Connect 2023

A NEW VISION JEANET TE MENDEZ BUILDS ON CAS BACKGROUND AS OSU 'S NEW PROVOST

CONNECT

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On t he cover

Provost Jeanette Mendez and four new Faculty Fellows are some of the many OSU leaders with College of Ar ts and Sciences roots (Cover photo by Jason Wallace)

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Loya l a nd tr ue

Octogenarian and former faculty member continues to suppor t students by attending countless Greenwood School per formances

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Drop in t he bucket

Intrepid geography student star ts a nonprofit with her fellow classmates to bring water to areas of Zimbabwe

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Spea king up

Languages and literatures professor working to preser ve nor thern Spain’s A sturian culture and dialect

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Ha l l of Fa me

CAS awards three alumni — Chic Dambach, Bill Goldston and Ron Ward — with its highest honor

I O N S CO O R D I N ATO R

E ri n M i l e k ’ 2 0

E D I TO R

J o r d a n B i s h o p ’ 1 6

A R T D I R EC TO R

D ave M al e c

D E SI GN E R

Step h e n M a t t h ew s ’ 2 3

P H OTO G R A P H E R

J a s o n Wa l l a ce ’ 03

W R I T E R S

D r R a c h a e l E a to n

Syd n ey H ol de r ’ 2 3

E l iz a b et h G o s n ey

S u t to n J a m e s ’ 2 2

E r i n M i l e k

S a m M i l e k ’ 2 3

A l l i e P u t m a n ’ 2 3

G r a n t R a m i re z ’2 1

Syd n ey Tr a i n o r

B e l l a Vu ’ 2 3

CO LL EG E O F A R T S A N D S C I E N C E S

I NT E R I M D E A N

D r Ke it h G a r b u t t

A S S O CI AT E D E A N /O U T R E AC H

D r B o b b i K ay Lew i s ’ 93 , ’ 03

S E N I O R D I R EC TO R O F D E V E LO P M E N T

L a u r a Ke tc h u m

Y E A R S I N D I C AT E O S U C A S G R AD UAT E S

It ’s a m a z i n g how t i me fl ies It does not seem t o h ave been a yea r si nce I moved i nt o t he dea n’s

D u r i n g t he pa st 1 2 mont hs, I have met w it h

ma ny of ou r a lu m n i, a nd I a m a ma zed by t hei r

ra n ge of a ccompl ish ment s. I ca n t hi n k of no bet ter response to t he ca na rd t hat you ca n’t get a job w it h a n ar t s a nd sciences deg ree t ha n to poi nt to t he loca l, nationa l a nd i nter nationa l i mpa ct of ou r a lu m n i

Shor t ly a f t er I beca me dea n , CA S Sen ior

of t he Col lege of P rofessiona l St ud ies at OSU-T u lsa .

Wit h Freema n’s depar t u re, it wa s necessa r y t o do a sea rch for a new a ssociat e dea n a nd SIO; I’m happy t o a n nou nce t hat Dr. Ma r io Bor u nda , a professor i n t he Depar t ment of Physics, wa s select ed for t hat posit ion a nd ha s been work i n g w it h t he col lege si nce Ja nua r y on ou r fa cu lt y recr u it ment a nd

For mer Depar t ment of Ps ycholog y hea d D r dea n i n Ja nu a r y H i s role, wh ich i s over fa ci l it ies , h a d prev iou s ly been par t of a n a s soci at e dea n’s por t fol ios However, it beca me clea r t h at t he m a g n it ude of m a n a g i n g CA S bu i ld i n g s needed someone’s f ul l at t ent ion We h ave some of t he mos t i mposi n g , m ajes t ic — a nd oldes t — bu i ld i n g s

u nder s t a nd bot h t he problem s a nd pot ent i a l oppor t u n it ies of CA S fa ci l it ies

One of t he m a i n focu ses of t he yea r h a s been , of cou r se, P resident Sh r u m’s s t rat eg ic in it i at ives .

A s you rea d t h rou g h t he i n novat ive a nd creat ive

pl a n for t he f ut u re of t he u n iver sit y (ok l a . s t/ s t rat eg ic -pl a n), you’ l l see t h at t he ar t s a nd sciences a re embedded i n a l mos t ever y a rea . W het her

it ’s recr u it ment , ret ent ion , t ea chi n g , resea rch , excel lence or s t udent development , ar t s a nd sciences — t he hear t of Ok l a hom a S t at e Un iver sit y

— a re r i g ht t here

One a spec t of t he s t rat eg ic pl a n we a re g iv i n g speci a l at t ent ion t o i s E x t en sion O t her col leges

a cros s ca mpu s a re doi n g rem a rk a ble work , but

CA S h a s a s t ron g a nd cent ra l role t o pl ay T h ree s t a ndout CA S E x t en sion ex a mples i nclude:

 T he P ra i r ie A r t s Cent er – T h i s com mu n it y ar t s

cl a s ses for a du lt s a nd yout h .

 Ps ycholog ica l S er v ices Cent er – Par t of t he

Depar t ment of Ps ycholog y, t he cent er ser ves resident s of S t i l lwat er a nd t he su r rou nd i n g

com mu n it ies

 Speech-L a n g u a ge -Hea r i n g Cl in ic – T he

Depar t ment of Com mu n icat ion S ciences a nd

Di sorder s prov ides ser v ices t o com mu n it y

member s of a l l a ges t h rou g h it s on- ca mpu s

t ra ini n g



So, i f someone a sk s where t he Col lege of A r t s

a nd Sciences is i n t he st rat eg ic in it iat ives, t he

a n s wer is E V ERY W H ER E T ha n k you for you r

cont i nued suppor t of ou r col lege a s we work t o ma ke

OSU t he nat ion’s preem i nent la nd-g ra nt u n iversit y

G O P OK E S !

Keit h G a rbut t , Ph. D.

I nt er i m Dea n , Col lege of A r t s a nd S ciences

Retired C AS faculty member continues to impac t student s' lives

has a love for the per forming ar t s . A love that has spanned almos t her entire life and a love that reminds her of the time s she felt weightle s s as she danced on s tage

M ore than 30 year s af ter retirement, Rollins at tends as many per formance s and re citals put on through O klahoma State U niver sit y ’s G re enwood S chool of M usic as she c an At 88 , it ’s a challenge sometime s get ting to the event, but she remains loyal and true to the univer sit y that has given her so much

Rollins’ dec ade slong love for the per forming ar t s began in her hometown of Corpus Chris ti, Texas . B orn Myr tle Louise, she quickly c ame to be known simply as Myr- Lou . The daughter of a hardware s ale sman , she and her family lived f rugally, but didn’t let that deter their happine s s

She began to take dance le s sons at an early age H er fir s t ins truc tor, Ella Ilse, played an influential role in Rollins finding her pas sion through ballet

“ She not only taught me to dance, but she also taught me that the body should be treated properly through pos ture and exercise,” Rollins s aid

At just 14, Rollins had the oppor tunit y to travel around surrounding towns to as sis t another dance teacher of her s , Margaret Collins She danced for t wo year s to cover the cos t of dance shoe s and cos tume s , before returning to Ilse’s tutelage for her senior year of high school

Rollins at tended Del Mar College in Corpus Chris ti af ter high school, though her hear t was s till set on dance. N ot too long af ter, a once -in-a-lifetime oppor tunit y pre sented it self.

H er former high school dance par tner, Lowell Pur vis , was headed to Los Angele s to continue dancing and wanted Rollins to join him M uch to the he sitation of her parent s , Pur vis as sured them he would take c are of their daughter “ My pa re nt s didn’t thin k I sho uld ve nture alo n e , plu s th e fi n an cial s train ,” Rollin s s aid “ Lowe ll g ua ra ntee d th e m that h e wo uld h e lp m e ”

J us t like that, the eager young Texan was on her way to H olly wood

U pon arrival, Rollins landed a room at the Dixon Manor loc ated behind the iconic G rauman’s Chine se Theatre Pur vis introduced her to various schools of dance such as the H olly wood S chool of Dance, Af ric an Contemporar y and Erne s t B elcher ballet

Rollins s aid that at tending each of the se required her to mas ter the complex L .A bus sys tem to get f rom s tudio to s tudio

A s time went on , though , she decided the H olly wood life s t yle was not for her. Returning home in 1953 , she at tended a dance program at Texas State College for Women ( TSC W ) in Denton , where she was able to travel and per form around the countr y for communitie s and other college s She graduated in May 195 6 af ter her las t per formance, where she met G lenda Williams , head of women’s physic al educ ation at O klahoma A& M College

The following J une, Rollins and a group of f riends f rom the TSC W modern dance group traveled to N ew

York Cit y where they met Ruth St Denis , who at the time was considered a pione er in modern dance It was also around this time when she was

Rollins a job as a dance ins truc tor Rollins s aid she and her family eagerly awaited a contrac t in the mail Af ter what she s aid felt like forever, they received a confirmation let ter f rom Valerie Colvin , who had taken Williams’ place H er only concern for Rollins was finding a place to live in Stillwater H owever, they discovered a newly cons truc ted apar tment complex , which Rollins was able to se cure a spot in . H er firs t month’s rent only cos t her $6 0 and it ’s the s ame apar tment Rollins live s in to this day

For the nex t 30 year s , Rollins taught dance and organized per formance s at OSU throughout the old Field H ouse, now G allagher- Iba Arena; the B ar tlet t Center for Visual Ar t s; and the S eretean Center for the Per forming Ar t s H er teaching c areer at OSU was all Rollins could have hoped for She opened the world of dance to s tudent s and organized per formance s like her former

high school ins truc tor s did when she was a s tudent She even had the chance to ins truc t s tudent s who later achieved popularit y of their own , like Wally Funk

“[Funk] was a physic al educ ation major at the time, and was required to take dance clas se s , which she wasn’t intere s ted in ,” Rollins s aid . “ She was more intere s ted in flying . She would come and tell me all of the fine experience s she had with it ”

In 19 8 5 , Rollins met Kenneth Wade at a ballroom dance in Stillwater She s aid she had no intere s t in dating at fir s t, with school being her top priorit y H owever, Wade was per sis tent and af ter Rollins ran out of excuse s , the t wo began to date She retired in 198 6 as an accomplished emeritus facult y member

“ I jus t enjoyed teaching ,” Rollins s aid

“And the neat thing is , I would run into students later who would remember me, and we would chat about what year they were in and the memorie s they had ” Rollins and Wade moved to the nearby town of Perr y af ter marr ying in 19 8 9, s till ke eping the apar tment in Stillwater for a place to s tay when there were per formance s to at tend .

Even in retirement, Rollins knew she s till had more to give to OSU

Colle g e of Ed u c atio n a n d H uma n S cien ce s , at a n e m e riti f a cult y

lun ch e o n . E a ge r to give ba ck to th e unive r sit y, Rollin s pitch e d th e

“ She approached me and the former dean of the College of Educ ation about

asked for sugge s tions on areas that ne eded f unding We sugge s ted some scholar ship options and the Dean’s E xcellence Fund as pos sibilitie s for her to consider ”

They eventually set tled on the MyrLou Rollins Wade Endowed Scholarship for physical education majors interested in creative rhy thms and movement In 20 0 4, the scholarship moved to

the College of Ar t s and Sciences for student s majoring in theatre

“ The proce s s of set ting up her

s aid “ She s aid that OSU had be en a great par t of her life, and she wanted to give something back . ”

The Wade s would of ten f requent concer t s and re citals . Af ter Kenneth pas sed away in 2019, Rollins moved back to Stillwater and devoted her time to at tending as many per formance s at The M cK night Center for the Per forming Ar t s as pos sible

With age c ame new barrier s , though N o longer comfor table driving at night, she found a helping hand in M cK night Center house manager Hannah Mans , who drove Rollins to and f rom a per formance during the fall 202 2 seme s ter

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

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

It was at this per formance that Mans also witne s sed a hear t felt moment bet ween Rollins and a group of s tudent s f rom the per formance

“Af te r th e co n ce r t , while sh e waite d p atie ntly in th e lo b by a s I fi nish e d up my co n ce r t d utie s , a co uple of s tude nt s app ro a che d Myr- Lo u ,” M an s s aid “ Th ey re co gnize d h e r f ro m all of th e tim e s sh e ha d at te n d e d th eir p e r fo rm an ce s , a n d than ke d h e r fo r b eing th e re a n d sup p o r ting th e m MyrLo u wa s visibly m ove d ”

In her 8 8 year s , Rollins has achieved a life of adventure and succe s s Even 36 year s af ter retirement, she remains dedic ated to the creative minds in the per forming ar t s at OSU

“ I ke e p co ming ba ck be c a u se of h ow h a rd th e se s tude nt s wo rk ,” sh e s aid “ It wa rm s my h ea r t to se e th e se wo n d e r f ul pe o ple p ut tog eth e r su ch b ea utif ul p e r fo rman ce s ”

Hy ping the Huma nities

New director, faculty researchers propel Center for the Humanities to new heights

Ok l a hom a S t at e Un iver sit y ’s

Cent er for t he Hu m a n it ies got

it s fi r s t d i rec t or i n 202 3 w it h

t he appoi nt ment of D r Jen n i fer B orl a nd

P r ior t o b ei n g n a me d d i re c t or,

B orl a nd s er ve d a s i nt er i m d i re c t or for

t he c ent er, w a s t he fou nd i n g d i re c t or of

t he D i g it a l Hu m a n it ie s I n it i at ive a nd

t a u g ht ar t h i s t or y i n t he D epar t ment of A r t , G r a ph ic D e s i g n a nd A r t H i s t or y for 16 yea r s “ I’m ut t erly t h r i l led t o be t he fi rst

d i rect or,” Borla nd sa id , who wi l l

a lso occa siona l ly cont i nue t o t ea ch

ar t h ist or y cou rses “ T h is is t he

cu l m i nat ion of over seven yea rs of work

w it h a n a ma zi n g g roup of col laborat ors.

