Alumni Hall of Fame List

Bradford Edward Ableson , '80	U.S. Navy Chaplain Bradford E. Ableson has dedicated his adult life to the service of God and his country. As a captain in the Navy and an Episcopal Priest, he has traveled the globe many times caring for the needs of his shipmates. More...
Bill & Carol Wallace, '70 '71	Nationally recognized children’s authors Bill and Carol Wallace both graduated from the Oklahoma College of Liberal Arts in the early 1970s. Carol Priddle Wallace graduated in 1970 and Bill Wallace in 1971 – both with Elementary Education degrees. More...
Nan Nabors Reynolds, '38	Nan Nabors Reynolds’ work in early computers ensured her a spot as one of the pioneers of computer science and technology. Reynolds was one of 10 siblings, nine of which attended OCW. More...
Paula Ruth Loop, '37	World War II pilot Paula Ruth Loop, a 1937 OCW graduate, earned a bachelor of science degree in commerce. In 1942, one year after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Loop joined the Women’s Air Force Service Pilots (WASP), where she received her silver wings the following year. More...
Mary Helen Scrogin Wade, '36	Mary Helen Scrogin Wade has spent her life enriching lives with music. The 1936 OCW music alumna taught music at OCW and OCLA, and she directed church choirs for more than 50 years. More...
Betty Remy Burns, '56	Urban housing revivalist Betty Remy Burns graduated from OCW in 1956. Originally from Ft. Cobb, Burns received training in piano and music theory. More...
Ann Marie Hooper Harrison, '56	International business CEO Ann Marie Hooper Harrison may have had humble beginnings as a singer at the Oklahoma College for Women (OCW), but today, she is the only foreign woman to head a major corporation in Egypt. More...
Alecia Keahbone Gonzales, '65	Known for her lifelong devotion to teaching and preserving the Kiowa language, author and educator Alecia Keahbone Gonzales was named to the USAO Alumni Hall of Fame on Saturday, Nov. 5 2005. More...
Claire Clemons Cowan, '59	Known as an actress, director, educator and author, Claire Clemons Cowan was inducted into the 2005 University of Science and Arts’ Hall of Fame as part of Homecoming festivities Nov. 4-6. More...
Angelina Meremda Ann O'bar, '67	Angelina Merenda “Ann” O’Bar has devoted her career to working with young children and their families as a child and parenting specialist. Since her appointed in July 1965 to serve as a parent on the Governor’s Committee on Children and Youth, O’Bar has served as an advocate for programs serving young children, their families, and communities. More...
Lance David Henson, '72	Lance David Henson’s career as a poet began at Oklahoma College of Liberal Arts when he published his first book, “Keeper of Arrows,” in 1971 while a student. He is now a poet with an international reputation having published 17 books of poetry, half in the U.S. and half abroad. His poetry has been translated into 25 languages and he has read and lectured in nine countries. More...
Virginia Voigt Wenger, '46	Educator, business owner and writer Virginia Voigt Wenger, OCW class of 1946, was named to the Alumni Hall of Fame at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma on Oct. 16, 2004. More...
Kelly Johnston, '76	Nationally known communications expert Kelly Johnston, formerly of Chickasha, was inducted Oct. 25 to the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma Alumni Hall of Fame. More...
Mo Anderson, '56	From her first career in music to her most challenging professional endeavor as CEO of one of the most successful real estate companies in the world, Mo Anderson of Edmond pursues everything she does with passion. More...
Jerrie Cobb, '48	She would have loved to come "home" to Chickasha this fall to pick up another award, but she was busy flying a medical mission into South America's Amazon jungle. More...
Ellen Taliaferro	After seeing the devastating results of violence in her emergency room work in San Francisco, Dr. Ellen H. Taliaferro is on a mission to rid society of violence. More...
Kent Lamar	All paths seem to lead to the Chickasha campus for Angus Kent Lamar. The 1969 graduate of the Oklahoma College of Liberal Arts returned to the campus where he has pursued his teaching career for the past three decades. More...
Opel Thorpe	Her eyesight may have dimmed, but 1931 OCW graduate Pearl Opel Thorpe still has visions for the future. Those visions have materialized in the assistance she has given to homeless women, to promote art education, and to educate youth. More...
Ruth M. Arrington, '46	Dr. Ruth M. Arrington describes herself as being a professor of speech emeritus, but her resume reveals a wide variety of activities and interests for the Sapulpa resident. More...
Flavia Brown Bare, '49	Service is a way of life for Flavia Brown Bare whether in her career or in her personal life. The 1949 graduate of Oklahoma College for Women has spent her entire career in community health and voluntary health agencies. More...
