Promising treatment for brain tumors

 An OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center surgical and medical team has performed its first brachytherapy procedure for brain tumors, a process in which radioactive “seeds” are implanted around the edges of the tumor site after it has been removed. The surgery, the first known in Oklahoma, treats the cancer internally, rather than from an outside radiation source. “Brachytherapy allows us to give a therapeutic dose of radiation but minimize the spread,” says OU neurosurgeon Chad Glenn, who performed the surgery.

Five Moons Lounge

This spring, OU Native American students celebrated the dedication of the new Five Moons Lounge, an area for Indigenous students in Copeland Hall. “Five Moons” was the name given to Native American ballerinas Yvonne Chouteau, Rosella Hightower, Moscelyne Larkin and sisters Maria and Marjorie Tallchief, who were all from Oklahoma.OU’s American Indian Programs and Servicessurveyed more than 2,400 Indigenous OU students for help choosing the name.The lounge includes a kitchenette area, sofas and a fully renovated study space.

OU MIS program ranked No. 1

The OU Price College of Business’ management information systems degree program was ranked the No. 1 value option in the nation by Best Value Schools. Thewebsite, dedicated to helping prospective students find “the best possible college or university” for their needs, wrote that the OU Price College of Business’ MIS division has “systematically been working on designing programs that are low cost, high value and quality.” Director of the MIS division Radhika Santhanam says, “Our faculty constantly innovate and are excellent teachers and our business partners provide suggestions to enhance curriculum and prepare students to be job-ready.” 

Dental students serve veterans

More than 150 OU College of Dentistry students, residents, faculty and staff joined area dentists and hygienists to provide 60 Oklahoma veterans with free dental care at a spring clinic held at the OU College of Dentistry. During the event, 118 dental and dental hygiene students participated, as well as oral surgery residents. Volunteers performed a wide array of procedures, ranging from routine cleanings and fillings to more complex procedures like crowns and extractions.

OU welcomes new hoops coaches

Jennie Baranczyk and Porter Moser have taken charge of the OU women’s and men’s basketball programs, respectively, after longtime hoops coaches Sherry Coale and Lon Kruger announced their retirements earlier this year. Baranczyk comes to OU from Drake, where she spent nine seasons, winning three Missouri Valley Conference championships and twice named the league’s coach of the year. Moserwas most recently head coach at Loyola, where he went 188-141 in 10 years, taking the Ramblers to the Sweet 16 this spring and boasting a 293-242 record overall in 17 seasons as head coach of a college program.

Professor wins national literary award

 A book of poetry by OU English professor Honorée Fanonne Jeffers was honored in March with the 2021 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Poetry. Jeffers received the award for her collection of poems, The Age of Phillis (Wesleyan University Press, 2020), which is based upon 15 years of archival research on the life and times of Phillis Wheatley Peters, a formerly enslaved African, who, in 1773, became the first Black American woman to publish a book. The Age of Phillisis also the finalist for the 2021 PEN/Volcker Award and the 2021 Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Poetry.

In-person graduation returns!

OU graduate Justin Norris celebrates during a convocation ceremony at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on May 15. Socially distanced friends and family also attended the weekend-long festivities, which included 2020 graduates whose Commencement was held online last spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Norris, a former SGA president, graduated with a double-major in music and business administration. Congratulations to the Class of 2021!