Where the Tallgrass Grows: Memorable landscape becomes a gateway for future generations
Friday, December 19, 2025
Media Contact: Sophia Fahleson | Digital Communications Specialist | 405-744-7063 | sophia.fahleson@okstate.edu
The golden tallgrass swayed as a little girl’s hand ran through the grass of Oklahoma’s oldest and most treasured landscapes. The Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve is tucked away in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. It is a unique place, covered in thousands of acres, which now brings together agriculture by conservation, ranching and education.
To Delores and Jerry Etter, that land now also represents a new learning opportunity for students and faculty at Oklahoma State University.
“I grew up living close to the preserve,” said Delores Etter, an OSU donor and former student. “It has always held a special place in my heart since I was a little girl.”
Delores Etter grew up in Shidler, Oklahoma — just west of Pawhuska. In high school, she loved mathematics, which led her to choose that as a major at OSU. While at OSU, she met and married her husband, Jerry Etter, who was studying aerospace engineering.
Both of their careers and their lifelong relationship with OSU were influenced by their shared desire for learning. Later, Delores Etter was the first woman to earn a doctorate in electrical engineering at the University of New Mexico, which started her career as a faculty member, she said.
After serving in the U.S. Air Force, Jerry Etter worked in aerospace engineering and national defense. Delores Etter worked for over 40 years in academia, research and public service.
The Etters were inspired to keep a connection with OSU by their successful careers and to show their appreciation. They found opportunities that brought together their passion for research, education and the land in Oklahoma that influenced Delores Etter’s life early on.
“For Delores, the grassland was a reminder of her childhood that brought her a little piece of home,” Jerry Etter said. “We felt as if we should also give back to the universities that got us to where we are today.”
Together, they established the Etter Faculty Fellowship, a four-year program supporting research within the OSU Ferguson College of Agriculture for faculty and students.
The fellowship funds research at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, which helps cover the costs for travel, lab work and field studies.
“Education opened doors for Jerry and me,” Delores Etter said. “We want to open those doors for others so they can get the education they need.”
The first recipient of this four-year fellowship for 2025 is Chris Zou, natural resource ecology and management professor. He focuses on prairie conservation and ecosystem resilience, researching the long-term health of Oklahoma’s native grasslands in relation to land use, fire, grazing, and climate change, Zou said.
“I am very excited for this fellowship,” Zou said. “To be picked out of all of the faculty here to receive it — I am very lucky.”
Zou’s journey to OSU began in a place far away from Oklahoma. Originally from China, he studied biology and plant ecology for his bachelor’s and master’s degrees before going to New Zealand to complete his doctorate in forest science at the University of Canterbury in 2000. There, he focused on ecohydrology, examining the relationship between water systems and forests and grasslands.
After working as a postdoctoral researcher at Texas A&M University in ecohydrology, Zou started his career at OSU, where he has spent the past 17 years researching the tallgrass prairie and how human and natural factors impact grasslands and future ecosystems, Zou said.
Zou plans to continue researching the effects of fire, grazing and woody plant encroachment on soil health, water cycles and plant biodiversity at the preserve, he added.
His objective is to identify land management strategies that maintain the prairie ecosystems’ resilience in the wake of land use pressure and climate change, Zou said.
“The prairie is a living classroom,” Zou said. “Students get hands-on experience while contributing to real-world research, which will make a difference for Oklahoma.”
Zou engages graduate and undergraduate students in his projects at the preserve to support this research. He supports the next generation of national resource professionals while assisting students in gaining hands-on research experience through data collection, analysis, and fieldwork.
“Students gain practical skills in field data collection, hydrologic instrumentation, data analysis, scientific writing and teamwork,” Zou said. “Students also learn how to think critically and solve real environmental problems. These skills will make them highly competitive and effective in natural resources management careers after graduation.”
The Etters hope their support leaves an impact on the Ferguson College of Agriculture, Delores Etter said.
“We did not have this kind of support going through college,” Jerry Etter said. “It makes a difference to students who cannot afford college, but they are very wise and we do not want the lack of funds in college to stop them from reaching their goals for the future.”
Gifts such as the Etter Faculty Fellowship are investments in the future of Oklahoma’s natural resources, not just financial support. This funding advances OSU’s land-grant mission through hands-on learning, Zou said.
Inspired by their love for the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, the Etters wanted to give back in a way that provides meaningful opportunities for students. They hope this fellowship will support high-impact learning and research experiences in one of Oklahoma’s most treasured landscapes, Jerry Etter said.
Story by Halle Sumpter | Cowboy Journal