Summer 2024

From the President

Dear Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) alumni, emeriti, & friends –

I hope that this issue of Echoes From The Hill finds you and yours well. Here on the SWOSU Hilltop we are beginning the Fall 2024 semester with focus and excitement!

This latest edition of Echoes pays tribute to one of SWOSU’s most generous benefactors and enduring partners—the late Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Stafford. The General was an American hero and Weatheford, Oklahoma’s greatest son—he was also the first and, to date, the only, person to ever receive an Honorary Doctorate from SWOSU. We will miss our longtime friend and collaborator, but we are honored to steward Stafford’s legacy in our Stafford Archives and through the Stafford Scholars program. His vision and example will continue to inspire Bulldogs for generations to come!

You will also read about our wonderful Spring 2024 North Family Endowed Lecture in Parks & Recreation Management as well as the establishment of the Hook Family Endowment by our generous supporters, Dr. Carl Hook and his wife, Sandra. We are also celebrating 75 years of the SWOSU Alumni Association! And be sure to look inside this for updates on the many exciting things our graduates are doing in the workplace and in their communities. Truly, it is always a great day to be a SWOSU Bulldog!

For your investment, your involvement, and your input, we thank you.
Keep close, keep in touch, and GO DAWGS!
In SWOSU,
Diana R. “Diane” Lovell, PhD
President, Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU)