OSU College of Education receives $1 million to establish four new faculty positions
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Gifts from numerous donors focus on wellness, counseling & diversity, elementary education,
college student development
View Full List of Endowed Faculty Chair Announcements
Contributing donors include Ann L. Phillips, Lena P. Schenk, Myron C. Ledbetter, Robert
D. Lemon, Steve Farris, Bill and Karen Anderson, Jim and Ann Halligan, Randall and
Carol White, Bryan Close, Judy Cox Graham, John Clerico, Cathey Jameson, Dr. L.M.
and Peggy Sullivan, John and Pam McDougal and the M.B. Seretean Foundation.
“The response from our alumni and friends has exceeded our wildest expectations,”
said OSU President Burns Hargis. “Inspired by Boone Pickens’ astounding generosity,
donors answered the call to make a lasting difference and open a new and exciting
chapter at OSU. We sincerely appreciate everything our generous College of Education
donors have done for OSU and want to say a special thanks for these important gifts.”
A $250,000 gift from two sisters, Ann L. Phillips and Lena P Schenk, will establish
an endowed professorship in elementary education to honor their mother, Alice, a Kansas
school teacher. The professorship will support high-quality preparation for future
and current elementary educators, provide technical assistance and consultant support
to classroom teachers on effective instruction, and engage in research that supports
local curriculum and service decisions.
“Our mother, a modest lady, would be amazed to learn that a million dollar professorship
in the College of Education would be established in her name,” said Ann. “Her first
thought would be to express her gratitude to Mr. Pickens for his selfless generosity
and to the Board of Regents and our legislature for their leadership and vision.”
Ann continued, “She was able to secure a job in Stillwater in Murray Hall and deeply
appreciated the friendship of the Dean of Women and enjoyed the contact with the many
girls she met through the years.”
A $250,000 combined gift from Belle Terre, N.Y. resident Dr. Myron Ledbetter and Oklahoma
City resident Bob Lemon will endow a professorship in counseling psychology and diversity.
The two alumni were united in an effort to support the College of Education’s commitment
to the promotion and affirmation of diversity in the broadest sense.
“This was a gift I’ve wanted to make for awhile, and it seemed like the right time,”
said Ledbetter. “I would hope the gift spurs more attention to diversity groups,
encourage involvement with those groups and give voice to minorities.”
Lemon added, “In an age when diversity issues cry out desperately for understanding
and educated leadership, I was absolutely thrilled to learn about this opportunity
at OSU. I hope the impact will be perpetual, broad and deep, because there’s nothing
more important than the way people think about other human beings.”
A $250,000 endowed professorship in college student development was secured through
15 donors to help prepare graduates to work with college students in many ways. Donors
to the fund include Steve Farris of Katy, Texas; Bill and Karen Anderson of Holdenville,
Okla.; Jim and Ann Halligan of Stillwater; Randall and Carol White of Tulsa; Bryan
Close of Tulsa; Judy Cox Graham of Houston; John Clerico of Tulsa; Cathey Jameson
of Davis, Okla.; Dr. L.M. and Peggy Sullivan of Edmond; and John and Pam McDougal
of Edmond.
“We made our gift to this fund in order to assist OSU in the hiring and retaining
of highly educated and qualified professors who bring something new and informative
to their area of expertise and who have the desire to keep learning and teaching,”
said Farris. “I’d like to see the U.S. stay competitive in what has become a global
environment by providing excellence in education for our youth.”
The Soddy Daisy, Tenn. based M. B. Seretean Foundation gifted $250,000 to establish
a health and human performance professorship within the college. The foundation is
named after the late M.B. “Bud” Seretean, a generous philanthropist, avid wellness
advocate and ’49 marketing alumnus. Seretean was an ardent supporter of OSU, providing
primary funding for the M.B. Seretean Center for the Performing Arts and for the Seretean
Wellness Center, making him the only individual to have two separate campus buildings
named in his honor.
In order to take full advantage of the state’s dollar-for-dollar match, and make the
most significant impact on OSU academics, each donor made their gift prior to the
July 1 change in the state’s endowed chair matching program. These gifts are part
of the $66.8 million in endowed faculty gifts OSU announced earlier.
Endowed professorships and chairs are academic designations which provide support
for faculty salary, graduate assistantships, equipment and research needs, as well
as other support. These endowed faculty positions allow a university to attract and
retain the best and the brightest academic minds in the world.