Oklahoma State University students and their professor teamed up with The Oklahoma Commission on the Status of WomenWomen reviews and the Women’s Archives at the OSU Library to produce a comprehensive statistical profile of the status of women in each of Oklahoma’s 77 counties. “Oklahoma Women’s County Status: Baseline Statistical Report, 2010” was given to Lt. Governor Jari Askins when she visited the OSU campus in Stillwater Thursday to meet with the students and is being officially released to the commission during its Incarceration of Oklahoma Women Solutions Initiative Summit Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Oklahoma National Guard Training Institute located at 63rd & Kelly in Oklahoma City.

“I am proud to see these students putting forth such time and effort; the findings of this report could very well affect future legislation and policy. It is important to continually evaluate the status of women in this state so we can do everything possible to make improvements,” said Lt. Governor Askins.

This report is one of a number of collaborative endeavors between OSU and the Commission on the Status of Women in recent years.

“This 244-page report looks at sixty-one indicators in seven areas,” said OSU Regents Professor Bob Darcy. “The indicators include demographics, politics, economic participation, social autonomy, pregnancy, health and criminal justice.”

The report also includes 61 tables and 61 maps documenting each county’s status with color codes for high and low values. Accompanying the tables and maps are narratives relating national and Oklahoma trends, rankings showing how Oklahoma compares to other states, and links to state and national government websites plus links to other organizations for further information. In addition, an appendix explains exactly how the data was obtained and crafted into the tables and maps.

The report was prepared by 40 women & politics students over the course of two semesters and a geography freshman, Andrew Potter, created the maps over several months.

“Working on this project increased my knowledge of Oklahoma women, and women throughout the United States,” Brooke Feachen, an OSU Journalism and Broadcasting senior, said. “It was nice to work with real world issues instead of hypothetical scenarios. WalkingWalking reviews away with tangible results was well worth the hard work each of us put in.”

Katie Kautz, junior Political Science major from Mustang said “Working on this project has given me a greater insight into the status of women in Oklahoma relative to the nation as a whole. While in some areas we are doing okay, it was eye opening to see the obvious need for improvement across the board. Clearly, we still have a long way to go, but I don't think that the obstacles are insurmountable.”

Jennifer Paustenbaugh, Director of the Women’s Archives at the OSU Library, past Commission chair and consultant on the project, said, “The opportunity to partner with the Commission to provide baseline data on how women are faring around Oklahoma is an important first step in addressing issues critical to the future of our great state. We look forward to working with the legislature, government agencies, nonprofit groups and others to improve the quality of life for Oklahoma women and girls.”

A very limited number of copies are available from the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women. The entire report can be accessed at http://women.library.okstate.edu or by linking to the Commission website at http://www.ok.gov/ocsw/.

Dr. Jason F. Kirksey, interim associate vice president for Institutional Diversity at Oklahoma State University since April 2009, has been named OSU Associate Vice President for Institutional Diversity, pending approval at the next regular meeting of the OSU/A&M Board of Regents.

Kirksey, associate professor and Hannah D. Atkins Endowed Chair for Political Science and Government Information at OSU, has continued in his teaching role during the past academic year and also is serving as director of the OSU Center for Africana Studies and Development.

“After an extensive national search, we recognized that the most qualified person for Oklahoma State University was already on board and providing leadership in this vital area,” said OSU President Burns Hargis. “Jason is already focusing on our priorities and supporting our all-important student recruitment efforts. He also is familiar with our faculty, staff, students and programs.”

Kirksey earned B.A. degrees in economics and political science, and his master’s degree in political science, all from OSU, and his Ph.D. in political science from the University of New Orleans. He joined the OSU faculty in 1995. He has served on the editorial board of the “Journal for the Study of Sportssports and Athletes in Education” since 2006, and was president of the Oklahoma Political Science Association in 2002.

While serving as interim associate vice president, he has implemented a number of innovative programs and made important strides in the university’s diversity efforts.

“For more than a century, Oklahoma State University has placed great value on the differences and varied talents of its people,” Hargis said. “Jason is the right person to help empower all of us at OSU to think and act in ways that will embrace and promote a more inclusive world.”

