OU honors Clara Luper’s legacy
each and every one of us to not think about building barriers that divide us, but removing them and recognizing the humanity and worth in each and every human being.”
August will mark the 60th anniversary of the first sit-in Luper led at the segregated Katz Drug Store in Oklahoma City.
The regents also approved the naming of the Collings Hall courtyard to honor Sharen Jester Turney in recognition of a leadership gift from Sharen and Charles Turney to the College of Education. The gift supports students who are training to be teachers in the state.
Turney is a retail executive with more than 30 years experience launching e-commerce businesses and growing brands across department, luxury and specialty concepts for Fortune 500 companies. Turney recently spent 16 years with Victoria’s Secret. She is an Oklahoma native who graduated from OU with a bachelor’s in business education.
The regents also approved 2018-19 student fees for the Norman campus and the Health Sciences campus in Oklahoma City. They include a new $985 per-credit-hour fee for out-of-state students in the master’s program for civil engineering and hydrology and water security. Existing fees for both resident students and out-of-state students also were set at $985 per credit hour for master’s programs in data science and analytics and natural gas engineering. That is an increase for resident students.
The regents also elected their officers for the next year. Clay Bennett, Oklahoma City businessman, will serve another year as chairman. Vice chairman will be Leslie RainboltForbes, M.D., of Oklahoma City.
Other members of the board are Bill Burgess Jr., Lawton businessman; Renzi Stone, Oklahoma City businessman; Phil Albert, Claremore businessman; and former Gov. Frank Keating. One position remains vacant following the resignation of Kirk Humphreys.