Oh, You!

Flags have long been a way of identifying who you are.  From a pirate ship’s ominous skull and crossbones to the famed stars and stripes of America, flags are a good way to send a message.  Most flags are flown with great pride and the OU flag is no different.  When fans see the flag they rise to the occasion, cheering in support of OUr team.  When opponents see the OU flag and show of support, the ominous message is clear:  This is our turf.
 
The History of the OU Flag:

Ted Jacobs, ’78, stands next to the original OU flag, now hanging framed in Crossroads Restaurant in the Oklahoma Memorial Union.  (Photo by Robert Taylor)

Prior to the beginning of the 1975 football season, Ted Jacobs, a sophomore from Waco, Texas and the grandson of former OU Track coach, John Jacobs, had been selected as a member of the OU cheerleading squad.  At that time the only major requirement for being a Sooner cheerleader was being able to perform “double stunts” with a partner.  Though he learned how to do the double-stunt routines, Jacobs soon discovered he was the only cheerleader on the squad who was unable to perform any of the typical gymnastics moves that were so routine to others.  Jacobs loved his place on the squad, and just days before the first game, he was frantic for a way to keep his gymnastics shortcomings from being exposed to 76,000 game-day spectators.

Oklahoma National Guard soldiers from Bravo Company, 179th Infantry, and Alpha Company, show their Sooner spirit. (Photo courtesy Mike Boettcher, University of Oklahoma)

Driving down Lindsey Street, Jacobs passed a car dealership flying several OU flags. He screeched to a stop and inquired where such a flag could be purchased. Then he convinced the OU cheerleader sponsor, Chris Purcell (then assistant director of the Center for Student Development and now vice president for university governance), to buy a flag and allow him to lead the team onto the field.

Running with the flag at the OU Women’s Bedlam Basketball Game.  (Photo courtesy Bob and Tina @ The Lazy W Blog)

Every game day, Mrs. Elizabeth Bullard would fly her homemade flag from her home in Noble to let passersby know she is a loyal Sooner fan.  (This photo appeared with a story in the Norman Transcript in 1972.)

Close inspection of this original flag reveals some stains on the white “OU” portion, which Ted claims came from oranges tossed onto the field during OU’s 35-10 trouncing of Nebraska. That win earned the Sooners the 1975 Big 8 title and sent them to the Orange Bowl, where a 14-6 victory over Michigan gave Oklahoma its second back-to-back national championship.

Today, the Sooners continue to be led on the field by a much larger flag, carried by a member of the OU Ruf/Neks, and now, as much as then, gets fans on their feet and cheering for their team.  So the next time you see an OU flag, be sure to get on your feet and cheer!  After all, the OU flag is a timeless piece of Sooner history and tradition!

A Ruf-Nek runs with the OU Flag at a football game against Baylor.  (Photo courtesy Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman)

There’s only one Oklahoma!

1.  The University achieved the Carnegie Foundation’s highest tier of research activity classification in 2011, the first time a public institution in Oklahoma has received this outstanding recognition.

2.  OU ranks No. 1 in the nation among all public universities in the number of freshman National Merit Scholars enrolled, with 207 in the fall 2011 freshman class.

3.  Klout, which measures influence online using data from social networks, has ranked OU the most influential university in America.

Climate science display (photo courtesy SloverLinett Strategies)

4.  The University has been selected by the U.S Department of the Interiors as the site of one of the only eight regional climate science centers nationwide.

K20 (photo courtesy Signs Now)

5.  The OU-based K20 Center for Educational and Community Renewal promotes innovative learning through school/university/community collaboration, serving 900 schools, 1,800 school leaders, 12,000 teachers and 150,000 students throughout Oklahoma.

School of Community Medicine

6.  The University’s School of Community Medicine is the first of its kind in the nation, improving the health status of the under-served Oklahoma rural and urban communities.

EYEChina has been accepted into the Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition!

7.  The first social entrepreneurship project of the OU Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth is developing a sustainable business model to eliminate a backlog of 1 million patients suffering cataract-related blindness in China’s Sichuan Province by 2020.

Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art

8.  OU’s Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art ranks among the top half dozen university museums in the United States and is home to the most important public university collection of French Impressionist art in our country.

Seed Sower at OU’s Health Sciences Campus

9.  Between 2005 and 2010, 62 U.S. patents were issued to the OU Health Sciences Center and 11 license agreements were executed, resulting in nearly $1.7 million in license income.

Sam Bradford statue on campus. (photo courtesy Dave Hunt/OU Insider)

10.  OU recognized its fifth Heisman Trophy winner, Sam Bradford, with the placement of his sculpture in Heisman Park.  The University’s four other Heisman winners – Billy Vessels, Steve Owens, Billy Sims, and Jason White – also have sculptures in the park, located directly east of The Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

This information and more can be found in the 2012 Community Impact Report.  If you’d like to see more, click here or send an email to alumni@ou.edu and we’d be happy to mail you one.

Mary Millben, ’06, as Nina in her most recent stage performance.

A native Oklahoman, Mary received her training at the University of Oklahoma–Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Weitzenhoffer Department of Musical Theater and a minor in political science. Also, while at OU, she served as president of the University of Oklahoma Student Association.

She is currently starring in ‘S Wonderful Gershwin Tunes at Westchester Broadway Theatre through March 25th.  A review from Woman Around Town states, “Mary Millben has the unenviable task of singing the Porgy and Bess numbers. She can belt with the best of them, and as Nina, makes New Orleans in 1957 really sizzle. I’d also kill for the spangled dress she wears so well. The audience cheers after every song she sings.”

There is something so special about class rings.  They are not just rings.  They are sacred symbols that represent memories from some of the best years of your life: moving into the dorms, OU/TX weekend with friends, movies at Meacham, parents’ weekend and the ultimate success you accomplished upon graduating.  The OU ring is a lasting reminder of all the fun times and traditions of your college days and is a physical memento you can cherish for years to come.

Extra Large Yellow Gold Natural Finish

 
The OU Ring serves as a symbol of unity for OU alumni of all ages and around the globe.  This ring brings Sooners together through memories and a lifetime of Sooner spirit.

The University of Oklahoma Alumni Association is proud to present the OU Class Ring, which features the famous campus arches, the interlocking OU logo, the Seed Sower and the traditional border for the university’s seal.

Large White Gold Natural Finish

The OU ring is available to all OU graduates and students who have completed at least 72 credit hours.  If you would like a ring but weren’t able to purchase one before, now is the time!  Not to mention, the OU ring makes a great gift for soon-to-be-graduates as well as alumni who do not already have one.  Those who order a ring can also celebrate the tradition and create memories by attending the OU Ring Ceremony, held in the fall every year during homecoming weekend.

Medium Yellow Gold Antique Finish

The OU Ring is available in yellow gold, white gold and two-tone gold with either an antique (black) or natural (gold) finish.  The rings are available in design sizes of small and medium for women and in design sizes of large and extra large for men.   The ring is also engraved with your name and graduation year for an added personal touch.

Small White Gold Antique Finish

And yesterday the OU Alumni Association office attended an OU Men’s Basketball practice.  During practice we were taken on a tour of their facilities including the player’s locker room, coach’s locker room and video screening room.  After practice, each and every player came to shake each of our hands.  They made eye contact, told us their names and asked how we were doing.  To say this team is impressive and mannerly is an understatement.  Coach Kruger took photos with us and talked to everyone as the team went into their strength and conditioning regimen.  They all truly welcomed us and made us feel at home at their practice.  What a great day!  We love OU Men’s Basketball!

Lea Ann Quirk, David Quirk ’92, Shane Pruitt ’11, Michael Dean ’02, Ally Myers ’11, Jennifer Dooley ’04 and Brenda Gass all showing “we’re #1” in the team’s video screening room.

Jerseys of OU Players who now play or have played professional basketball.

Andrew Wertz ’07, Jennifer Dooley ’04, Ally Myers ’11, Shane Pruit ’11, Lea Ann Quirk, Brenda Gass, Candace Timmons, Michael Dean ’02, and Deborah Foster in the OU Men’s locker room.

