Hail to the Chief
Public safety across OU’s three campuses is now under the leadership of a law enforcement professional with three decades of service, including 25 years with the FBI. Derek Fuller assumed the role of OU’s chief of police and associate vice president in October. At the FBI, he led a team of 150 special agents, staff, police and task force officers. The U.S. Naval Academy graduate and former Naval flight officer most recently served as chief of public safety and associate vice chancellor at Alamo Colleges District Police Department in San Antonio.
Walker Tower Friendships are for Forever
In 1974, a group of OU freshman women had no idea that their connection would last for more than five decades, but seven former residents of Walker Tower 7 East – Donna Neel, Nancy Cox, Susan Carney Swab, Mary Abernathy Glass, Margaret Ruth Godsy, Ellen Garrison Frihart and Sheri Bishop Colpitt – gathered in Norman this fall to spend a weekend reminiscing. Their visit took them from Campus Corner to The Mont, dinner at Othello’s and drives to see the many changes to campus. With next summer’s impending demolition of Walker Tower in mind, one highlight was taking photos outside the tower and in its seventh-floor lobby. “The bond of friendships made 50 years ago continues to thrive within us as we reflect upon the impact that our time at OU had on our lives,” wrote Neel, OU BS ’78 and M.Ed ’81.
Navigating Middle-Earth
Mapping the intricacies of another creator’s imagination is a daunting task, but cartographer and OU alumnus Karen Wynn Fonstad (’67 BS physical therapy and ’71 MA geography) loved J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy so much, she felt compelled to cold-call Tolkein’s publisher and offer to create a visualization of his fantasy worlds. She meticulously gathered lore from manuscripts, notes and archived materials for more than two years. With awe-inspiring detail, The Atlas of Middle-Earth was first published in 1981 and still captivates fans around the world in many translations, including Japanese, Arabic and Hungarian.
Sooners Cited
The University of Oklahoma’s three campuses boasted more than 100 highly cited scientists in the September publication of author rankings from Stanford University and Elsevier Data Repository. The recognition of current and emeritus faculty demonstrates the depth and breadth of expertise among OU faculty and leadership. Higher rankings, or c-scores, are a composite indicator of metrics including career advancement and quality of research.
Romanoff Treasures
Romanoff Treasures
A royal legacy found an unlikely home in Oklahoma. Through a $2 million gift from Princess Janet Romanoff’s estate, OU now stewards an extraordinary collection of Romanov family artifacts. "Russia’s Romanovs in War, Revolution and Exile, 1916–2016: Stories from a Family Archive" draws from this collection to showcase rare letters, photos and heirlooms in a free Bizzell Memorial Library exhibit open through February.
Making Room for Healing
OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center will soon be able to double the number of patients receiving early stage cancer drugs with the expansion of its Oklahoma Phase 1 Clinical Trials Center. The expansion will put the center on pace to become one of the nation’s top-five largest clinical trial centers and add nearly 20,000 square feet of laboratory space to support the growth of cancer research.
Lead On, March Strong
The best results often require the best tools, and OU School of Music needed an instrument update. Thanks to a $500,000 grant from The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, student musicians will now have access to 28 new sousaphones for The Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band, as well as three new pianos, which will help the School of Music reach its goal of an All-Steinway designation. Now, musicians with world-class talent will have world-class instruments to match.