Oklahoma State University business school to recognize alums during 100th anniversary

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

The Spears School of Business faculty, students, staff and alumni are looking forward with great anticipation to the culminating event as 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of business education at Oklahoma State University.

The Spears School Tributes: 100 For 100 reception and dinner will be Friday, Nov. 7, at the Wes Watkins Center on OSU’s Stillwater campus. The school is recognizing graduates who exemplify the Oklahoma State and business school spirit. These tributes represent a rich history and diversity of experience among those who have earned business degrees from OSU over the past 100 years.

“We are proud to celebrate some of the more than 43,000 graduates since the school was founded in 1914,” said Ken Eastman, dean of the Spears School. “The Tributes represent the diversity of our graduates. These honorees are from various backgrounds, ages and occupations. Each has an inspiring story to tell, and we are proud to have them as part of the Spears School family.”

Oklahoma A&M College established the School of Commerce and Marketing in 1914. Enrollment in the new school that first year was 37 students but within two years there were 164 students taking classes, and the first bachelor’s degree was granted in 1916. Today, there are more than 4,600 undergraduate and nearly 1,100 graduate business students.

“Building Business Success for 100 Years” has been the theme for the school’s 100th anniversary celebration, which has been ongoing throughout 2014. Highlights from the 100th celebration included a two-day Golf Classic at Karsten Creek, which attracted more than 220 alumni and friends in August, and the 100th Anniversary Open House at the Spears School in September which was followed by a 100th Anniversary reception at the Wes Watkins Center.

On Sept. 5, OSU broke ground for a new business building on the Stillwater campus. A standing-room-only crowd of nearly 400 were part of the ceremony, taking advantage of the opportunity to view the initial renderings of the new home for the Spears School, which will replace the current Business Building and stretch north to the former site of Hanner Hall.

The landmark groundbreaking event was exactly 50 years following the 1964 groundbreaking of the current Business Building. Construction of the new building will begin in early 2015, with completion expected in 2018.

Nominations for the Spears School Tributes: 100 For 100 were sought during the last several months of 2013. A number of OSU business school alumni helped select the honorees as representatives of all graduates after receiving more than 300 nominations.

More than 80 alumni are returning to Stillwater to participate in the Spears School Tributes: 100 For 100 recognition, including 95-year-old Robert Karlovich (Accounting, 1942).

“Without a doubt this has to be one of the most exciting times in the 100-year history of the business school,” said Eastman, who was named as dean in June. “I think one of the most gratifying aspects about being named the dean is there are so many great things converging right now. We have accreditation behind us, we have the new building coming to fruition … It really is an exciting time.”

Sponsors of the Spears School’s 100th Anniversary are:
Gold sponsors: Atlas Pipeline, Bank SNB, ConocoPhillips, OSU Foundation, Phillips66, Stinnett & Associates, and Trust Company of Oklahoma.
Silver sponsors: American Fidelity, Grant Thornton LLP, Manhattan Construction, MassMutual Oklahoma, and Stock Exchange Bank.
Bronze sponsors: Bank of Oklahoma, Elliott + Associates Architects, Glass Properties, PING, Wallace Engineering, and Williams.

For a complete list of the honorees and to read about each of their accomplishments, visit the Tributes: 100 For 100 website: http://spears.okstate.edu/tributes/100-for-100/.

To view, the most current issue of Engage@Spears magazine, which includes profiles on each of the honorees, visit http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/b5de92f9#/b5de92f9/1.

For more information about the Spears School’s 100th anniversary, visit the website: http://spears100.okstate.edu/.

100th Anniversary logo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/spearsschoolosu/15474486818/