OU-Tulsa Welcomes New Leader
OU-Tulsa Welcomes New Leader
Adding a Grammy to Her Resume
Broadway star and 2011 OU musical theatre grad Adrianna Hicks is having quite the year. Hicks won a Grammy in February for her vocal performance on "Some Like it Hot," which received the prize for Best Musical Theatre Album. She plays the role of Sugar in the adaptation, which also won four Tony Awards in May 2023 and had the most Tony nominations of any musical.
OU-Tulsa Welcomes New Leader
Susan Bynum became vice president of OU-Tulsa in January. The well-known attorney and community leader will focus on enhancing the OU brand, cultivating partnerships and fortifying relationships with stakeholders. A 2000 OU graduate who was named to the PE-ET Top 10 Senior Honor Society, Bynum has an extensive background in government relations, business strategy and public relations.
Remembering a Teaching Giant
Tom Boyd's joy in teaching and love of students may have been dwarfed only by his talents in sharing the mysteries of philosophy and faith. Boyd, who died in February, taught philosophy for 29 years and co-founded OU's Religious Studies program alongside his wife, the Rev. Barbara Boyd. He was widely considered a jewel of OU's faculty–a passionate, dynamic speaker and master storyteller who influenced countless minds with his gentle but incisive intellect. The OU 1962 alumnus chaired the Faculty Senate and received nine teaching awards, including the Oklahoma Award for Teaching Excellence and being named an OU David Ross Boyd Professor Emeritus of Philosophy.
E(sports) are the Champions, My Friends
OU was named Collegiate Program of the Year at December’s 2023 Esports Awards, taking out nationally ranked rivals like the University of Texas-Austin and the University of California-Berkeley. “Having a Division I power university win an award like this puts a bullseye on our back in all the right ways,” Mike Aguilar, director of OU Esports and Co-Curricular Innovation, told the OU Daily. More than 225 OU students participate in OU’s esports program.
A Circle of Hope
OU’s Fran and Earl Ziegler College of Nursing received a $10.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to investigate the biological, social and behavioral factors affecting maternal health in Native communities through the new Center for Indigenous Resilience, Culture and Maternal Health Equity, or CIRCLE. “Most deaths of Indigenous mothers are preventable, and we are excited to better understand risks and improve pregnancy outcomes,” says Karina Shreffler, principal investigator and associate dean for research.
Mystery Photo: “Wheels of the West”
OU’s Western History Collections has tens of thousands of images covering the university’s 134-year history. Occasionally, the names of individuals have been lost to time—like in this shot of Gamma Phi Beta sorority’s 1956 Sooner Scandals winning act, “Wheels of the West.” If you can help solve the mystery by identifying people in this photo, e-mail us at soonermagazine@ou.edu.