It i s e x t remely rew a r d i n g t o s e e t he work over s e ver a l yea r s m at er i a l i z e i nt o t he e s t a bl i s h ment of t he c ent er, a nd I ’m e xcit e d t o move for w a r d w it h a l l ou r pl a n s ” T he cent er, a Col lege of A r t s a nd

S ciences (CA S) in it i at ive t h at for m a l ly l au nched i n 2022 , a i m s t o i ncrea se t he v i sibi l it y of hu m a n it ies resea rch on ca mpu s a nd fos t er produc t ion of new i nt erd i scipl i n a r y projec t s One such projec t B orl a nd i s look i n g for wa rd t o ex pa nd i n g i s t he R esea rch

Group Fel low sh ip prog ra m l au nched ea rl ier t h i s yea r

“ T h i s fl a g sh ip prog ra m prov ides

suppor t t o fa ci l it at e col l a borat ive

i nt erd i scipl i n a r y resea rch i n a rea s l i ke

med ica l hu m a n it ies , env i ron ment a l

hu m a n it ies a nd d i g it a l hu m a n it ies ,”

B orl a nd sa id “ Ver y few u n iver sit ies

h ave t h i s t y pe of prog ra m t o fos t er new resea rch , a nd I ca n see OSU ’s a mbit iou s a nd u n ique model becom i n g one t h at i s emu l at ed by ot her i n s t it ut ion s ”

T h i s yea r ’s med ica l / hea lt h hu m a n it ies resea rch g roup i ncludes D r

R ea n a e McNea l f rom I nt erd i scipl i n a r y

P rog ra m s , Ma rqu a Ha r r i s f rom t he

Col lege of Educat ion a nd Hu m a n

S ciences , a nd Va nes sa Ol iph a nt f rom

Komal N azir pre sent s her cohor t ’ s re search propos al at the

Low

y in April

t he Depar t ment of Ps ycholog y T hei r resea rch t opic i s “ R eenv i sioni n g Com mu n it y En ga ged R esea rch for Bl a ck Women” w it h a focu s on hea lt h jus t ice a nd Bl a ck women .

“ D ue t o t he cu r rent ba ck l a sh of a nt iBl a ck gendered oppres sion a nd t he severe hea lt h d i spa r it ies a nd i nequ it ies , t he need t o at t end t o Bl a ck women’s hea lt h a nd hea l i n g i s u r gent ,” McNea l sa id “O u r resea rch objec t ive i s t o ca l l for t he creat ion of sa cred spa ces for Bl a ck women t o en ga ge i n embod ied com mu n a l hea l i n g ”

T he env i ron ment a l hu m a n it ies resea rch g roup i ncludes D r Ca i ley Ha l l a nd Kom a l Na z i r f rom t he Depar t ment of En g l i sh a nd D r R ebecca K apl a n f rom t he Depar t ment of H i s t or y T hei r resea rch focu s i s “ Food S ecu r it y a nd Food Cu lt u res ”

“ Fo o d i s b ot h e s s ent i a l for s u r v iv a l a nd f ul l of c u lt u r a l ly sp e ci fic mea ni n g ,” K a pl a n s a id . “ T h i s pr oje c t a i m s t o i ncrea s e aw a rene s s of fo o d i n s e c u r it y

t o a dd re s s t he i s s ue . B y de si g ni n g a c omprehen sive web sit e t h at pr ov ide s up -t o - d at e in for m at ion on v a r iou s fo o drel at e d re s ou rce s av a i l a ble on c a mpu s , it wi l l c lea rly a nd c onci s ely pr ov ide in for m at ion for s t udent s , fa c u lt y a nd

b et we en memb er s of t he O S U c om mu n it y who s h a re fo o d c u lt u re s

a nd fo o d i nt ere s t s ”

T he d i g it a l hu m a n it ies resea rch

g roup i ncludes D r R osem a r y Ava nce

and re ception event in April

f rom t he S chool of Med i a a nd S t rat eg ic Com mu n icat ion s , D r Heat her S t ewar t f rom t he Depar t ment of Ph i losophy a nd

R ich a rd S ylves t re f rom t he Depar t ment of En g l i sh T hei r resea rch focu ses on “A r t i fici a l I nt el l i gence i n A ca dem i a : E x plor i n g Ch at GP T a s R i sk a nd

O ppor t u n it y ” “O u r i nt erd i scipl i n a r y t ea m i s resea rchi n g how people u nder s t a nd a nd t a l k a bout t he u se of Ch at GP T

i n a ca dem i a ,” Ava nce sa id “O u r fi r s t a nd pr i m a r y goa l i s t o get ou r ca mpu s t a l k i n g a bout t h i s t ech nolog y t o proa c t ively en su re it i s et h ica l ly i mplement ed i n ou r t ea chi n g a nd resea rch here at OSU.”

I n a dd it ion t o it s resea rcher s ’ endeavor s , t he Cent er for t he

Hu m a n it ies i s work i n g t owa rd h av i n g

a phy sica l home on ca mpu s , where it

ca n cont i nue t o i ncrea se t he v i sibi l it y

a nd rea ch of t he hu m a n it ies Ni ne new

resea rch g roup fel low s wi l l beg i n t hei r

work i n t he fa l l

“ T he cent er prov ides a n i nclu sive

a nd col l a borat ive env i ron ment i n wh ich

we wa nt t o fos t er d i a log ue a nd en ga ge

c om mu n it ie s , demon s t r at i n g t he

power f u l i mpa c t of t he hu m a n it ies t o

a dd res s problem s a nd i mpa c t ch a n ge,”

B orl a nd sa id .

LE A R N MO R E a b out th e Ce nter for th e

H uma nitie s an d get involve d at

c a s .o k s t ate.e d u / h u m a n i t ie s .

CA S Student Researchers

The College of Ar t s and Sciences foster s groundbreaking research across it s 24 depar tment s H ere are five student s doing out standing work in their fields under the mentor ship of C A S facult y

DEVONSHI PATEL

Ph . D. | Clinical Psychology

Six th Year

Re search M entor : D r. Jaimie Arona-K rems

H ous ton

How d id you beg i n you r resea rch?

I joined my first psychology research lab as a freshman and quickly grew to love disseminating research at conferences and communit y event s A s a doc toral student, I found my own research interest s by working with families and children , listening to the issues they experience. I now work to bet ter understand stigmas direc ted at parent s and families

How h a s it h a d a n i mpa c t on you?

I co n du c t re s ea rch o n s tig m a s th at p e o pl e f a ce , sp e ci fi c a lly why p e o pl e m ig ht s tig m atize pa re nt s of ch il d re n with h ig h e r we ig ht s . We ig ht- re late d s tig m a is p e r va sive a n d p a inf ul to exp e ri en ce . I h o p e th at th e wo r k I d o b rin g s awa re n e s s to th e live d exp e ri en ce s of th is co m m u n it y. I re ce ntly p ub lish e d my fi r s t-a uth o re d m a n u s cript in P sych o l o g ica l S cie n ce o n pa re nt a l s tig m a It ’s th e s e co n d pa p e r to e m p iri c a lly dem o n s tr ate th at p e o pl e d o s tig m atize pa re nt s of ch il d re n with h ig h e r we ig ht s , a n d it ’s th e fi r s t to exp l o re a mod e l a s to why p e o pl e d o th is in th e fi r s t p la ce . I a m n ow wo rk in g o n ex te n din g th at wo r k

W h at a re you r f ut u re pl a n s?

My nex t s tep is a clinic al internship to complete my doc torate. I am looking for ward to continuing my re search traje c tor y by collaborating with leader s in our field who are also re searching obe sit y, s tigma and familie s . I think re search illuminating the psychology underlying weight-related s tigma will have impor tant real-world implic ations

CA R R IE PR ATT

Ph . D. | Microbiology and Molecular Genetic s

S econd Year

Re search M entor : D r. M os tafa Elshahed

Kollweiler, G ermany

How d id you beg i n you r resea rch?

I wanted to improve my medic al school applic ation , so the summer before my senior year at the U niver sit y of N or th Dakota I joined a re search lab s tudying Lyme disease. I ended up falling in love with re search and de ciding that medic al school wasn’t for me. I took a gap year and worked in another lab where I s tudied pollinator taxonomy and their microbiome s .

How h a s it h a d a n i mpa c t on you?

My re sea rch fo cu se s o n a nae ro bic g ut f ungi th at live in th e dig e s tive tra c t s of h e rbivo re s . I ’m

sp e cifi c ally wo rking with n o n -s tan da rd h os t s like bird s , re ptile s a n d ma r supials Th e m os t exciting pa r t of my re sea rch h a s be e n my discove r y of t wo n ew ge n e ra of a n ae ro bic g ut f ungi th at we re culture d f ro m to r toise s I p re se nte d at th e 202 3

A n n ual M e eting of th e M is so uri Valley B ran ch of th e

A m e ric a n S o ciet y fo r M icro biolo gy an d I re ce ntly ea rn e d th e Wo m e n’s Fa cult y Co un cil Stude nt

Re sea rch Awa rd , th e D is ting uish e d G ra d uate Fe llowship an d th e N o rma n D urh a m En d owe d G ra d uate Fe llowship in M icro biolo gy I also ju s t ha d a pa p e r a cce pte d to th e I nte rnatio nal J o u rnal of Syste matic an d Evolutio na r y M icro biology

W h at a re you r f ut u re pl a n s?

I ’m considering pur suing a pos tdoc toral position in Europe, hopef ully somewhere close to where I grew up I ’ve always planned on joining ac ademia to be a profe s sor, but I ’m also open to oppor tunitie s in indus tr y or government Ultimately, I jus t want a position that allows me to conduc t re search I ’m intere s ted in .

M AGHIN BR EW ER

Major | English (Screen Studies)

Clas s of 202 3

Re search M entor : D r S arah Los s Tuls a

d id you beg i n you r resea rch?

I s tar ted doing re search during spring seme s ter 202 1 . I applied for the Advancing U ndergraduate Re search or Creative Ac tivit y (AU RC A) program and wanted to do re search in the English depar tment At fir s t, I was he sitant bec ause I did not know any thing about linguis tic s , but I wanted to s tep out of my comfor t zone, so I applied to be a re search as sis tant

How h a s it h a d a n i mpa c t on you?

My re search projec t is impor tant bec ause I was able to broaden the diver sit y within the s tudy. I looked at minorit y groups and asked them que s tions that re searcher s in the pas t did not think to ask . I made the data more diver se, while being more inclusive of demographic s that are of ten overlooked I ’ve pre sented my re search a few time s , including at the OSU U ndergraduate Re search Symposium in April and the Center for O klahoma Studie s The se were great oppor tunitie s for me to not only share my work , but also get experience with pre senting to groups of pe ople that I am not familiar with

W h at a re you r f ut u re pla n s?

I graduated f rom OSU in 202 3 with a bachelor ’s degre e in screen s tudie s , and I will be s taying at the univer sit y to complete my mas ter ’s in the screen s tudie s program . Af ter completing my mas ter ’s , I would love to get my Ph D and become a profe s sor

M A RY VA NG

Major | Communication Sciences and Disorders

Clas s of 202 3

Re search M entor : D r Valerie Freeman

S allis aw, O klahoma

How d id you beg i n you r resea rch?

I was fir s t introduced to re search during my second year in college through an H onor s add- on cour se: Deaf E xperience, Deaf E xpre s sion (DXDX ) I was quickly drawn into the field af ter spending a seme s ter on the DXDX team and through my introduc tion to re search clas s . I was then accepted into the Ronald E M cNair S cholar s program that as sis t s underrepre sented s tudent s with goals of obtaining doc toral degree s . Through M cNair, I grew my intere s t in re search and developed my projec t under the guidance of my mentor.

How h a s it h a d a n i mpa c t on you?

I re cently re ceived the Student Preparing for Ac ademic and Re search C are er s Award f rom the Americ an Speech-L anguage - H earing A s sociation to f und my re search proje c t . I have pre sented my re search at a variet y of conference s re cently, including the OSU Summer Re search E xpo and national M cNair S cholar s Conference s in C alifornia , Texas , Mar yland and Mis souri. I also pre sented my ongoing DXDX projec t at the O klahoma Spee chL anguage - H earing A s sociation Annual Conference

W h at a re you r f ut u re pla n s?

Af ter graduating f rom O klahoma State U niver sit y, I plan to at tend graduate school to obtain a mas ter ’s degree and clinician cer tific ations as a speechlanguage pathologis t In the f uture, I will continue my re search c areer in a communic ation science s and disorder s Ph D program

H A DLEE SHIELDS

Major | Biology: Pre - med

Clas s of 2026

Re search M entor : D r Allison Dorko Amarillo, Texas

I k n ew th at I wa nte d to g et into re sea rch a s so o n a s p os sible , b ut a s a f re sh ma n , I didn’t k n ow wh e re to s ta r t Th e n I g ot a n e m ail ab o ut a p ro gra m

d e sign e d to h e lp fi r s t-yea r re sea rch s tude nt s fi n d

a p ositio n . I ap plie d to AU RC A , inte r viewe d with a s m a ny m e nto r s a s p os sible , match e d with a m e nto r a n d g ot to wo rk

How h a s it h a d a n i mpa c t on you?

I have been working with D r Allison Dorko on a s tudy looking at the learning proce s s and how s tudent s be s t learn specific concept s . For example, we have found that s tudent s learn the material f rom le c ture s but truly begin under s tanding it when they are doing homework Giving s tudent s more homework would allow them the chance to reinforce what they learned in clas s Ultimately, I am looking for ways to improve s tudent succe s s . I helped D r Dorko create a pos ter, which we pre sented at the O klahoma-Texas Conference on Re search in U ndergraduate Mathematic s Educ ation and the OSU U ndergraduate Re search Symposium

W h at a re you r f ut u re pla n s?

I want to be come a Doc tor of Os te opathic M edicine They take a more holis tic approach to medicine, which I really appre ciate. I would love to do my par t by continuing to do re search , as it plays such an impor tant role in medicine

Wishing for Water

Li ly Ch avez , a g loba l s t ud ies m ajor w it hi n t he Depar t ment of G eog raphy, i s jus t a ju n ior i n col lege but a l rea dy h a s t he t it le of “ fou nder ” on her resu me.

OSU student begins a nonprofit to supply water across the globe Ja nu a r y 202 3 a nd cont i nues t o at t ra c t suppor t ers . Wit h t he goa l of bu i ld i n g

her cl a s sm at es T hey t hen par t nered w it h T rent ’s or ga n i z at ion , Terer a i

T rent I nt er n at ion a l (a l so k now n a s

T i nogon a Fou nd at ion).

T rent fou nded Terera i T rent

I n 2023 , Ch avez creat ed Wi shes for Wat er, a nonprofit t h at a i m s t o bu i ld wel l s i n r u ra l Z i mba bwe.

