Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Gurich headlines Puterbaugh Ethics Lecture at OSU

Friday, February 6, 2026

Media Contact: Stephen Howard | Director of Marketing & Communications | 405-744-4363 | stephen.howard@okstate.edu

Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Noma Gurich was the featured speaker at the annual Puterbaugh Ethics Lecture sponsored by the Center for Legal Studies and Business Ethics in the Spears School of Business.

Gurich’s lecture was attended by hundreds of Oklahoma State University students and faculty in the Student Union Theater, and addressed emerging ethical frontiers facing Oklahoma and the legal profession, including the personal use of cannabis, artificial intelligence and participation in protests. In addition to Gurich, Oklahoma Supreme Court Vice Chief Justice Dana Kuehn and Justice John Kane IV – both OSU graduates – were in attendance for the lecture.

“The OSU academic community had the opportunity to hear from a jurist with experience across the judicial spectrum. Her decisions have helped to shape Oklahoma,” said Griffin Pivateau, director of the CLSBE and Puterbaugh Professor of Legal Studies. “I was especially pleased that two other Oklahoma Supreme Court Justices, John Kane and Dana Kuehn, attended the lecture. The CLSBE exists to provide our students the chance to meet with leaders in Oklahoma who share their stories about the ethical challenges they face, in their work and in society.”

Gurich brings a historic perspective to the challenges she addressed in the lecture. A member of the Oklahoma judicial branch for 38 years, she holds the unique distinction of having been appointed by four different governors — two Republicans and two Democrats. She joined the Supreme Court of Oklahoma on Feb. 15, 2011, becoming only the third woman since statehood to serve as a justice.

She served as chief justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court from Jan. 1, 2019, through Dec. 31, 2020. Prior to that term, she served as vice chief justice from December 2016 until Dec. 31, 2018.

The Center for Legal Studies and Business Ethics endeavors to promote and enhance business and professional ethics and regulatory compliance through applied and theoretical research that explores the intersections between law and business.