At the University of Oklahoma's 134th Commencement, the university awarded honorary degrees to Sherri Coale, Ron Howard, and Bill G. Lance, Jr.
Learn more about these remarkable individuals below.
Sherri Coale is a native Oklahoman who grew up in a small rural town just north of the Red River, where she developed a lifelong love with reading, writing, and basketball – not necessarily in that order. After a highly successful collegiate playing career at Oklahoma Christian University, she hung up her high tops, moving from the playing court to the sideline, beginning what would become a Hall of Fame career as a women’s basketball coach.
After seven years and two state championships as head coach at Norman High School, Coale was hired to rebuild the Women’s Basketball program at the University of Oklahoma. Over a remarkable 25-year tenure, she transformed the Sooners into a national powerhouse, leading the program to 19 straight NCAA Tournament appearances, 10 conference championships, and three Final Fours. She finished her career as the winningest coach in OU Women’s Basketball history, compiling a 501-282 record and earning four Big 12 Coach of the Year honors.
In addition to her success at OU, Coale contributed to the global game through USA Basketball. She served as an assistant coach for the 2001 World University Games and returned as head coach in 2013, leading Team USA to a gold medal victory over Russia on its home court.
Coale’s impact on the sport has been recognized at the highest levels. She is a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Christian University Hall of Fame, the Norman High School Hall of Fame, and the FCA Hall of Champions. She has been honored with numerous awards throughout her career, including recognition as a Naismith Coach of the Year finalist and the Kay Yow Cancer Fund Impact Award. Beyond team success, she coached 13 All-Americans, six Big 12 Players of the Year, and 16 WNBA Draft selections, while also fostering a culture of academic excellence that produced 136 Academic All-Big 12 honors and multiple Academic All-America selections.
In 2022, Coale released her first book, Rooted to Rise: The Redwood Legacies of Life-Anchoring People, an Amazon bestseller. She followed with The Compost File: Stories for the Strivers in Us All in 2025, a work that continues her exploration of growth, resilience, and reflection. She also writes a weekly blog, A Weigh of Life, where she shares insights on leadership, purpose, and everyday moments.
In addition to writing and speaking, Coale is a highly respected leadership consultant. She is a member of Ryan Hawk’s Learning Leader Team, a leadership development group that provides personalized coaching and strategic workshops to equip leaders with practical tools for success in any environment. She also serves on the Board of Trustees at Oklahoma Christian University.
Coale is an author, a master motivator, an engaging speaker, a gifted writer, and a keen observer of everyday life. She and her husband, Dane, have been married for 38 years. They have a daughter, a son-in-law, a son, a daughter-in-law, and two adorable granddaughters around whom their world currently spins.
Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard is one of Hollywood’s most celebrated and prolific filmmakers. From the critically acclaimed Oscar-winning dramas A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13 to the hit comedies Parenthood and Splash, he has created some of Hollywood’s most memorable films and series. A working actor from early childhood who transitioned to directing and producing in young adulthood, Howard is one of the rare creatives who has continued to evolve as an artist and maintain success into a seventh decade.
Howard’s critically acclaimed film A Beautiful Mind earned Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture, along with honors for Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress. He has been recognized by numerous organizations, including induction into the Television Hall of Fame in 2013, and received a second star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2015, an honor held by only a select few. In 2023, Apollo 13 was chosen for the Library of Congress National Film Registry for its cultural, historic, and aesthetic importance.
In 1977, Howard made his directorial debut with the comedy Grand Theft Auto. He began his career as an actor, appearing in The Journey and The Music Man. He later starred as Opie on the long-running television series The Andy Griffith Show, and as Richie Cunningham on Happy Days. Howard later starred in American Graffiti and The Shootist.