D u r i n g a t r ip w it h t he P resident ’s L ea der sh ip Cou nci l t o Z i mba bwe,

Ch avez con nec t ed w it h Ok l a hom a

S t at e Un iver sit y a lu m n a D r Terera i T rent , who i nt roduced her t o a need t h at

com mun it y: a l a ck of wat er

“ I went on t he t r ip a nd saw t he

cond it ion s a nd ex per iences people were l iv i n g ,” Ch avez sa id “ I decided we needed t o fi nd some way t o g ive ba ck

rat her t ha n v isiti ng a n nua l ly a nd leav i ng

w it hout br i n g i n g a ny t hi n g t o t he t a ble ”

Ch avez ca me ba ck t o ca mpu s a nd

t ook t he fi r s t s t eps t o es t a bl i sh her

nonprofit or ga n i z at ion w it h t he help of

I nt er n at ion a l t o lea d i n i mprov i n g

a nd g row i n g t he educat ion s ys t em i n

Z i mba bwe. Wit h a focu s on i ncrea si n g a cces s t o educat ion , Terera i T rent

I nt er n at ion a l a i m s t o empower

com mu n it ies , boos t t hei r g row t h a nd promot e t hei r development t h rou g h educat ion

“A s a fou nd at ion , we rea l i z e t h at t he el i m i n at ion of pover t y a nd wat erbor ne d i sea ses , a nd i ncrea si n g r u ra l g i rl s ’ s c ho ol a t t end a nc e , c a n on ly b e

a c h ie ve d b y par t ner i n g w it h l i k em i nded or ga n i z at ion s l i ke Wi shes for Wat er,” T rent sa id “ T h at way, we a r e not on ly br i n g i n g c le a n a nd s a fe wat er t o r u r a l c om mu n it ie s , b ut a l s o c re a t i n g s us t a i na ble i nc ome for r u r a l women a nd g i rl s .”

t wo wel l s ever y yea r — t he cos t of ea ch wel l sit t i n g at $15 ,00 0 — Ch avez a nd her

cl a s sm at es h it t he g rou nd r u n ni n g

Ea

Wishes

Zi mbabwe

LE A R N MO R E a bout Wi shes for Wat er at wi s h e s fo r wa te r o r g

Spea k ing My L a ng ua ge

Professor shares knowledge of nor thern Spain’s Asturian language and culture

Dr. Isa bel A lva rez- Sa ncho i s a n ex per t i n

l a n g u a ges a nd l it erat u res , especi a l ly t hose

i n Spa i n But t here i s one l a n g u a ge t h at

hold s some si g n i fica nce t o t he Ok l a hom a S t at e

Un iver sit y a s soci at e profes sor

A nd it ’s a l a n g u a ge t h at i s l a ck i n g i n it s

ex posu re

A s t u r i a n , t he n at ive t on g ue of t he pr i ncipa l it y of A s t u r i a s i n fa r nor t her n Spa i n , i s one of severa l

l a n g u a ges A lva rez- Sa ncho i s wel l-ver sed i n

A par t of OSU ’s Depar t ment of L a n g u a ges

a nd L it erat u res si nce 201 2 , she i s t he Spa n i sh

sec t ion coord i n at or for t he depar t ment a nd ca n

rea d Cat a l a n , G a l ici a n , F rench , Por t u g uese a nd

A s t u r i a n She speci a l i z es i n 21 s t cent u r y I ber i a n

cu lt u ra l s t ud ies a nd h a s a L icenci at u ra i n H i spa n ic

ph i lolog y f rom t he Un iver sit y of O v iedo i n Spa i n

a nd a Ph. D. i n H i spa n ic cu lt u ra l s t ud ies f rom

M ich i ga n S t at e Un iver sit y. B efore com i n g t o OSU,

she worked a s a Spa n i sh lec t u rer i n B osn i a a nd

Her z egov i n a , a nd a n a s soci at e profes sor at Cent ra l

M ich i ga n Un iver sit y.

W h i le her e duc at ion a l ba ck g r ou nd b oa s t s of

sp e ci a l i z at ion i n l a n g u a ge a nd c u lt u r a l s t ud ie s ,

s he not ic e d a l a ck of s t ud ie s i n A s t u r i a n c u lt u re i n

t he Un it e d S t at e s

u nt i l recent ly, t here wa s not a n a ssociat ion i n t he

U S what soever ded icat ed t o st udy i n g A st u r ia n ,”

A lva rez-Sa ncho sa id “ T here were some schola rs

st udy i n g t h is i nd iv idua l ly, but ma ny of t hem d id not

k now ea ch ot her nor were t hey col laborat i n g T h is

may be due t o t he fa ct t hat A st u r ia n a s a la n g ua ge is

A lt hou g h A s t u r i a n i s spoken by a rou nd h a l f a

m i l l ion people, it su r v ives t h rou g h cu lt u ra l a spec t s

such a s mu sic, l it erat u re, poet r y a nd science

A lva rez- Sa ncho t ook t he in it i at ive t o en su re t he

cu lt u re’s con ser vat ion by ga ini n g a n i nt er n at ion a l

net work , s t ar t i n g w it hi n t he U. S . It bega n w it h a

2021 S ociet y for t he A n a ly si s of Cu lt u ra l Topic s

a nd L i n g u i s t ic Ident it ies N ’A s t u r ies (S A nT I NA)

con ference or ga n i z ed by t he Un iver sit y of

Ca l i for n i a t o con nec t schol a r s i nt eres t ed i n

A s t u r i a n st ud ies a cros s t he world

T he con ference received g reat i nt eres t a nd

propel led A lva rez- Sa ncho i nt o pl a n ni n g her

S A nT I NA con ference hos t ed v i r t u a l ly by OSU

i n May T he con ference wa s open t o t he publ ic

a nd feat u red 3 0 paper s a nd 4 0 schol a r s f rom

t h ree cont i nent s t h at cont i nued t he d i scu s sion of

A s t u r i a n l i n g u i s t ics , h i s t or y a nd ci nem a

T he fi r s t goa l of t hese con ferences wa s t o u n it e

schol a rs , cu lt u ra l creat or s or a nybody i nt eres t ed i n

t he s t ud ies , a s some m ay h ave never lef t t he reg ion

B ecau se t hese schol a r s a re locat ed a cros s t he

at look i n g at A s t u r i a n h i s t or y t h at ca n creat e new

avenues of cu lt u ra l d i scu s sion

T he second goa l wa s t o d i s sem i n at e A s t u r i a n

l a n g u a ge a nd cu lt u re i nt er n at ion a l ly a nd ra i se

awa renes s of m i nor it i z ed l a n g u a ges i n a l l

cou nt r ies . T h i s a l low s for t he cont r ibut ion of

A lva rez- Sa ncho a c t ively col l a borat es i n

A s t u r i a n sem i n a r s , h av i n g recent ly par t icipat ed i n

con ferences i n Spa i n a s wel l a s Ten nes see, wh ich were bot h wel l received She recent ly publ i shed

a n ar t icle on A s t u r i a n mu sic a nd worked w it h UC

R iver side t o hos t a n event — A s t u r i a n 101 — t o ex pl a i n A s t u r i a n’s m a ny fa cet s t o t hose i nt eres t ed

i n t he a rea of s t udy

D r Su sa n a Perea-Fox , profes sor emer it a i n

Spa n i sh a nd L at i n A mer ica n s t ud ies at OSU, col l a borat ed a nd at t ended pa nel s w it h A lva rez-

Sa ncho at t he con ference of A s t u r i a n s t ud ies Perea-Fox spoke a bout her a d m i rat ion for her

col lea g ue a nd h i g h l i g ht ed A lva rez- Sa ncho hos t i n g t he second A s t u r i a n s t ud ies con ference

“ D r Isa bel A lva rez- Sa ncho h a s shi ned i n t he

l a n g u a ges a nd l it erat u res depar t ment for her s t ron g com m it ment t o excel lent t ea chi n g , resea rch a nd ser v ice t o t he depar t ment , t he u n iver sit y a nd peni n su l a r s t ud ies ,” Perea-Fox sa id . “ T hose who at t ended t he con ference — me i ncluded — not ed t he excel lent or ga n i z at ion not on ly w it h t he m i nut e det a i l s , but a l so w it h t he brea dt h of in for m at ion a nd t he k nowled ge of t he present ers .”

Connect

rom A ny where

CAS online degree programs provide crucial flexibility for students near and far

Th r ou g h t he C ol le ge of A r t s a nd S cience s ’ on l i ne de g re e

opt ion s , s t udent s h ave t he

ch a nc e t o ea r n t hei r ba chelor ’s de g re e i n c omput er s cienc e , s o ciolog y or p s ycholog y a nd a m a s t er ’s de g re e i n

s t at i s t ic s f r om v i r t u a l ly a ny where — a s lon g a s t here ’s a Wi-F i si g n a l .

CO M PUTER SCIEN CE

Wit h on l i ne s t udent s m a k i n g up rou g h ly 18 5% of it s u nder g ra du at e s t udent popu l at ion , t he Depar t ment of Comput er S cience h a s m a de a concer t ed

i n a w ide va r iet y of ci rcu m s t a nces

“ We h ave s t udent s f rom a l l ph a ses of l i fe i n ou r prog ra m ,” sa id Ca ra Br u n , a ca dem ic a dv i sor for t he comput er science prog ra m . “ We h ave some s t udent s who a re 18 yea r s old a nd at t end i n g col lege for t he fi r s t t i me. We h ave ot her s who a re es t a bl i shed i n t he work force a nd look i n g t o a dd a sk i l l set t o a dva nce t hei r ca reer s ” Sa ge Wood a rd , a comput er science sen ior, h a s been a ble t o en ga ge w it h fa cu lt y a nd par t icipat e i n resea rch despit e not bei n g on ca mpu s “ Par t icipat i n g i n resea rch a s a n u nder g ra du at e s t udent prov ided a wonder f u l ex per ience,” Wood a rd sa id

S age Woodard

“G oing into the program , I wa s conce r ned that I would be isolated a s an online stu d e nt . Howe ve r, the s uppor t and community that I have got te n to expe r ie nce wa s quite the opposite . ”

“ It h a s a l lowed me t o a dva nce i n my ca reer wh i le s t i l l h av i n g t i me t o t a ke ca re of my fa m i ly. I wou ld encou ra ge a nyone i nt eres t ed i n comput er s a nd wi l l i n g t o put i n t he work t o pu r sue t he prog ra m ”

Wood a rd ’s d i s t a nce lea r ni n g

oppor t u n it y even before her December 202 3 g ra du at ion f rom t he prog ra m

t ech nolog y compa ny, a nd I s t ar t ed a remot e posit ion a s a s ys t em s en g i neer w it h t hem t h i s spr i n g ,” Wood a rd sa id “ Hav i n g t he ex per ience i n OSU ’s comput er science prog ra m helped me

SOCIO LOGY

I n t he fa l l of 2021 , s t udent s i nt eres t ed i n sociolog y cou ld beg i n pu r su i n g t hei r deg rees on l i ne.

L a ken P r u it t , t he a dv i sor for t he sociolog y deg ree prog ra m , sa id t he oppor t u n it y i s not on ly a g reat remot e lea r ni n g opt ion , but a l so prov ides s t udent s who s t udy on ca mpu s w it h a sa fet y net

“ W h i le t he prog ra m i s fa i rly new, h av i n g t he on l i ne opt ion h a s been u sef u l for severa l s t udent s ,” P r u it t sa id “ T he on l i ne deg ree a l low s s t udent s t o h ave cont i nu it y i n t hei r deg ree a nd g ives t hem t he ch a nce t o keep work i n g i f t hey h ave t o leave ca mpu s for some rea son ”

A s t he prog ra m g row s a nd develops , P r u it t h a s seen more s t udent s en rol l i n g

“ T he sociolog y deg ree i s g reat becau se not hi n g h appen s out side of t he cont ex t of societ y,” P r u it t sa id

oppor t u n it ies t o lea r n a bout societ y a nd more a nd more s t udent s a re becom i n g i nt eres t ed i n t he oppor t u n it y. ”

C A SI E WEN D L AN D, OSU G R AD UATE FRO M N E W J ERS E Y O S U C O

t he on l i ne ps ycholog y prog ra m a re i mplement i n g a new way t o en ga ge w it h d i s t a nce lea r ners . “ We a re i ntroduci ng a specia l section of ou r succeed i n g i n ps ycholog y cou r se, speci fica l ly for our on li ne st udents,” sa id

Mered it h B eyl , a ca dem ic a dv i sor for t he on l i ne ps ycholog y prog ra m “ T h i s requi red course leads st udents to ex plore t hei r options a f ter completi ng t he deg ree, w it h a s si g n ment s desi g ned t o help t hem u nder s t a nd wh at ca reer opt ion s a re ava i l a ble at t he ba chelor ’s level , ex plore g raduate school options, per fect t hei r resu mes a nd u nder s t a nd how t o get i nvolved i n resea rch a nd t ea chi n g

a s si s t a nt sh ips i n t he depar t ment wh i le complet i n g t hei r deg rees ”

B eyl emph a si z ed t h at t he bes t on l i ne cou r ses a re cus t om i z ed i n si m i l a r way s , a ccom mod at i n g t he u n ique sit u at ion of v i r t u a l cl a s sroom s . “ T he sec t ion speci fic t o on l i ne s t udent s a l low s u s t o t a i lor t hose a s si g n ment s a nd conver sat ion s t o t hei r u n ique s t a nd i n g a s remot e lea r ners , m a k i n g t hei r ex per ience more per son a l i z ed ,” B eyl sa id

S TATIS TIC S

For t hose who have obta i ned t hei r

one ma ster ’s level on li ne deg ree t h roug h t he Depar tment of Statistics The applied statistics prog ra m equips st udents w it h cr itica l sk i l ls i n data a na ly tics

Ca sie Wend la nd, a high school teacher i n Mon mout h Cou nt y, New Jer sey, g ra du at ed f rom t he prog ra m i n May

“ I b e ga n lo ok i n g at pr og r a m s t o f u r t her my e duc at ion a nd c a me

a cr os s t h i s one , ” Wend l a nd s a id . “ I n

C asie Wendland

c ompa r i s on t o ot her s t at i s t ic s

pr og r a m s t h at I h a d re s ea rche d , O S U

c ou ld rea s on a bly ba l a nc e w it h my

e ver yd ay l i fe , but s t i l l fi n i s h t he de g re e

i n a t i mely m a n ner.”

