Neal McCaleb, an OSU alumnus from the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology inducted into OSU Hall of Fame

OSU Alumni Association inducting Neal McCaleb into the OSU Hall of Fame

Friday, January 25, 2019

Neal McCaleb of Edmond is one of five Oklahoma State University graduates who are being inducted into the OSU Hall of Fame.

The OSU Alumni Association is hosting the induction ceremony Friday, February 8, at the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center.

Induction into the OSU Hall of Fame is the highest honor bestowed by Oklahoma State University. It recognizes alumni and former students with outstanding lifetime achievements in society and professional life.

McCaleb graduated from OSU, then Oklahoma A&M, in 1957 with a degree in civil engineering. McCaleb has gone on to serve as a civil engineer in both the private practice and public service forms for more than 60 years.

Upon graduation, McCaleb immediately got involved with the Oklahoma interstate highway system. He would go on to serve the Oklahoma City Engineering Department as the assistant city engineer before starting his own engineering consulting firm in 1961.

McCaleb served in many different roles for the state of Oklahoma over the next few decades, including being appointed the state’s first secretary of transportation by Governor Henry Bellmon while still serving as the director of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. While in this role, McCaleb oversaw the initiation of turnpike expansion throughout the state.

In 2001, McCaleb was appointed as the assistant secretary of the interior by President George W. Bush. While serving in this position, McCaleb was the head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He advocated for the improvement of tribal nations through the implementation of tribal sovereignty and economic development.

This position allowed McCaleb to continue a passion he had pursued throughout his life – the advocacy of rights for American Indians with a focus on the Chickasaw Nation. In the 1960s, he served as the vice president of Oklahoma for Indian Opportunity and served on the Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission. He was later appointed to the National Council on Indian Opportunity by President Richard Nixon and the President’s Commission on Reservation Economics by President Ronald Reagan.

In addition to all of these contributions, McCaleb has served on the board of the Oklahoma Academy, including as chairman. He is also a member of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame and the OSU College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology Hall of Fame.

McCaleb and his wife, Georgeann, currently reside in Edmond, Oklahoma. They have four children and thirteen grandchildren.

This year’s other inductees include Joseph Eastin, Jennifer M. Grigsby, and AJ and Susan Jacques.

For more information about the 2019 OSU Hall of Fame honorees and induction ceremony, visit ORANGECONNECTION.org/alumniawards.

CONTACT: Chase Carter | OSU Alumni Association | 405.744.2066 | chase.carter@okstate.edu

The Oklahoma State University Alumni Association serves more than 230,000 alumni, students and friends with programs for Cowboys of all ages. Through the Alumni Association, Cowboys get involved with the OSU family, stay informed of alumni and campus news, give back to support university initiatives and show their pride in America’s brightest orange.