With Coach Lon Kruger!

What a month!

February was packed with events and has flown by.  We hosted over 200 people for Caravan to Norman, had our first blog giveaway, featured beautiful campus love stories on Valentine’s Day, took a walk down memory lane, featured awesome blogs written by OU Alumni and a Sooner attended the Academy Awards.  To see photos from Journalism Senior, Chinh Doan’s trip to Cali, click here.

To round out the month, OU hosted the “Teach-In on America’s Founding” while “Sooners in the Desert” took place over the past weekend in Palm Springs, CA.

The Teach-In on America’s Founding hosted nationally acclaimed authors and historians.  Headlining the event were Pulitzer Prize winners, David McCullough and Gordon Wood. Other lecturers included David Hackett Fischer, Peter Onuf, Rosemarie Zagarri and Akhil Reed Amar.  Diane Rehm, a 2010 Peabody Award winner, was also in attendance and moderated an engaging panel discuession with all of the guests and Dr. Kyle Harper, Director of OU’s Institute for the American Constitutional Heritage.

What makes this event so special you ask?  According to President Boren, “No university in America has brought together so many of the nation’s most outstanding historians in a single day to lead a conversation about America’s founding years and Constitutional heritage.  It’s a unique opportunity to learn about the roots of our greatness as a nation.”

The Alumni Affairs office got to help with this event and it proved to be a great one!  This event received rave reviews among those in attendance.  Here are a few photos from the day:

Diane Rehm asks what has happened to the interest in learning about the constitution.  Where have we fallen down, and how can we make it something exciting?  She is facilitating the discussion at the University of Oklahoama’s Teach In.

The crowd seated for the Teach-In.  More than 1,000 OU students, alumni and friends attended the day’s events.

David McCullough opens his lecture after dinner in the Oklahoma Ballroom at the Embassy Suites by stating that OU President David Boren is on his list of top 10 living Americans.

And finally……Sooners in the Desert!  This event benefits the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club and is held at the Indian Wells Golf Resort, near Palm Desert, California.  This is the same course where the prestigious LG Skins game is hosted.  This year 114 Sooners attended and raised almost $300,000, which brings the grand total to over $1.1 million since 2008!  Celebrity golfers in attendance included Bob Stoops, Joe Washington, Joe Castiglione, Greg Pruitt, Jimbo Elrod, Mike Stoops and many more! 

Golf or no golf, who wouldn’t want to visit Indian Wells Golf Resort?!?

Larry Shadid ’80, JP Audas ’87, Andrew Wertz ’07 and Carlisle Mabrey ’66 at “Sooners in the Desert” Weekend.

The 84th Annual Academy Awards are this coming Sunday, February, 26, 2012.  The Academy Awards Show is the oldest award ceremony in the media.  Those nominated in each of the ceremony’s categories are considered the best of the best.  And the cliche “it’s an honor just to be nominated” rings true for many.

Throughout its history, some Sooners have been recognized on this prestigious evening.  And what better time to take a look at them than right before this year’s awards are handed out.

Van Heflin:

Emmett Evan “Van” Heflin, Jr. graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1932 with a Bachelor in Arts and Sciences.  Also while here, he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.  He made his film debut in 1936 in A Woman Rebels.  He went on to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1942 for Johnny Eager.  Other notable films he was in include the 1953 classic western, Shane, Possessed (1947), The Three Musketeers (1948) and 3:10 to Yuma (1957).

Ed Harris:

Edward Allen “Ed” Harris was a Sooner from Summer 1971 to the Summer of 1973.  Though he did not graduate, he studied theater while here and then moved to Los Angeles to find work.  He is now an actor, writer and director known for performances in Appaloosa, The Rock, The Abyss, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, A History of Violence and The Truman Sow.  He has also narrated commercials for The Home Depot as well as other companies.  He is a three-time Academy Award nominee for Best Supporting Actor for Apollo 13 (1995), The Truman Show (1998) and The Hours (2002).  He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2000 for the title role in Pollock.  Fun fact for everyone, he still has a brother living in Norman, OK.  Boomer Sooner!

