Alumni Association celebrates four hall of fame inductees
Saturday, May 16, 2020
The OSU Alumni Association honored four new members of the OklahomaState University Hall of Fame at a ceremony on Feb. 7 in the ConocoPhillipsOSU Alumni Center. Bruce T. Benbrook, Dr. Claud D. Evans, Linda ParrackLivingstone and Neal L. Patterson all received the university’s highest honor. Theaward celebrates outstanding lifetime achievement in society and professional life.
Bruce T. Benbrook
Bruce T. Benbrook graduated from OSU in1976 with a bachelor’s degree in finance.
At OSU, Benbrook served as the student body president and was named the Outstanding Male Graduate. He was also selected as the Outstanding Senior in the College of Business and received the Outstanding Greek Man award.
After graduation, Benbrook returned to Woodward, Oklahoma, to work at the family-owned Stock Exchange Bank. He has served as the chairman of the board and CEO since 1981.
Benbrook has been a pillar of the Woodward community for decades. He has served as the president of the Woodward Chamber of Commerce, Industrial Foundation, United Fund and the LionsClub. He was a founding director of theWoodward Education Foundation and served two terms as its president.
Benbrook also served as president of the Oklahoma Bankers Association and represented the state in numerous capacities at the federal level with the American Bankers Association.
In addition to the community and state he loves, Benbrook has given his time extensively to his alma mater. He has held numerous positions supporting OSU, including chairman of the OSU/A&M Board of Regents in 1994. He is also a former president of the OSU Alumni Association.
Benbrook has been honored many times by OSU, the city of Woodward and beyond. In 1991, Benbrook was named Woodward’s Citizen of the Year. He has also received the Woodward Education Association’s Friend of Education award on three separate occasions. Benbrook received the first C.E. Williams award for his support of the Plains Indians and Pioneer Museum. In 2014, he was honored with the American Red Cross Community Hero Award for Humanitarian Service. He was named a Spears School of Business 100 for 100 Outstanding Graduate in 2014.
Benbrook and his wife, Sheryl, have two daughters, Rachel and Julia. They are all graduates of OSU. Benbrook is a life member of the OSU Alumni Association.
Meet Bruce Benbrook at okla.st/benbrook
Dr. Claud D. Evans
Dr. Claud D. Evans graduated from OSU in 1966 with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural biochemistry. He went on to earn his doctorate of veterinary medicine from Tuskegee Institute Alabama in 1970 and interned at the University of California-Davis.
At OSU, Evans was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and served as the chairman
of Cordell Hall’s Homecoming Float Committee. He was also a member of the Pershing
Rifles and was on the organization’s drill team. After graduation, Evans worked with
Ralston Purina Co.’s Veterinary Services, Consumer Products and Chicken of the Sea
divisions.
He opened his own veterinary practice in 1983 in Okemah, Oklahoma. Evans has several publications to his name, including pieces in "Veterinary Clinics of North America and Purina Kennel News."
He has presented at the Ralston Purina Co. Professional Marketing Services annual meeting, the AVMA annual convention and the USDA International Agricultural Forum.
For 16 years, Evans served on the OSU/A&M Board of Regents, including two terms as board chairman. He is also a past member of the OSU Alumni Association’s Board of Directors. Evans served on the administrative council for Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education and is currently a memberof the Council for Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching.
He also served two years as the national chairman of the group. He is highly involved in the Okemah community and Okfuskee County. Evans has been inducted into the Okemah Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame and the OSU Diversity Hall of Fame. He has also received the OSU Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Distinguished Alumni Award.
Evans and his wife, Elayne, have a ranch in Okemah, where they raise Angus cattle and llamas. They are the parents of Kelli Neal and grandparents of Donavin, Nakiah, Tia and Jazzmin. He is a life member of the OSU Alumni Association.
Meet Dr. Claud Evans at okla.st/evans
Linda Parrack Livingstone
Linda Parrack Livingstone graduated from OSU in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and management. She went on to receive a master’s degree in business administration in 1983 and a doctorate in management and organizational behavior in1992.
At OSU, Livingstone was a member of the Cowgirl Basketball team. She was named a Top Ten Senior, President’s Distinguished Scholar and Big 8 Scholar Athlete. She was also a member of Phi Kappa Phi and Omicron Delta Kappa.
Livingstone currently serves as the15th president of Baylor University. In that position,
she has overseen the development of Baylor’s academic strategic plan, Illuminate,
which details Baylor’s pursuit of becoming a preeminent Christian research university.
She previously served as dean and professor of management at the George Washington University School of Business, as dean and professor of management at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management, and as a tenured faculty member and associate dean of graduate programs at Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business.
Livingstone has been extensively published and cited in academic and professional outlets, including "American Business Review," "Journal of Organizational Behavior," "Journal of High Technology Management Research," and the book "Business and Corporate Integrity: Sustaining Organizational Compliance, Ethics and Trust."
In addition to her professional successes, Livingstone serves as a board member for the American Council on Education, Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas, and Capital Southwest Industrials Inc. She is also a member of the Waco Industrial Foundation Board.
She was inducted into the Spears School of Business Hall of Fame in 2013 and received its first Outstanding Ph.D. Award.
Livingstone currently resides in Waco,Texas with her husband, Brad. They have one daughter, Shelby. Livingstone is a life memberof the OSU Alumni Association.
Meet Linda Parrack Livingstone at okla.st/livingstone
Neal L. Patterson
Neal L. Patterson graduated from OSU in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in finance. He went on to receive a master’s degree in business administration in 1973.
Patterson grew up on a farm on the Kansas-Oklahoma border. During his OSU years, Patterson was a member and treasurer of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. He was also a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Delta Sigma Pi and chairman of the Student Association Committee. Patterson was named to the Dean’s Honor Roll seven times and the President’s Honor Roll once.
Patterson rose to prominence as chairman and chief executive officer of Cerner Corp., a company he co-founded with Cliff Illig and Paul Gorup in 1979. Under Patterson’s leadership, Cerner grew from a tiny startup to the world’s largest independent health information technology company, an S&P 500 company with nearly $5 billion in revenue and more than 25,000 associates worldwide.
During his life, Patterson was recognized as one of the best-performing and longest-serving CEOs in the world.Patterson was an owner or principal investor in several enterprises, including the Major League Soccer team Sporting Kansas City. Together with his late wife, JeanneLillig-Patterson, he co-founded the First Hand Foundation, aimed at children with critical health needs, and the Patterson Family Foundation, a family-led foundation with a focus on rural communities.
In addition to supporting entrepreneurial and civic organizations in the Kansas City area, Patterson invested in his alma mater. He helped endow the OSU Center for Health Systems Innovation, helped fund the new Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house and contributed to the new Cowgirl Soccer Stadium named in his honor.
He was inducted into the Spears School of Business Hall of Fame in 2010.
Patterson died from cancer at age 67 in July 2017. His wife also died of cancer less than two months later. Patterson’s brothers Kent and Bryan are accomplished OSU graduates. His four children — Clay, Lindsey, Cortney and Will — are directors of the Patterson Family Foundation.
See memories of Neal Patterson at okla.st/patterson