Twelve Oklahoma State University students have been awarded Bailey Family Memorial Trust Scholarships that will enable them to study abroad during the upcoming academic year.

The trust was established in 1982 by J.B. Bailey, an OSU graduate and Tulsa attorney, and his brother, Richard E. Bailey, longtime OSU humanities professor and founder of the first study abroad program in OSU’s College of Arts and Sciences, in memory of their grandmother Ida L. Davis and mother Lalla D. Bailey.

The purpose of the trust is to provide scholarship support for full-time OSU students, regardless of their major field of study, to study the liberal arts at a recognized university outside of the U.S.

Since the first awards were made for the 1985-86 academic year, nearly $1.8 million has been expended from the trust, allowing 249 OSU students to study in 34 different countries. From the first year in which two students were awarded $18,000, the program has grown so that in 2010-11, the 12 Bailey Scholars will receive a total of $99,700.

Bailey Scholars and their countries for study during the next year are:
• Jacob Biros, Stillwater chemical engineering junior with a minor in Japanese, who will study at Kansai Gaidai University in Japan, in the fall
• David Buckland, Everett, Mass., psychology junior with a minor in Japanese, who will study at Kansai Gaidai University in Japan in the fall
• Courtney Bullock, Bartlesville Spanish junior, who will study at the Universidad de Las Americas in Puebla, MexicoMexico reviews in the fall
• Lauren Gardner, Tuttle history and art history sophomore, who will study at Richmond University in Italy in the fall
• Dylan Hames, Lawton architecture junior with a minor in Spanish, who will study at the University of Guanajuato in Mexico, summer 2010
• Rebecca Kongs, Oklahoma City Spanish sophomore, who will study at the University of Veracruz in Mexico in spring 2011
• Nicholas Mendez, a Collinsville Spanish senior, who will spend the 2010-11 academic year in Spain
• Timothy Rankin, Sand Springs history senior, who will study in Greece and Turkey this summer
• Kathryn Schroeder, Tulsa English and German freshman, who will spend the 2011 spring semester studying at the Universitat Bamberg in Germany
• Sara Stafford, a Broken Bow English sophomore, who will study at Keele University in England in spring 2011
• Laurel Wilson, Tulsa mathematics and secondary French education junior, who will study at Catholic University in France in summer 2010
• Lyndsay Yates, Tulsa theater junior with a minor in management, who will study at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic in spring 2011

By Joseph Dunn

Choctaw and Muscogee Creek Tribal Member Ashleigh Coser says sometimes it is challenging being a member of an underrepresented group on a college campus.
Oklahoma State University is working to bolster the Native American presence in the field of psychology through its American Indians Into Psychology (AIIP) program, one of only three Indian Health Service programs of its kind in the nation.

AIIP consists of two components, a six-week summer enrichment program and a scholarship program. During the six weeks, junior and senior undergraduates attend classes designed to prepare them for graduate school.

They also participate in research and are assigned to a tribal urban mental health facility. Scholarships are available to Native American students working on a doctorate in clinical psychology at OSU.

“AIIP is a great opportunity for Native American students to come together,” said Coser, a senior psychology major and former AIIP Fellow. “The program allows you to meet with Native American professionals who have been in your position and are now in the community.”

Coser hopes to follow in the footsteps of several of the program’s alumni, including B.J. Boyd, deputy director of Cherokee Nation Behavioral Health Services in Tahlequah, Okla., and Chris Fore, of the Choctaw tribe, who is the director of behavioral health for the Albuquerque Area Indian Health Service.  

Other program alumni are making an impact across the nation in places like California, New Jersey, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Texas, Washington and Washington D.C.  
Of the 116 former summer enrichment participants, 26 have earned a doctorate or are enrolled in doctoral programs nationwide while 24 have earned or are currently enrolled in master’s programs throughout the U.S.

The program represents many Native American tribes, including the Cherokee, Choctaw, Muscogee Creek and Navajo tribes. In its 13-year history, students representing 34 tribes have participated in the summer program.