Jayne Nash Montgomery, '42	Little Mary Jayne moved onto campus at age 5 and got a front-row seat as her father led the Oklahoma College for Women through much of its glory days, from the Great Depression to World War II. More...
Vestal Litton Nobbs, ’40	Vestal Litton Nobbs has gone from sleeping on her grandfather's couch while an OCW student to operating an international company with her husband of 41 years. More...
Loretta Young Jackson, ‘84	Add another rare honor to the resume of Loretta Y. Blunt Jackson, ‘84. Her induction to the USAO Alumni Hall of Fame brings her this distinctive honor: she’s the first person to earn both the Young Alumni Award (1993) and the Hall of Fame medallion (2000). More...
Betty Jean Brannan, ‘53	Dr. Betty Jean Brannan’s 36 year career was in education in home economics/family and community sciences as a secondary teacher, university professor, cooperative extension faculty member, and administrator. More...
Lee Shaw, ‘47	A nationally-known recording artist and jazz musician, Londa Lee Moore Shaw was a 1947 graduate of Oklahoma College for Women where she was a piano major, accompanying vocal and violin students and playing in chamber music groups. More...
Betty Jean Sanders, ‘49	In addition to her career credentials and achievements in physical therapy, Betty Jean Sanders is known for her continuing service and achievements in the national game of tennis. More...
Doris Hinson Pieroth, ‘51	A pioneer in the study of sports and physical education, Doris Hinson Pieroth graduated from Oklahoma College for Women in 1951 as a physical education major. More...
Juan Granados, ‘87	A widely regarded artist and professor, Juan Granados received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in 1987. More...
Marilyn Murphy, ‘56	Marilyn Murphy knows what it’s like to be on the edge. The 1956 OCW graduate spent 1993-94 in a small motor home driving the entire perimeter of the United States and interviewing various people who had chosen to live on the edge of our country. More...
AnnaBell Lee, ‘52	Dr. AnnaBelle Lee says she was first inspired to search for the path to excellent health while she was a student at Oklahoma College for Women. More...
Thelma Ray Faulkner, ‘54	In the early 1950s, Thelma Ray Faulkner was told that a college degree could take her anywhere she wanted to go, provided she used it. Forty-five year, four continents and hundreds of souvenirs later, Faulkner proved those words to be true. More...
Josephine Edwards Taylor, ‘28	In education, it's common for teacher's to move from one place to another. But Josephine Edwards Taylor, a 1928 Oklahoma College for Women graduate, defied the common place by spending four decades in one building. More...
Lois Gillis Hall, ‘18	"Whistle While You Work" could have been the theme song for Lois Gillis Hall, a 1918 graduate of Oklahoma College for Women. More...
Coeta Grimes Evans, ‘51	Variety best describes the career of Dr. Coeta Grimes Evans, whether in education, French, foods or research. Dr. Evans, professor emeritus, Northwestern Oklahoma State University, graduated from Oklahoma College for Women in 1951. More...
Sally Schott, ‘64	Sally Schott graduated magna cum laude from OCW in 1964 and earned her master’s degree from the University of North Texas in 1966. More...
Patricia Cooper Percy, ‘49	Patricia Cooper Percy graduated from OCW in 1949. “After graduating from high school I immediately began working in a local bank and saved for two years so I could fulfill a dream and go to college,” she said. More...
Bill Jaxon, ‘68	Bill Jaxon, of Gracemont, Oklahoma, was eight years old when he won his first art competition — at the national level. More...
Lillian Cannon Boland, ’40	Lillian Canon Boland is a 1940 graduate of the Oklahoma College for Women. She just completed nine years with the USAO Board of Regents. More...
Linda Poolaw, ‘74	The university’s Hall of Fame honorees have a long list of accomplishments, but Linda Poolaw is the only one who lists being a grand chief of the Delaware Indian Grand Council among her achievements. More...
Brenda Stanfill Cranmer, ‘65	Brenda Stanfill Cranmer went from Altus, Oklahoma, to become an outstanding OCW student and special education administrator in California. More...
Thelma Ball Wood, ‘26	Thelma Ball Wood spent eight years as a student on the university’s campus, but she spent a lifetime supporting the institution. She graduated from OCW in 1926 with a major in Home Economics and minors in art and chemistry. More...
Helen Ross VonFeldt, ‘60	Oklahoma City community leader, USAO supporter and OCW graduate Helen VonFeldt has been a leader in both music and politics. More...
