OSU names Hall of Fame inductees
STILLWATER— Former regents, a major booster and a university president will join the Oklahoma State University Hall of Fame.
The OSU Alumni Association announced Tuesday that Bruce T. Benbrook, Dr. Claud D. Evans, Neal L. Patterson and Baylor University President Linda Parrack Livingstone would be the next Hall of Fame inductees.
The OSU Hall of Fame is the university's highest honor and recognizes alumni and former students with outstanding life achievements in society and professional life. The four new members will be inducted at a ceremony Feb. 7 at the ConocoPhillips Alumni Center in Stillwater.
Benbrook graduated from OSU in 1976 with a bachelor's degree in finance. He returned to Woodward to work at the family-owned Stock Exchange Bank, where he has served as chairman and CEO since 1981.
Benbrook hasbeen at the head of numerous boards and foundations, including his formerrole aspresident of the Oklahoma Bankers Association and chairman of the Oklahoma A& M Board of Regents in 1994. OSU described him as “a pillar of the Woodward community for multiple decades” in a news release Tuesday.
Evans earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural biochemistry from OSU in 1966. He received a doctorate of veterinary medicine from Tuskegee Institute in Alabama in 1970. He started his career with Ralston Purina Co. before opening his own veterinary practice in 1983 in Okemah.
He served on the Oklahoma A& M Board of Regents for 16 years and spent two terms as chairman. Evans also is a past member of the OSU Alumni Association's Board of Directors. He and his wife, Elayne, live in Okemah where they have a farming operation of Angus cattle and llama.
Linda Parrack Livingstone played on the Cowgirl basketball team before graduating in 1982 with a bachelor's degree in economics and management. She later earned a master's degree in business administration and a doctorate in management and organizational behavior.
Livingstone has been cited and published extensively in academic and professional outlets. She was named the 15th president of Baylor in 2017.
Neal L. Patterson graduated from OSU in 1971 with a bachelor's degree in finance and later earned a master's in business administration. He co- founded Cerner Corp. in 1979 and became the company's chairman and CEO. Based in Kansas City, Cerner grew into the world's largest independent health information technology company.
Patterson also cofounded the First Hand Foundation, and he was the co-owner of Kansas City's Major League Soccer franchise, Sporting KC. He donated to the new Cowgirl soccer stadium, which is named in his honor. He was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity at OSU and helped fund construction of the fraternity's new house.
Patterson died of cancer in 2017 at 67.