Despit e bei n g more t h a n 1 ,00 0 m i les

away f rom ca mpu s , Wend l a nd h a s fou nd

com mu n it y at OSU

“G oi n g i nt o t he prog ra m , I wa s

concer ned t h at I wou ld be i sol at ed a s

a n on l i ne s t udent ,” Wend l a nd sa id

“ However, t he suppor t a nd com mu n it y

t h at I h ave got t en t o ex per ience wa s

qu it e t he opposit e A ny t i me I h a d a

ques t ion , t he profes sor s were ea s y t o

com mu n icat e w it h Ma ny cou r ses a l so

pos t ed v ideos of t he cl a s s i n prog res s wh i le t hey t au g ht T h i s a l lowed me t o hea r ques t ion s f rom ot her s t udent s a nd cl a s sroom d i scu s sion s ”

LE A R N MO R E a b out onlin e de gre e options through th e Colle ge of Ar t s an d S cience s at c a s .o k s t ate.e d u /o n li n e l e a rn i n g . h t m l .

Using experience from her time in the College of Ar ts and Sciences , Dr. Mendez helps build OSU 's academic future

In the 18 years Dr. Jeanette Mendez has been at Oklahoma State University, her roles have included depar tment head, associate dean, interim dean, vice provost and provost — and yet at the outset, she didn’t aspire to any of them.

“ I ’ve always thought of myself as a profe s sor, someone who jus t teache s and doe s re search B eing in adminis tration wasn’t on my B I N GO c ard ,” s aid M endez, whose fir s t foray into leader ship c ame in 2011 when she bec ame the Depar tment of Politic al S cience head “ B ut at ever y phase, with ever y oppor tunit y that pre sented it self, I jumped in and did the be s t I could at the job I ’m not one to s ay no if I think I c an provide a skill at that point in time ”

The College of Ar t s and S cience s

showc ase that skillset time af ter time: she ser ved in five permanent and interim leader ship c apacitie s within the college over the span of eight year s . Then , in 2019, the univer sit y appointed her vice provos t .

“ I ’ve never approached any position as a placeholder, and I think that ’s

re sonated ,” M endez s aid

“ I haven’t always known what the nex t s tep would be, but I have inve s ted myself in the current s tep That has meant not s tanding s till, not being complacent and jus t doing whatever I c an ” OSU Pre sident Kayse Shrum made use of that c an- do at titude and exper tise, naming M endez provos t in 202 2 Although this is the fir s t time M endez has dire c tly repor ted to a woman , she s aid it ’s leader ship s t yle, not gender, that made her buy into D r Shrum’s vision

“ I met with Pre sident Shrum on day one and thought, ‘ I want to be par t of her team , ’ ” M endez s aid . “ I ’ve been able to watch her prioritize, juggle, manage and make choice s related to her work-life balance that hadn’t be en modeled for me in my c are er. … I had ver y suppor tive pe ople I worked with

with Pre sident Shrum ”

The admiration goe s both ways , with Shrum s aying that M endez not only s tood out to her as some one “immensely qualified to ser ve OSU as the provos t,” but who also under s tood the life- changing impac t of higher educ ation

“ The land- grant mis sion of OSU is of critic al impor tance and per sonally relevant to both of us ,” s aid Shrum , who, like M endez, is a fir s t- generation college graduate. “Acce s s to a college educ ation changed the traje c tor y of what was pos sible in our live s . Student s need s trong leader s , and they ne ed example s they c an relate to J eanet te is an example of determination and turning challenge s into oppor tunitie s ” O ne such challenge -turnedoppor tunit y for M endez was helping

“ We’re recruiting the highest quality faculty and suppor ting them in all their teaching, research and creative endeavors so that they can elevate other things, but we choose to do our teaching and our research at a comprehensive land-grant university because we care about student s ”

create the universit y ’s new s trategic plan , “ We Are L and- G rant ” J erome Loughridge, OSU senior vice pre sident of sys tem operations and CEO of the OSU Re search Foundation , was a member of the planning team with whom M endez collaborated closely to f rame initial s teps of the plan before craf ting the final document .

“ You really get to know how some one think s when you have to produce such a public piece together,” Loughridge s aid “ B ased on my experience [with M endez] , OSU is in ver y good hands , indeed ”

Loughridge added that in addition to M endez pos se s sing ideal at tribute s

— namely those of creativit y, energy, intelligence and humilit y — she also has a ke en sense of humor

“ She take s the work of OSU and it s mis sion ex tremely seriously; her self, much le s s so,” Loughridge s aid “ I think that ’s an excellent way for a leader to bring pe ople along in any organization ”

Loughridge, M endez and the other member s of Shrum’s “ We Are

L and- G rant ” team pulled f rom their areas of exper tise to pre sent a plan aimed at making OSU the pre eminent land- grant ins titution in the countr y

“ The gre at thing a b o ut having this s trate gy is th at we k n ow wh at we’re fo cu se d o n a n d wh at we wa nt to d o at all p oint s in tim e ,” M e n d ez s aid . “ It ’s a b o ut all th e p uz zle pie ce s fit ting tog eth e r — th at ’s o n th e s tude nt side , th at ’s o n th e re sea rch side , th at ’s o n o ur f a cult y side

“ We’re re cr uiting th e high e s t q ualit y f a cult y a n d sup p o r ting th e m in all th eir tea ching , re sea rch a n d cre ative e n d e avo r s so th at th ey c a n e levate OS U a n d h e lp o ur s tude nt s

lot of oth e r thing s , b ut we ch o ose to d o o ur tea ching a n d o ur re sea rch at a co m p re h en sive la n d - gra nt unive r sit y be c a u se we c a re a b o ut s tude nt s ”

Loughridge echoed M endez ’s thought s , pointing out that it is through her pas t C A S and univer sit y wide role s that she c an se e f uture pos sibilitie s

“ She has a vision of how OSU c an — through it s college s and schools ,

it s facult y and s tudent s — really impac t O klahoma through innovation , work force development and OSU graduate s who c an go out and make good communitie s great,” Loughridge s aid “ I sense that D r M endez see s her work as a c alling , rather than simply a c areer.”

While M endez is more visible in her provos t role and the s take s of her decisions are of ten higher, she said there are common threads that run through her tenure at OSU that transcend any title s or perceived pre s tige

“ I have a really good sense of myself and the things that make me happy,” M endez s aid “ I don’t do this job bec ause I want power, re cognition or money. I do it bec ause I think I have the right energy and the right skill set to move the univer sit y for ward . I cons tantly come back to that I ’m in this job bec ause I think we c an make a

“ I ’m not in this for any thing more than the fac t that I c are deeply about OSU ”

Four CAS members become faculty fellows to aid new strategic plan

Answering a c all f rom the provos t, four College of Ar t s and S cience s facult y member s have s tepped up to lead initiative s as facult y fellows . I n O c to b e r 202 2 , O klah om

There are currently 10 facult y fellows selec ted to spearhead the work on strategic plan initiatives . The selec ted facult y have been asked to utilize their exper tise and connec tions to engage in conversations and collec t information

that will enhance the development of the systemwide OSU strategy.

The se fellowships are expec ted to conclude in the summer of 2024 when the fellows will provide their re searchbased re commendations to univer sit y adminis trator s

With four fellows , C A S has the greate s t showing on the 1 0 -fellow team

D r Jame s “Jim” K napp was sele c ted as the facult y fellow to lead energy initiative s under the s trategic plan priorit y, “ Powering a G rowing World Population Sustainably and Responsibly ”

A B oone Pickens S chool of G e ology profe s sor, K napp has re search intere s t s in c arbon dioxide s torage and it s implic ations on the f uture A s a facult y fellow, he has been tasked with leading cros s- c ampus conver s ations to gather

an inventor y of OSU ’s current energy endeavor s and produce a plan to set OSU apar t in the indus tr y.

“ I am building my task force and working to make sure there is a voice for ever yone who needs to be at the table,” K napp s aid “ This is really coming down to figuring out what s trengths OSU has in the energy indus tr y and identif ying areas of grow th and where we c an collaborate within our ins titution and beyond ”

The topic of energy has a longs tanding his tor y in O klahoma K napp se e s this as an oppor tunit y to grow OSU ’s involvement in the industr y and to connec t with exper t s to leverage those experience s into a sus tainable plan

“ This initiative is really about energy as it relate s to critic al social is sue s ,” K napp s aid “ That aspe c t has opened the door for some incredible collaboration and conver s ation with

depar tment s like philosophy and the S chool of M edia and Strategic Communic ations ”

“ The timing is per fe c t for a trans formative model of general educ ation that is innovative and provide s s tudent s with a broad skill

their core, contain aspe c t s spe cific to the culture of an ins titution . Given Dr. Tamara Mix | Sociology

D r Tamara Mix is the head of the Depar tment of S ociology and ser ve s as the social science s repre sentative for the G eneral Educ ation Advisor y Council Mix has been tasked with leading a working group, “G uiding G eneral Educ ation Reform ,” to revise OSU ’s general educ ation sys tem and enhance s tudent and facult y experience s with general educ ation

the land- grant mis sion to provide a ‘liberal and prac tic al educ ation ,’ we are working toward the development of a relevant and intelle c tually challenging general educ ation program ”

The swe eping nature of C A S — with 24 depar tment s covering the social science s , ar t s and humanitie s , and

the oppor tunit y to find diver se cour se s to meet their degre e requirement s B ec ause of that, it is likely that ever y s tudent who pas se s through OSU will

“O ne never knows when something we learned in a subjec t area far f rom our c areer- oriented s tudie s c an enrich our live s or ser ve us in a rapidly changing societ y,” Mix s aid . “ I am proud to ser ve the univer sit y and par ticularly our s tudent s by building a sys tem that is acce s sible and per tinent to them as engaged scholar s and f uture member s of the work force ”

Along with ser ving the college as as sociate dean for per sonnel and facult y development, D r Rebe cc a B rienen is the facult y fellow in charge of “ Enriching and Integrating the Ar t s ”

Among her other title s and experience s , B rienen is a profe s sor of ar t his tor y and the dire c tor of the Prairie Ar t s Center, a collaboration bet we en the cit y of Stillwater and OSU to promote engagement with the ar t s Af ter being encouraged by her colleague s who felt she was the be s t fit for this role, B rienen accepted the oppor tunit y to repre sent C A S in a new way as a facult y fellow

“A s the individual heading up this task force, I recognize it is impor tant to take an interdisciplinar y approach and speak with entities across campus in programs beyond the college,” B rienen s aid “ S o much of our ever yday lives are impacted by ar t — the de sign of Theta Pond and the beautif ul gardens around c ampus are both example s of ar t that appear in somewhat unconventional ways ” B rienen aims to gather voice s f rom a range of areas and depar tment s to create centralization .

“ I a m re alizing that th e re a re so ma ny pe o ple a cros s c a m p u s co ntrib uting to th e a r t s in o n e way o r an oth e r an d thing s a re ve r y silo e d ,” B rie n e n s aid “ I h o p e to ide ntif y th e re so urce s a n d t ale nt s th at OS U curre ntly ha s a n d p re se nt a way to s tre ngth e n a n d unite th e m to co ntrib ute to th e s trate gic pla n ”

A s a fir s t- generation Americ an and a fir s t- generation college s tudent, D r Steph Link ’s journey to the work force c ame with challenge s For that reason , she has taken the leap to as sis t in both the ac ademic and f uture c are er journeys of OSU s tudent s through her facult y fellow as signment, “ Preparing the Future Work force.”

“ When the c all for fellows was announced , I knew I could contribute to how we prepare s tudent s for the f uture work force by utilizing my own per sonal and profe s sional background to help bet ter under s tand the diver se experience s that lead s tudent s to OSU,” Link s aid “ I have a vision for suppor ting s tudent s on their path to acquiring the core competencie s that will enable

them to confidently lead our work force into an undefined f uture.”

The approach Link is taking to move OSU ’s s trategy for ward is rooted in convergent collaborations H er vision for the f uture of s tudent suppor t and and indus tr y par tner s to the table

“ I want prospe c tive s tudent s to come to OSU and already se e how our univer sit y will lead them on a path to be coming our world ’s innovator s ,” Link s aid “ To do this , we need to bring together the many wonder f ul oppor tunitie s our communit y has to in those experience s paired with their degre e programs c an enable them to acquire the core competencie s of an ideal graduate.

“ There are many amazing members of our C A S communit y that contribute to our college in spe cial ways that improve the qualit y of the s tudent experience and thus the quality of education at OSU B y rep re se nting th e colle g e a s a fe llow, I o nly h o p e to pla ce myse lf am o ng s t th e m all by b eing a n a c tive lis te n e r with a n o p p o r tunit y to sh a re th eir voice s in a way that will unif y o ur c a m p u s towa rd a sha re d mis sio n ”

In addition to Provos t M endez and OSU Facult y Fellows K napp, Mix , B rienen and Link , there are many other C A S facult y member s and alumni ser ving in univer sit y wide leader ship role s They include:

Vice Provos t | Ch ris Fra n cisco (Math)

Interim Vice Provos t and Dean of the College of Profe s sional Studie s at OSU -Tuls a | Cra ig Free m a n (SM SC )

Interim Dean , H onor s College | R ich a rd Froh ock (English)

CAS Interim Dean, Dean of Honors College | Keith Garbutt (Plant Biology)

Vice President, Institutional Diversity | Jason Kirksey (Political Science)

A s sociate Provos t and Dean , OSU G lobal | Ran dy K luve r (SM SC )

Regis trar | R it a Peas te r (Math)

Vice Pre sident, Re search | Ke n n et h S ewell (P sychology)

Interim Dean , G raduate College | J ea n Va n D elin d e r (S ociology)

S enior A s sociate Vice Pre sident, Re search | Ro n Va n De n B u s sch e (Integrative Biology)

Water Work s

NGWA University expands access to groundwater education

In t he t wo yea rs si nce it s creat ion , NGWA Un iversit y Powered by OSU ( NGWAU ) ha s ma de g reat st r ides i n g row i n g work force development prog ra m m i n g a nd K-1 2 educat iona l mat er ia ls relat ed t o g rou ndwat er — rea chi n g professiona ls a nd st udent s a rou nd t he world

“O ver one m i l l ion dol la rs ha s been f u nd ra ised f rom i nd iv idua l a nd cor porat e spon sorsh ips t o suppor t NGWAU,” sa id Dr. Ca it l i n Ba r nes, d i rect or of NGWAU a nd d i rect or of t he Col lege of A r t s a nd Sciences O ut rea ch at Ok la homa St at e Un iversit y “ T hese cont r ibut ion s demon st rat e bot h t he need for NGWAU resou rces a nd t he suppor t it a l rea dy ha s f rom t he g rou ndwat er i ndust r y ”

Wit h s upp or t f r om t he B o one P icken s S cho ol of G e olog y, NGWAU

w a s e s t a bl i s he d b y CA S i n 2 021 a s a par t ner s h ip b et we en t he Nat ion a l Gr ou nd Wat er A s s o ci at ion a nd O S U

B

3 6 0 (A A 3 6 0), w it h more pr og r a m m i n g

i n t he work s

“ D r i l l i n g B a sic s O n l i ne — wh ich

i nc lude s si x pr ofe s sion a l de velopment

c ou r s e s i n g r ou ndw at er a cce s s — h a s be en c omplet e d i n 1 8 s t at e s a nd fou r

c ou nt r ie s s o fa r,” B a r ne s s a id “O u r

K-1 2 E x t en sion pr og r a m , Awe s ome

A qu i fer 3 6 0, h a s rea che d 41 s t at e s a nd

2 3 0 c l a s sr o om s , t ot a l i n g more t h a n

6 ,00 0 s t udent s .”