James Garner:

James Garner is perhaps one of the most iconic actors of our time.  He’s also a huge Sooner fan! In 1995 he received an honorary doctorate degree of Humane Letters.  He accepted this degree one month after the OKC Murrah Building bombing.  During the speech he gave during the commencement ceremony, he said,

“If there’s anything positive to come from this event, it is seeing the character, the toughness and the dignity of the Oklahoma people as they suffer the grief and carry on with their lives.  It makes every Oklahoman, where ever we are, to be PROUD to be an Oklahoman.” 

He is the narrator on the intro video for the University of Oklahoma football team as they enter the stadium.  He also has a street named after him here: James Garner Avenue.

In 1986, James was an Academy Award nominee for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1985 film Murphy’s Romance.  He’s been in almost 100 movies and television shows as an actor and many others as producer and/or director.  Some of the most recent titles include Maverick (1994), My Fellow Americans (1996), Twilight (no, not that Twilight…this one was released in 1998), Space Cowboys (2000), Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002), The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration (2003) and The Notebook (2004).
  

This year at the Academy Awards:

An OU student will be in attendance!  Chinh Doan, an OU Journalism Senior and will get a first-hand account of all the glitz and glamor as some of Hollywood’s finest are recognized.  Of the trip, she says, “I kept thinking, ‘This is a dream. It’s not really true, and if I tell people I’m going, I feel like it might get jinxed and it’s not going to happen.'”

Doan said that an OU staff member helped her make the valuable connection.  “We went to lunch in L.A. when I was there for a broadcasting conference, and we stayed in touch ever since,” she said.

Viewers can watch the Oscars on ABC Sunday at 6:00 p.m.

It’s no secret the University of Oklahoma has been home to some truly talented people.  Featured today are some blogs written by some of OU’s own!  Many of these fine individuals have turned their blogs into full-time careers.  You will find a Hollywood housewife, manliness, health, wellness, parties, jewelry, travel and animal advocacy.  There’s truly something for everyone! 
 

Hollywood Housewife:

Laura Tremaine, an OU graduate from the class of 2001, is the Hollywood Housewife.  A little about her:

“From a one-stoplight town to a Hollywood housewife.  I am an Oklahoma girl somewhat misplaced in the City of Angels. I spent six years working in reality television, but my true passion is writing. I live in Hollywood with my toddler daughter, infant son, & my producer/director husband, who is nothing like you’d expect. I hope I bring a little southern grace to this crazy city.” 

Her blog features regular posts on red carpet, lazy beauty, mommy Mondays and hostess home.  But she always sprinkles in true-to-life moments and is a fantastic writer.  I once sat down and started reading her blog and when I looked up, a couple of hours had passed without me knowing.  She’s that good.

Her blog can be found at http://www.hollywoodhousewife.com or click here.

The Art of Manliness:

Reviving the lost art of manliness are husband and wife team, Brett and Kate McKay.  Brett is a 2006 OU grad with a degree in Letters.  The Art of Manliness features articles on helping men be better husbands, better fathers, and better men.

“In our search to uncover the lost art of manliness, we’ll look to the past to find examples of manliness in action. We’ll analyze the lives of great men who knew what it meant to “man up” and hopefully learn from them. And we’ll talk about the skills, manners, and principles that every man should know.” 

Variety of content and visually pleasing design make this a great blog for both men and women alike.  From articles on how to back up to a trailer to how to make proper eye contact in business and love, there’s something everyone can enjoy. 

This blog can be found at http://artofmanliness.com or click here.

InspiredRD:

Alysa Bajenaru became a registered dietitian in 2002 after graduating from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in Nutritional Sciences.  After a short stint in clinical dietetics, she realized her true passion was leading her to the wellness side of nutrition and fitness.

“As a busy mom of two, I am passionate about showing people that healthy living can be simple.  Finding local food is easier than you think.  Cooking fresh meals for your family doesn’t have to be complex and time-consuming.  Encouraging your kids to try new things can be fun.  Fitting fitness into your schedule doesn’t have to be a chore.”

