Oklahoma State University inducts 4 into 2024 Hall of Fame class
Wednesday, May 8, 2024
Media Contact: Mack Burke | Associate Director of Media Relations | 405-744-5540 | editor@okstate.edu
The Oklahoma State University Alumni Association honored four new members of the OSU Hall of Fame at a ceremony on Feb. 2 in the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center. Calvin J. Anthony, Gary C. Clark, Harold T. Holden and Dr. Dennis R. White all received the university’s highest honor. The award celebrates outstanding lifetime achievement in society and professional life.
Calvin J. Anthony
Calvin J. Anthony attended OSU and played baseball before entering the University of Oklahoma’s College of Pharmacy program, earning an advanced degree with honors three years later.
He owned Tiger Drug Company in Stillwater for 47 years and expanded the business to the surrounding communities of Perkins, Yale and Perry. Anthony and his wife, Linda, also operated and owned a medical supply company for 10 years. Before his retirement in 2016, Anthony mentored and employed dozens of pharmacy students during his four decades of business, transferring each location to a graduating pharmacist who had worked with him.
Anthony has been highly involved in the Stillwater community, serving on the boards for numerous organizations, including chairman of Stillwater Savings Bank, Stillwater Chamber of Commerce, OSU Alumni Association and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
He was elected mayor of Stillwater in 1985 and to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1992. While serving in the Legislature, Anthony chaired the joint committee tasked with solving funding issues related to the OU College of Medicine and Oklahoma Memorial Hospital. Years later, while serving as a regent for OSU, he would be called upon again to help solve similar issues regarding the OSU Center for Health Sciences teaching hospital in Tulsa.
“In 1963, after enrolling at OSU to play baseball and finding myself running wind sprints in the old dirt track in the basement of Gallagher Hall, I would have never believed for the next 60 years, Stillwater would be my home. But it was, and I am so thankful for that.”
Following his time in office, the Anthonys transitioned to Washington, D.C., where he served as chief executive officer for the National Community Pharmacist Association, representing 24,000 pharmacies and 70,000 pharmacists nationwide. For two years, Anthony chaired Pharmintercom, an international pharmacy organization of all the Englishspeaking countries in the world.
Anthony’s honors include Stillwater Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year, induction into the Stillwater Hall of Fame and Oklahoma Hall of Fame. He was presented with the Calvin J. Anthony Leadership in Pharmacy award named in his honor by the National Community Pharmacists Association for dedication to his profession. Anthony served for two terms on the OSU/A&M Board of Regents, including as chair for three years. He also served on the Stillwater Medical Center Board of Trustees for 18 years.
The Anthonys have been married for 55 years and live in Stillwater. They have three children, all OSU alumni, and eight grandchildren. He is a life member of the OSU Alumni Association.
Gary C. Clark
Gary C. Clark graduated from OSU with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education in 1969 and a master’s degree in agricultural education in 1972. While on campus, Clark was recognized as an OSU Top Ten Senior in 1969.
After graduating, Clark worked in agricultural education at Laverne Public Schools in Oklahoma for one year before serving in the U.S. Army. He then attended the University of Texas School of Law, where he graduated with honors in 1975.
While in private law practice in Tulsa, Clark was an active member of the Tulsa County and Oklahoma bar associations. He served as president of the Tulsa County Bar Association from 1993-94 and as president of the Oklahoma Bar Association in 2002. He is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and member of the American Law Institute. Clark is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Trusts and Estates).
Clark served as a member of the OSU/A&M Board of Regents from 1993-2001, serving as chair from 1997-98. He was vice president and general counsel for the OSU Foundation from 2004-08, where he worked over 18 months negotiating the purchase of 275 tracts of land that make up the Athletic Village. In 2008, Clark was hired by President Burns Hargis to work with him at OSU. He retired in 2021 as senior vice president and general counsel.
“More than a third of my life has been closely associated with Oklahoma State University. So many wonderful life-changing events have come from that association.”