Howard’s most recent film, Eden, a survival thriller based on the 1930s real-life murders in the Galapagos Islands, premiered in theaters in 2025. In 2024, his documentary Jim Henson Idea Man, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and won the Best Documentary EMMY Award. Upcoming projects include Avedon, a documentary on photographer Richard Avedon, and Alone At Dawn, starring Adam Driver and Anne Hathaway. His other films include Thirteen Lives, We Feed People, Hillbilly Elegy, Rebuilding Paradise, the Grammy-winning The Beatles: Eight Days a Week, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Rush, The Da Vinci Code, Frost/Nixon, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, and Backdraft.
In the early 1980s, Howard founded Imagine Entertainment with Brian Grazer, and they continue to run the company as executive chairmen. Imagine Entertainment is a multi-award-winning film and television production company with a track record of creating critically acclaimed and commercially successful content, including Arrested Development, Friday Night Lights, Genius, Under the Banner of Heaven, and numerous documentaries. Under Howard and Grazer’s leadership, Imagine Entertainment has amassed a slew of prestigious awards, including 276 Emmy nominations, with 57 wins. They have also been nominated for 47 Oscars and won 10, along with 72 Golden Globe nominations and 11 wins. The films produced by Imagine Entertainment have grossed over $13.5 billion, cementing their place as one of the most flourishing production companies in the entertainment industry.
Howard is the co-author of the 2021 New York Times bestseller The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family, a memoir written with his brother Clint about growing up in Hollywood. In 2020, Howard and his family established a scholarship at the University of Oklahoma in honor of his parents, Rance and Jean Howard, both OU drama students who met on campus, to support students from rural communities pursuing careers in the arts.
Bill G. Lance, Jr. serves as Secretary of State for the Chickasaw Nation, representing a federally recognized sovereign nation of approximately 83,000 citizens in governmental, civic, and business affairs. A fifth-generation Oklahoman and proud citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, he has dedicated his career to strengthening tribal sovereignty through strategic economic development, health care leadership, and principled governance.
Lance previously served for 13 years as the longest-serving Secretary of Commerce for the Chickasaw Nation, where he directed all commercial enterprises of the Nation. He oversaw approximately 7,000 employees across more than 60 diversified businesses spanning gaming, hospitality, retail, media, manufacturing, and tourism. During his tenure, the Nation experienced sustained growth in revenue and profitability while significantly strengthening and diversifying its investment portfolio to enhance long-term economic resilience. He also led governmental and regulatory affairs, working extensively with state, federal, and tribal leaders to advance economic development and protect sovereign interests.
Earlier in his career, Lance served as Administrator of the Chickasaw Nation Health System, where he oversaw the development and construction of the 370,000-square-foot Chickasaw Nation Medical Center in Ada, Oklahoma – one of the largest tribally operated health care facilities in the United States. His leadership reflects a longstanding commitment to building enduring institutions that serve communities across generations.
In addition to his role as Secretary of State, Lance serves as Chairman of Chickasaw Nation Industries, Inc., a diversified holding company operating in 12 states with subsidiaries focused on government contracting, advanced industrial services, research and development, and technical solutions. He also serves on the board of Sovereign Native Holdco, LLC, which manages a broad portfolio of investments across gaming, real estate, health care, pharmaceuticals, and energy interests.
Lance serves on the Board of Directors of BancFirst and was recently appointed to the University Hospitals Authority and Trust. He also serves on the OU Health Board of Directors, where he chairs the Finance Committee and provides oversight of financial strategy and capital stewardship within one of the region’s leading academic health systems. In addition, he serves on the Executive Committee of the Oklahoma City Chamber.
Lance previously served three terms on the Board of Trustees of the University of Oklahoma Foundation, concluding his service in 2021. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Aristocrat Leisure Limited, a global gaming and technology company, and currently serves as U.S. Lead Director. His board experience spans sovereign enterprises, public financial institutions, complex health care systems, and international corporate governance.
Lance represents the Chickasaw Nation on the Executive Committee of the American Gaming Association and the Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes.
He holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Oklahoma and a Bachelor of Science from East Central University. He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE), a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma Class XXV, and was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in recognition of his leadership and service to the state. Lance and his wife, Sherri, reside in Sulphur, Oklahoma.