Alysa’s blog features delicious, healthy recipes, nutrition tips, fitness challenges, crafts and much more.  It’s so personable and inviting, I know you will love it!

InspiredRD can be found at http://inspiredrd.com or click here.

Parties Extra! with Helen Ford Wallace:

Helen began writing for The Oklahoman as a teen correspondent for the Oklahoma City Times in 1957.  She earned a BA in Journalism at OU in 1962.  Currently she is Features writer and columnist for The Oklahoman and creates, maintains and authors this blog, which includes weekly web casts.

Helen has never met a party she didn’t like and thinks that Oklahoma City hosts and hostesses have a real flair for entertaining.  Through the years, she has attended unique and distinctive buffet dinners, benefit luncheons, holiday events, seated dinners, birthday parties, baby showers and wedding showers involving eight to eight hundred people.

Readers, locally and statewide, follow this column regularly, because they are really, really interested in people and parties in Oklahoma. This blog is a fantastic way to get great ideas for your own parties and events.

Her blog can be found at http://blog.newsok.com/partiesextra or click here.

Kay Donahue Designs:

Kay Donahue is a wold traveler and jewelry designer and her blog is dedicated to documenting both aspects of her life.  She also graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in Economics in 1969.

“People often ask me when I started painting or making jewelry.  I think it may have begun with the very special sunglasses I bejeweled for my mother when I was about five. Did she wear them?  Of course!  Since then, my entire family and friends have supported my passion for art.”

“And traveling is another passion.  I got my first passport at age 40, so I was way behind on seeing other parts of the world.  But, my husband, Steve, and I are endeavoring to catch up both here and abroad.  There have been some hiccups along the way though.”

Kay has been on several Sightseeing Sooners trips.  To see highlights from her travels or to see her gorgeous jewelry, visit http://www.kaydonahuedesigns.com or click here.

Life Inspired by Belle:

Savanna Sutton graduated from OU in 2008 with a degree in Interior Design.  While she enjoyed interior design, she’d always had a soft spot for furry, four-legged friends, specifically dogs.  As a child and teen, she was always a kind face to any stray and would take them home, sometimes nurse them back to health, and many times, find them a new forever home.

Now, Savanna is still rescuing animals and spends much of her time doing what she loves most.  She is a pet photographer, but perhaps even more than that, she volunteers her time to do what she refers to as “Pictures for Paws.”  During these sessions, she takes remarkable photos of dogs and cats who are in desperate need of a home.  These sessions have made all the difference for countless animals. 

Belle, from the blog’s title, is one of Savanna’s lovable pups.  Savanna is an advocate for pet adoption and a huge supporter of PAWS, Pontotoc Animal Welfare Society.  To see Savanna’s work, visit http://www.lifeinspiredbybelle.blogspot.com or click here.

Just outside the Alumni Association office in the Oklahoma Memorial Union are display cases holding countless Sooner memories.  Many yearbooks, photos, keepsakes, sports artifacts and various other pieces of OU history.

Today I’d like to share articles from a scrapbook that a Mrs. Norma Jeanne Brown Fredrickson kept during her years here.  She attended the university from 1939 – 1941 and graduated with a BS degree in Applied Biology. Mrs. Fredrickson passed away in 2006 but her daughter, Marsha, sent this to us.

There are some obvious differences in what is shown below and what we see today, but what remains the same the traditions and sense of Sooner camaraderie.  These types of pieces are priceless.  We love to look back and we hope you enjoy it too!

A birthday greeting from Norma’s father sent via Western Union.

Trial Study Card – what students today call their course schedule.

Daily Diary from 1937-38.

Love letter from Fred, the man she married, on OU letterhead.

Venus Drawing Pencil Matches.

OU and You, 1939 Edition

Report Card

A Roosevelt button.

OU Sooners Ruf-Nek Souvenir

Sports Page from The Oklahoma Daily, January 11, 1940

A three-cent stamp and a 25 cent movie ticket.

Tuition and Fees

Yells and Songs

Library Borrower Card