Jose Antonio Vargas Speaking at OU

Vargas  Gaylord Speakers

The Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Oklahoma is excited to invite you to an opportunity to hear and engage with one of our nation’s boldest voices on the topic of undocumented immigrants and citizenship.

The Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, immigration reform activist and renowned speaker, Jose Antonio Vargas is coming to the University of Oklahoma on Oct. 13. He will speak at Paul F. Sharp Concert Hall in Catlett Music Center at 7 p.m., along with students and leaders from Oklahoma-based Aspiring Americans. The National Association of Hispanic Journalists is the host for this event.

Vargas admitted he was an undocumented immigrant in a groundbreaking essay published in The New York Times Magazine in 2011. The article stunned media and political circles throughout the country and attracted worldwide coverage. A year later, he appeared on the cover of TIME magazine with fellow undocumented immigrants as part of a follow-up cover story he wrote.

Vargas’ work centers on the changing American identity. He is the founder of Define American, a non-profit media and culture organization that seeks to elevate the conversation around immigration and citizenship in America, and the executive editor of #EmergingUS, a multimedia news platform he conceived focusing on race, immigration and the complexities of multiculturalism. In August MTV aired, as part of its Look Different campaign, White People, a television special he directed on what it means to be young and white in America.
Vargas wrote, produced and directed Documented, a documentary feature film on his undocumented experience.

The Hispanic American Student Association will show this documentary in the Gaylord Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation Auditorium Oct. 8 at 7 p.m.

The Gayord College is grateful to partner with many organizations to bring this speaker to the college. Those partners include the Hearst Foundation, Latino Student Life, Aspiring Americans, College of Arts and Sciences, Price College of Business, Diversity Enrichment Programs, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost, Administration and Finance, College of International Studies, UWC Davis Scholars, OU College of Law, Enrollment Services, the Office of University Community, OU WebComm, and OU Housing and Food Services.

Gaylord Journalism Students Get “Real World” Experience

OU’s newly appointed V-P of University Community, Jabar Shumate, visited Gaylord July 22nd to take part in a “planned” news conference.

In an effort to simulate a work world experience for his JMC 3663 students, Professor Ken Fischer invited Shumate to play his real life role as a campus newsmaker.  The students researched the issues and problems that the new V-P is undertaking here in Norman.  The research covered a variety of the diversity concerns facing OU and it formed the basis for the questions the students developed in their preparation.
So while the premise was a planned educational exercise, everything else was real.  Real research, real questions, real answers.

Ed Kelley named interim dean of Gaylord College

Ed Kelley, Interim DeanAward-winning newspaper editor and reporter Ed Kelley, who has been serving as Director of Experiential Learning for the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Oklahoma, has been named interim Dean, pending approval of the OU Board of Regents.

An OU journalism alumnus, Kelley will address – on an interim basis – the responsibilities of the position previously held by Joe Foote, who resigned his administrative post to rejoin the college’s faculty after a decade as the college’s leader. The permanent successor to Foote will be named after an appropriate selection process.

“The University is extremely fortunate that Ed Kelley is willing to return to his alma mater to serve as Dean of Journalism and Mass Communications,” said OU President David L. Boren. “An outstanding journalist, Kelley has for years demonstrated his care and concern for the College and its students. Like Joe Foote, he will be a student-oriented Dean.”
As Director of Experiential Learning, Kelley has been working with students, faculty and employers to increase internship opportunities for students. It was a summer internship with The Oklahoman that launched Kelley’s 36-year career with the paper. Over the years, he held a variety of positions, including state roving reporter, city editor and business editor. For four years in the mid-1980s, he served as the paper’s Washington bureau chief. He returned to Oklahoma City in 1990 to be managing editor. In 2002, he became editorial page editor. In 2003, Kelley succeeded Edward L. Gaylord as editor of The Oklahoman and served in that role until 2011.

“I’m honored to have been asked to serve in this position at my alma mater,” Kelley said. “It’s an exciting time in journalism, and the faculty and staff at Gaylord College are working hard to ensure students have the skills needed to succeed as professionals upon graduation,” he said.

Kelley returned to OU from Salt Lake City, where he was senior contributing editor at The Deseret News. He also has served as editor of The Washington Times.

A recipient of numerous journalism awards, Kelley was named national Editor of the Year in 1996 by the Washington-based National Press Foundation for directing The Oklahoman’s coverage of the Oklahoma City bombing. He served as a juror to the Pulitzer Prizes in 1998 and is a member of the National Press Club and the American Society of News Editors. Kelley was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 2003.

Kelley earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from OU, graduating Phi Beta Kappa.

Services set for Owen Kulemeka

Funeral Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, July 10, 2015, at St. Camillus Catholic Church in Silver Spring, Maryland with burial to follow. A visitation will be held at the Francis J. Collins Funeral Home in Silver Spring on Thursday, July 9 from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Gaylord College will hold a memorial service on the OU campus early in the fall semester.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial gifts be made to the Owen Kulemeka Memorial Scholarship fund in Gaylord College at the University of Oklahoma.  Checks should be made payable to the University of Oklahoma Foundation, P.O. Box 258856, Oklahoma City, OK 73125-8856.

