Passionate about Her Roots: Environmental science leader reflects on paths to success

Tuesday, May 28, 2024

Media Contact: Sophia Fahleson | Digital Communications Specialist | 405-744-7063 | sophia.fahleson@okstate.edu

While growing up, being involved in numerous activities was normal for Karen Hickman. Now as the director of the environmental science undergraduate program in the Oklahoma State University Ferguson College of Agriculture, little has changed.

As a youth, Hickman lived in Alva, Oklahoma, during the school year; however, she spent her summers on her family’s farm.

She found ways to immerse herself in farm life, she said, and that steadfast mentality still drives her today.

“She’s one of a kind,” said Greg Banse, Hickman’s husband. “Anyone who meets her always comes away impressed. You cannot help but be impressed by her.”

Hickman found ways to entertain herself during the summers on the farm. She and her two sisters would dress up kittens in doll clothes, read and swim in the cattle tank.

As Hickman grew older, she became more involved in her family’s farm and its operation.

“I gravitated to be one who was a little more tomboyish,” Hickman said. “From middle school on, I was on the tractor or combine all summer. I was in the field sometimes 14 hours a day.”

During the school year, she involved herself in extracurriculars, including track and cross country.

“I would wake up and run 3 to 4 miles every day before school,” Hickman said.

In 1981, Hickman attended Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva and studied physical education. At the time, she wanted to be a coach because of her passion for running, she said.

Hickman changed her major to biology during her second semester at NWOSU because she wanted to feel more challenged and needed to decide which career she wanted, she said.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Hickman said. “So, I took classes to go to medical school, veterinary school or physical therapy.”

She lived at home with her parents and continued to work on her family farm until 1983 when she transferred to OSU to start her junior year.

Hickman loved her family farm, but she did not want to go back and make it her career, she said.

At OSU, Hickman studied biomedical science and spent her junior year summer at the University of Oklahoma Biological Station, where she learned about botany and ornithology.

This summer program was taught by OSU professors. She still keeps notes from this program in her office.

She enjoyed learning about plants and birds, she said, but she wanted to learn more about the medical field at that time.

In 1985, she continued her education with a master’s program studying cell biology and anatomy at the University of Texas Health Science in Dallas. She taught classes and became passionate about teaching, she said.

After receiving a teaching opportunity at NWOSU, Hickman moved back home to work and studied to get her teaching certificate, she said.

Being back in Alva allowed Hickman the opportunity to live at home and work on the family farm again.

“I would help my family with harvest and study while I was on the tractor,” Hickman said.

During this time, Hickman worked alongside Kathy, her older sister, and Brian Gordon, her brother-in-law. She also spent time with her nephews Bradley and David Gordon.

From 1988 to 2004, Hickman taught science classes at Pioneer High School in Waukomis, Oklahoma, at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and at Fort Hays University.

In 1992, Hickman decided to pursue a doctorate. When exploring programs at different universities, she gravitated more toward ecology programs.

This interest stemmed from her involvement with OSU professors in the OU summer research program, Hickman said

“I didn’t realize how formative that program was going to be at the time,” Hickman said.

She enrolled at Kansas State University and earned her doctorate in biology and studied grassland ecology.

“When Aunt Karen got her Ph.D., my mom told me it was a big achievement and that I should call her Dr. Hickman going forward,” said Cati Stanila, Hickman’s niece. “I have to credit her with a lot of how I move through the world. She taught me a lot about following my passion and giving it my all.”

In 2004, Hickman moved from Hays, Kansas, to Enid, Oklahoma, married Banse, and joined the faculty of the OSU Department of Plant and Soil Sciences. In 2019, she became director of the environmental science undergraduate program.

Hickman recently received the Assessment Champion for Student Success in Learning Award at the OSU Awards Convocation for her leadership and campuswide culture of assessment in student learning.

Aside from her many academic endeavors, Hickman is a woman of philanthropy, service and getting back to her roots, she said.

Hickman is a go-getter and will do anything she can for anyone she can, Banse said.

Hickman has volunteered at the Enid Society for the Prevention of Cruelty on Animals for nearly 20 years. Her interest in rescuing animals stemmed from having cattle and pets throughout her childhood, she said.

“She started helping out and got to know everybody,” Banse said. “Karen got voted in by the board to be the president of the ESPCA and just transformed it.”

In 2007, Hickman helped create the Oklahoma Invasive Plant Council, which helps facilitate agencies and organizations in Oklahoma to share information about different invasive plant species.

“She is always looking for something to help with or get involved in and is not afraid to go all in,” said David Gordon. “She is an all-in type of person. She loves what she does and is great at it.”

Hickman’s love for running has continued throughout her adult life.

“I joined the Enid Running Club,” Hickman said. “In 1990, I ran the Dallas White Rock Marathon in 3 hours and 42 minutes, climbed a 13,000-foot mountain in Colorado, and swam a mile in the YMCA swimming pool in Enid.”

To prepare for the marathon, she trained by running the 20 miles from her parents’ house in Alva to the farm.

Today, Hickman operates two pieces of agricultural property alongside Bradley Gordon. They incorporate low-till farming to control weeds, grow wheat crops, and produce cattle to graze their native rangeland.

“I have her as a resource, and I can’t explain how important that is,” Bradley Gordon said.

Hickman spends any time she can on her family farm, she said, and hopes she can one day spend all of her time out there.

“That place has such great memories I will always hold close to my heart,” Hickman said.

Hanging in Hickman’s office is a motto she lives by: “Hold yourself to a higher standard than anybody else expects you to.”

“Karen goes above and beyond in all she does,” Banse said. “Everything she touches turns to gold.”

Story by: Blayke Breeding | Cowboy Journal