In Memoriam

Alumni

  • Alyce Loree McConnell Rice (B.S. ‘45)
  • Shirley Patrick Mankin (B.A.Ed. ‘57)
  • Jackie Krutsinger (B.S.Ed. ‘59)
  • Charles Lewis Hunnicutt (B.A. ‘60)
  • Robert “Chuck” Cantwell (B.S. ‘63)
  • Ethel Rosetta (Trinkle) Werblo (B.S.Ed. ‘63)
  • Tommy Alvin “Coach” Heidebrecht (B.S.Ed. ‘67)
  • Thomas John Vaughn Jr. (B.A.Ed. ‘67)
  • William P. Livermon (B.S. ‘68)
  • Lloyd James Bush Jr. (B.B.A. ‘69)
  • Walter J. Gillispie (B.S. ‘69)
  • James Allen Hellams (B.A. ‘70)
  • Esther “Teri” Bodanis Shifrin (M.Ed. ‘70)
  • Mary Nell Traywick (B.S.Ed. ‘66, M.Ed. ‘70)
  • Sue Ann Risinger (B.S.Ed. ‘71)
  • Carol J. Meyer Lingreen (M.Ed. ‘72)
  • Judith Stevens Raulston (M.Ed. ‘73)
  • Anna Beth Heidebrecht (B.A. ‘69, M.Ed. ‘74)
  • William Wray McCollum (B.S. ‘72, B.A. ‘73, M.Ed. ‘75)
  • Barbara Booth Ryan (B.S.Ed. ‘75)
  • Meredith Ann Cocklin (M.Ed. ‘76)
  • Julie Sue Marks Blackstone (B.A. ‘77)
  • David Delor Dixon (B.S. ‘78)
  • Willa Mae ‘Wanzor’ Goolsby (B.S. ‘68, M.Ed. ‘78)
  • Pauline Laura Wilson-Hartley (B.B.A. ‘80)
  • Leonard Mathias Reynen (B.S. ‘78, M.A. ‘84)
  • Walter Arthur Greenwood (M.Ed. ‘88)
  • Carolyn (Malkowicz) Grosche (B.A. ‘88)
  • Linda Lawson (B.S. ‘89)
  • Nicole Renee Westerhoff-Sanders (B.S. ‘99)
  • Wesley Allan Dickson (B.S. ‘00)

UCO alumna Sgt. Meagan Burke died Sept. 29, 2022, in a head-on auto collision. While at Central, Burke was a member, and goalkeeper, of the UCO Women’s Soccer team, and made an appearance at the 2012 NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Championship. During her senior year, Burke played 1,677 of 1,780 possible minutes in goal during . . .  read more

Alumni Notes

‘77 Carolyn Cotton (M.Ed., ‘77) was inducted into the Oklahoma Career and Technology Education Hall of Fame.

‘79 Clayton Nolen (B.S.Ed., ‘73, M.Ed., ‘79) was selected into the Oklahoma African American Educators Hall of Fame, Inc.

‘81 Greg Winters (M.Ed., ‘81) was inducted into the Oklahoma Career and Technology Education Hall of Fame.

‘87 . . .  read more

The Impact of Legacy

The Impact of Legacy – The Central community extends multiple generations, all of which leave a lasting and impactful legacy. Pictured, UCO President Patti Neuhold- Ravikumar. Photo by Lauren Bieri.

A Distinguished Honor

Distinguished Alumni Award medal

Each year, during homecoming week, the UCO Alumni Association honors some of its most outstanding alumni with the Distinguished Alumni Award. This prestigious award recognizes alumni who have become world-class ambassadors of UCO. Award recipients have demonstrated distinctive and notable accomplishments in their careers and professional lives, as . . .  read more

Homecoming 2022

Bronchos Untamed

The University of Central Oklahoma celebrated Homecoming 2022 with a week of events in October. The theme, “Bronchos Untamed,” showcased the unstoppable spirit of Central students, faculty, staff and alumni. Past, present and future Bronchos engaged at the homecoming festival and tailgate; honored graduates, faculty and staff from 1972 and prior . . .  read more

Teaching Through Trauma

Breaking the Mental Health Stigma in Newsrooms

By Deirdre Steiner

YOU CAN ASK VIRTUALLY ANYONE OVER THE AGE OF 30 where they were Sept. 11, 2001, and they’ll likely give you a detailed account – the most mundane details of the day that are seared in their memories.

Every generation has these pivotal events that become part of our collective memories and experience. Most understand that these . . .  read more

The Bond of Bronze and Blue

One Family’s 93-Year Central Legacy

By Kyla Carter

Legacy. Something handed down from the past to the next generation. For some, a legacy is represented by an item or piece of property, but for the Hurt-Kusek family, legacy meant something much more – the bond of a Central education that would continue through four generations and span 93 years.

STARTING A TRADITION

In 1930, Grace Rice Shaw received her teaching certificate . . .  read more

A Tale of Two Nighs

By Hannah Horan

WHEN THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA named the university center, the Nigh University Center in 2001, the name and honor focused on a particular member of the Nigh family – George Nigh. He, and his accomplishments, are well documented and have cemented his incredible legacy of service to the people of Oklahoma.

But, in the case . . .  read more

Reflecting on a Legacy

A Conversation with President Patti Neuhold-Ravikumar

By Adrienne Nobles

Patti Neuhold-Ravikumar made history as the University of Central Oklahoma’s first female president. Since beginning the position in July 2019, she’s led the university through historic events – namely the COVID-19 pandemic and unprecedented financial challenges. There were also great achievements, including advancements in . . .  read more