Do No Harm

(Reader Mary Ann Gilmore Caffrey shared a letter she sent to OU Gallogly College of Engineering Dean John Klier.)

Dear Dean Klier:

                I have never been prouder to be a Sooner and a supporter of the Gallogly College of Engineering through the Robert Thomas Gilmore Scholarship than when I read the “Do No Harm” article in Sooner Magazine’s Summer 2022 issue.

               The study and report that your student researchers did for Oklahoma City’s John F. Kennedy neighborhood regarding the environmental impact of their heavy industry neighbors was so comprehensive, professional and helpful. Surely the deciders in Oklahoma City government will take notice of the common-sense suggestions for solutions offered and work toward them.

                As a lifelong resident of Oklahoma City, I am appalled, embarrassed and saddened that this neighborhood has endured this health-threatening injustice for so long.

               Clearly the Gallogly College of Engineering is educating and training student engineers who are working to make our world a better place. I am hopeful for the future because of them.

                Please share my gratitude with your professors, staff and students.

With great esteem,

Mary Ann Gilmore Caffrey, ’68 ba, comm

Oklahoma City, Okla.

Saluting a Sooner Spouse and Educator

Editor:

                My wife, Marilyn Knowles Evans, graduated from OU in 1956 (BS Ed.), but because of the difference in wages, came to California to teach. She taught kindergarten for 30 years. A significant number of the children in her classes were from itinerate families who spoke no English. Fortunately, she speaks Spanish and was able to give all her students a head start.

                When I was working on a master’s degree in geography at California State University, Fresno, a fellow graduate student had concerns about education in public schools. He did a study on the Fresno County Public School System as part of his graduate work and tracked students from their entry into kindergarten to high school graduation for all public schools in the county. This survey spanned a decade of students.

                In the worst-case scenario, the study found that only 15% of students had graduated from high school. In the best-case scenario, 85% of the students graduated. These were students who had begun their education in my wife’s kindergarten class.

                When my friend discovered the results of his study, he came over to our house to tell us what he had learned. Marilyn was pleased. She had just retired from teaching, and I’m sure the school never knew of their loss in relation to the county’s education success rate.

                 It is a tribute to OU to have graduates such as this talented educator I married. Just one more thing for OU to brag about.

Robert Evans

Coarsegold, Calif.