CAS News

While sitting in her high-school philosophy class in Germany, Luise Schoenknecht couldn’t help but be intrigued despite the language barrier. A few years later, when she had to choose a major at Oklahoma State University, she felt naturally drawn to philosophy. But she couldn’t help but wonder what she would do with that degree. Over three semesters, Schoenknecht changed her major from architecture to philosophy, to psychology, to philosophy again, and then to graphic design, before landing back on philosophy for good.

Laura Belmonte calls herself an “odd duck” because of how much she loved the often-thankless role of department head. It inspired her to pursue the next logical career step: becoming the College of Arts and Sciences’ associate dean for instruction and personnel.

Among the many responsibilities of this position are ensuring quality instruction, handling student and faculty complaints, and overseeing faculty hiring and promotion.

When Field Watts visited Oklahoma State University as a high-school senior, it was primarily to rule out OSU, which he viewed as a large, public institution. The Fort Smith, Arkansas, native had planned to go to a smaller, liberal-arts college in Arkansas or Missouri. That changed after his visit.

Oklahoma State University has firmly established itself as a powerhouse at the National Trumpet Competition, winning at least one division in each of the past five years. On June 2, the program reached an even higher level by claiming both competition trophies at the International Trumpet Guild Conference in San Antonio, Texas.

Noah Mennenga won the ITG Solo Competition, in which he was the only American among the three finalists. Meanwhile, Ian Mertes claimed the ITG Orchestral Excerpts Competition. He was joined in the finals by Nick Nusser, who placed third.

All three won at the National Trumpet Competition in Denton, Texas, on March 10. Mennenga was the top soloist in the undergraduate division, while Mertes and Nusser were among the seven members of OSU’s title-winning large ensemble.

The new Center for Pediatric Psychology at Oklahoma State University is a logical extension of the status of OSU and the state of Oklahoma as national leaders in the field of children’s health. Its mission is “to engage in cutting-edge scientific discovery related to all aspects of children’s health, as well as their families, and to foster integrated research, training and clinical service delivery.”

Larry Mullins, the Vaughn Vennerberg II Chair of Psychology, is the inaugural director. He said the CPPOSU will be an excellent tool for recruiting outstanding faculty and graduate students.

Amal Yayah’s journey from her hometown of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to OSU began when she was recruited by Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University. “They recruited me to work for them, and one of the requirements for my sponsorship was that I had to study abroad for both my master’s and my Ph.D.” 

It was quite the challenge that Yayah faced, and quite the time commitment. 

 William Colby Starr has always had an interest in medicine. Growing up, he was often sick with sinus infections, upper-respiratory infections and other ailments. He and his family relied on antibiotics to cure him. While in a science class his junior year at Lincoln Christian High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he decided to write a research paper on antibiotic resistance. From that moment, Starr was driven to find a solution for that problem.

As a member of the College Art Association, Cristina González looks forward to receiving The Art Bulletin each quarter. Producing an article worthy of inclusion in this academic journal is a major goal of scholars in visual studies and art criticism. González earned an even higher honor recently when her contribution was featured as the cover story.

The associate professor of art history published “Beyond the Bride of Christ: The Crucified Abbess in Mexico and Spain” in issue No. 99, vol. 4, which is dated December 2017.

Being a year ahead in a biological science degree is impressive. Senior Molly Haddox decided it wasn’t impressive enough and added a plant biology major to her college career. The addition paid off. The Okemah, Oklahoma, native recently won the plant biology outstanding senior award within the College of Arts and Sciences.