In 1996, Clark was selected as the Outstanding Senior Lawyer of the Tulsa County Bar Association and received the first TCBA Distinguished Service Award, which was then named in his honor. The Oklahoma Bar Association has recognized him with its President’s Award, the John Shipp Award for Ethics and the Joe Stamper Distinguished Service Award. He was honored with the OSU Distinguished Alumni Award in 2003 and as a Ferguson College of Agriculture Distinguished Alumnus in 2023.
Clark and his wife of 54 years, Jane, have two children. He is a life plus member of the OSU Alumni Association.
Harold T. Holden
Harold T. Holden attended OSU for one year before attending the Texas Academy of Art in 1961. He then pursued a career in the commercial art field.
Primarily known as a cowboy artist, Holden captured the West in sculptures and paintings for more than 50 years. His works can be found across Oklahoma and beyond, from the Oklahoma State Capitol to a United States postage stamp. His 25th public sculpture — a monument of Frank “Pistol Pete” Eaton — will be placed on the OSU campus in 2024. This will be Holden’s fourth monument for OSU preceded by the “We Will Remember” Kneeling Cowboy, Barry Sanders and T. Boone Pickens.
In 2001, Holden received the Governor’s Art Award from then Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating and was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oklahoma Sculpture Society. He received the OSU Distinguished Alumni Award in 2005 and was elected to membership in the Cowboy Artists of America in 2012.
In 2014, Holden was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, and in 2017, he was the first Oklahoma artist to be inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. He was the recipient of the James Earle Fraser Sculpture Award at the 2020 Prix de West at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum and received the Ray Swanson Award at the 2020 Cowboy Artists of America Show.
“H loved that this university is agriculture related and that the mascot is a real cowboy. Our connection to OSU through H’s sculptures and the friends we have made is very special to our family.”
Holden was known for his attention to detail, particularly regarding the horses he sculpted and painted. He enjoyed team roping in his free time, and along with his cousin, Jeff Holden, he raised and raced quarter horses. He attributed his love for horses to his father, and his art career was encouraged early on by his grandfather, George E. Failing.
Holden died in December 2023 after a long fight with lung disease. He was 83.
Holden lived with his wife, Edna Mae, near Kremlin, Oklahoma. Harold was a member of the OSU Alumni Association.
Dennis R. White
Dr. Dennis R. White graduated from OSU with a bachelor’s degree in animal science in 1964 and a master’s degree in animal nutrition in 1969. He went on to receive a Ph.D. in ruminant nutrition from Texas A&M University in 1972.
While at OSU, White was a member of Block and Bridle, Ag Council, the OSU Livestock Judging team and Phi Kappa Phi. He was also a member and president of Alpha Zeta.
Following his graduation from Texas A&M, he started his career at the university as a beef cattle specialist. White later served as director of feeder services for the American National Cattlemen’s Association. He was employed by Elanco Animal Health from 1978 until his retirement in 2001. During his career with Elanco, he served in both the marketing and research divisions. White and his family then returned to his hometown of Ninnekah, Oklahoma, to expand their ongoing partnership in stocker cattle with White Bros. Cattle Co. Inc.
In 2007, White received the Ferguson College of Agriculture’s Distinguished Alumni Award and was awarded the Graduate of Distinction Award by the OSU Department of Animal Science in 1997. He was also awarded the OSU Distinguished Alumni Award in 2009.
He served as chairman for the American Society of Animal Science’s Extension Program Committee, director of the Feeder Council of the American National Cattlemen Association and a non-resident fellow of the Noble Foundation. He is a member of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and served as an associate director-at-large for the American Society of Agricultural Consultants.
“While at OSU I learned a lot, developed skills, and achieved the confidence that enabled me to compete successfully with my career in animal science.”
White served as president of the OSU Animal Science Alumni Association, was a member of the Ferguson College of Agriculture Dean’s Advisory Committee and was chairman of the steering committee for the Totusek Endowed Chair. He has served as an OSU Foundation Board of Trustees member and is on the Board of Governors.
After retiring from the cattle company in 2017, White and his wife, Marta, moved to Stillwater where they continue to reside. He enjoys honing his skills in woodworking while continuing to stay involved with the university.
White is a life plus member of the OSU Alumni Association.
Photos By: Phil Shockley
Story By: Jillian Remington | STATE Magazine