“My staff and I work all year recruiting students from across the nation to participate in the program,” said Dr. John Chaney, a member of the Muscogee Creek tribe who is an OSU psychology professor and project director of AIIP. “We feel that it is critical to have a very diverse group of students.”

The program began in 1997 when federal funding was granted. AIIP receives funds on three-year cycles. Under the direction of Chaney and Patricia Alexander, director of the OSU Psychology Diversified Students program, AIIP also has founded a student mentor program, pairing psychology undergraduate students with graduate students to discuss job opportunities.

For more information, contact Chaney at aiip@okstate.edu or (405) 744-7591. The department of psychology is one of 24 departments in the College of Arts & Sciences.

Statement to the OSU/A&M Board of Regents, April 23, 2010 by Bruce Russell, Chair of the Faculty at Oklahoma State University

Mr. Chairman and Distinguished Regents,

Good Morning.

Let me begin by stating that I have no illusion as to my role as Chair of the Faculty.  I am simply one Chair in a line of predecessors who blazed the path of leadership before me and successors who will carry the mantle for the faculty into the future. 

It has been my distinct pleasure and honor to serve as Chair of the Faculty and Chair of the Faculty Council for Oklahoma State University representing faculty in Stillwater, Okmulgee, Oklahoma City, OSU-Tulsa and the Center for Health Sciences.

I know that many of you view me, very naturally, as an advocate for the faculty.  And that is a role that I most certainly embrace.  However the role as “Faculty Advocate” does not fully encompass the breadth nor purpose of how the faculty and the faculty leadership view our selves.  Indeed, our view of Faculty Leadership incorporates Advocacy for the Whole of Oklahoma State University.  We collectively consider ourselves partners, not just employees, in the enterprise of higher education.

And when we talk about Higher Education we mean Higher Education in its broadest terms where we, the Faculty, fulfill not only the well known role as Classroom Teachers, but also where we, the Faculty embrace the leadership role that is thrust upon us by our status as a Land Grant Institution.  That Leadership extends to Research and Scholarship, Graduate Education, and Creative Activities whether developing technology in Agriculture or Transportation, or whether one of our Faculty composes the next Great American Symphony or authors the next Great American Novel…

Our President, Burns Hargis, has set before us the goal of remaking Oklahoma State University into one of the Top Tier Land Grant Institutions in AmericaAmerica reviews.  It is a goal and a strategic vision that our Faculty embrace.  And please know that when we achieve this goal at some certain point in time in our near future, Oklahoma State will wear a mantle of leadership not just in Oklahoma but in the NationNation reviews and in the World.  That is the Goal.

I am sure you can appreciate, along with the faculty, that in order to accomplish that goal we must necessarily do things in ways different than the past.  We must embrace new ideas and new methods, provided those new ideas are consistent with our gathered wisdom of the 100 years past. 

Positive change demands substantive and real changes in policies; and these policies must embrace and encourage the enterprise of creativity and scholarship.  Some policy initiatives that you are likely to see coming from the faculty:

• Greater incentives for outstanding research and scholarship – and though this may sound like a plea for increased salaries it is not; rather it is a plea for restructuring internal allotments of overhead distributions and other incentives that reward faculty;
• Enhancing Faculty Salaries and set goals for salaries that are consistent with our peers as a Premier Land Grant Institution;
• Invigorate a Phased Retirement for Faculty to help dignify the long service from many of our faculty while helping to maintain the vitality of our current faculty.  Currently we have 271 full-time faculty that are eligible for retirement representing 25 to 30 percent of our workforce.  While there are certain challenges represented in that statistic, there are also opportunities to generously reward faculty for their long service while re-invigorating the faculty to serve the creative, education and scholarship missions.
• Meaningful pursuit of diversity programs that will make Oklahoma State University a Destinationdestination for many of our non-majority population groups.  These are goals that can and should be accomplished and are also consistent with our land grant mission.  Again, I call specifically for Oklahoma State University to become a destination University for Native Americans from all across the United States because of our unique history as the former Indian Territory, and to also honor that history with our commitment.  And that is not to diminish the importance of outreach to all groups; rather it is, I believe, part of a strategic vision whereby we can build on our natural advantages based on geography and society, and to help set Oklahoma State apart from our peers.