A special Facebook page, Remembering Owen, has been created to collect memories and photos of Owen. Please post your thoughts here: https://www.facebook.com/rememberingowen

Dr. Owen Kulemeka has died

Owen KulemekaUPDATE: Funeral Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, July 10, 2015, at St. Camillus Catholic Church in Silver Spring, Maryland with burial to follow. A visitation will be held at the Francis J. Collins Funeral Home in Silver Spring on Thursday, July 9 from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Gaylord College will hold a memorial service on the OU campus early in the fall semester.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial gifts be made to the Owen Kulemeka Memorial Scholarship fund in Gaylord College at the University of Oklahoma.  Checks should be made payable to the University of Oklahoma Foundation, P.O. Box 258856, Oklahoma City, OK 73125-8856.

A special Facebook page, Remembering Owen, has been created to collect memories and photos of Owen. Please post your thoughts here: https://www.facebook.com/rememberingowen

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It is with deep sadness that we must share with you the news that we have lost one of our Gaylord family. Dr. Owen Kulemeka, public relations assistant professor, passed away unexpectedly over the weekend, believed to have been from complications from heat stroke.

Friends and colleagues began to worry about him when he had not been seen for several days and had not posted or commented on Facebook as was his custom. When multiple calls went unanswered, Professor Jaime Loke and Gaylord Director of Finance Heather Todd went to check on him at his apartment where he was found the morning of June 30.

Owen was originally from Malawi, Africa, but received his bachelor and master’s degrees from the University of Maryland at College Park and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. His father, mother and two sisters live in the Washington, D.C. area.

Owen was such a wonderful friend, colleague and mentor. His infectious smile and wonderful heart will be sorely missed in Gaylord. We know this news is difficult for everyone but want you to know that there are counselors available through Goddard Health Services at 405-325-2911. We will update here and on social media when plans are in place for services.

A special Facebook page, Remembering Owen, has been created to collect memories and photos of Owen. Please post your thoughts here: https://www.facebook.com/rememberingowen

Give to the Bob Barry Endowment for Student Sports Programs

The Barrys
Bob Barry, Jr., Frank Barry (eldest Barry son), and Bob Barry, Sr. at the 2010 JayMac Alumni Banquet honoring Bob, Sr.

The Bob Barry Endowment for Student Sports Programs was created in 2010 to provide a student enrichment fund to benefit University of Oklahoma students interested in sports journalism. The endowment is intended to make a meaningful difference in the education of future generations of OU sports journalism students.

Both Bob Barry, Sr. (1951) and Bob Barry, Jr. (1980) were known for being great mentors to students and young professionals. Upon the untimely passing of Bob Barry, Jr. on June 20, 2015, several previous interns voiced their appreciation for the way Junior took them under his wing (see image from Twitter below). The Gaylord College is proud of the legacy that these OU journalism alumni built, and thankful for the mentorship they provided to generations of young sports journalists in Oklahoma.

The Fund provides students the opportunity to follow in the Barrys’ footsteps and report on sporting events away from campus like the NFL and NBA drafts, out-of-town contests, or bowl and championship games.

The fund has enabled students to cover the NFL draft with Gerald McCoy, the Insight Bowl game, and the 2014 Super Bowl among others.

Contributions in memory of Bob Barry, Jr. and/or Bob Barry, Sr. and their legacy in Oklahoma sports journalism can be made payable to the OU Foundation, with Bob Barry Endowment listed in the memo line, and mailed to the below address. Contributions can also be made online at OU Foundation website.

Kaneisha Lloyd
Gaylord College Director of Development
The University of Oklahoma
Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication
395 W. Lindsey St., Ste. 3000
Norman, OK 73019
klloyd@ou.edu

Stephanie Frederic delivers convocation speech

Stephanie Frederic delivers 2015 convocation speechStephanie Frederic, a 1982 Radio/TV/Film graduate, delivered an inspiring speech to our spring graduating class encouraging them to be open to different pathways in life because occasionally you need to “pivot” from the direction you are going in order to seize an opportunity.

Gaylord College graduated 213 undergraduates and 25 graduate students including one Ph.D. at our spring convocation on May 9.

Frederic is owner of FGW, a film production company in Los Angeles. She was named a JayMac Distinguished Alumni in 2015. Read more about Frederic.

 

OU Professor and U.S. State Department Exchange Program participants meet with President Obama

YSEALI OU Group
Professor Elanie Steyn (middle) with the five Burmese delegates at the White House event with YSEALI.

Elanie Steyn, associate professor in the Gaylord College at the University of Oklahoma, and a delegation of five business leaders from Myanmar in the U.S. under a State Department grant administered by the University of Oklahoma, joined 70 other emerging leaders from Southeast Asia to meet today with President Barack Obama during the President’s Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative event at the White House.

YSEALI is the President’s signature initiative to strengthen leadership development across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), deepen engagement with young leaders on key regional and global challenges, and strengthen people-to-people ties between the United States and Southeast Asia, said the White House press release. ASEAN is comprised of Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar.

