OKC FRIDAY Vol. 58 No. 7 • One Section • 14 pages • June 21, 2024 $1 per copy
www.okcfriday.com facebook.com/okcfriday OKC’s only locally-owned legal newspaper with all local news Serving affluent far north Oklahoma City, Nichols Hills and The Village for 50 years
OCU announces new Sovereignty Institute Leaders from Oklahoma City University and the Oklahoma City University School of Law announced the formation of a new institute for the advancement of tribal sovereignty. The OCU Tribal Sovereignty Institute is to be housed at the Oklahoma City University School of Law in downtown Oklahoma City, with the aim of creating scholarships on the topic of sovereignty; elevating understanding SEE OCU, Page 3
OCU Law Dean David Holt, with OCU and tribal leaders, announces formation of the university’s new Tribal Sovereignty Institute.
11 are Merit Scholars
Heart Hospital opens
By Rose Lane Editor
By Rose Lane Editor The new six-story INTEGRIS Health Heart Hospital on the INTEGRIS Health Baptist Medical Center campus in Oklahoma City stands as a symbol of renewed hope for all Oklahomans. “We have been performing what we consider state-of-the-art medicine for a long time,” said Craig Elkins, M.D., a longtenured cardiothoracic and transplant surgeon with INTEGRIS Health Cardiovascular Physicians. “Now, what is wonderful is we have a
dent of INTEGRIS Health Cardiovascular Physicians. “I think this new heart tower helps to continue to put us on the map both regionally and nationally, as a place people can come
Eleven graduates of Fridayland schools have been named the winners of National Merit college-sponsored scholarships. They are part of over 3,000 scholarship winners selected by sponsor colleges. These awards provide $500-2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study. An additional group is to be announced in July, bringnig the collegesponsored total to 3,800.
See INTEGRIS, Page 3
See MERITS, Page 7
The 209,000-square-foot building includes 64 ICU beds, multiple cardiac catheterization labs, cardiovascular operating rooms, hybrid operating rooms, electrophysiology heart labs and convenient cardiac diagnostic testing areas.
advanced heart failure care, LVAD, ECMO, total artificial heart or transplantation, INTEGRIS Health Advanced Car-diopulmonary Care is the only program in the state that can offer Oklahomans all of these options. “INTEGRIS Health
state-of-the-art facility to go with that state-ofthe-art medicine.” INTEGRIS Health Heart Hospital is the only center in Oklahoma to offer the full spectrum of advanced cardiac care support. Whether a patient needs
Keesee is HH’s distinguished alumni
Christian Keesee ’81 (left) accepts the 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award, presented by Heritage Hall Alumni Association board member, Ian Self ’16.
Heritage Hall Alumni Association (HAAB) honored Christian Keesee ’81 as its 2024 recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award which annually recognizes a graduate who exemplifies the school’s motto, TO LEARN. TO LEAD. TO SERVE., through personal accomplishment, professional achievement or philanthropic service. Keesee, a 1981 graduate of Heritage Hall, is chairman of Kirkpatrick
OKC FRIDAY: Fabulous at 50
Paper documents milestones By Nicole Shapard Jacobsen Longtime reader OKC FRIDAY is such an iconic Oklahoma City staple. The paper began 50 years ago, when I was just a toddler, so it has been a mainstay for most of my life. My childhood scrapbook is filled with clippings from the paper, from neighborhood and country club events to school activities and athletic accomplishments, all the way to my young adulthood with charity events and
provides the most comprehensive cardiac care in the state. The professionals who are here have more experience caring for the most complex cardiac patients than anywhere else in the state,” declares Jeffrey Sparling, M.D., the presi-
deb balls to wedding parties and baby showers. Many of the milestones in my life have been documented in the pages of OKC FRIDAY. And now, what amazing full-circle moments, for our sons’ keepsake boxes to be filled with similar clippings from the same OKC FRIDAY so many years later. Over the years, as my parents did when I was younger, I have seen my friends and my friends’ kids See 50, Page 3
FRIDAY’s Dog of the Week Pearl Beverly Is a Golden Doodle living her best life. Her family is the Greenwells. Email Dog of the Week, Baby of the Week and Cat of the Week submissions to rose@okcfriday.com.
Bank, as well as a trustee of the Kirkpatrick Family Fund and the Kirkpatrick Foundation, both of which focus on arts and arts education. A lifelong philanthropist with a deep appreciation for the arts, Keesee is also the founder and president of Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center and co-founder of the Grenoble Arts Festival in Green See KEESE, Page 3