Watkins, Fulbright and Powell honored with Bennett Fellows
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Tuesday, at the Wes Watkins Distinguished Lectureship hosted by the Oklahoma State University School of International Studies, former U.S. Rep. Wes Watkins was designated a Henry G. Bennett Fellow. Featured speaker Harriet Mayor Fulbright, the Fulbright International Center chair, was designated an Honorary Henry G. Bennett Fellow.
The Henry G. Bennett Distinguished Fellows Program provides a source of intellectual capital upon which OSU colleges can draw to better understand and address global issues. Fellows are world-renowned individuals who hold or have held high-profile positions and have made outstanding contributions to the understanding of global issues. The Bennett Fellow and the Honorary Bennett Fellow serve as intellectual assets to OSU.
Watkins and Fulbright join a distinguished group of Bennett Fellows, including the most recent inductee, former U.S. Secretary of State, Gen. Colin L. Powell. On Tuesday, March 21, Powell gave a lecture entitled “Leadership: Taking Charge” to audiences in Tulsa and Oklahoma City at the Tulsa Business Forums and the Oklahoma City Executive Management Briefings. Powell was presented with the Honorary Henry G. Bennett Fellow certificate and medallion by Dr. Greg Mosier, interim dean of the OSU William S. Spears School of Business.
Watkins is one of Oklahoma’s most prominent and devoted public servants. An OSU graduate of the College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, he is committed to international education, trade and economic development. He has also been instrumental in obtaining funding for the Wes Watkins Center, the Advanced Technology Research Center at OSU, and the Oklahoma Research and Technology Park in Stillwater. He has established a vocational education system, an agricultural research center and a small business finance center in southeast Oklahoma. Watkins has received the Henry G. Bennett Distinguished Service Award, served on the OSU Alumni Association Board of Directors, and has been president of the Higher Education Alumni Council of Oklahoma. He is a member of the OSU Alumni Association Hall of Fame.
Fulbright has spent much of her life working in arts education and promoting international peace. Early in her career, she taught English and art in the U.S., Korea, and Russia. After her marriage to the late Sen. William J. Fulbright of Arkansas, she became co-founder and president of the Center for Arts in the Basic Curriculum, speaking around the country about the importance of the arts and training teachers to incorporate arts into regular curriculum. In 1997, she was appointed executive director of the President’s Committee on the Arts. Currently, Fulbright’s highest priority is establishing the J. William & Harriet Fulbright Center to promote world peace and nonviolent means of resolving conflicts through international collaborations and educational programs. She has a BA from Radcliffe College, an MFA from George Washington University, and several honorary degrees.
The Henry G. Bennett Distinguished Fellows Program is named for the former OSU president who made outstanding contributions to the university, higher education and people worldwide. Bennett served as president of Oklahoma A&M College, now known as OSU, from 1928 until 1950.
In January 1949, U.S. President Harry S. Truman outlined a program for peace and freedom, the fourth point of which was “to embark on a bold new program for making the benefits of our scientific advances and industrial progress available for the improvement and growth of the underdeveloped areas.” This idea was incorporated into what became known as the Point Four Program, which provided developing nations with technical assistance in education, public health, industry, and agriculture.
On Nov. 4, 1950, Truman appointed Bennett to be assistant secretary of state in charge of the Point Four Program. Bennett traveled extensively worldwide and established over 105 projects in 33 nations. He died tragically in a plane crash while serving on a Point Four Program assignment in Iran in 1951. Today, the Point Four Program is known as the U.S. Agency for International Development.
In addition to Watkins, Fulbright, and Powell, inductees of the program include Dr. Lawrence L. Boger, OSU Emeritus President; Dr. Clifton R. Wharton, Jr., TIAA-CREF Overseer and Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State; Dr. Dell Felder, Former Provost and Vice President of Zayed University, U.A.E. and Rand Education Associate; Richard L. Boger, Chairman and CEO of Lex-Tek International, Inc.; and Dr. Duck Woo Nam, OSU Alumnus and Former Prime Minister of Korea.