Looking around the college, I see national recognition for our students and our faculty. Our students’ honors include such examples as Fulbright scholars Joshua Damron and Alejandra Gonzalez Herrera, Goldwater scholar Rosa Yorks and the OSU Symphony Orchestra’s role as a finalist for the American Prize. Our A&S faculty are no less honored: Our physics faculty participated in the discovery of the Higgs boson, our faculty are attracting more federal research grants, and individuals working in our Center for the Study of Disasters and Extreme Events are receiving national awards for their research and teaching in emergency management. his is the first time I have lived in Oklahoma, so I am quickly learning about its history, the Stillwater community and how to really pronounce “Miami.” It is also a perfect opportunity to take stock of the college from a fresh perspective. Our major goals should include: From the Dean’s Office Bret Danilowicz Dean, College of Arts and Sciences Phil Shockley / University Marketing Like these examples, many of our student successes are linked to our alumni support; alumni provided the scholarships that attracted these energetic students here, kept them here and gave them the materials and travel funds to advance their creative activities and research. Alumni support is so important at this time due to the intense competition our students are facing: More students are entering universities, and more are graduating to enter a struggling national economy that’s offering fewer jobs and less opportunity. The public has begun questioning the value of a college degree, and books are criticizing the attention that college students receive from faculty during the first two years of study. I was delighted to see our A&S faculty care deeply about getting students off on the right path as freshmen. Our college has created both the Mathematics Learning Success Center and a writing center that focus on ensuring that students learn from Day 1. Student learning is, and will remain, an OSU advantage. Those who have graduated from OSU can attest to that advantage. OSU’s alumni are among the most dedicated in the nation. You can see it during “America’s Greatest Homecoming Celebration,” when more than 70,000 alumni and family members return to Stillwater (this year, it is Oct. 20). You can also see it in the dedication of the graduates who are helping enhance the Boone Pickens School of Geology, giving it a rising national profile. These alumni connect the faculty and students into a diverse network of opportunities. Going even beyond the generosity of Mr. Pickens, they have secured four additional endowed research chairs and are pursuing another in geoscience education. Recently, alumni have also endowed several graduate student positions, attracting top-caliber students to the program. While this department is an excellent example of a fabulous alumni/faculty partnership, alumni in many other A&S departments are also coalescing to support their former programs. As you can see from these examples and from the pages of this magazine, our alumni are intertwined with our success as a college. So reach out and connect to your department’s faculty and students; working together, we can accomplish anything. Although I have been here just a short while, I have learned one very important tradition at OSU: always close with … … Go Pokes! T » » Educating our A&S students to levels above their peers from other universities. Our students deserve no less. » » Garnering a higher national reputation. That recognition helps us attract a diverse faculty who are passionate about teaching and research, which in turns attracts students with a passion for learning and engagement with faculty.
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