Finally, the Faculty and the Faculty Leadership desire very strongly to Partner with the President and with the Board of Regents to Effect the necessary changes as we help move Oklahoma State into an even higher calling of Leadership in Instruction, Service Scholarship and Extension.

Thank you Mr. Chairman.
Respectfully,
Bruce W. Russell

A business plan team that proposes to penetrate the honeycomb manufacturing segment of the composite manufacturing industry by producing lightweight, high-strength materials to aircraft manufacturing markets was the grand prize winner in the Riata Business Plan Competition at Oklahoma State University. The team, called Metcel LLC, won $25,000.

The “What’s Your Big Idea?” competition began in December, when 96 teams of OSU students entered the contest. Teams were required to submit their business plans throughout a series of deadlines throughout the spring semester. Throughout the competition, teams received feedback and assistance from the OSU School of Entrepreneurship and the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship in the Spears School of Business, including a weekly business plan writing lab, mentoring from faculty experts and accounting and law firms, and access to online resources and a video library of successful business plan presentations.

The final business plan submissions were judged by faculty in the School of Entrepreneurship. The judges assessed the proposed concept’s strength, market, economics, operations, management and financing, and sixteen teams were selected to advance the next round of the competition. They then presented  to a group 19 successful entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, who cut the pool to four teams. The “Final Four,” was held on April 24 on the  OSU campus in Stillwater, and judged by a separate pool of distinguished entrepreneurs. The panel of judges for the finals consisted of noteworthy entrepreneurs and business people from across Oklahoma, including Malone Mitchell of Riata  Management, Carl Thoma of Thoma Bravo, Joe Eastin of  ISNetworld, Rhonda Hooper of Jordan  Associates, Jack Allen of CFR,  Inc., Russ Teubner of HostBridge Technology and MVL Prasad of Artexa,  Inc.

Finalists teams included:

Metcel LLC:
Balaji Jayakumar, mechanical engineering student
Amir Bhochhibhoya, MBA student
Adrait Bhat, mechanical engineering student
G. Ranjan Mahadevan, mechanical engineering student

Integ Medical Devices, LLC:
Jaihari Rajendran, MBA student
Aditya Machani, MBA student
Yolando Odenyo, international business student

Turnout Solutions:
Donald Bowman, fire protection and safety student
James T. Bradley

Relief Moms
Kenneth W. Graham, MBA student
Merritt Witney-Graham

The grand prize went to the Metcel LLC team, whose plan the judges determined represented the best potential for growth and for attracting outside financing.

Second place and $10,000 went to Integ Medical Devices LLC, a team that proposed to designed and market an innovative intravenous catheter that will reduce secondary infections in patients, saving costs to both patients and hospitals. Third place and $5,000 went to Turnout Solutions, a team that seeks to provide quality, hassle-free services that allow fire departments to conform to the National Fire Protection Association’s standards for turnout gear, the flame-resistant coats and pants worn by firefighters.

An additional $1,000 prize was given to Metcel LLC for having the best technology-based venture. The Doer and Dreamer Award, which is awarded to the team that has best moved their idea toward implementation, went to G4Social and team members Claude Kershner and Grant Harman. The Entrepreneurial Spirit Award, which is awarded to the team that best reflects the attitudes and mindset of the entrepreneur, went to Nambari Search and team member David Sikolia.

For more information about the “What’s Your Big Idea?” Riata Business Plan Competition, call 405-744-7552 or visit http://entrepreneurship.okstate.edu/bpcompetition.

(April 28, 2010 Stillwater, OK) – The Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University will offer a new master’s degree in entrepreneurship this fall. The program was approved Thursday by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and is a component of the university-wide entrepreneurship emphasis at OSU.  

The MasterThe Master reviews of Science in Entrepreneurship (MSE) will provide students with rigorous immersion into the nature of entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial process and adds to the OSU School of Entrepreneurship’s advanced, experiential learning-based undergraduate and doctoral programs in entrepreneurship.

"The MSE is a special degree aimed at helping students turn their promising ideas into viable ventures," said Michael H. Morris, professor and head of the OSU School of Entrepreneurship. “Students will actually start ventures during the program, while being exposed to a world class mix of courses and other experiential learning opportunities.”