“One of the most powerful statements that President Obama made during the event was that the success of a country can be “measured by how it empowers its women and girls,”” said Steyn. “This is why the grant programs we do at Gaylord College are so important. The majority of our participants are women and through our programs we have seen them grow as leaders, which in turn promotes democracy in their countries.”

The White House event corresponded with the end of the delegation’s month-long visit to Oklahoma where they had professional placements with Oklahoma business leaders and entrepreneurs from technology and marketing companies, as well as the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture.

Steyn along with Gaylord College Dean Joe Foote and Jeff Moore, director of OU’s Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth, are co-investigators for an U.S. State Department exchange program between the University of Oklahoma and Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar. She serves as the area head for journalism in the Gaylord College and is an experienced international trainer/educator with a specialization in media leadership and management with a particular emphasis on women’s leadership.

OU’s Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication has become a major contributor to the University of Oklahoma’s international emphasis. It has developed an impressive international focus, becoming one of the State Department’s International Press Centers; serving as one of the founding hosts for the Edward R. Murrow Fellows program; providing training and study programs on four continents; administering eight State Department grants in South Asia (Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka).

­Gaylord College hires coordinator of community inclusivity

Dorion BillupsThe Gaylord College has hired Dorion Billups (2013, BA in Journalism; 2015, MA in Adult & Higher Education) to serve as the new Coordinator of Community Inclusivity. He will join the Gaylord College student services team in the Paul D. Massad Student Services Center.

Diversity and inclusiveness have long been important to the Gaylord College and valued in the journalism and mass communication fields, so even before the SAE incident became national news, the Gaylord College leadership team had identified these areas which needed to be addressed at the academic unit level as well as the campus level.

“When Unheard swept the OU campus, we knew there was urgency in helping our students to experience a deeper and more positive connection with one another, the Gaylord College, and the University of Oklahoma,” said Assistant Dean John Hockett.

Under Dean Joe Foote’s leadership scarce funds were identified and designated to create this key position making Gaylord College one of the first units on campus to directly address these issues.

As the new coordinator of community inclusivity, Billups will work with current and prospective students in the Gaylord College advising student groups, fostering and organizing large-scale mentorship programs, recruitment, academic advising, and helping to foster increased diversity throughout the Gaylord College, said Hockett.

“I am looking forward to creating a greater sense of unity throughout the college by working with the deans, faculty, staff, unity groups, and international students to highlight all of the wonderful communities within Gaylord College,” said Billups.

Billups is a 2013 journalism graduate and will complete his master’s in higher education in May. He brings to the position knowledge of student programming and a keen understanding of the value of community from working with OU Camp Crimson and the Graduation office. He is also very familiar with Gaylord College and its five majors after serving as a Gaylord Ambassador as an undergraduate.

Julia Chew named 2015 Regents’ Alumni Award recipient

Julia Chew with President David Boren, Chairman of the Regents Jon Stuart and Dr. Floyd Simon, president of the Alumni Association.
Julia Chew with President David Boren, Chairman of the Regents Jon Stuart and Dr. Floyd Simon, president of the Alumni Association.

Julia Chew, a Norman insurance professional and a 1986 Radio/TV/Film graduate, was one of eight exceptional University of Oklahoma alumni and friends who received the 2015 Regents’ Alumni Award in May for their dedication and service to OU. Presented annually by the OU Board of Regents and OU Alumni Association, the Regents’ Alumni Award honors the important roles of OU alumni and supporters to the life of the university.

Chew has been a loyal and fervent supporter of her alma mater since earning her Bachelor of Arts in journalism in 1986. Chew has more than 28 years of experience with State Farm, and held several management positions in Dallas and Texas before becoming an agent in Norman. Since 2002, she has owned her own insurance agency, which provides a full range of insurance and financial products and services. Chew’s Norman insurance agency regularly achieves the Chairman’s Circle Award, given to the top agents in the country, and in 2012, the agency was designated as a President’s Club, a designation given only to the top 50 agents (out of 19,000) by State Farm. Her agency has consistently been named as “Best Insurance Agency in Norman” by readers of The Norman Transcript.

While a student at OU, Chew was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, for which she currently serves as an advisory board member. An active OU alumna, her involvement includes speaking at and moderating conferences and mentoring student-athletes, journalism students and members of her sorority.

In addition to serving on several university councils and boards, Chew is active in the OU women’s basketball booster and mentoring club, Sooner Stilettos, and the President’s Associates Council. The OU President’s Associates program connects alumni and friends of the university who share a collective passion for the university; their annual leadership donations support OU’s mission in promoting efforts to help students achieve their educational goals.

A graduate of both Leadership Norman and Leadership Oklahoma, Chew also is active in the community and state, including service on the board of the Norman Chamber of Commerce. She was appointed by then-Gov. Brad Henry to the Oklahoma Board of Judicial Compensation, and recently was named one of The Journal Record’s “50 Making a Difference” Women of the Year nominees.

A committee formed by the Alumni Association selects the award recipients from nominations made by alumni, friends, and OU faculty and staff. Each year’s recipients receive a plaque and their names are engraved on a permanent plaque in the Oklahoma Memorial Union. Chew was nominated by the OU President’s Associates.