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NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Diane Carroll
University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma
Office: 405-574-1201
dcarroll@usao.edu

2022 Inductees to the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame Announced


Oklahoma City (July 20, 2022) — The Oklahoma Higher Education Heritage Society will welcome 11 individuals into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame in 2022.

This year’s inductees include Larry Duffy, vice president for development and alumni affairs at Western Oklahoma State College; V. Burns Hargis, president emeritus of Oklahoma State University; Dr. Cindy Hess, senior vice president and chief academic officer at Tulsa Community College; Mary Margaret Holt, dean of the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts at the University of Oklahoma (OU); George W. McLaurin, late professor at Langston University; Dr. Gloria Pollard, human relations department, OU; Dr. William Ray, dean emeritus of the graduate college at OU-Tulsa; Dr. Randa Shehab, associate dean at the Gallogly College of Engineering at OU; and Kate Galt Zaneis, late president of Southeastern State Teachers College, now Southeastern Oklahoma State University.

Buddy Spencer, businessman and development foundation at Carl Albert State College, and Gene Rainbolt, businessman, higher education philanthropist and civic leader will both receive special merit awards.

The 28th annual induction ceremony and banquet will be held Nov. 1 at the Oklahoma History Center. The cost is $100 per person, $950 per table, with tickets available starting in September.

The Oklahoma Higher Education Heritage Society was established in 1991 as a nonprofit to support awareness of higher education’s vital role in Oklahoma history and honor individuals, living and deceased, for outstanding service to higher education in the state. Since its establishment in 1994, the society has inducted almost 300 educators, administrators and others who have made distinguished contributions to higher education into the hall of fame.

To be eligible for induction, an individual must have been employed by one or more public or private institutions of higher education in Oklahoma on a full-time basis for at least 10 years. Individuals not so employed, as well as outside organizations or institutions, who have performed outstanding service to higher education in the state above and beyond financial contributions, are also eligible for consideration.

Headshots of this year’s inductees can be found at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/usaodrovers/albums/72177720300490550.

Biographical sketches and photos of past inductees are available at www.ohehs.org, as well as at the higher education kiosk in the Oklahoma History Center.

For more information, contact Diane Carroll at dcarroll@usao.edu or 405-574-1201.

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