The OSU entrepreneurship program is two-pronged, consisting of the academic-focused OSU School of Entrepreneurship and the outreach-focused Riata Center for Entrepreneurship. The program was jump-started by a multi-million dollar gift from OSU alumni Amy and Malone Mitchell 3rd in 2008. The School of Entrepreneurship launched in January of 2009, followed by the launch of the Riata Center a few months later.

The master’s degree in entrepreneurship is targeted at students with a passion for entrepreneurship in for-profit, non-profit and public sector contexts.  It consists of 33 credit hours of coursework and can be completed in one year. Seven to 10 students will be admitted to the program for the fall 2010 semester. The program will be offered as both a traditional on-campus degree and via distance learning.  

“We are targeting students with undergraduate backgrounds in the sciences, engineering, art, social work or most any other discipline, and who have a dream to start their own venture.  Some of these will be non-traditional students who have been out of school for awhile” said Bruce Barringer, OSU professor and Pope Chair of entrepreneurship, who also will be coordinating the master’s program.

The Master of Science in Entrepreneurship degree program will be launched this coming Fall. For more information or to apply to the program, call the OSU School of Entrepreneurship at 405-744-3325 or email entrepreneurship@okstate.edu.

(April 28, 2010 Stillwater, OK) – The Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University will offer a new master’s degree in entrepreneurship this fall. The program was approved Thursday by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and is a component of the university-wide entrepreneurship emphasis at OSU.  

The MasterThe Master reviews of Science in Entrepreneurship (MSE) will provide students with rigorous immersion into the nature of entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial process and adds to the OSU School of Entrepreneurship’s advanced, experiential learning-based undergraduate and doctoral programs in entrepreneurship.

"The MSE is a special degree aimed at helping students turn their promising ideas into viable ventures," said Michael H. Morris, professor and head of the OSU School of Entrepreneurship. “Students will actually start ventures during the program, while being exposed to a world class mix of courses and other experiential learning opportunities.”

The OSU entrepreneurship program is two-pronged, consisting of the academic-focused OSU School of Entrepreneurship and the outreach-focused Riata Center for Entrepreneurship. The program was jump-started by a multi-million dollar gift from OSU alumni Amy and Malone Mitchell 3rd in 2008. The School of Entrepreneurship launched in January of 2009, followed by the launch of the Riata Center a few months later.

The master’s degree in entrepreneurship is targeted at students with a passion for entrepreneurship in for-profit, non-profit and public sector contexts.  It consists of 33 credit hours of coursework and can be completed in one year. Seven to 10 students will be admitted to the program for the fall 2010 semester. The program will be offered as both a traditional on-campus degree and via distance learning.  

“We are targeting students with undergraduate backgrounds in the sciences, engineering, art, social work or most any other discipline, and who have a dream to start their own venture.  Some of these will be non-traditional students who have been out of school for awhile” said Bruce Barringer, OSU professor and Pope Chair of entrepreneurship, who also will be coordinating the master’s program.

The Master of Science in Entrepreneurship degree program will be launched this coming Fall. For more information or to apply to the program, call the OSU School of Entrepreneurship at 405-744-3325 or email entrepreneurship@okstate.edu.

Nazia Tabassum of Ryadh, India, and Hui Ju Park of Kangnamgu, South Korea, were recently honored at the 28th annual Phoenix Awards with the highest awards given to graduate students by Oklahoma State University’s Graduate and Professional Student Government Association and the OSU Graduate College.

Also honored was the Outstanding Faculty Member, Dr. Diane Montgomery, Regents Professor of Applied Health and Educational Psychology.

A special award was presented to Dr. Michael Smolen, professor of biosystems and agricultural engineering, for his service as adviser to the GPSGA.

The Phoenix Awards recognize exemplary achievement in leadership, scholarship, professional involvement, and university and community service, especially involvement with graduate students. It is the highest honor presented by the association.

The awards are open to all OSU graduate students and faculty. Faculty members nominate the students for the outstanding master’s and doctoral student award, and graduate students nominate faculty members for the outstanding faculty award.

