurial activity, a goal that is getting a significant boost from a new endeavor in The University of Tulsa’s Collins College of Business.

TU has established the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship with a goal of raising $10 million to help the campus community commercialize intellectual property, create new ventures and attain venture capital funding. The university aims to provide seed capital for the next 100 companies started by TU students, alumni and faculty.

The center will be led by Chris Wright, a TU graduate and local entrepreneur with a history of creating new, technology-driven enterprises.

Kathy Taylor, Genave King Rogers Dean of Collins College of Business, said that 220 TU alumni have started more than 130 companies and raised more than $1.7 billion in venture capital funding during the past decade.

“It’s an amazing achievement for these alumni founders and companies,” she said. “But going forward, the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at TU is going to cultivate and seed-fund the next 100 start-ups.”

This focus stems from the fact that of the scores of companies started by TU alumni, only a few are based in Oklahoma. The center is on a mission to change that.

“For the next 100 companies that are started by TU students, faculty

and alumni, we are going to be a part of that journey,” Wright said. “We will cultivate those businesses right here on TU’s campus. We’re going to seed-fund these entrepreneurial ventures and keep those businesses and jobs here in Tulsa

TU’s new center aims to give local and state economies a boost with dozens of start-ups

Chris Wright (right) with Leah Saucedo

and in Oklahoma to drive economic development.”

What’s more, there is an appetite among TU students for the school to take a more active role in encouraging startups. A recent survey of TU students revealed:

• 81% believe TU needs a clear strategy for cultivating innovation.

• 78% believe TU needs to help students and faculty commercialize their innovations.

• 90% believe it’s important for TU to support student entrepreneurship.

• 80% believe it’s important for TU to have a dedicated center to support innovation and entrepreneurship.

“The students were clear. The data are clear. TU and the Collins College of Business are responding by launching the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship,” Taylor said.

Initiatives that are part of the center’s launch include:

• Enhanced curriculum and opportunities – Students will have more opportunities to learn about entrepreneurship and venture capital and develop the skills they need to be successful.

• Hurricane Venture Fund –Entrepreneurs will have access to funding through a partnership with 46VC, a Tulsa-based venture capital firm. A portion of the fund will also be designated for student-led venture investing.

• Venture studio/accelerator – The center will develop an on-campus startup accelerator that will involve programming, hands-on support and access to mentorship and capital.

• Nova Fellows Program – A oneon-one mentorship program to help founders grow their ideas into sustainable businesses.

• Commercialization support – The new center and Hurricane Ventures will work together to commercialize intellectual property and ideas developed within the TU ecosystem.

First-year student Leah Saucedo is majoring in business management with

a specialization in entrepreneurship and finance and is excited about the university’s expansion of programming for aspiring entrepreneurs. “TU has given me many opportunities, such as funding to create a new website and travel to New York to network with banks and financial institutions as well as venture capital options,” she said.

The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship already has secured $500,000 in pledges toward the $10 million goal with $250,000 each pledged by Scott Asbjornson (BSBA ’91, MBA ’95) and Regent Bank.

“Regent Bank is so excited to partner with The University of Tulsa on the new TU Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship,” said Sean Kouplen, bank chairman and CEO. “We believe fully in the new venture and tech ecosystem that is exploding here in Tulsa, and we applaud President Brad

For the next 100 companies that are started by TU students, faculty and alumni, we are going to be a part of that journey. We will cultivate those businesses right here on TU’s campus.

–CHRIS WRIGHT

Carson, Dean Kathy Taylor and Dr. Chris Wright for their vision and boldness to take this exciting step to bridge the gap between brilliant ideas and commercializing them to start up successful businesses. Regent Bank is honored to partner with TU to make this vision a reality, and we will do our part to help this exciting ecosystem continue to flourish.”

Asbjornson is chairing the center’s advisory board, which comprises a number of representatives from Tulsa’s business and civic communities as well as from the university. The former chief financial offer for Aaon Inc. said he is eager to get started preparing TU students to take the first step in starting their own businesses.

Chris Wright brings 30 years of entrepreneurial experience to TU

For more than three decades, Chris Wright (BA ’94, MA ’96, Ph.D. ’01) has been a force at The University of Tulsa. After earning degrees in psychology – including a doctorate in industrialorganizational psychology – in TU’s Kendall College of Arts & Sciences, Wright found his way into the business world and began making his mark.

Wright has been a co-founder and investor in numerous Tulsabased tech companies including Reliant, Medefy, MeIn3 and Plannly. He was a founding member of TYPros and The Forge – Tulsa’s first business incubator program – and has served on numerous professional and advisory boards throughout the Tulsa community.

Wright has been an enthusiastic adjunct faculty member at TU for more than 10 years, teaching courses in leadership, entrepreneurship, human resources, marketing and research methods.

“I see the Collins College of Business attracting students from all over the TU campus, which is different than it was even a few years ago,” he said. “We have the JOLT Creativity Club that was started by (faculty members) Charlie Wood, Claire Cornell and Nathan Woolard. They provide amazing programs with interdisciplinary activities that bring STEM students and business students together, and that collaboration is what you need to be able to innovate well.”

Now, Wright is on board full time as the director of the new Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Hurricane Ventures in TU’s Collins College of Business. “I’ve always believed The University of Tulsa should be a catalyst in Tulsa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, and TU is uniquely positioned to do this well. We are going to help cultivate and fund the next generation of TU entrepreneurs and ventures,” he said. “This is where I want to be – and plan to be – for a long time.”

Collins College of Business recognizes outstanding alumni and students

Congratulations to all those honored at the Spring 2023 Graduation Reception and Awards Ceremony.

This year’s Outstanding Alumni honoree is Dax Craig (BSBA ’91), co-founder and president of Pie Insurance. Craig oversees Pie's sales, business development, engineering, underwriting, product and analytics functions. Prior to Pie, Craig was co-founder and CEO of Valen Analytics, where he oversaw the company’s growth and 2017 sale to Insurity. During his time as a graduate student, he founded Xertex Technologies, ultimately selling to Centurion Wireless. Craig serves as a member of the Collins College of Business Advisory Board. He is a proud long-term member of the Young Presidents’ Organization.