It ’s t h rou g h A A 360 t hat NGWAU a i m s t o a dd ress f ut u re geoscience work force shor t a ges by i nt roduci n g g rou ndwat er ca reers t o ch i ld ren ea rly on T he A A 360 cu r r icu lu m i ncludes v i r t ua l labs t o i ncrea se cla ssroom a ccessibi l it y a nd physica l k it s t o en ga ge st udent s i n ha nds- on ear t h science a ct iv it ies “A s a for mer m idd le school science

it is t o fi nd qua l it y, st a nda rds-ba sed cu rr icu lu m for t ea chi n g ear t h science, so A A 360 is a phenomena l resou rce,”

NGWAU i n st r uct iona l desi g ner Nichole

Fox sa id . “ We’ve been able t o prov ide

A A 360 f ree of cost t o ma ny t ea chers

t ha n k s t o donat ion s f rom people who ca re about t he f ut u re of geosciences

We hope t o get even more cla ssroom spon sors; whet her t hey ’re i nd iv idua ls or cor porat ion s, donors wi l l forever i mpa ct t he f ut u re of science educat ion ”

A s NGWAU cont i nues t o ga r ner

at t ent ion f rom professiona ls, pol it icia n s, educat ors a nd t he l i ke, Ba r nes ’

St i l lwat er-ba sed t ea m recog n i zes t he prog ra m’s pot ent ia l a nd respon sibi l it y t o help t he g rou ndwat er i ndust r y

“ We have moment u m , but we must move fa st er a nd rea ch f u r t her t o a dd ress t he nat iona l work force deficit , ” Ba r nes sa id . “ T h rou g h a ca dem ics, resea rch a nd out rea ch , it is t he m ission of NGWAU t o upsk i l l t he cu r rent work force, t ra i n f ut u re g rou ndwat er professiona ls a nd est abl ish educat iona l pat hways for st udent s of a l l a ges t o pu rsue ca reers i n g rou ndwat er ”

LE A R N MO R E a b o ut N GWA U niver sit y at okl a . s t /n gwa u

OSU ’s A ir Force R OTC commis sions its first Spa ce Force

second lieutena nt

Ok l a hom a S t at e Un iver sit y A i r

Force ROTC com m i s sioned it s fi r s t

Spa ce Force second l ieut en a nt , Ca det

Ja cquely n Ha r sh a , t h i s spr i n g

T he A i r Force Det a ch ment 670 h a s

looked for wa rd t o t he com m i s sioni n g ever si nce t he es t a bl i sh ment of t he U S

Spa ce Force t o t he a r med forces i n 201 9

“ I a m t he fi r s t who speci fica l ly

appl ied t o s w it ch t o US SF, i nt er v iewed for it a nd got t o wea r t he Spa ce Force u n i for m a s a ca det ,” Ha r sh a sa id . “ It i s cra z y t o see u ndercl a s smen look i n g up t o me a nd wa nt i n g t o t a ke t he sa me pat h a s me. I a m honored t o set t he precedent for excel lence here at Det 670 for f ut u re

Spa ce Force ca det s ”

F rom a you n g a ge, Ha r sh a k new

she wa nt ed t o joi n t he m i l it a r y, a nd t he

a dd it ion of t he Spa ce Force bra nch gave her a focu s for her pa s sion

Ha r sh a i s cu r rent ly awa it i n g order s

t o repor t t o her fi r s t ba se at Va ndenber g

Spa ce Force Ba se i n Ca l i for n i a , where

CDIS debuts voice a nd swa llow ing lab

T he D epar t ment of C om mu n ic at ion

op ene d it s new Voic e a nd S w a l low i n g

La b i n t he ba s ement of t he S o ci a l

S cience s a nd Hu m a n it ie s B u i ld i n g on

t he O S U- S t i l lw at er c a mpu s at a r ibb on-

c ut t i n g c eremony i n M ay

“ T he l a b g ive s C DI S s t udent s a

ch a nc e t o lea r n a nd pr a c t ic e pr o c e du re s

t h at wou ld nor m a l ly b e lea r ne d

p os t- g r a du at ion , ” s a id Sherr i Nor t on ,

c l in ic a l a s si s t a nt pr ofe s s or a nd hea d of

t he l a b “ T h i s g ive s t hem a n a dv a nt a ge over ot her s cho ol s a nd help s t o bu i ld t hei r c on fidenc e a nd u nder s t a nd i n g ” Nor t on e x pl a i ne d t h at voic e a nd

s w a l low i n g d i s or der s a re a rea s of sp ee ch pat holog y t reat ment s t h at of t en ne e d more at t ent ion du r i n g

s t udent s ’ a c a dem ic c a re er s i n or der t o

she wi l l at t end u nder g ra du at e spa ce

t ra ini n g t o beg i n her ca reer a s a spa ce

“ E ver yone need s com mu n it y du r i n g

t hei r t i me i n col lege, a nd t he people you

su r rou nd you r sel f w it h wi l l d i rec t ly

i mpa c t not on ly you r ex per ience i n

col lege, but a l so t he per son you wi l l

be at t he end of col lege,” Ha r sh a sa id .

“Choosi n g a prog ra m l i ke A F ROTC i s

su re t o ch a l len ge you , but a l so prov ide

you w it h a com mu n it y of d r iven

i nd iv idu a l s who wi l l help you t h rou g h

t he h a rd t i mes . ”

For t hose i nt eres t ed , t he OSU

A F ROTC prog ra m h a s mu lt iple

schol a r sh ip oppor t u n it ies a nd does not

requ i re a n a f t er-g ra du at ion m i l it a r y

com m it ment For more in for m at ion

a bout t he A F ROTC a nd Spa ce Force prog ra m , v i sit af rotc .o k s t ate.e d u

b et t er prepa re t hem for t he work pl a c e

Wit h t he help of C DI S fa c u lt y, t he

l a b’s e qu ipment — wh ich i nc lude s a

c omput er i z e d sp ee ch l a b, l a r y n gos c op e ,

a n at om ic a l ly c or re c t hea d a nd ne ck mo del s a nd more — wi l l do jus t t h at

“ I a m mos t e xcit e d t o a l low s t udent s t he ch a nc e t o p er for m si mu l at e d a nd

l ive fle x ible endos c opic e v a lu at ion s

of s w a l low i n g bec a u s e t h i s i s a n

opp or t u n it y t h at mos t u n iver sit ie s do not pr ov ide , ” Nor t on s a id . “ We m ay b e

t he on ly u n iver sit y i n t he s t at e t h at h a s

t h i s e qu ipment for s t udent s t o ut i l i z e at

t he u nder g r a du at e a nd g r a du at e le vel s ”

T he l a b i s c u r rent ly b ei n g u s e d t o

t reat c l ient s i n t he Sp ee ch-L a n g u a ge -

Hea r i n g C l i n ic Howe ver, pl a n s i nc lude

mobi le a pp oi nt ment s i n lo c a l nu r si n g

home s , re s ea rch s t ud ie s rel at e d t o

breat hi n g e xerci s e s , Pa rk i n s on’s

d i s ea s e re s ea rch , a nd c ol l a b or at ion

w it h t he mu sic depar t ment t o re s ea rch voic e a nd vo c a l pat holog ie s t h at i n fluenc e t he si n g i n g voic e

A lum Ja cly n Cosg rove sha res

jour na listic a dv ice at a nnua

l lecture ser ies

Ok l a hom a S t at e Un iver sit y ’s S chool of

Med i a a nd S t rat eg ic Com mu n icat ion s

(SM SC ) gat hered i n t he S t udent Un ion

T heat er on Apr i l 1 3 for t he 3 4t h a n nu a l

Pau l M i l ler lec t u re ser ies

T h i s yea r ’s key not e spea ker — Ja cly n

Cosg rove, a s si s t a nt cit y ed it or at t he L os

An gel es Tim es — gave t hei r present at ion

t it led , “ How t o Succeed a s a G ood

Hu m a n (A nd Jou r n a l i s t) ”

T h rou g h t i mes when t hey repor t ed on l ives los t i n Ok l a hom a t or n a does a nd even a s t or y t hey w rot e a bout t he fa m i ly

of a v ic t i m of Ch a rles Ma n son , Cosg rove stressed the impor ta nce of being kind a nd respec t f u l when i n t he jou r n a l i sm field

“ You a re a hu m a n fi r s t a nd jou r n a l i s t second , t h at i s rea l ly i mpor t a nt t o remember,” Cosg rove sa id

R eca l l i n g a t i me when t hey h a d t o brea k t he new s t o fa m i l ies whose rel at ives pa s sed away wh i le i n pr i son , Cosg rove emph a si z ed t he i mpor t a nce of repor t er s t a k i n g ca re of t hei r ow n ment a l hea lt h

“ I h a d t o b e t he one t o t e l l t hem t h a t bec a u s e I w a s goi n g t o pr i nt t h a t i n t he

ne w s pa p er,” C o s g r o ve s a id . “ To t h i s

d ay, it ’s a t ie for t he h a r de s t t hi n g I ’ ve

e ver done ”

A 2009 SMSC g rad or ig i na l ly f rom

A r pela r, Ok la homa , Cosg rove bega n t hei r

ca reer a s a jour na list i n h ig h school a s a n

i nter n for t he McAlester News- Capital

They went on to w r ite for T he O’Colly,

Sand Springs Leader, Oklahoma Watch

a nd T he Oklahoman before joini ng t he

L A Times i n 2017 In 2022, t hey ea r ned a Ma ster of Lega l St udies deg ree f rom t he

UCL A School of Law

T he Pau l M i l ler lect u re ser ies wa s

est abl ished by t he 1931 OSU g ra duat e of t he sa me na me who hea ded t he Ga n net t

newspaper cha i n a nd t he A ssociat ed

P ress i n h is ca reer. It is f u nded t h rou g h

OSU a nd t he Col lege of A r t s a nd

Sciences t o cont i nue M i l ler ’s legac y of et h ica l a nd a ccu rat e jou r na l ism . Dr.

Ja red Joh n son , professor a nd i nt er i m d i rect or of SMSC, sa id he is g rat ef u l

t he school cont i nues t o have t he lect u re ser ies ea ch yea r

“ It ’s rea l ly i mpor t a nt i n t oday ’s world , because we need good jou r na l ism more t ha n ever,” Joh n son sa id “A nd

t h is is a way t o t ea ch t he i ncom i n g jou r na l ism st udent s t hat t hey ca n ma ke a n i mpa ct i n t he world a nd especia l ly g iven t h is la st lect u re, do it i n a way t hat is hu ma ne a nd k i nd ”

Spea ker ser ies spotlig hts women in mathematic s

T he Depar t ment of Mat hem at ic s

i s a i m i n g t o i n spi re Ok l a hom a S t at e

Un iver sit y s t udent s t o pu r sue ca reer s i n

m at hem at ic s t h rou g h it s Di s t i n g u i shed

Women i n Mat hem at ic s Col loqu iu m

S er ies , w it h par t icu l a r focu s on sh a r i n g

it s mes sa ge w it h women a nd ot her gender m i nor it ies

E ver y semes t er, m at h fa cu lt y member s ident i f y succes sf u l fem a le m at hem at ici a n s t o i nv it e t o ca mpu s . For fou r d ay s , i nv it ees m a ny of whom h ave n at ion a l awa rd s , pres ti g iou s g ra nt s or I nt er n at ion a l Con g res s of Mat hem at ic s

spea k i n g en ga gement s — present t hei r fi nd i n g s a nd i nt era c t w it h OSU resea rch g roups , br i n g i n g t o l i fe d iver se a rea s of ex per t i se t h at in for m u nder g ra du at es a nd i n spi re sen ior t heses

“ I per son a l ly benefit ed a lot f rom D r Su sa n Morey ’s v i sit i n fa l l 2021 , a s it t remendou s ly helped s t ren g t hen my resea rch con nec t ion w it h her,” sa id D r

A les sa nd ra Cos t a nt in i , a pos t doc t ora l fel low i n t he m at h depar t ment . “ T h i s posit ive ex per ience mot ivat ed me t o joi n t he col loqu iu m’s or ga n i z at ion a l t ea m i n 2022 , a nd t he OSU Ch apt er of t he

A s soci at ion for Women i n Mat hem at ics , wh ich D r B el l a Tobi n a nd D r Nei l

T he in for m a l conver sat ion s w it h t he i nv it ed spea ker a re helpf u l i n t ea chi n g s t udent s t o fi nd t he beaut y i n m at hem at ics , t o per si s t t h rou g h t he ch a l len ges t h at come w it h s t udy i n g t h i s

field, a nd to bui ld t heir resea rch net works a nd involvement in depar tment activ ities

S t ay i n t he loop a bout f ut u re

Di s t i n g u i shed Women i n Mat hem at ic s

Col loqu iu m event s by v i sit i n g

m at h .o k s t ate.e d u /awm .

Opening Doors

Alumni’s newly established ar ts and sciences scholarship aids promising CAS students

Afi r s t- of-it s-k i nd schol a r sh ip i n

t he Col lege of A r t s a nd S ciences

m a kes it s debut t h i s fa l l

For yea r s , R ober t a nd Sh a ron

Keat i n g h ave f u nded schol a r sh ips

for s t udent s f rom t hei r homet ow n of

Ma n g u m , Ok l a hom a , where t hey met i n

fi f t h g ra de. A nd s t i l l , t hey wa nt ed t o fi nd

a way t o do somet hi n g more.

