News from A to z Sociology Head Patricia Bell, Ph.D. Beginnings The department originally began as sociology and rural life in the department of commerce in 1937. The department joined arts and sciences in 1949. News The department’s environmental sociology program is one of the best in the country. It is comprised of five well-published faculty whose works ranges from environmental attitudes surveys organized for the Gallup Poll to studying water problems in Oklahoma to analyzing disaster response and emerging environmental movements in developing nations in Europe and Africa to organizing an international conference in China and work with the United Nations. Other studies focus on the impact of internet usage on community involvement. The department participates in other academic programs at OSU including the International Studies Program, Women’s Studies, Africana Studies and Native American Studies. Sociology offers eight scholarships including its newest, the Oretha D. Swartz Native American Fund. Website: http://sociology.okstate.edu Statistics Head Bill Warde, Ph.D. Beginnings The department was a spin-off from mathematics. Interest in statistics as a field of individual study began in the 1930s. OSU hired its first statistics department head in 1965. News The department has reintroduced a course in the growing area of genetic statistics, a science concerned with the genetic structure of populations. The department continues to provide collaborative research through its statistics lab with one of its main collaborators being the Oklahoma Agriculture Experiment Station. Its graduates continue to work at well-known organizations including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Census Bureau, Aventis pharmaceutical and lab assay testing company, Koch Industries Inc. and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Alumni serve in academic capacities that include the University of Florida, University of Minnesota, New Mexico State University and Daejong University in Korea. Website: http://statistics.okstate.edu Theatre Chair Judith Cronk, M.F.A. Beginnings The department blossomed in the 1960s. In the 1970s, theater, which had always been a part of speech, joined the school of humanistic studies. News The department is renovating and upgrading the lighting systems in the Vivia Locke Theatre and the Jerry L. Davis Studio Theatre as well as expanding and upgrading its computer lab and design studio. In 2007, the theatre department created two endowed scholarships in the names of Billye Sue Harmon and Jeanne Adams Wray. The department continues to attract wellknown visiting lecturers including Tony Wolf, a fighting styles director for Lord of the Rings, and Judith Hawking, a Broadway actor. Theatre alumni are currently working on Broadway and in Hollywood, directing New Year’s Eve in Times Square, completing internships at The Juilliard School and working for MTV. Website: http://theatre.okstate.edu Zoology Head Loren Smith, Ph.D. Beginnings The science departments at Oklahoma A&M grew during the 1920s. In 1923, zoology separated from bacteriology and veterinary medicine. Zoology was one of the first areas in arts and sciences to grant a doctorate. News Since 2003, faculty and student research has led to advances in molecular genetics, conservation biology, vertebrate physiology and systematics with funding from the National Science Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Revised undergraduate courses in biology, zoology and physiology create “inquiry-based” courses that promote interactive learning. The department recently replaced four faculty members and plans to replace three more as OSU reorganizes research and academic programs throughout. A departmental goal is to increase scholarships and fellowships by adding 16 named endowments by 2017. Website: http://zoology.okstate.edu Proud History. Bright Future. OSU has a strong military history. By the end of World War II, more than 40,000 military students had received education certificates at Oklahoma A&M — more than at any other college in the nation. Today OSU has two ROTC programs that continue to thrive. Aerospace Studies Head Col. Kenneth Konicki Beginnings In 1946, the order of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Army chief of staff, established the Air Force ROTC on the Stillwater campus. News Air Force ROTC, Detachment 670, supports 11 university and college campuses with these partners making up 16 percent of the detachment’s 76 undergraduate students. In the U.S. and Puerto Rico, 144 detachments host college and university campuses where students may attend classes through 1,025 separate enrollment programs or consortium agreements. Aerospace studies achieved financial support for 2006 and 2007. The Air Force paid cadets $627,844 toward tuition and fees, as well as $482,845 toward books and stipend. OSU’s Air Force ROTC scholarship program awarded Air Force cadets $208,250. The OSU program commissioned 45 second lieutenants from 2006 to 2007 and 538 since 1976. Website: http://afrotc.okstate.edu/ Military Science Head Lt. Col. Jeffrey Hensley Beginnings The department of military science and tactics was first introduced in 1916. News The OSU Army ROTC Program continues to be one of the top ROTC Battalions in the 10th ROTC Brigade that includes 22 universities in Illinois, Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. The department continues to grow and is at a 17-year high for enrollment. During 2007, the department recruited 20 freshmen from around the U.S. to enter the program on four-year scholarships. Alumni support for 2007 and 2008 includes support from the Ed Glover endowment, the use of Rex Holland’s land for navigation training and the mentorship from Maj. Gen. Doug Dollar. The program has commissioned more than 6,000 officers for the U.S. Army and its other services with 97 of the graduates attaining the rank of general officer or admiral. In 2007 at Fort Lewis, Wash., OSU cadets excelled at the leadership development and assessment course with more than 40 percent of its cadets earning an excellence rating, a rating reserved only for top graduates. Website: http://rotc.okstate.edu cas.okstate.edu College of Arts and Sciences 26
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