The 2023 Fast Track Alumni honoree is Thomas Porter (BSBA ’14), who began his career with ConocoPhillips in Houston. Porter now works as a land negotiator advisor for Occidental Petroleum Corp. (Oxy) in Denver, where he leads contract negotiations and manages mineral rights for the development of oil and gas wells in Colorado’s premier DJ Basin. In 2021, Thomas was appointed to Oxy’s global Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee. A past president of the TU Alumni Association’s Houston Chapter, Porter is also an inaugural member of TU’s Black Alumni Leadership Council and president-elect for the National Alumni Association Board of Directors. He is a member of the American Association of Professional landmen, a registered professional landmen and past president of the Denver Association of Professional Landmen. Chosen by our faculty, the following undergraduate students were honored this spring as David R. Lawson Outstanding Seniors for distinguishing themselves in their coursework, as well as leadership and service to the college:

• Mans Ingvarson (Economics)

• Kaitlyn Short (International Business)

• Shyam Subramanian (Computer Information Systems)

Also chosen by the faculty of each major discipline, the following undergraduate students were recognized as Outstanding Seniors by discipline for their exceptional work in their major area of study:

• Stephanie Ayala (Accounting)

• Blake Chrismer (Business and Law)

• Sean Williams (Computer Information Systems)

• Alexandra Lesner (Energy Management)

• Andrew Wyper (Finance)

• Meadow Waleska (International Business)

• Robert Kullberg (Management)

• Carly Sivils (Marketing)

The 2023 Tulsa Energy Management Student Association

award recipients were:

• Outstanding Senior: Christopher Klimek

• Outstanding Academic Achievement: Brett Bowman

• Michael “Dex” Brown Energy Management Scholarship: Jonathan Fisher

Thomas Porter

Kaitlyn Short

Mans Ingvarson

Shyman Subramanian

Dax Craig

Tequila with Friends A thriving TU alumni-owned business

Seeing the fruits of alumni success only reaffirms the importance of a line in The University of Tulsa’s mission: to prepare individuals to make meaningful contributions to our campus, our community and our world. One Collins College of Business alumnus, Curnelius Arnick (BSBA ‘11, BSBA ‘12), is doing all that and more with his full-time career and as chief financial officer of his business, Tequila with Friends.

Tequila with Friends is an awardwinning tequila brand that started as a blog in 2018 but has since transformed into a smashing success for all co-founders involved. Brandon Scott (CEO), Roddrick West (business operations) and Devin Woodson (marketing) were Arnick’s best childhood friends. Now, the four men get to collaborate and watch each other succeed on a daily basis.

Despite being recruited by many schools to play football, Arnick ultimately landed on the decision to attend TU because of the exceptional academics. In 2011, he graduated with a degree in business management, and he received a second degree in marketing during his bonus year of athletic eligibility. Both of them, Arnick claims, provided him with fundamental business know-how. From accounting principles, budgeting and forecasting,

supply chain management and writing up business plans, TU’s business school left no stone unturned. “I can truly say that I have been able to apply the knowledge I learned from TU to the business I’ve been building for the last five years,” Arnick said.

The prosperous path Arnick has been juggling his successful spirits company and his full-time job with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas as a senior finance business partner for the past five years, but his career with the Federal Reserve began nine years ago.

Arnick started out in procurement, where he helped internal customers secure goods and/or services to support the bank’s priorities. “I transitioned to project management where I oversaw high-profile projects with the most recent being the decommissioning and replacement of our finance, procurement and human resource applications,” he said. His journey with the bank landed him in his current role as senior finance business partner, for which Arnick manages financial portfolios for internal customers and provides consultation over budget and forecast information to assist leadership with strategic planning. He also provides project management consultation on internal process improvement initiatives.

“I’ve worked nights and weekends with my childhood friends to build our brand,” said Arnick, who reports being able to manage both roles relatively well. “My key to handling the strenuous schedule is having a good balance with time management and understanding the importance of prioritizing.”

Building a start-up has changed Arnick’s life in ways he initially never thought possible. Through his involvement with Tequila with Friends, Arnick’s journey has introduced him to some of the spirit industry’s best. “I have met so many great people who genuinely want to help our company grow,” said Arnick, whose products were featured at the 2022 NFL Draft, the NFL 360 event during Super Bowl LVII weekend and even the Grammy Awards. These high-profile events have provided excellent exposure for Tequila with Friends.

However, the road to success has not always been smooth. Learning the nuances of the spirits industry has been one of the biggest challenges facing Arnick and his team. He reported spending countless nights researching federal and state laws, understanding permits and licenses by market, learning the process of importing products across the U.S.-Mexico border, building relationships with distribution

and logistics companies and establishing credibility with new prospective customers. “By being willing to learn something new every day, I’ve been able to overcome these challenges,” Arnick said. “I’m not afraid to make mistakes, and I make sure that a mitigation strategy is implemented when mistakes do occur. I don’t fear them, but rather learn from them.”

Goal getting

In November 2020, Arnick’s team secured distribution and landed their first sale to a retail account. “I will never forget visiting the account to see the Tequila with Friends Blanco bottle sitting on the shelf amongst other brands,” he said. “We had been told ‘no’ so many times that it was starting to get discouraging.” But eventually, the late nights, emails and phone calls finally paid off: “It was inspiring to purchase a bottle of my own tequila from a local spirits store.”

Last November, Tequila with Friends was featured at the Black Alumni reunion during Homecoming weekend. Hosted by the Black Alumni Leadership Council, the visit was made even more special because Arnick was accompanied by his wife, Tori, who graduated from TU in 2014. “She helped me promote the brand at a place where we share so many memories,” Arnick stated, thinking of the steps of McFarlin Library, which was a favorite hangout spot during the pair’s undergraduate experience. “We are very thankful that the staff in the Alumni Association office extended us the invitation. We look forward to future collaborations with TU,” he said.

Due to the long hours and hard work that business ventures demand, any spare time that Arnick gets is dedicated to his chief support system, his family: “My wife has been my No. 1 supporter in all that I do. My daughter, Teigan, is the spark that keeps my fire going. Any free time that I get, I am spending it with my girls.”

Looking ahead, Arnick and the Tequila with Friends team hopes to make their

brand a household name. “We want to further saturate our current markets of Texas, California, Washington, D.C., and Maryland with our presence,” he reported. “As we continue to build key relationships, we plan to expand to Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana within the next few months.”