T hei r solut ion wa s t he Keat i n g

Fa m i ly A r t s a nd Sciences Schola rsh ip, wh ich wa s creat ed t o help t he col lege

recr u it t he best a nd br i g ht est prospect s wh i le prov id i n g t he fi na ncia l a id

t o ma ke at t end i n g Ok la homa St at e

Un iversit y possible for t he st udent s

a lway s wa nt ed t o m a ke cont r ibut ion s ,”

R ober t Keat i n g sa id . “A nd a s we t a l ked a bout t h i s schol a r sh ip, we t hou g ht i f we cou ld u se it t o recr u it t op s t udent s t o come t o OSU t h at sou nded rea l ly excit i n g .” T he t wo s t udent s selec t ed a s Keat i n g S chol a r s wi l l ea ch receive

a $ 4 0,00 0 schol a r sh ip, d i sper sed i n $10,00 0 i ncrement s ever y yea r of t hei r fou r-yea r u nder g ra du at e ca reer s at OSU

It wa s mea ni ng f u l to t he Keati ngs t hat t he awa rd be substa ntia l enoug h to be a rea l draw for st udents to choose OSU

focus t hei r energ y on t hei r st udies.

“ It i s so i mpor t a nt for a n OSU deg ree t o be at t a i n a ble for s t udent s , a nd t hese schol a r sh ips a re ga me ch a n ger s ,” sa id D r. A my Mar t i nd a le, CA S a s si s t a nt dea n for s t udent a ca dem ic ser v ices . “ I n s t ea d of pieci n g t oget her sm a l l schol a r sh ips f rom severa l sou rces — ea ch w it h t hei r ow n set of requ i rement s — t he Keat i n g S chol a r s h ave a clea r a nd

D R K EITH GAR B UT T, C A S I NTERI M D E AN

si mple fi n a nci a l pa ck a ge t h at put s OSU

i n t hei r rea ch ”

B eau L a moreau x a nd Graycie

Doher t y a re i ncom i n g f resh men who

h ave a ccept ed t he awa rd for fa l l 202 3

a nd wi l l be welcomed a s t he i n au g u ra l

Keat i n g S chol a r s . L a moreau x i s f rom

En id , Ok l a hom a , a nd pl a n s t o s t udy

comput er science at OSU. Doher t y, f rom

Cl a remore, Ok l a hom a , wi l l pu r sue a deg ree i n ps ycholog y

“ Wit h CA S , t h i s schol a r sh ip ca n

Sh a ron Keat i n g sa id “ It ’s jus t a n

LE A R N MO R E a b out ma king a n impa c t in th e Colle ge of Ar t s an d S cien ce s thro ugh schola r ships by conta c ting L a ura Ketch um at 4 05 -3 8 5 - 0701 or l ketchu m @osu g ivi n g .co m . “ We are ve r y gratef ul to the Keatings fo r their gif t. With thi s scholarship, we w ill be able to at t ra ct high- a chie v ing stu d e nts to the college and allow the m to p ros pe r.”

a m a z i n g oppor t u n it y for such a l a r ge g roup of i nd iv idu a l s w it h such a va r iet y of idea s a bout wh at t hey wa nt t o be a nd wh at t hey wa nt t o pu r sue ” T he t wo schol a r s a l so fit t he mold of t he awa rd ’s pu r pose t o recr u it t op t a lent , a s bot h s t udent s were ra n ked i n t he t op five of t hei r h i g h school cl a ss . “ We a re ver y g rat ef u l t o t he Keat i n g s for t hei r g i f t ,” sa id D r. Keit h G a rbut t , CA S i nt er i m dea n “ Wit h t h i s schol a r sh ip, we wi l l be a ble t o at t ra c t h i g h-a ch iev i n g s t udent s t o t he col lege a nd a l low t hem t o prosper A s a n awa rd

t h at i s ava i l a ble for a l l fou r yea r s of t he s t udent ’s ca reer at OSU, it a l low s t hem t o concent rat e on get t i n g t he mos t out of t hei r educat ion so t hey m ay become lea der s i n t hei r chosen field .”

HON O R I N

G

O U T S T A N D I N G A L UMN

I

Each year, the College of Ar t s and Sciences at Oklahoma State Universit y recognizes remarkable alumni whose accomplishment s and ser vice are tangible evidence of their distinc tion Honors are separated into three categories: Rising Stars , Distinguished Alumni and Hall of Fame The annual celebration of these C A S graduates will be held in September on OSU -Stillwater ’s campus For more information about C A S alumni honors , visit okla . st /c as- hof.

R I S IN G S TA R S

Re cipient s of the Rising Star award are alumni who have graduated with their C A S undergraduate or graduate degre e within the pas t 1 0 year s . In addition to already reaching major c areer mile s tone s , Rising Star s have shown exemplar y communit y ser vice and a commitment to volunte erism

D

I

L awrence Johnston Economic s and Aerospace Studie s (Air Force ROTC ) ’70

Gar y Smith

Chemis tr y ’ 8 6

Communic ations S cience s and Disorder s ’ 8 0, ’ 82

Lisa Wingate English ’ 8 8

L andon “L anny ” Holman G eology ’7 2

HA L L O F FA

ME

C A S Hall of Fame induc te e s embody the qualitie s that make OSU an extraordinar y place to learn and grow H onore e s are nominated by their departments for achieving exceptional succe s s in their c areer s , displaying

their communities and showing great loyalt y to their alma mater

S T IN G UI S HE D A L UMNI

Ray Smith His tor y ’ 8 0

Charles Onstott Philosophy ’ 92

Sabine Davis L anguage s and Literature s ’ 93

Kerr y Alexander Politic al S cience ’ 8 6

Gar y Shutt S chool of M edia and Strategic Communic ations ’74

L arr y “ Hank” Hankla S ociology ’73

Kimberly Strickland M usic ’0 0

Tanya Johnson

Statis tic s ’76

Collins’ studies lead her to helping others

Ata ke n d uring h e r junio r yea r at O klah om a St ate U nive r sit y se nt Emily Ram seye r Collin s o n a jo urn ey sh e’s s till e njoying to day

“ The cour se taught the impor tance of a journalis t ’s role as a watchdog ,” Collins s aid “Af ter some inve s tigative tac tic s for an ar ticle I was writing uncovered wrongdoing , I was inspired to learn more about the legal sys tem and seek a c are er that would allow me to help pe ople ”

Af ter graduating in 2015 with a degree in multimedia journalism f rom the S chool of M edia and Strategic Communic ations , Collins at tended the U niver sit y of O klahoma College of L aw and re ceived her J uris Doc tor in 201 8 She is now an as sociate in the advising client s in e s tate and tax

planning , guardianships , probate and trus t adminis tration

“OSU ’s journalism clas se s prepared me well for law school bec ause of the skills they helped me develop in inter viewing , inve s tigating , reading , re searching , writing and analysis ,” Collins s aid “A journalism degre e is an excellent foundation for law school. I use the skills I learned at OSU in my c areer ever y day ”

While a s tudent in the College of Ar t s and S cience s , Collins took par t in a wide range of ac tivitie s , f rom clubs and commit te e s to a broadc as t news internship to studying abroad in London.

foundation that set me up for success in many aspec t s of my life — both personally and professionally,” Collins said “ Through OSU ’s professors , facult y,

in and out of the classroom , it instilled in me hard work , open-mindedness and passion that propelled me to be the best version of myself ”

Collins’ resume includes interning for Judge W Eugene Davis on the United States Fif th Circuit Cour t of Appeals and Chief Judge Gregor y K Frizzell of the U S Distric t Cour t for the Nor thern Distric t of Oklahoma

Collins is an ac tive member of the J unior League of O klahoma Cit y, and volunteer s with Re s tore O KC , H ugh O’ B rian Youth Leader ship and the O KC Chi O mega Alumnae.

Collins married her husband , Taylor — a 2017 College of Engineering , Archite c ture and Te chnology graduate — in May 202 3 The couple live in O klahoma Cit y and enjoy playing golf and pickleball, as well as at tending OSU spor ting event s

DuBoise -Shepherd shares her Native culture through ar t

Along with being an ar tis t, illustrator and educator, Amber L . D uB oise -Shepherd is a culture bearer ; she use s her talent to depic t contemporar y Native Americ an ar t work based on her Navajo, S ac and Fox , and Prairie B and Potawatomi heritage

“ I want to show my Native relative s — both young and old — that we are re silient,” D uB oise -Shepherd s aid “ I want to make a change, and I believe I c an do that through my ar t work and through sharing my knowledge of the ar t s and my Native culture ”

D uB oise -Shepherd earned her as sociate degree in ar t f rom S eminole State College before at tending O klahoma State U niver sit y, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Ar ts degree with a minor in entrepreneurship in 2016

“ I had great mentors in several profe s sor s who helped me in navigating my fir s t body of ar t work ,” s aid D uB oise -Shepherd , who work s in oil paint, 2D mixed media , t ypography, digital ar t and sound “ I continue to use the skills to this day in my c are er. I c an’t thank them enough … for giving me a solid foundation to build upon ”

Previously the manager of education and outreach at the Mabe e - G errer M useum of Ar t (M G M oA), D uB oiseShepherd has her own galler y in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and is the assistant to the dire c tor for the S chool of Visual Ar t s at the U niver sit y of O klahoma

“A s ar tis t s , we do more than jus t create ar t work ,” D uB oise -Shepherd said “ We are running our own business, being our own promoter s and

adminis trator s , while creating ar t work that is thought-provoking to people and c an be challenging to our societ y.”

In 2020, D uB oise -Shepherd was commis sioned by the Fir s t Americ ans M useum in O klahoma Cit y to create a large oil painting that was digitally conver ted into a mural for the WI N I KO: Life of an O bjec t exhibition

In 202 1 , she was chosen as one of the O klahoma Visual Ar t Coalition Spotlight Ar tis t s and in 202 2 she curated the M G M oA exhibition

Tkenagen M nowabmenagwet: The B eaut y of Indigenous Cradlebo ards

Edmonds crack s the code on success

Computer science wasn’t the field Vic toria Edmonds (né e S om de

she c ame to O klahoma State U niver sit y — she’d wanted to solve crime s using mathematic s like she’d se en on the T V show “ N umb3r s ”

B ut af ter receiving encouragement f rom her engine ering-filled family to inve s tigate computer science, she took a C S cour se with D r B laine May field and fell in love with it

“ I learned that I could make things happen with code,” s aid Edmonds , who went on to intern with E x xon M obil before se curing a f ull-time job with the company af ter graduation

O r ig i na lly f ro m B ro ke n A r row, O k l ah om a , Ed m o n d s wa s h e sita nt to

j u s t s ta r te d d ati n g fe ll ow OS U s tude nt Tod d Ed m o n d s , w h o s till h a d an oth e r yea r of s c h o o l

“ It was a huge braver y moment,” Vic toria Edmonds s aid “ B ut I took a leap of faith , and I really love this role ”

Edmonds is the produc t manager of Re search High Per formance

Computing at E x xon M obil She noted the great mentor s she has within her organization , and the oppor tunit y to be par t of the company ’s outreach programs S o far, she’s be en involved with an elementar y school LEGO robot s experience, teaching programing te chnique s and expanded visualization

In addition to re ceiving a bachelor ’s degre e in computer science f rom OSU in 2015 , Edmonds earned a mas ter ’s degre e f rom Columbia U niver sit y in 2019 H er body of work include s the development of algorithms , plat form de sign and the architec ture of s trategy for some of the large s t super computer s in the world She holds several patent s , public ations and recognitions in the field of machine learning

Edmonds is married to Todd , who was a 202 2 C A S Rising Star Together they enjoy glas sblowing clas se s , cooking new foods with Vic toria’s grandmother and are ac tive in ser ving their J er sey Cit y communit y

HALL OF FAME

Charle s “Chic ” Dambach at tended O klahoma State U niver sit y on a football scholar ship but found his

D uring his time at OSU, Dambach met former debate coach Dale Stock ton, who sparked in Dambach a de sire to analy ze social is sue s and speak up for what he believed in . When he hung up his N o. 5 1 football jer sey for the final time af ter a c areer- ending injur y, Dambach was able to focus on advoc ating for change — fir s t at the university level during the Vietnam War, and then throughout his c areer

Af ter graduating f rom OSU in 19 67 in spe ech — before earning a mas ter ’s degree in 197 7 f rom Wake Fore s t U niver sit y — Dambach volunte ered for the Peace Corps and was sent to Colombia His work in a small fishing village led to him becoming pre sident and CEO of the National Peace Corps A s sociation dec ade s later

Dambach and Congre s sman J ohn G aramendi, another Peace Corps alumnus , helped the leader s of Ethiopia and Eritrea reach an agre ement to

end their border war, and the t wo men played similar role s helping the Democratic Republic of the Congo end a civil war

Over the years, Dambach has worked with many organizations devoted to peace and acceptance, including ser ving as the CEO of Alliance for Peacebuilding f rom 20 05 -11 and dire c tor and CEO for O peration Re spe c t f rom 20 03- 05 and 201 6 -17, re spe c tively Dambach was a senior consultant with B oardS ource, where he helped write t wo book s on nonprofit governance H e also ser ved

G aramendi In 2020, he retired as an adjunc t facult y member at J ohns Hopkins and American universities af ter ser ving for almos t a dec ade

Along the way, the president of the west African nation Mali designated him a “knight ” — the highest honor the countr y bestows on any foreigner In addition, OSU ’s School of Global Studies inducted him into the Henr y G Bennett Distinguished Fellowship

In his memoir, Exhaust the Limits , the Life and Times of a Global Peacebuilder,

Dambach recounts a lifetime of ser vice and successful initiatives for peace, including being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017

Af ter receiving the College of Ar ts and Science Distinguished Alumni award in 2004, he wrote in his book that he wanted the rising generation to challenge the status quo, explore the world, and “embrace friendships as life’s greatest treasure ”

“ Make friends — make lots of them, nur ture them, and cherish ever y one of them,” Dambach wrote “And, ser ve your community and your world Become par t of the power ful force of civilization Lives filled with friendship and ser vice become lives of purpose and joy ”

HALL OF FAME

Although Bill Goldston was born in Hatch , New Mexico, and grew up on a farm in southern Oklahoma , he has spent most of his life in New York , working for world-renowned finear t printing company Universal Limited Ar t Editions (U L AE ) as a master printer and mentor to young ar tist s Af ter graduating f rom Linds ay High S chool in 19 6 1 , G olds ton at tended O klahoma State U niver sit y and received his B achelor of Fine Ar t s in 19 6 6