Tabassum, a biochemistry and molecular biology graduate student, was named the Outstanding Master’s Student, and Park, a design, housing and merchandising doctoral student, was named the Outstanding Doctoral Student.

Tabassum and Park were presented with certificates and $750 prizes, and their names will be engraved on the Phoenix Awards plaque located outside the Graduate College offices in Whitehurst Hall.

Finalists for this year’s master’s award were Kelly Stiller Titchener, Tulsa geography graduate student, and Sarah Blackburn-Ellis of Stillwater, who received her master’s degree in educational psychology in December. Finalists for the doctoral award were Brandi Coyner, Stillwater zoology doctoral student, and Benjamin Houltberg, Tulsa doctoral student in human development and family science.

Faculty award finalists were Dr. Lowell Caneday, professor of applied health and educational psychology, and Dr. G. Allen Finchum, associate professor of geography.

Christy Ng, hotel and restaurant doctoral student from Temerloh, Malaysia, received the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award and was presented with a check for $200 and a certificate by Provost and Senior Vice President Marlene Strathe. A circulating plaque with her name engraved will be housed in the College of Human Environmental Sciences for the next year.

Finalists for the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Awards were Ng; Trisha Dubie, Stillwater, entomology and plant pathology; and Vladimira Sykova of Klatovy, Czech Republic, nutritional sciences. Both received certificates.

College winners for the award were Garrett V. Coble, Tulsa, marketing; Jennifer L. Burtka, Allen Park, Mich., zoology; Pradyuamna Baviskar, Dist Jalgao, India, veterinary biomedical sciences; Stacey Bridges, Stillwater, educational psychology; and Sandeep Srivathsan, Chennai, India, industrial engineering and management.

By Lauren Williams, Spears School communications specialist

(April 26, 2010 Stillwater, OK) – Oklahoma State University MBA students Samantha Collingsworth and Kip Kelley earned third place in the graduate division of the Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition, held last week in Oklahoma City. Collingsworth and Kelley’s proposed business “Novel Water Softening,” has created a ground-breaking, reusable chemical sponge technology that removes magnesium and calcium ions that cause hard water, without depositing salt into the groundwater.

In addition, MBA students Niccole Gimaldi and Megan Horton earned the Al Tuttle Business Incubation award for their business plan for “HÄLSA, Inc.,” who has developed the Securite Stability Frame that assists in improving the balance and stability of users. It is intended for physical therapy use, rehabilitation and exercise.

The students represented two of four teams from OSU’s Spears School of Business to advance to the finals of the statewide contest. Other business plans advancing to the finals included “Clean Hands, LLC,” by MBA students Harlan Ross and Matt Fedick and XYZXYZ reviews major classification Alex Templeton, and “Secure Analytics, LLC,” by MBA students Blaine Rider and Annie Nguyen.

“We are very proud of these students,” said Michael H. Morris, professor and head of the OSU School of Entrepreneurship. “All are part of our Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Scholars Program at OSU, and they represent the shining lights among our MBA students. They are helping to commercialize some of the many exciting technologies at OSU.”

The Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition encourages students to take their entrepreneurial ideas beyond the classroom and implement them into the real world. The event has helped establish more than 10 innovative companies. The Novel Water Softening team earned $5,000, which they plan to use to help develop their business. As the first recipient of the Al Tuttle Business Incubation award, HÄLSA, Inc., team members Grimaldi and Horton will a year of office space and business services from the business incubator at the Business Development Center on the Meridian Technology Center campus in Stillwater.

“HALSA is just the type of business idea that will likely develop into a successful Oklahoma-based business,” said Bruce Barringer, professor and Pope chair of entrepreneurship and team advisor. “A year in the Meridian Technology Center incubator will give Dr. Bert Jacobson, HALSA’s inventor, and his team space to fine tune the HALSA device and prepare to take it to market.” More than 800 Oklahoma college students from more than 26 campuses have participated in the first six years of the Governor’s Cup competition, outlining 220 innovative ideas and competing for almost $900,000 in cash awards, $30,000 in scholarships, $80,000 in paid fellowships and $250,000 of in-kind services.