A word of advice

After five years of trial, error and success, Arnick has a few critical pieces of advice to share with students and alumni considering the business owner’s path. The first is to conduct extensive research: “No matter what venture you pursue, you must know the business inside and out. This will help with evaluating opportunities and identifying any risk that can impact your business.” Next, do not underestimate the value of building great relationships and the power of networking: “You never know whom someone else knows or the connections they can forge for you.” Arnick’s last piece of advice is to be unafraid of failure or rejection: “One of my favorite Denzel Washington quotes reflects this: ‘Nothing

in life is worthwhile unless you take risks. Fail forward. Every failed experiment is one step closer to success.’”

I’m not afraid to make mistakes, and I make sure that a mitigation strategy is implemented when mistakes do occur. I don’t fear them, but rather learn from them.

–CURNELIUS ARNICK

CaneCareers paves path for post-graduation success

Unheard of Job Placement Guarantee is strongest arrow in TU’s outcomes quiver

The numbers are in, and the success in undeniable: 97% of The University of Tulsa Class of 2022 report being employed or in a graduate program! These figures are historically high for TU and crushed the national placement average of 84%.

“These incredible outcomes are a testament to the hard work that our students have done and the preparedness that our faculty and staff have poured into our students,” said Christy Caves, executive director of TU’s Center for Career Development and Professional Engagement, affectionately known as CaneCareers among the Golden Hurricane family. “We couldn’t be more thrilled about this placement rate.”

Knowing that TU students are highly employable and are readily accepted to top graduate programs – including medical and law schools – made the implementation of the new CaneCareers Job Placement Guarantee an easy decision. It’s the smartest option for students who wish to secure their future.

The program is a completely free and optional undergraduate initiative that supplements the formal education students receive at TU by curating career readiness and professional development tasks that students complete each semester that they are enrolled. If a student completes all the requirements from start to finish and does not receive a job offer or get accepted into

post-graduate education within six months of graduation, they are eligible to receive a tuition benefit for a semester in one of TU’s graduate programs.

“There aren’t a lot of programs like this out there right now, so this is something that we have worked hard to create,” Caves said. “We weren’t able to copy and paste from other universities, because the CaneCareers Job Placement Guarantee is completely unique.” The incoming class of fall 2022 were the first students eligible to take advantage of the guarantee. Out of 650 new students, 237 registered.

CaneCareers provides assistance with all things professional and hosts various events to prepare students for meetings with potential employers. During Career Fair week, the Cane Closet Raid and the JC Penney Suit-Up Tulsa events help students find the attire they need to impress at prices they can afford. Every month, free services like professional photos, etiquette

lessons, résumé reviews, career counseling and coaching, mock interviews, workshops and so much more allow students to turn their academic lessons into successful professional endeavors.

“This has been a tough job market recently, especially post-pandemic,” Caves said. “We went back to the drawing board and looked for opportunities to get students involved with our office in as many ways as possible so they would be career-ready from Day One.”

First-year mechanical engineering major Evan Kamriguel said the CaneCareers Job Placement Guarantee is easing his stress about the next four years and, more importantly, what comes after. “The program enables students to be confident,” he said. “It’s nice to feel at ease from the very start.”

Every student is assigned a career coach to serve as a personal connection between undergraduate life and job/graduate

We went back to the drawing board and looked for opportunities to get students involved with our office in as many ways as possible so they would be career-ready from Day One.

–CHRISTY CAVES

school. Coaches assist students in finding the perfect major and then match them with internships or community service opportunities that allow them to network and “test drive” career options. Students gain invaluable real-world experience, and many receive job offers from organizations where they intern or volunteer – or at even bigger organizations.

Lincoln Hawks (BSBA ’21) had three internships – one each in marketing, research and digital strategy – as an undergraduate at TU and then took a fourth internship at a global advertising agency after commencement. He took an entry-level position at a design, branding and tech company in 2022 and this year joined ad giant Leo Burnett Worldwide in Chicago.

“Internships are your chance to dive in and apply all the concepts you’ve been taught,” Hawks said. “The internships I had let me explore my interests, gain hands-on experience, and network with others in my field. TU’s level of support and emphasis on experiential learning gave me the confidence and ability to find opportunities and set me up for success in the advertising world.”

CaneCareers’ Christy Caves captains a winning team

College can be a challenge, but The University of Tulsa aims to implement innovative methods to aid students in leveraging the benefits of attending a top-notch institution. By guiding students toward their professional journey and building confidence in their abilities, Christy Caves and the CaneCareers team are making an astounding difference for graduates and the university overall.

Caves has been an integral part of the TU family for more than 20 years; she received her bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2002 and her law degree in 2005. As a student-athlete, Caves was a vital member of the TU softball team, earning the Ultimate Team Award and the Dan Bitson Courage Award in 2002.

Prior to being asked to lead CaneCareers, she was the associate director and public service coordinator in the College of Law’s Office of Professional Development, where she coordinated programs for TU Law students and alumni and corresponded with prospective employers. Caves also served as the inaugural assistant dean and director of experiential learning, where she organized TU Law’s externship program, providing students the opportunity to gain academic credit while working under the direct supervision of a licensed attorney or judge before returning to the Office of Professional Development as associate dean and director until commencing her current role as executive director of CaneCareers.

Caves’ commitment to the students she serves today mirrors the commitment she exhibited in the classroom and on the softball field two decades ago. Reign ’Cane!

TU’S Peer Mentors: Part connection, part concierge, part confidant

Meet the 2023-24 University of Tulsa Peer Mentors! This team of superheroes guides new students through their first year of college and offers a student perspective on campus life.

is an important chapter of their lives, and I get to help them feel like they’re part of a family!”

“I was able to meet like-minded people and be an intrinsic part of this university while learning more about myself.”

have loved building connections with my students and helping others find activities on campus that they enjoy and can grow through.”

Joseph McDonald: “College

Meghan Landers:

Malia Aurigemma: “I

Katie Smith

Marcus Ensley

Riley Walker Troy Ploeger

Reese Bryan

Jennifer Fierro Jeremy Schick

Reagan Shull

Steven Stagg

Qudrat Qureshi

Kendall Brown

Sofiya Romanishin

Janie Wilkey

Zoey Taylor

Rhiannon Sweeney Amory

Lauren Wyand

Baron Gaines

Cyrus Carter

Madeleine Fulk

Hannah Grenier

Cailin Stauffer

Jordan Demetriades

Julia Adorjan Mertensmeyer

Sara Moore

Abigail Kimbrough

Shania Gibson

Libby Hogan

“The experience helped me grow more confident in decisionmaking, leading, and networking. I loved helping my peer mentees through their first semester.”