“ I learned f rom OSU profe s sor s M cK inney, B enson , B loodgood and M cVicker that there is no subs titute for hard work in the s tudio,” G olds ton s aid H e continued his ar t educ ation by at tending the U niver sit y of Minne sota in Minneapolis In S eptember 19 67, G olds ton was draf ted into the U S Army and completed t wo year s ser ving as a commercial printer before returning to school in 19 69

At that time, Zigmunds Priede, Goldston’s printmaking instruc tor and a former printer at U L AE, asked if he

would accompany him to work for U L AE founder Tat yana Grosman at her home studio of Skidmore Place The summer of 19 69 was principally spent printing the photo-sensitive stone series with Rober t Rauschenberg Goldston continued to fly back and for th between New York and Minnesota until he finished his Master of Fine Ar t s degree and moved to Long Island to begin his full-time career at U L AE in 197

g a ll e r y ex h i b iti o n s A s of to d ay, m o re th a n 1 0 0 OS U s tude nt s h ave live d at S k i d m o re P l a ce a n d b e n efi te d f ro m th e i nte r n s h i p p ro g r a m

“ When I was an ar t s tudent at OSU in the early- to mid-six tie s , to under s tand what was happening in the N ew York or Los Angle s ar t scene s , I looked to magazine s like Look, Life, S aturday Evening P ost and Ar t News,” G olds ton s aid “ S o, when I graduated , I made myself a promise that if I was succe s s f ul in my pos tgraduate year s , I would find a way to help OSU ar t s tudent s experience ar t fir s thand .”

s e s of th e pa s t 4 0 yea r s a re owe d l a rg e ly to G ol d s to n ’s g ui d an ce B y th e 1 9 8 0 s , G ol d s to n h a d p u rc h a s e d

D u ri n g th i s ti m

, G ol d s to n be g a n a s tu de nt i nte r n p ro g r a m with OS U ’s a r t de p a r tm e nt to b ri n g s tu de nt s to N ew

Yo r k to wo r k with wo r l d - cl a s s a r ti s t s at U L A E a n d at te n d m u s e u m a n d

In guiding U L AE’s expansion , G olds ton has maintained the sense of communit y and spirit always as sociated with the house on Skidmore Place The vision and determination of G olds ton , his daughter, L ariss a , and the veteran ar tis t s and printer s have sus tained G rosman’s memor y through their work and their own dedic ation to qualit y, creativit y and the ne ce s sit y of experimentation

HALL OF FAME

Ward’s love of learning and entrepreneurship runs deep

Growing up in Stigler, O klahoma , Ron Ward learned at an early age the value of educ ation and a s trong work ethic .

His mother, Gladys, was a schoolteacher and his father, Jame s , a rancher. Ward took those at tribute s to Stillwater to at tend O klahoma State U niver sit y, graduating in 1972 with a bachelor ’s degree in mathematic s and s tatis tic s “ Educ ation at OSU — regardle s s of your degre e — is learning how to

be s t s tar t s for a succe s s f ul c are er,” Ward s aid , adding that it ’s also vital to be cons tantly ready to learn “ N ever be complacent or s tatic with what knowledge or skill you have, and never be af raid of hard work ”

While at OSU, Ward met and married his wife, Cindy Together in 1975

they s tar ted Ward Cons truc tion and Ward Inve s tment s B oth companie s are now approaching 5 0 year s in operation , boas ting countle s s regional proje c t s and the management of over 5 0 0,00 0 square fe et of commercial proper t y.

Throughout his c are er, Ward has be en ac tive in indus tr y ser vice and

chairman of the A s sociated B uilder s and Contrac tor s of O klahoma B oard , chairman of the El Reno Public S chools Foundation and councilman for the cit y of El Reno In 2004, Ward was appointed to the OSU Alumni Board of Directors, and in 2012 he was elected chairman His philanthropy includes the Ward Family Fund that regularly gives to educational, faith and nonprofit causes

Ward has dedic ated a great deal of time and energy to improving his

alma mater, including over seeing the cons truc tion of the Conoco Phillips OSU Alumni Center while ser ving as the OSU Alumni A s sociation pre sident .

“ It ’s the foc al point for all kids coming to c ampus , where f uture Cowboys and Cowgirls s tar t s tudent tour s ,” Ward s aid “ I ’ve se en and heard fir s thand how the building ser ve s the mis sion of OSU by being a gathering place for c ampus ”

Ward and Cindy have t wo children , Kent and Amanda , and t wo childrenin-law, A sma and J osh The Wards currently enjoy following their four grandchildren’s ac tivitie s Ward ’s hobbie s include golf, fishing , hunting , piloting his plane and — of cour se — suppor ting OSU spor t s teams

ACHIE V Ewith CAS

A r tificia l As sista nce

Oklahoma State University CAS faculty conduct research using AI machine learning technologies

Ar t i fici a l i nt el l i gence (A I ) h a s become a hot t opic i n recent

mont h s becau se of it s a bi l it y t o

rapid ly per for m va r iou s complex t a sk s

But , it h a s cau g ht a negat ive con not at ion

i n a ca dem i a due t o it s u se by s t udent s

However, resea rcher s i n Ok l a hom a

S t at e Un iver sit y ’s Col lege of A r t s a nd

S ciences u se a subfield of A I — m a chi ne

lea r ni n g — for posit ively i mpa c t f u l resea rch s t udy i n g complex d at a set s .

DE TEC TIN G DISE A SE

D r L uc a s S t oler m a n , a s s i s t a nt

pr ofe s s or i n t he D epar t ment of

M a t hem a t ics , c onduc t e d r e s e a r c h

u s i n g d i g it a l t r a ce s t o bu i ld

pr o sp e c t ive a nd re a l-t i me c ou nt y-le ve l

ea rly wa r ni n g s ys t em s u si n g m a chi ne

lea r ni n g t o a nt icipat e COV I D -1 9 outbrea k s i n t he U S

D u r i n g h i s pos t doc t ora l yea r at t he B os t on Ch i ld ren’s Hospit a l a nd

Ha r va rd Med ica l S chool , S t oler m a n in it i a l ly bega n conduc t i n g t h i s resea rch u nder D r Mau r icio Sa nt i l l a n a a nd i n col l a borat ion w it h L eon a rdo Clement e, a doc t ora l s t udent

D u r i n g h i s fi r s t yea r on fa cu lt y at OSU, t he projec t wa s fi n a l i z ed . “O u r goa l wa s t o det ec t pot ent i a l COV I D -1 9 outbrea k s i n U. S . cou nt ies a hea d of t i me,” S t oler m a n sa id . “ To t h i s end , we creat ed a m a chi ne lea r ni n gba sed ea rly wa r ni n g s ys t em levera g i n g i nt er net-ba sed d i g it a l d at a ”

T he ea rly w a r ni n g s ys t em pr ov ide s a n a ler t when t he d i g it a l d at a i ncrea s e s

Los Angeles (2020)

up t o a c er t a i n le vel T he d i g it a l

d at a s et s i nc lude d T w it t er m icr oblog s

a nd G o og le t rend s t er m s i nc lud i n g

“C ov id , ” “C ov id1 9,” “ How L on g D o e s

C ov id L a s t , ” “C ov id S y mpt om s , ” “ Fe ver,” “C ou g h” a nd ot hers

B y t ra ini n g t he model s over h i s t or ica l d at a , t he resea rcher s cou ld t hen per for m out- of-sa mple pred ic t ion s

a nd a s ses s t hei r met hod ’s a bi l it y t o

cor rec t ly pred ic t COV I D -1 9 outbrea k s .

“COV I D -1 9 outbrea k s resu lt f rom a complex combi n at ion of mu lt iple fa c t or s ,

i nclud i n g v i ra l mut at ion s , soci a l i nt era c t ion s , va cci n at ion a nd hu m a n beh av ior. A power f u l mes sa ge f rom

ou r s t udy i s t h at d i g it a l t ra ces ca n help det ec t when t hose outbrea k s wi l l t a ke pl a ce i n U S cou nt ies ,” S t oler m a n sa id

T h i s resea rch resu lt ed i n m a chi ne lea r ni n g met hod s t h at levera ge i nt er net-ba sed d i g it a l t ra ces t o a nt icipat e sh a r p i ncrea ses i n COV I D -1 9

a c t iv it y i n U S cou nt ies

“ W het her u si n g ar t i fici a l i nt el l i gence t o i nves ti gat e a nd pred ic t t he sprea d of d i sea ses or a d apt i n g a dva nced

comput at ion a l t ech n iques t o t a ck le releva nt ques t ion s i n biolog y, D r.

S t oler m a n’s resea rch show s t he w ide appl ica bi l it y of m at hem at ic s a nd it s deep con nec t ion s w it h ot her sciences ,”

sa id D r Jay S chw ieg , hea d of t he

Depar t ment of Mat hem at ic s

P O N DERIN G TH E PA S T

D r. Howa rd Sa nbor n , profes sor a nd pol it ica l science depar t ment hea d , received a g ra nt t h rou g h U S

Depar t ment of S t at e, U S Con su l at e

G enera l Hon g Kon g a nd Ma cau , P ubl ic

col lec t leg i s l at ive d at a a nd u se m a chi ne lea r ni n g model s t o a s ses s gover n ment respon ses t o cr i ses i n Hon g Kon g

W h i le i nves ti gat i n g leg i s l at ive pol it ic s i n Hon g Kon g , t he 201 9 Core

F u lbr i g ht S chol a r not iced a ser ies of ch a n ges i n how t he cit y wa s m a n a ged ba sed on t he a c t ion a nd rea c t ion t o

con fl ic t s

Chi n a a nd mos t of t he for mer

a nd cu r rent Br it i sh Com monwea lt h

cou nt r ies h ave comprehen sive on l i ne

d at a ba ses i n En g l i sh , Chi nese a nd

Ca nt onese of t hei r gover n ment

docu ment s , par t icu l a rly leg i s l at ive

proceed i n g s . T h i s a l low s Sa nbor n a nd

h i s t ea m t o s t udy prot es t s at d i scret e poi nt s i n Hon g Kon g h i s t or y, rea chi n g

a s fa r ba ck a s t he 1850 s

T he goa l i s t o see wh at word s a nd ph ra ses appea r i n conver sat ion s f requent ly before, du r i n g a nd a f t er t hese

con fl ic t s However, combi n g t h rou g h t he d at a ba se for gover n ment debat es a nd del iberat ion s cou ld t a ke yea rs “ I appl ied for t he g ra nt t o be a ble t o deploy m a chi ne lea r ni n g comput i n g t ech n iques t o proces s a lot of docu ment s a l l at once w it h t he d r iv i n g goa l of t r y i n g t o u nder s t a nd wh at t he gover n ment respon ses a re t o cr i ses ,” Sa nbor n sa id . T he in it i a l g ra nt a s si s t s w it h t he hi r i n g of s t udent s ex per ienced i n m a chi ne lea r ni n g a nd pol it ica l science “ R i g ht now, we’re s t ar t i n g more w it h a n u n super v i sed model where we’re picking out just a sma ll period a nd looking at the government debates a nd essentia l ly refi ni n g t he model i n g ,” Sa nbor n sa id

Toget her, a s t at i s t ic s g ra du at e s t udent work s on m a chi ne

prog ra m m i n g wh i le a pol it ica l science g ra du at e s t udent helps ident i f y t he cont ex t of t he ph ra ses for ea ch d at e a nd ses sion t o see wh at generat es f rom t he u n super v i sed model . A s t he proces s

cont i nues t he model refi nes .

“ T ra n sd i scipl i n a r y resea rch i s a bi g

dea l . A nd I bel ieve i n it ,” Sa nbor n sa id .

“ I t hi n k ou r m at h , comput er science a nd s t at i s t ic s depar t ment s rea l ly h ave

sciences , a nd so I’m hopi n g t h i s i s a s t ep t owa rd s t h at ”

S TU DYIN G S TR E S S

T he U. S . h a s t he world ’s l a r ges t fedcat t le i ndus t r y a nd i s t he world ’s l a r ges t con su mer of beef

This figure f rom D r A shley Railey ’s re sea rch shows so cial me dia data of c at tle producer s (bla ck sq ua re s) discus sing information a b o ut fe e dlot ma nage m e nt Th e ora nge circle s depic t fe e dlot s of va r ying size an d th e lin e s show th e sha ring of information Producer A ha s more conn e c tions to oth e r fe e dlot s b ut Produce r B re ceive s more dive r se information .