Evalu Russell, ‘75 & ‘77	An animated storyteller who blends her native Kiowa culture into modern lessons for life, Evalu Russell of Anadarko has entertained audiences around the world with her practical and poignant reminisces. More...
Loyce Willett, ‘54	Loyce Willett graduated from the Oklahoma College for Women in 1954 and invested the next four decades in the physical education of youth. More...
Esther Phillips Williams, ‘27	Esther Phillips Williams is best remembered as the creator of the "College Hymn." The 1927 graduate also wrote the words for the pep song, "Cheer OCW." More...
Geneva Elizabeth Helm, ‘32	Using her talent and education, Geneva Helm has traveled the world performing plays and operas to soldiers and civilians alike. More...
Gainor Chambless Jones, ‘64	Theatre work doesn't always mean being in front of an audience. While she had some theatrical experience, Gainor Chambless Laing Jones used her talents behind the scenes as a director. More...
Kathryn Duncan Empie, ‘42	She may have spend four years on the OCW campus as a student, but Kathryn Elizabeth Duncan Empie has spent a lifetime in service to the institution. More...
Bonnie Pride, ‘48	Dr. Bonnie L. Pride’s career taken her to the classroom, the presidency of a computer software company, and to the political world. Following her 1948 graduation from Oklahoma College for Women, Dr. Pride earned her master's degree in education at the University of Houston. More...
Linda Mae Johnson, ‘64	After being the first woman to finish the surgical residency program at OU, Dr. Linda Mae Johnson has spent her entire career serving the health needs of Grady County residents and the surrounding area, the personification of leadership and service. More...
Ruth Glover Spencer, ‘35	Dr. Ruth G. Spencer, 1934 Oklahoma College for Women graduate, often is introduced as a public servant whose career spanned 37 years. The public library in Rush Springs bears the name of this honoree whose generous gift in memory of her mother, Alma Marie Glover, made possible the Grover-Spencer Memorial Public Library, dedicated in March 1985. More...
Valda Dowdy Kester, ‘45	Writer, aircraft inspector, Pentagon secretary, world traveler, church leader: these all describe Valda Dowdy Kester. She attended Oklahoma College for Women during "the war years, the sad and tender ones," in her words. At the time of her award, she was pursuing a Master of Arts degree at Indiana State University in Terre Haute. More...
Elsie Null, ‘38	A well-known business and economics expert writer, Dr. Elsie Null received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1938 from Oklahoma College for Women. She received a Master of Science degree from Oklahoma State University and completed her doctoral program at the University of Oklahoma. More...
Myrtle Chandler Stevens, ‘59,‘87	Higher education, in the classroom, in the community, or on the farm: Myrtle Chandler Stevens is a dedicated leader. She’s served as USAO Alumni Director, USAO faculty member, as a classroom teacher, and as the partner in a large farming-ranching operation in Caddo County. More...
John Crump, ‘70	For some college graduates, it takes time to work into their chosen professions. That does not include John Crump, a 1970 graduate in Communications from Oklahoma College of Liberal Arts. More...
Dorothea Seaton Looney, ‘42	As one of the leading women in the care of veterans and operations at VA institutions, Dorothea Seaton Looney has seen her share of travel from small-town Chickasha to Europe and points between. More...
Marjorie Garrison, ‘30	The first woman to serve as Deputy U.S. Court Clerk for the Northern District of Oklahoma was Marjorie Garrison, a 1930 graduate of Oklahoma College for Women. More...
Bonnie Bell Buchanan, ‘37	Bonnie Bell Buchanan’s research and teaching had national implications. Her study of the school lunch program led to modifications and changes in the program. More...
Billye Ann Cheatum, ‘55	Billye Ann Cheatum, class of ‘55. 1982 - Author, educator, and conference speaker Billye Ann Cheatum, Ph.D. has devoted 30 years of her life to the needs of children and adults with disabilities. More...
Wyvona Alexander Lane, ‘38	Dr. Wyvona Alexander Lane may have started her academic career at the Oklahoma College for Women, working her way through college by waiting tables, grading papers, and assisting in laboratories, but her academic, as well as professional resume includes employment with the National Academy of Sciences, United States Navy through George Washington University and the U.S. Government at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. More...
Rose Marie Smith, ‘49	Dr. Rose Marie Smith has used her talent and education to benefit aspiring artists, both young and old, across the nation. She has directed over 100 productions, including churches, communities, children's camps, public schools, colleges, universities, and other groups. More...