“Being a Peer Mentor was an amazing way to ease me into the school year and get to introduce people to the Pathfinders club.”

“I feel like being a Peer Mentor has allowed me to reflect on my own experiences at TU, and I really like being a part of the Peer

community.”

Sarah Downs:

Brittany Banh:

Mentor

Ava Fritts:

Vishwasri Aleti Sepand Ashenayi Blake Boatright Allie Hubbard

Ream Ghanem

Jackson Habrock

Carter Dierlam

Kaylee Kapche

Julian Abhari

Jack Shaw

Erin Weiss

Brenna Golden

Nabeeha Ahmed

Carina Derewonko

Tasfia Hasin

Brittney Bentz

Tyme Hopkins

Garrett Boring

Katie Eugenio Kaitlyn Kirchhoff

Teresa Nguyen

Nicholas Elliott

Madalene Baehler Caitlin Shute

Brooke Beruite

Dylan Briggs Jacky Tan

Kimberlin Rosas-Mendoza

Anely Duran

Lynsey Mendenhall

INSIDE TU

Bridging the Gap

Assistant Professor of Media Studies Emily Contois reflects on her first year as TU’s Faculty in Residence

Last summer, I moved into LaFortune House with my husband, Chris, and our dog, Raven, as TU’s first Faculty in Residence family to live on The University of Tulsa campus in more than a decade.

I aspired to be a positive part of students’ college experience, serving as a bridge between the classroom and the rest of students’ lives. As I approach my first anniversary in this role, I barely have the words to describe how special it’s been for me to research, write, teach and live alongside TU students on a daily basis. Luckily, my students and residents — who represent a variety of majors and colleges — have much to say about the program and its impact.

“Our building primarily caters to firstyear students, so Dr. Contois provides a perfect balance of academic and social support,” said Mason Norton, our LaFortune House senior resident assistant and a political science senior. “From the dinners she hosts with residents to her weekly office hours, Dr. Contois has truly been the bridge for students to connect their social lives with their academic ones.”

First-year biology major Amber Restivo was a guest at our inaugural Faculty in Residence dinner, and I vividly remember meeting her and her mother on move-in day last fall.

“The Faculty in Residence program made my adjustment to college much smoother and helped me build what feels like a family on campus,” Restivo said. “I am incredibly grateful for the ways in which Dr. Contois has helped curate a welcoming, supportive and respectful environment in LaFortune House, as well as amongst many communities on campus, which has given me great opportunities to expand socially and academically.”

With multiple office hours every week in the residence hall (including an evening hour when Raven wears her PJs!), I’ve gotten to know some student residents quite well, including Kellie Smith, a firstyear double major in women’s and gender studies and media studies.

“I have a great bond with Dr. Contois, which has impacted how I learn, but also shown me I can be so much more than I thought,” she said. “The Faculty in Residence program has gotten me out of my comfort zone and made for an incredible college experience so far.”

The Faculty in Residence program also reaches students who don’t live in LaFortune House. Raven and I meet students on our daily walks, and Chris and I regularly attend campus events. I invite students to go to lectures at TU’s Oklahoma Center for the Humanities, concerts in Lorton Performance Center and even classes in Collins Fitness Center with me so they don’t feel alone. I also host all of my classes in my home at least once each semester.

“Dr. Contois has incorporated us into her everyday life,” said Josh Stewart, who took two of my courses on his way to completing his MBA in 2022. “Dr. Contois has gone over and beyond to communicate such a genuine concern for educational

success, mental and physical health needs, and everyday encouragement for colleagues and students alike. Having faculty on campus to hold you accountable truly does make a difference — making a difference is all we set out to do.”

I sincerely hope that the TU Faculty in Residence program is making a difference in students’ college experience. I look forward to building on our successes and all the lessons we’ve learned when we welcome new students to campus this fall!

I barely have the words to describe how special it’s been for me to research, write, teach, and live alongside TU students on a daily basis.

–EMILY CONTOIS

Law Gala

GREGORY K. FRIZZELL

U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell (BA ’81) began his legal career as a judicial clerk for the Hon. Thomas R. Brett from 1984 to 1986. Frizzell practiced law until 1995 when he was appointed general counsel for the Oklahoma Tax Commission. In 1997, Frizzell was appointed to the state trial bench for Tulsa and Pawnee counties, where he served as chief judge of the civil division in 2003 and as presiding judge in 2006. In 2006, President George W. Bush nominated him to the federal bench, and on Feb. 2, 2007, he was sworn as a U.S. district judge. From 2012 to 2019, he served as chief judge for the Northern District of Oklahoma. Frizzell has been a member of the Rotary Club of Tulsa since 1997 and has served on its board of directors.

STACY LEEDS

Regents Professor Stacy Leeds (JD ’97) is the Willard H. Pedrick dean of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. She is a scholar of Indigenous law and policy and a leader in law, higher education, economic development and conflict resolution. She was dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law (2011-18) and vice chancellor for economic development at the University of Arkansas (2017-20). She was an administrator and professor at University of Kansas and University of North Dakota and a William H. Hastie fellow at University of Wisconsin. Leeds is passionate about food, agriculture and whole health. She co-founded the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative and served as board president of Akiptan and vice chair of the board for the Native American Agriculture Fund.

DANNY C. WILLIAMS SR

In 2012, Danny C. Williams Sr. (JD ’91) was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma. Williams initiated the Violent Crimes Task Force, resulting in the prosecution of persons charged with human trafficking of minor children. From 1991 to 1993, he served as a Tulsa County assistant district attorney. In 1993, he transitioned to private practice with an emphasis on commercial litigation and criminal defense in federal and state court as well as eminent domain. Williams currently is a partner at Frederic Dorwart Lawyers. He has served on several nonprofit and municipal boards including Tulsa City County Library Commission, the Booker T. Washington Foundation of Excellence, Resonance Center for Women and Greenwood Cultural Center Board of Directors.

HANDS-ON HEALTH CARE

In one scene, a student uses an Oculus virtual-reality headset to navigate a virtual hospital and treat patients’ needs. In another, speech pathologists-intraining perform hearing tests on children at a public school.

