Kim Henry Promotes Reading
Oklahoma’s First Lady Kim Henry has joined an effort along with the spouces of several other governors to promote reading. As a reading ambassador for the Scholastic Summer Challenge, she is encouraging students to read four or more books this summer.
More than 55,000 students in the United States have signed up and have recorded more than 49 million minutes of reading. As part of the program, 500 books were donated to fourth and fifth grade students at Rockwood Elementary School.
To join the effort this summer, students can log on and record their minutes of reading. Happy reading!
-Staff Writer Dawn Marks
Two professors join OU College of Engineering
The University of Oklahoma College of Engineering has hired Janet Allen as the John and Mary Moore chair and professor in the School of Industrial Engineering and Farrokh Mistree as the L.A. Comp chair and director of the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering.
Mistree, most recently a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, follows Professor and Lesch Centennial Chair Subramanyam Gollahalli who is stepping down as director after eight years. Mistree comes to OU with more than 30 years of experience in academia, beginning as a lecturer at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. He also served as associate professor and professor at the University of Houston and as professor of the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech.
Mistree’s design experience spans mechanical, aeronautical, structural and industrial engineering. He has taught courses in engineering design, naval architecture, solid mechanics, operations research, computer science and professional development.
Allen’s continuing research interests include simulation and modeling in engineering design, robust design, decision-based design, and design pedagogy. She has co-authored one monograph and more than 225 technical publications. Known for her contributions to the simulation-based design of complex engineering systems, especially in the management of uncertainty in the early stages of systems design, Allen said she looks forward to working with her OU colleagues to develop an interdisciplinary research thrust in simulation-based design and manufacture of complex engineered systems.
Hansen becomes OU’s first Cooke Scholar
Recent University of Oklahoma alumna Heather Hansen has been named a Jack Kent Cooke Scholar, the first OU student to win this prestigious and highly competitive award. Recipients demonstrated outstanding records of achievement in academics, service, leadership and community involvement.
The foundation selected 30 individuals from among 678 nominations nationwide to receive graduate scholarships of up to $50,000 per year for up to six years of study. Last year, awards for the first year of graduate study averaged $36,000.
Hansen, the daughter of Anita and Thomas Hansen of Springfield, Mo., graduated with distinction from OU in 2007 with a double major in international studies and psychology and a minor in Spanish. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in international affairs at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in New York City.
Hansen’s career goal is to work with development and aid organizations on the design, implementation and evaluation processes pertaining to displaced persons and refugees. She is interested in a career with such organizations as the International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps or the U.S. Agency for International Development. Next month, Hansen will complete two years in Jordan with the Peace Corps, where she teaches English as a foreign language and organizes several health initiatives.
– From University of Oklahoma public affairs
Sandy Garrett’s Column
From Will Rogers and Marjorie Tallchief to Carrie Underwood and Kristen Chenoweth, many famous artists have called Oklahoma home.
Oklahoma’s talent is home grown and our classrooms are full of budding young artists waiting to shine in the spotlight of success.
Talented students in the fields of acting, creative writing, ballet, modern dance, orchestra, chorus, photography, drawing/painting, and film/video attend the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain near Lone Grove each summer.
An intensive, two-week residential program gives young Oklahomans the opportunity to study with nationally renowned artists including winners of the Pulitzer Prize and of the Academy, Emmy, Grammy and Tony Awards.
One of the first students to attend the Summer Institute is also one of its most famous alumni, Megan Mullally, known for her recent starring role in the award winning TV show, Will & Grace.
Participants aged 14-18, and a few graduating seniors aged 19, are selected through competitive, statewide auditions. Nearly 1,300 students applied this year, and 268 were accepted. Each receives a full scholarship to the institute worth more than $2,000.
Scholarships are provided by the State Department of Education with funding from the Legislature and matched by private donations secured by the Oklahoma Arts Institute—headed by a dynamic president, Julie Cohen.The summer institute also receives support from the Oklahoma Arts Council.
These scholarships are an important way to support student artists who have high ambitions.
At the 19th annual State Superintendent’s Awards for Arts Excellence, I had the privilege of honoring recent high school seniors who attended the summer institute.
We honored 109 talented high school seniors from 40 Oklahoma communities in a ceremony at the Scottish Rite Temple in Guthrie. We also recognized school leaders and fine arts teachers.