Marjorie Lenochan Dougherty, ‘29-31	Marjorie Lenochan Dougherty has spent over 4 decades of her life encouraging, mentoring, influencing and educating the youth of Oklahoma. Holding a master of education degree, Mrs. Dougherty has served as the education coordinator for the Frances Willard Home for Girls in Tulsa. More...
Margaret Echols Moore, ‘29	Margaret Echols Moore, a 1929 OCW graduate, was a producer, director, actress, teacher, church and civic leader and business woman. Her master's degree is from the University of Michigan, however, much of her achievements are tied to Canyon, Texas. More...
Polly Lewis Murphy, ‘69	The steady hand of Polly (Lewis) Murphy helped to guide the Oklahoma College of Liberal Arts Alumni Association as the college evolved in 1974 to become the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. More...
Betty Pat Gatliff, ‘51	She’s an artist like none other. When police detectives are holding a human skull, and they wonder what the person might have looked like, they call forensic sculptor Betty Pat Gatliff. More...
Sarah Emily Ellis, ‘37	When Sarah Ellis finally retired in 1973, it was from two twenty-year careers. But considering her prodigious energy and enthusiasm, they might as well have been three. More...
Kimiko Hatta Dugan, ‘61	Kimiko Hatta Dugan, Ph.D. used her OCW education to aid her into a professional career that has spanned over 2 decades. More...
Jeane Porter Hester, ‘51	International leukemia expert Dr. Jeane Porter Hester of Houston is recognized worldwide for her research in blood diseases and as one of the developers of the Blood Cell Separator which conserves the world's blood supply. More...
Edna Mae Wilcox, ‘49	Much of what educators and experts know about caring for children with disabilities can be traced to Edna Mae Wilcox, a 1949 graduate from Oklahoma College for Women. More...
B. Geraldine Lambert, ‘46	Dr. B. Geraldine Lambert – Head of Psychology Department is a title not easily earned or quickly bestowed. Dr. B. Geraldine Lambert is no stranger to hard work and discipline. More...
Venetta Bynum Kell, ’40	Combining her love of teaching and travel gave Vanetta (Bynum) Kell a unique summertime hobby: she served as a visiting faculty member at universities in Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Oklahoma. She earned a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Commerce at OCW in 40. More...
Frances G. Felton, ’39	A respected expert in immunology and preventative medicine, Frances G. Felton graduated from Oklahoma College for Women in 1939 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biology. More...
Virginia Embree, ’38	As the first full-time director of the Alumni Association, Virginia Embree was a leader in the fund-raising, planning and construction of the Alumni Chapel. More...
Barbara Crouch Lies, ’56	Her professional career actually began while she was a student at the Oklahoma College for Women. She began singing professionally the summer after her junior year, with the St. Louis Municipal Opera. More...
Clarice Tatman, ‘25	Like other women at OCW, in 1930 Clarice Tatman turned history around. Reversing the historic practice of men playing women’s roles in Shakespearean theater, Clarice Tatman, in full and flowing beard, played an earnest-looking and dynamic lead in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. More...
Margaret Free Miller, ’32	Her quiet but profound influence has made a lasting impact on Oklahoma business, education, philanthropy and volunteerism. Her service on numerous boards and trusts has spanned several decades and numerous fields of interest. More...
Carma Russell Leigh, ’25	Carma Russell (Zimmerman) Leigh grew up in a rural Oklahoma town with no library, yet went on to administer America's largest county library system in San Bernadino, Calif. Library innovator Carma Leigh is such a leader in the field—appointed state library director of both California and Washington—that her life and work are the subject of one California librarian's doctoral dissertation. More...
Claribel (Baird) Halstead, ’25	Claribel Buford (Baird) Halstead, class of 1925, played the male lead, “The Rt. Hon. Benjamin Disraeli,” in USAO’s comic stage production Disraeli so well, that a businessman who saw it while passing through Chickasha said her portrayal eclipsed that of George Arliss in the New York stage version. More...
Hazel Frost, ‘18	After 19 years on the faculty at the Oklahoma College for Women, Hazel Frost moved to Washington and founded the Future Homemakers of America. More...
Gladys Anderson Emerson, ‘25	Her most notable achievement in science may have been to isolate Vitamin E, but nutrition expert Gladys Anderson Emerson is better known at her alma mater as a global ambassador for the liberal arts. Dr. Emerson earned two degrees at OCW in 1925 — one a bachelor of arts in history and English, and the other a bachelor of science in physics and chemistry. More...
Te Ata, ‘19	Few Oklahomans have garnered as much attention around the world as Native American storyteller Te Ata, recognized for a lifetime of achievement by governors, presidents, kings and her alma mater. More...