And, in a well-lit coffee shop in a trendy part of town, the tapping on a laptop keyboard marks the finishing touches on a report that will be used by a major hospital system to improve patient care.

For some, these student experiences might sound aspirational – goals for health sciences educators when asked what they think would take a school and its students to the next level.

But at The University of Tulsa, these examples aren’t just grand ideas on a whiteboard. Undergraduate and graduate students at the Oxley College of Health Sciences combine the latest technologies with hands-on patient interaction and amazing opportunities to turn their research into real-world work that has an impact on their communities.

These works give them an edge in entering the workforce and furthering their academic goals as well, as they face what has become an increasingly competitive yet in-demand world of health care services.

“Some of the things that make us unique, that we pride ourselves on, is

that regardless of what our students are going to do, we make sure those students have ample experiences and interactions outside of the traditional classroom,” said Ron Walker, interim dean of Oxley College. “It’s going to prepare them to be critical thinkers, to be contributors and to be servants to others.”

TU’s Oxley College students boast some of the highest board certification exam pass rates and employment placement rates in the nation, due in part to the extraordinary level of practical experience, close faculty interaction and plentiful opportunities to engage in research that can be put into practice outside the lecture halls.

“Our students are very comfortable and well-versed in their clinical skills before they enter a real-world setting,” Walker said. “They’re confident in what they’re doing and can focus on the patient.”

Oxley College currently comprises the School of Nursing, the Department of

Kinesiology & Rehabilitative Sciences and the Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders.

Last academic year, 232 students in these programs completed nearly 50,000 clinical hours, saw more than 19,000 patients and worked at 174 sites.

Our students are very comfortable and well-versed in their clinical skills before they enter a real-world setting.

–RON WALKER

“Our undergraduate students have the opportunity to work with patients as a senior,” said Suzanne Thompson Stanton, chair of Communication Sciences & Disorders. “No other program in the area offers this to all seniors.”

Similar stories arise throughout the college.

“We have an experienced and cohesive nursing faculty who are experts in their areas of teaching and practice,” said Bill Buron, director of the School of Nursing, which is celebrating its 50th year in 2023.

For post-graduate students, similar results have been noted, with student support providing a key component to success.

“We have amazing scholarships,” said Sarah McAuliff, director of the family nurse practitioner program. “Most of our students get additional scholarship funding. This means that students are getting a private school education experience at a public education price. In most cases with additional scholarships,

COLLEGE LEVEL

100%

job placement rate for five consecutive years

49,600 clinical hours across 168 sites serving 19,366 clients

SCHOOL / DEPARTMENT LEVEL

SCHOOL OF NURSING

100% Certification pass rate for students in the doctoral nursing programs

95%

Undergraduate pass rate on the National Council Licensing Examination

DEPARTMENT OF KINESIOLOGY & REHABILITATIVE SCIENCES

95% Master’s of athletic training students’ pass rate in board certification exams

DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION SCIENCES & DISORDERS

94% Master’s of speech language pathology students’ rate on the national Praxis Examination

the hourly tuition rate the student ends up paying is lower than the competitive local programs.”

Connections to the community, along with a long-term outlook and what students want to achieve, have been a TU hallmark. The school has partnerships with all three major Tulsa-area health systems, numerous clinics and a wide variety of places where students can put their classroom knowledge into practice.

“From the time (our) students step onto TU’s campus, we discuss five-, 10-, 20-year career goals,” said Eric Wickel, professor of kinesiology & rehabilitative sciences. “We, as faculty, use our professional networks to provide immersive experiences that directly speak to the students’ goals.”

To that end, students and alumni note how important their TU experience is in building a career.

“There are so many ways to get involved with community outreach and research, as well as gaining hands-on experience by

assessing and treating a variety of issues,” said speech-language pathology graduate student Emma Clark (BS ’22).

“The education I received has allowed me to better influence health care policy in my organization, especially during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Leslie Petty (BSN ’83, DNP ’20), director of the Tulsa Day Center. “It bolstered my confidence by seeking out experts, analyzing and reporting data to meet the health care challenges associated with vulnerable populations. I have become

an expert on what I am passionate about, which is caring for those who do not have a voice. I am greatly appreciative for the supportive faculty and the encouragement they provided.”

The evolution of Oxley College continues: Starting this fall, TU’s biology, chemistry, geosciences and physics departments will join nursing, kinesiology & rehabilitative sciences and communication sciences & disorders to form the new Oxley College of Health & Natural Sciences.

Meet Provost Justice

On George Justice’s first day at The University of Tulsa, the Office of Admission arranged a tour of the campus. What Justice remembers best are the two students who guided him from place to place.

“They both exuded love for TU and expressed that they felt taken care of by their university,” Justice said. “One was taking courses in both science and history, and the other was a cheerleader and a STEM major. These students were living proof of what a successful liberal arts education can do, and it excited me for the position I had accepted.”

Justice joined TU as provost on July 1. He is one of the nation’s leading thinkers on issues facing universities and a longtime columnist for The Chronicle for Higher Education. Much of his work focuses on the opportunities for collaboration between faculty and administration and the importance of arts and humanities.

His responsibilities include coordinating all the academic programs and aspects of the institution to best represent the university’s president and the highest levels of administration. Justice examines the curriculum and research across the institution and ensures that it effectively promotes the future of higher education.

That future prioritizes the evolution of TU as it continues to dedicate itself to

every student’s unique ability. “We treasure individuality here,” Justice said, “so we have programs that welcome the study of some of the most abstract theories in literature as well as programs that train students to become top-notch engineers, nurses or business leaders.”

He emphasized that one of the many ways TU is helping students understand themselves and the world is through its successful core curriculum. “Students take block courses from various fields, ensuring they have access to every element in the range of human knowledge and experience,” he said. This multidisciplinary approach situates TU among some of the nation’s top private institutions, combining the strengths of the best research universities and liberal arts colleges.

Having gone to a smaller liberal arts school for his undergraduate degree and an elite private university for his graduate degree, Justice feels completely at home at TU. The beautiful campus combined with engaged faculty who get to know their students on a personal level as well as a vibrant, growing, creative city center makes TU a unique spot in the higher education landscape.

“The University of Tulsa is poised like no other to help students create unique and profound opportunities based on their strongest passions,” he said.