The State Department of Education, along with the Masonic Fraternity of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Alliance for Arts Education
—an affiliate of the Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network, are sponsors of the event.Every year I am inspired by the creativity, passion and talent of the young artists we have in our classrooms. They give me hope for the future, but make me wonder what would happen if there were no arts programs in our schools.
It would be difficult for many of these young people to find creative outlets and to realize the academic benefits. Thankfully, the arts are a key component of Oklahoma’s core curriculum, the Priority Academic Student Skills.
Students of all ages and backgrounds benefit from exposure to the arts. A direct connection between arts participation, higher test scores and student success has been well documented. This has been especially evident in the studies of SAT scores.
We believe the arts are an integral part of a well-rounded education and I urge you to support youth arts in your community!
For information about the State Superintendent’s Awards for Arts Excellence, visit the SDE’s Web site
www.sde.state.ok.us. For details concerning the Summer Arts Institute, visit the Oklahoma Arts Institute’s Web site www.oaiquartz.org or call (405) 321-9000.
Lunch Program Continues through July 29
Oklahoma City children can still get school lunch most of this month although school is out. The district is paricipating in the free summer meal program and several sites are offering lunch and breakfast. The program will continue through July 24 at all participating schools, and until July 29 at some schools. Breakfast is from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. and lunch will be from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. For more information, call 587-1032.
Sites are:
› Britton Elementary School, 1215 NW 95
› Columbus Enterprise, 2402 N Pennsylvania Ave.
› Hawthorne Elementary School, 2300 NW 15
› Hayes Elementary School, 6900 S Byers
› Hillcrest Elementary School, 6421 S Miller
› Heronville Elementary School, 1240 SW 29
› Lee Elementary School, 424 SW 29
› Madison Elementary School, 3117 N Independence
› Martin Luther King Elementary School, 1201 NE 48
› Prairie Queen Elementary School, 6609 S Blackwelder
› Rockwood Elementary School, 3101 SW 24
› Telstar Elementary School, 9521 NE 16
› Wheeler Elementary School, 501 SE 25
› Capital Hill High School, 500 SW 36
› Douglass High School, 900 Martin Luther King Ave.
› Northwest Classen High School, 2801 NW 27
› Star Spencer High School, 3001 N Spencer Road
› U.S. Grant High School, 5016 S Pennsylvania Ave.
Sites open until July 29:
› Rancho Village Elementary School, 1401 Johnston Drive
› Ridgeview Elementary School, 10010 Ridgeview Drive
› John Marshall High School, 12201 N Portland Ave.
› Southeast High School, 5401 Shields
A cappella group coming Oklahoma Christian University
Oklahoma Christian University reached an agreement with Tennessee-based vocal group Acappella to relocate to the university this fall.
The goal of the partnership is to promote the spiritual merit of a cappella music, university president Mike O’Neal said in a news release.
“We are providing scholarships to the members of the group,” he said. “Though Acappella will remain independent of the university, their presence on our campus will result in much goodwill toward Oklahoma Christian as they minister throughout the world.”
Acappella was founded in 1982 by Keith Lancaster.
OC has online MBA program
Oklahoma Christian University announced Wednesday it will offer a master of business degree program online.
The online classes are seven weeks long, and the degree can be completed in one year.
University spokesman Ron Frost said the program will give students more flexibility to manage their schedules.
The tuition and fees will be the same rate as classes on campus.
“The professors have embraced the challenge of developing these online courses to be practical, personal and academically rigorous,” graduate business studies director Ken Johnson said in a news release.
For more information, go to www.oc.edu/mba or call 425-5562.
OCU law organization helps senior citizens
Oklahoma City University created a student law association to help underprivileged senior citizens with legal issues.
Elder Law Association consists of students who will host workshops at senior centers and retirement homes.
“After working with area senior citizens, it became clear that there is a local need for these services, and students could benefit by volunteering as well,” founder Monica Tanzey said in a news release.
Tanzey worked as a clerk for Oklahoma Senior Law Resource Center.
New OCU regent appointed
Gov. Brad Henry and the Oklahoma City Community College officials recently appointed Teresa Moisant to serve on the college’s board of regents.
Moisant is president of Moisant Promotional Products, a company she created in 1990. The was recognized three times by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce as one of the fastest growing businesses.
She previously served as advertising director for Target, training director for TG&Y and district manager for Revlon.