Dr A shley Railey visit s with a child while per forming sur vey data collec tion for a previous livestock-related research projec t in Tanzania

I n Ok l a hom a , t he beef i ndus t r y represent s a si g n i fica nt a g r icu lt u ra l

com mod it y However, mor t a l it y f rom

s t res s i n feed lot cat t le t h reat en s t he

sus t a i n a bi l it y of t he i ndus t r y a nd

i s i nt en si fied by ex t reme weat her

cond it ion s a nd t rend s t o selec t a ni m a l s

for h i g h g row t h rat es

No resou rces a re cu r rent ly ava i l a ble for producer s t o ident i f y a ni m a l s prone

t o s t res s a nd rel at ed mor t a l it y

R esea rcher s i n CA S a nd t he

Depar t ment of A ni m a l a nd Food

S cience were awa rded a Un it ed S t at es

Depar t ment of A g r icu lt u re ( USDA)

A g r icu lt u re a nd Food R esea rch

I n it i at ive (A F R I ) g ra nt prog ra m of t he Nat ion a l I n s t it ut e of Food

a nd A g r icu lt u re: I nt er-Di scipl i n a r y

En ga gement i n A ni m a l S ys t em s

( I DE A S) t o develop t ool s t h at help

ident i f y t hese a ni m a l s

“ T he pu r pose of t h i s resea rch

i s t o develop preci sion l ives t ock

m a n a gement t ool s t h at u se ar t i fici a l

i nt el l i gence a nd m a chi ne lea r ni n g t o ident i f y cat t le t h at a re su scept ible t o

s t res s ,” sa id D r A sh ley R a i ley, sociolog y

a s si s t a nt profes sor a nd projec t co -pr i ncipa l i nves ti gat or “ Par t of t h i s resea rch , a nd t h at wh ich i s au g ment ed by sociolog y, i s u nder s t a nd i n g how t o d i s sem i n at e t he resea rch t o producer s a nd how t he t ool s ca n bes t be i mplement ed a mon g s t producer s ” Ea ch co -i nves ti gat or br i n g s prel i m i n a r y d at a t o beg i n t he projec t , w it h R a i ley ’s in it i a l resea rch su g ges t i n g producer s va lue ea rly det ec t ion when avoid i n g m ajor econom ic i mpa c t s , such a s mor t a l it y of a ni m a l s . B y work i n g

a s soci at ed w it h t he new t ech nolog ies ca n be reduced by a l low i n g producer s t o eva lu at e whet her t he t ech nolog y i s appropr i at e for t hei r feed lot s . “A r t i fici a l i nt el l i gence i s u sed t o sor t t h rou g h t he l a r ge a mou nt s of d at a f rom t ra ck i n g a ni m a l beh av ior over t i me on t he fa r m feed lot ,” R a i ley sa id “ We wi l l receive d at a f rom sen sor s on t he a ni m a l s a nd of t he cl i m at e, v ideo a nd aud io of t he fa r m or feed lot ”

L ed by D r Ni n g Wa n g , bios ys t em s a nd a g r icu lt u ra l en g i neer i n g profes sor, a nd D r Sat hy a n a ray a n a n A a k u r,

comput er science a s si s t a nt profes sor, t he A I f ra mework wi l l cont i nuou s ly mon it or d at a a nd der ive i n si g ht s for a s ses si n g s t res s level s by t ra ck i n g a ni m a l beh av ior over t i me

“ I n t he A I field , l i m it ed s t ud ies h ave ut i l i z ed v i sion ,” R a i ley sa id “ I n t h i s resea rch , D r A a k u r ’s ex per t i se i n v i sion

A I — u si n g i m a ges t o pred ic t a n out come — i s ver y u n ique ”

MACH IN E LE AR N IN G IN AC ADEM IA

To discover more about what CA S facu lt y a re doi ng i n t he world of A I a nd machi ne lea r ni ng resea rch, listen to a recent episode of t he Col lege of A r ts a nd Sciences’ podca st wherei n Center for t he Huma n ities’ members Dr Rosema r y Ava nce, Dr Heat her Stewar t a nd R icha rd

a nd ot her machi ne lea r ni ng bots on academ ia : okla st/cas- podcast-ai

Creating a Home

College of Ar ts and Sciences faculty work to welcome Afghan refugees

Over t he pa s t severa l yea rs , D r s

S t eph L i n k , Ho’om a n a Nat h a n

Hor t on a nd M ich a el A mor y

f rom t he Ok l a hom a S t at e Un iver sit y

Depar t ment of En g l i sh h ave worked

w it h t he A fg h a n R eset t lement P rog ra m

w it hi n t he En g l i sh L a n g u a ge a nd

I nt ercu lt u ra l Cent er ( E L IC ) on OSU ’s

S t i l lwat er ca mpu s .

W h at s t ar t ed a s rev iv i n g t he

la n g ua ge lea r ni n g prog ra m soon beca me

a cent ra l hub for 72 A fg h a n ref u gees .

“O u r pr i m a r y respon sibi l it y, i n

t he beg i n ni n g , wa s En g l i sh l a n g u a ge

ser v ices ,” sa id A mor y, who ser ved a s t he

E L IC i nt er i m d i rec t or i n 2021-22 “ We wou ld help i nd iv idu a l s become va lued

member s of t he com mu n it y a nd develop

t he l a n g u a ge needed for employ ment ”

T he OSU a nd S t i l lwat er

com mu n it ies prov ided t he profes sor s w it h a dded suppor t , wh ich led t o a

Com mu n it y En ga gement Awa rd f rom

t he Col lege of Educat ion a nd Hu m a n

S ciences a nd t he development of OSU

Compa s sion at e A fg h a n R eset t lement

a nd En g l i sh S er v ices (OSU CA R E S) “ Not on ly d id we h ave t he capa cit y

t o prov ide resou rces , but we were a ble t o cent ra l i z e a lot of ser v ices , so people

k new ex a c t ly where t o go t o get help,”

sa id L i n k , who ser ved a s t he d i rec t or of OSU CA R E S

I n a dd it ion t o t hei r Com mu n it y En ga gement Awa rd , OSU CA R E S

received federa l f u nd s i n 2022 f rom

t he Ok l a hom a Depar t ment of Hu m a n

S er v ices

Col lege of A r t s a nd S ciences profes sor s — a nd i n col l a borat ion w it h Dea n R a ndy

K luver of OSU Globa l — OSU i s now a n E ver y Ca mpu s a R ef u ge ( ECA R) ca mpu s , wh ich en su res ot her ref u gees ca n come

t o t he u n iver sit y t o get t he resou rces t hey need .

A not her CA S fa cu lt y member doi n g work w it h A fg ha n ref u gees is a dju nct professor of Isla m ic St ud ies Ada m Solt a n i He ha s ser ved a s t he execut ive

D r. Ste ph Link

sup p or t s ele m e nta r y

so pa re nt s c a n at ten d English an d intercultural cla s se s at OS U

d i rect or of Ok la homa Cou nci l on

A mer ica n-Isla m ic R elat ion s (CA I R) for more t ha n 10 yea rs, so when Cat hol ic Cha r it ies approa ched t he cou nci l i n 2021

t o help welcome A fg ha n s t o Ok la homa ,

Solt a n i wa s t here t o a n s wer t he ca l l

“O u r bi g ges t a ccompl i sh ment

t h rou g h ou r ref u gee suppor t i s en su r i n g

t h at t he new A fg h a n com mu n it y of Ok l a hom a k now s t h at ou r s t at e i s a sa fe pl a ce where t hei r rel i g ion , cu lt u re a nd ident it y a re prot ec t ed ,” S olt a n i sa id .

“ We wa nt t hem t o k now t h at we welcome t hem hol i s t ica l ly, a nd we wa nt t o lea r n a s much a b out t hei r c u lt u re a nd ident it y

a s we wa nt t o sh a re ou r s w it h t hem ”

In addition to h is work w it h CA IR ,

Solt a n i wa s recog n i zed a s one of t he Top

50 You ng Professiona ls i n Ok la homa Cit y a nd received t he 2022 Hu ma n it a r ia n

Awa rd f rom The Inter fa it h A l lia nce Fou ndation of Ok la homa

“ I a m beg i n ni n g t o see t he f r u it s of t h i s l a bor i n wh ich t he Ok ie a nd A fg h a n ident it ies a re meld i n g t oget her t o become somet hi n g beaut i f u l , u n ique a nd somet hi n g t o be celebrat ed ,” he sa id

Inaug ura l Cla s s of S chola rs

OSU receives Beckman Scholars funding, selects CAS students as first awardees

In Ja nu a r y, Ok l a hom a S t at e

Un iver sit y w a s s ele c t e d t o

par t icipat e i n t he 2 02 3 B e ck m a n

S chol a r s P r og r a m (B SP)

T he pr og r a m , sp on s ore d b y

t he A r nold a nd M a b el B e ck m a n

Fou nd at ion , aw a r d s i n s t it ut ion s w it h

f u nd i n g t o s upp or t si x s t udent-ment or

pa i r s t h r ou g h a 1 5 -mont h re s ea rch

e x p er ienc e i n chem i s t r y, phy sic s or biolog ic a l s cience s . T wo s t udent s wi l l

b e s ele c t e d t o par t icipat e ea ch yea r

t h r ou g hout t he t h re e -yea r aw a r d t erm

D r E r i k a Lut t er, a s s o ci at e pr ofe s s or of m icr obiolog y a nd mole c u l a r genet ics ,

s er ve d a s t he fa c u lt y lea d on t he

u n iver sit y ’s B SP pr op os a l t ea m a nd

e x pl a i ne d t h at t h i s i s a fi r s t for O S U

“ I h ave re c eive d s e ver a l g r a nt s i n my t i me , but t h i s one i s e x t remely sp e ci a l ,”

Lut t er s a id “ I t hi n k I a m mos t e xcit e d

bec a u s e t h i s i s a n aw a r d for O S U, not jus t for my depar t ment a nd my c ol le ge

It i s a n a m a z i n g opp or t u n it y for O S U

pr og r a m for ou r s t udent s who wi l l

be c ome f ut u re ST E M lea der s ”

T he B S P h a s s e le c t e d C ol le ge of

A r t s a nd S c ience s u nder g r a du a t e

s t udent s A d r i a h n a B l a c k bu r n a nd Ni n a

Pa r v i n t o b e t he fi r s t s c hol a r s i n t he

pr o g r a m a t O S U.

“A d r i a h n a a nd Ni n a a re out s t a nd i n g

you n g s chol a r s , ” s a id D r. R a ch a el

E at on , O S U B SP d i re c t or a nd pr og r a m m a n a ger for CA S s t udent re s ea rch . “ T he s e s t udent s wi l l repre s ent O S U a nd t he B e ck m a n S chol a r s P r og r a m

wel l a s t he y u nder t a ke i nt en sive a nd

i mp

g r ow a s lea der s a nd s cient i s t s ” Bl a ckbu r n i s a m icrobiolog y a nd

molecu l a r genet ic s sophomore f rom Na rdin, Ok la homa A longside her mentor, Dr Matt Cabeen, Blackbur n wi l l resea rch t he mech a n i sm of non- ca non ica l pyoci n produc t ion by s t ra i n s of Pseu d omo n a s

a e r u gin osa

s t ra i n s of t he sa me species

“ I s t r ive t o be a l i felon g lea r ner, lea der a nd educat or,” Bl a ckbu r n sa id

“ B ecom i n g a B eck m a n S chol a r mea n s

t h at I h ave t he resou rces t o g row a nd

hone t hese sk i l l s t h rou g h resea rch

ex per ience a nd t h rou g h t he lea der s a nd ot her schol a r s i nvolved i n t he prog ra m ”

Pa r v i n — a phy sic s a nd mech a n ica l eng i neer i ng jun ior from Beggs, Okla homa

— wi l l be work i n g w it h her ment or,

D r. Ma r io B or u nd a , t o u nder s t a nd

t he rad i at ion t olera nce of perov sk it e m at er i a l s t o i ncrea se t hei r s t a bi l it y.

“ R eceiv i n g t h i s schol a r sh ip i s a

ga me ch a n ger i n my a ca dem ic a nd

profes sion a l t rajec t or y,” Pa r v i n

sa id “ B ei n g a n OSU B eck m a n S chol a r

mea n s bei n g a par t of a com mu n it y

t h at promot es d iver sit y, educat ion a nd lea der sh ip t h at wi l l prov ide me w it h oppor t u n it ies t o work w it h a nd lea r n

f rom ot her t a lent ed resea rcher s ”

To lea r n more a bout t he B eck m a n

S chol a r s P rog ra m at OSU, v i sit okl a . s t / b eckm a n - sch ol a r s

C A S HIGHLIGHT S

Stillwate r m ayo r Ch ris tin

S a lm o n Plaz a in d owntown Stillwate r.

In th e f all of 202 2, th e D e p a r t m e n t of Co m m u n i c a t io n S ci en ce s a n d D i s o r d e r s , in colla b oration with th e Payn e Co unt y H e alth D epa r tm e nt, visite d comm unitie s o ut side of Stillwate r to p rovide h e alth -relate d se r vice s Th e gro up travele d in a m obile va n p rovide d by th e O klah oma St ate D e pa r tm e nt of H ealth to fo ur site s in O klah oma to p e r form h ea ring scre e nings

The Depa r t m ent of E nglis h hosted the inaugural Southern Plains Ar t s , H umanitie s , and L anguage s Conference in April, bringing together instruc tors and student s from various programs in the College of Ar t s and Science s along with par ticipant s from regional universitie s

This past summer, B oon e Picken s S chool of G eology facult y hosted the inaugural G eoscience Field E xperience, an academic summer camp for high school student s to get hands- on experience with student s in-lab instruc tion , field trips and the experience of staying in a dorm room on campus .

De pa r t me nt of H is tor y profe ssor Dr L aura Arata initiated a public histor y projec t to pre ser ve and rehabilitate the historic Booker T Washington High School in Stillwater Scan the Q R code to listen to the episode of the Poke s PodC A S featuring Arata and the Washington School projec t .

Dr Adam Roth , an assistant profe ssor in the De pa r t me nt of S ociology, was awarded a $2 .7 million grant from the National Institute s of H ealth (NIH) to f und his re search on rural-urban disparitie s in cognitive aging over the nex t five years .

O klahoma State Universit y ’s Physic s team won the U S Physicist s’ Tournament in it s first year and was chosen to repre sent the United State s at the international competition in Paris in April

De pa r t me nt of Th eat re profe s sor Eric B arker spent summer 202 2 in B ozeman , M ontana , working with rural ar t s

engagement . B arker was brought on as the proper tie s — or props — de signer to work with M ontana Shake speare in the Park s The group tour s more than 70 shows acros s M ontana each to populations that might other wise not have the oppor tunit y to experience the se produc tions

Th e Ethic s B owl Tea m , sp onsore d by th e D e p a r t me n t of P h i l os o p hy, won it s re gional comp etition an d qualifie d for th e national comp etition This ma rk s th e third yea r in a row it s won re gionals an d th e fo ur th o ut of five yea r s it ha s qualifie d for th e national comp etition

De pa r t me nt of I nteg rat ive B iology profe ssors Michael Reicher t and Liz M cCullagh were awarded a fiveyear, $2 7 million training grant from the NSF to form the O klahoma N et work Addre ssing H uman Impact s Across Biological Proce sse s

mentored re search experience s for postbaccalaureate graduate s in the biological science s .

De p a r t m e n t of Pl a n t B io l og y, Eco l og y a n d Evo l u t io n facult y member D r Ming Yang published a paper in B ioscience Rep or ts about genetic regulation of se ed germination with current plant biology major Emily Rillo and plant biology graduate Nadje schda G oer t z.

IC Y MI: De pa r t me nt of M at he m at ic s profe ssor Dr. H enr y Segerman was featured in the New York Times for his novel approach to bringing math to life through ar t

Scan the Q R code to read the feature

OSU was chosen as one of 2 5 site s for the 1 0 -year, NIH -f unded H ealthy B rain Child Development national study De pa r t me nt of P sych ology ’s Drs Lucia Cicicolla , De Mond G rant and Amanda M orris are providing grant leadership along with their OSU - CHS colleague s

Sara Brown ,’05 & Matt Jeffery ,’03 Oklahoma State Universit y Colleg

“We want our son’s OSU experience to be as impactful as our own, and that’s why we decided to upgrade to Life Membership Plus. We want to support the next generation of Cowboys.” Become