From DAY 1...

TU’s Kody Pearson seems to have been born to play tennis

Often top athletes begin playing their sport at a very young age. For TU studentathlete Kody Pearson, he began at age 3, but it seemed predestined from birth that he would take up tennis.

“We say it jokingly that I was born with a tennis racquet in my hand,” Pearson said.

“My grandparents owned the largest tennis and squash facility in Australia, and my parents were running the facility at the time,” said the senior from Sydney, Australia. His mother, Christine, was a midwife who enlisted two other midwives to assist her for Kody’s birth. “Our house was connected to the facility, so I was a home birth that happened right there.”

From that moment, it seemed clear that either squash or tennis would be the sport of preference for Pearson (BS ’22).

“I played both growing up, but I always gravitated more to tennis,” he remembered.

Pearson is in his fifth year on the Golden Hurricane tennis roster, the extra season thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was named the 2022 American Athletic

Conference Player of the Year and has had a strong 2023 campaign with an 11-1 record.

Unranked to start the season, Pearson moved into the 28th spot on the ITA Rankings in March. Five of his 11 victories have come against the top 75 players in the country, including a 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (2) win over Ryan Seggeman of North Carolina, No. 9 in the nation.

“The season has been going well for me individually. I’ve been playing some of my best tennis since I’ve been here at TU,” Pearson said.

With aspirations of playing professionally, Pearson took a sabbatical of sorts and spent the fall based in Dusseldorf, Germany.

He traveled throughout Europe –Belgium, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Morocco as well as New Zealand – playing in professional tournaments where he is allowed to keep actual and necessary expenses. “It was a great experience to expose myself to the week-in, week-out grind of playing that kind of schedule,” he said.

With one bachelor’s degree in exercise and sports science under his belt, Pearson is working on a second degree in psychology. He used his semester away from TU as another type of learning experience.

“We don’t realize how lucky we have it as a college athlete. Our travel is all taken

care of, our accommodations are taken care of, our food is all taken care of. There’s way more to worry about when you’re on your own. It was so good to expose myself to that and know what I’m getting into at the next level,” he said.

Pearson was also able to improve his world ranking to No. 919, but now his focus has turned back to finishing classes, earning his degree and helping his team return to the NCAA Team Championship. The Golden Hurricane lost a first-round match a year ago, but with Pearson leading the way, TU hopes to add its 20th trip in the last 28 years to the national tournament.

Pearson will also be looking to make his third consecutive trip to the NCAA Singles Championship. Through the midway point of the current season, Pearson has posted a career 72-39 singles mark and 58-34 doubles record, a mark he has mostly teamed up with fellow Australian Connor DiMarco to compile.

“Tulsa was a great fit for me. It’s not a massive school population-wise so you don’t get lost in the college system. TU presented a great opportunity for me to stand out and flourish.”

Flourish is exactly what Pearson has done. He has made the most of his opportunity at Tulsa, both on the court and in the classroom, and will undoubtedly be prepared for whatever the next chapter of his life brings.

COMING IN 2023

The game day enhancements and improved environment was evident to anyone who stepped foot in H.A. Chapman Stadium for a football game in 2022.

Before fans made their way to the stadium, tailgating on Chapman Commons was the place to be. The Chapman Commons Concert Series featured such names as the Plain White Ts, Brad DuVall Band, country star David Nail, the Squad Live Brass Band and the Trett Charles Band, to name a few.

Carnival rides, cornhole, youth inflatables, balloon artists and many more fun activities were on Chapman Commons throughout the season, while food and drink was available for all fans at the Alumni/Golden Hurricane Champions Fund Tent. Don’t miss out on the excitement this season.

TU Giving Day 2023

was a smashing success due to support from so many alumni and friends! We broke the previous record for number of donors and total amount raised and are excited that all the gifts support programs that directly affect students. Whether you helped meet a challenge to unlock additional funds or chose to give to a program has a special place in your heart, we say, “Thank you!”

$574,771

1,881 donors

360 first-time donors

Students and faculty write letters of thanks to TU Giving Day donors.

Tree dedicated to AKA on Sorority Row is ‘just the beginning’

In March, leaders and members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc. joined administrators from The University of Tulsa to plant and dedicate a tree in honor of the first National Pan-Hellenic Council sorority founded at TU.

“We wanted to make sure Alpha Kappa Alpha’s presence was always visible,” said Lindsay Echols, a leader for the AKA MidWestern Region. “We are extremely excited to work together in partnership with The University of Tulsa.”

AKA is an international service organization founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C., in 1908. It is the oldest Greek-letter organization established by African American college-educated women. The Theta Xi chapter began at TU on March 2, 1974.

“Next year will be 50 years since we chartered this chapter,” said Cheryl Ceasar (BS ’75). “We were small in number, but we were mighty.”

TU President Brad R. Carson welcomed the attendees who came from far and near. “This tree will be a permanent reminder of the presence of AKA and ‘Divine Nine,’” he said, referring to the historically Black sororities and fraternities. “When we plant a tree, we honor those who have come before us. As it grows and blossoms, it will remind us of the potential of young people, changing their lives.”

The tree, which was planted along

Sorority Row next to TU’s Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, honors the enduring, sustainable relationship between the university and AKA. A redbud tree was selected because it uniquely represents the deep-rooted relationship: The redbud is Oklahoma’s state tree and blooms pink flowers with green leaves, which are AKA’s colors.

“College is a journey. You are here to enhance yourself, to explore, find who you are. We know that is all made possible with a sense of community, and that’s what the members of Theta Xi do for The University of Tulsa,” said Christina Armstrong (BSBA ’12). “My hope is that this tree remains a symbol for all students at The University of Tulsa.”

Membership in historically Black sororities and fraternities has been relatively low at TU, but administrators seek to increase numbers of underrepresented populations in groups

“This ceremony and the planting of this commemorative tree is long overdue,” said Will DeViney, TU’s Greek life coordinator. “Visibility is an essential part of raising awareness for our NPHC organizations. I hope this is just the beginning of growth and expansion for our NPHC community at TU.”

(Left to right) Brad Carson, Anika Wilson Starling and Charletta Wilson Jacks

Lindsay Echols addresses the crowd

Carson greets Jacks

across campus.

