STORY ELIZABETH GOSNEY | PHOTOS PHIL SHOCKLEY AND GARY LAWSON HONORING A Because our annual CONNECT magazine had already gone to press at the time of T. Boone Pickens’ passing one year ago this September, we were unable to publish anything about his life and legacy in the 2019 issue. With immense gratitude for him, we do so now. On Sept. 11, 2019, OSU’s ultimate Cowboy, T. Boone Pickens, passed away at the age of 91. In a final message, the Oklahoma State geology graduate, energy tycoon and philanthropist wrote, “This Depression-era baby from tiny Holdenville, Oklahoma — that wide expanse where the pavement ends, the West begins, and the Rock Island crosses the Frisco — lived a pretty good life.” To his family, friends and thousands of OSU students who have benefited from his generosity, Mr. Pickens’ life wasn’t just good. It was extraordinary. “He transformed America in many ways, and he sure enough transformed Oklahoma State,” OSU President Burns Hargis told the crowd at Mr. Pickens’ Celebration of Life in 2019. Over the course of his life, Mr. Pickens gave more than $652 million to the university and prompted thousands of others to donate. “Since [2008], we have now raised over $2 billion in cash and pledges,” Hargis said. “With 70,000 new donors, our endowment here at the university has more than doubled, and we’ve added about 200 new $1 million-plus donors. So clearly Boone’s impact, his COLLEGE PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE ULTIMATE COWBOY, BOONE PICKENS 16 CONNECT 2020
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