Due to the generous donations of University of Oklahoma faculty, staff, students and the broader community, more than 130 books have been sent to the Eddie Warrior Correctional Center (EWCC) since August 2020. EWCC houses more than 800 incarcerated women, 580 of whom tested positive for COVID-19 in September 2020.
Roxie Kirk, who oversees the EWCC library, said “[The books] have been unbelievably helpful during this stressful time. I can’t thank you enough. The women have been devouring them”.
Donated books include Toni Morrison’s Bluest Eyes and Jazz, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, There, There by Tommy Orange, Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward, The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory, and Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, among others. Best-selling author Celeste Ng, who wrote Everything I Never Told You and Little Fires Everywhere, donated ten books as well.
The wish list remains online for anyone who would like to donate.
Special thanks to OU Carceral Studies Consortium board members Emma Colven, Anthony Levenda, and Olivia Robson for organizing the book drive.
The Gibbs Design in Action Awards (GDAA) program, led by Dr. Wanda Liebermann, has announced its 2026–2027 funded student projects. The initiative supports design and research work that addresses social, cultural, and economic issues in the built environment through collaboration with faculty and community partners.
The OU Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) 2024 collaboration with the Historic Threatt Filling Station has been recognized in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's newly released Byways Report: The Scenic Route to Rural Prosperity – a story-driven publication exploring how road trip culture and place-based tourism can fuel economic growth in rural communities.
The Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce that Camille Germany, Chief of Staff, has been named the 2026 recipient of the university-wide Jennifer L. Wise Good Stewardship Award.