1950s

Gail Buchanan Delente (BM ’59) was knighted by the French government in 2000 for promoting the authentic performance of French piano music through workshops in Paris from 1992 –2002. Performances and master classes were presented by well-known pianists, student performers and university professors.

1960s

Steve Turnbo (BA ’68) received the Tulsa Chamber’s Lifetime Achievement Award in January. Turnbo is chairman emeritus for Schnake Turnbo Frank, a public relations and leadership development consulting firm.

1970s

David Cleveland (BSBA ’73, MBA ’79) published his first book “Stop the Monkey Business,” a primer on how to manage people based on what he has learned in his 35-year career as a business president for three different industries. The book was a short run bestseller and is available on Amazon. Cleveland is managing partner of Corporate Performance Group, working primarily with business owners and presidents as a trusted advisor.

Wayne McCombs (BA ’74) is now retired as the executive director of the J.M. Davis Arms and Historical Museum in Claremore in June after 14 years as executive director. He is also on The University of Tulsa Athletic Hall of Fame Committee.

Lindy Schneider (BFA ’75) won the American Best Book Award for her book “College Secrets of Highly Successful

People: Keys to Launching a Great Life.” The book reveals what celebrities and CEOs did while in college that changed the trajectory of their lives from ordinary to extraordinary. Some of those featured are graduates of TU.

1980s

Martin Shoemaker (BS ’81) recently retired from the U.S. Department of Justice. He was a trial attorney for DOJ for more than 30 years. Shoemaker resides in Arlington, Va.

John Paul Speaker (BA ’83) recently received the Diamond Award from the Credit Union National Association Marketing Council. The Diamond Award recognizes success and excellence in credit union marketing campaigns nationally. He is vice president of marketing for Western Sun Federal Credit Union. He and his wife, Mary Jo McCleary Speaker (BS ’83), reside in Tulsa.

Steven West (BA ’89) has been awarded the Presidential Volunteer Service Award for his work with the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation. West works with the foundation as a research advocate and a mentor and is a professor of professional practice at Oklahoma State University.

1990s

Chris Wright (BA ’94, MS ’96, Ph.D. ’00) was appointed the inaugural director for the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the TU Collins College of Business.

Kevinn Matthews (JD ’98) was the recipient of the Tulsa County Bar Association’s “2nd Quarter Golden Rule Award,” which is given to lawyers who make outstanding contributions to their professions, have the highest of ideals, and are willing to mentor those with less experience.

2000s

Annie Savarimuthu (MS ’00) was named vice president of systems at Burckhardt Compression Inc.

Rebecca Thompson (BSBA ’00, MAcc ’01) was recently appointed to the Economic Advisory Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. She is a vice president of finance and chief financial officer of AAON.

John White (BA ’00) and Nadine Bissonnette White (BA ’01) are moving from Qatar to Cairo, Egypt, where Nadine will serve as the school psychologist at Cairo American College and John will work as the eighth-grade physical education teacher and basketball coach.

Jennifer Croft (BA ’01) was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle’s Gregg Barrios Book in Translation prize. She translated Olga Tokarczuk’s 2014 historical novel “The Books of Jacob” from Polish to English. Croft is currently an associate professor of English for the Henry Kendall College of Arts and Sciences.

Stacy Prammanasudth Upton (BS ’02) was announced as a member of the 2023 class of the Oklahoma Golf Hall of Fame. After 10 wins at TU, she spent 13 seasons on the LPGA Tour.

Luke Meriwether (BSBA ’03, JD ’07) was recognized as one of the “WTR 1000: The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals” for 2023.

Travis McCallon (JD ’04) was recognized as one of the “WTR 1000: The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals” for 2023.

Calvin Michael Moniz (BSBA ’06, MBA ’08, JD ’15) was recently elected vice chairman of the city of Tulsa’s Housing and Urban Development Community Development Committee.

John Pettifer (BSBA ’06) recently accepted a position as senior assistant attorney General at the Oregon Department of Justice in Salem, Ore.

Meredith Campbell Rogers (BA ’06) recently started a new position working with Annie Brady Event Planning and Magpie store in Tulsa.

Timothy Rogers (JD ’08) was listed as one of the “Best Lawyers in America” for commercial litigation. He is a preferred shareholder at Barrow & Grimm P.C. and serves on the Board of Directors of the TU Law Alumni Association.

Moton Hopkins (BSBA ’09) and his wife, Rebecca, welcomed a daughter, Zhuri Rae, on December 27. He serves on the Alumni Association Board of Directors.

2010s

Jeffrey Metcalf (BA ’11, MBA ’15) lives in Tulsa and is in his fifth year as co-owner of Goose and Gander, Marketing and Creative Consultants. The company has grown to a team of seven and is a fullservice marketing and creative production company serving clients in Tulsa and the surrounding region. Metcalf is active on the Tulsa Chapter Alumni Board of Directors and serves as the co-chair of the Student Success Committee.

Suzanne Bruce (BA ’77) has been selected as Poet Laureate for the city of Fairfield, Calif. She has two published books of ekphrastic poetry, Voices Beyond the Canvas (2007) and Her Visions Her Voices (2015) with artist Janet Manalo, along with many other publications in various national journals. She also has been selected as one of the Curbside Haiku Poets for the Downtown Tulsa Partnership 2023.

The Rev. Al Johnson (BA ’75) published a memoir in 2022 titled Set Grief Free. The story speaks of the death of one of his children and the recovery process. The book is available at Amazon and from Wipf and Stock Publishers.

Ashley Hodges (JD ’12) joined the Peele Law Group in Indianapolis, where she focuses primarily on intellectual property, trademarks and contract matters.

J.J. Cody Fox (BA ’15) is now a member and donor engagement specialist at Gilcrease Museum.

Haley Lucero (BSBA ’15, MSF ’17) was named vice president and treasurer of Mile High Young Professionals in Colorado. Lucero is a senior financial analyst with Meow Wolf Inc. where she leads budget planning efforts and investor relations.

Connor Brady (BSBA ’16) recently started a new role as a planning advisor at ExxonMobil and is looking forward to exciting challenges and new experiences the organization will bring.

David Casper (BSBA ’16, BA ’16) was promoted to finance manager at Amazon Robotics.

Miranda Dabney (BA ’16) became the new communications director for the Republican Study Committee, the

largest caucus in the U.S. Congress, which is chaired by Tulsa-area Rep. Kevin Hern. She will retain her role as the communications director for Hern’s office. Dabney is the president of the Washington, D.C., Alumni Chapter.

Greg Fallis (BM ’17) is the bandleader of King Cabbage Brass Band, which held a show at Cain’s Ballroom on February 17, and was featured at the “Tulsa House” at 2023 SXSW in Austin.

Hannah Easley Casper (BS ’18) graduated from Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences and is now working as an emergency medicine resident physician at Integris Health in Oklahoma City.

Jessica Dewey (BA ’19) has been named executive director of Living Arts of Tulsa. She previously served as interim director and director of development and programming at Living Arts.

Drew Port (BSBA ’19) was named the “Emerging Leader of the Year” by the Colorado Technology Association at the 2023 Tech Summit + Apex Awards

2020s

Madison Reavis Beffa (BS ’20) has accepted a position as a forensic toxicologist with St. Louis County.

Coy Moses (BA ’20) was named “Middle School Teacher of the Year” at Daniel Webster Middle School in Tulsa.

Alaina Wilson (MBA ’21) became the new membership engagement manager at Tulsa Regional Chamber.

Javidan Alayi (MS ’22) started new position as analyst for sales business at American Airlines.

Natalie Dankert (BSBA ’22, BA ’22) is the new manager at Tulsa Regional Tourism and Tulsa Office of Film, Music, Arts & Culture (Tulsa FMAC). She has worked as a contractor there to execute Play Tulsa Music, assist in the planning and executing of Tulsa’s band and artist representation at SXSW 2022 in Austin, and has managed Tulsa FMAC’s social media.

Chuck Funai (BS ’78), TU Trustee, hosted a reception with the Dallas Chapter of the Alumni Association at the Dallas Star on February 3, which included 200 alumni, prospective students, parents, and special guests. He is photographed with Fort Worth Chapter President Bryan Garvey (BA ’18) and Dallas Chapter President Spencer Pearson (BS ’16)

Jean Mermoud Pickett (BA ’83, MA ’94) was the special guest at a TU Panhellenic Summit on February 10 with over 50 sorority alumnae, student leaders, and special guests in attendance. The event was hosted by TU Board of Trustees Chair Marcia Mott McLeod (BS ’75, JD ’80) and President Brad Carson. Panhellenic President Ileana Braddock helped lead the summit. Pickett resides in Fort Worth, where she is chief of staff to the chancellor of TCU, while continuing to volunteer as past Chi Omega national president and past National Panhellenic Conference chair. Photographed from left to right are President Brad Carson, Julie Carson (JD’97), Ileana Braddock, Marcia MacLeod, and Jean Pickett.

Brig. Gen. Brent Wright, USAF, Ret. (JD ’92) was selected to the inaugural class of “55 Over 55 Inspiring Oklahomans” and was recently named a Sigma Chi “Significant Sig” after 32 years of honorable military service.

Christopher Siegle (JD ’97) was elected as a fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. He had recently spoken at the USC Tax Institute and the ABA Tax Section.

Maria Cervantes Tipton (BA ’01, JD ’06) recently joined as vice president of legal for StarRez Inc. She also is serving as president of the board of directors at the STAR Institute. Tipton is also a military spouse supporting her husband, Col. Jerade Tipton’s 25 years of service in the United States Air Force. They are stationed in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Brian Surratt (BA ’98) was named a Political Science Distinguished Alumnus and gave a keynote address on March 6 in Chapman Hall. Surratt is president and chief executive officer of Greater Seattle Partners and serves on the TU Black Alumni Leadership Council.

Amanda Clyma Turner (BA ’01) earned a master’s of science in Nonprofit Administration in December 2022 from Louisiana State University-Shreveport. She is the executive director of prospect management, research and advancement services at The University of Tulsa

Keith Nodskov (BSBA ’04)

recently completed a successful tenure at Midcoast Energy as the director of risk control and credit, where he led all the risk management and forecasting activities for the natural gas and LPG marketing entities of Midcoast Energy. Nodskov assisted in the successful sale of both marketing entities. In January, he started a new role as head of middle office for Atlas Oil Company, a refined products supply and trading firm in Houston. He and his wife, Jane, live in Bellaire, Texas, with their two children.

Lacey Leifeste Stevenson (BSBA ’06) and her husband, Tanner, welcomed son Keller in April 2022. She currently serves as the chief hospitality officer for Vail Valley Home Co in Colorado. Tanner and Lacey started Vail Valley Home Co. in 2020 and are planning Ski Town Church.

On February 25, over 100 alumni gathered in Houston for a reception with TU alumni, prospective students, parents and special guests.

Photographed are Houston Chapter President Michael Kumpas (BSBA ’14) and past Houston Chapter President Keith Nodskov (BSBA ’04)

Tyler Brooks (BSBA ’18) was recently named manager of OMP at Kraft Heinz North American headquarters in Chicago, after two years at ALDI US. In this new role, he focuses on solution design and implementation of software delivering advanced end to end supply chain planning and management solutions across all 33 manufacturing facilities in North America.

Hope Forsyth (BA ’15, JD ’18) was selected to receive the 2022 Sponsored Scholarship Grant (SSG) for federal judicial clerks, administered for The Honorable Nancy F. Atlas Intellectual Property American Inn of Court by the University of Houston Law Center’s Institute for Intellectual Property and Information Law. The SSG-Clerks program facilitates scholarship concerning intellectual property and information law matters by individuals serving or soon serving as judicial clerks with the federal courts of appeals and district courts.

Julia Bond Dixon (BSBA ’12) and Chris Dixon (BSBA ’12) welcomed son Carson Joseph on November 7, joining big sister Audrey. Julia and Chris are chairing TU Uncorked 2023 in support of TU scholarships at Cain’s Ballroom on Friday, June 16.

Nicole Frangione (BA ’10) welcomed River James Frangione Bueno into the world with her husband, James Bueno. She is the Los Angeles Alumni Chapter president and serves on the Alumni Association Board of Directors.

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We are grateful for the supporters who give so generously to our student scholarship endowments and were thrilled to celebrate them and the students who benefit from these gifts.

It is never too late to make a difference in the lives of others. As we approach the end of the academic year, we appreciate your consideration. It is especially meaningful to receive alumni support since even a $5 Annual Fund gift is included in our university rankings' data.

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