NEWS
NORMAN, OKLA. – Four University of Oklahoma faculty members have been selected as 2024-25 Fellows of the Southeastern Conference’s Academic Leadership Development Program, which develops the next generation of academic leaders to meet future challenges in higher education.
“We are honored to have four of our outstanding faculty members named SEC Academic Leadership Development Program Fellows, a testament to their dedication to excellence in education and leadership,” said OU Senior Vice President and Provost André-Denis Wright. “As we embrace our first year in the SEC, we look forward to the indelible impact they will continue to make on our campus and beyond.”
Fellow selected from the University of Oklahoma are:
Kristy Brugar is the department chair of Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum, Nan A. Huddleston Presidential Professor of Education and a professor of social studies education in the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education.
Rebecca Cruise is the associate provost for global engagement, an associate professor of security studies and comparative politics in the College of International Studies and director of FYE Global Perspectives.
Kalenda Eaton is the interim chair of the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies, a professor in the Clara Luper Department of African & African American Studies and director of Oklahoma research for the National Park Service’s Black Homesteader Project.
Liz Karr is the senior associate dean of the OU Graduate College, a professor in the School of Biological Sciences and oversees the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs.
“Being selected as an SEC ALDP Fellow is a tremendous achievement for these faculty members who have been outstanding leaders on our campus,” said OU Vice Provost for Faculty Sarah Ellis. “Their participation will build upon their strong leadership qualities while enhancing the university’s presence in the SEC and broader academic community.”
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.
Over four weeks this summer, teams of incoming engineering students designed mobility devices for Duck, a young rescue dog born without a front leg. Students in OU’s Engineering Summer Bridge program designed and prototyped mobility devices tailored to Duck’s needs, using CAD software, electronics and 3D printing while applying the engineering design process to a real engineering problem.
University of Oklahoma researcher Keenan Greyslak, Ph.D., has long been interested in how a mother’s diet during pregnancy and lactation may influence a child’s risk of developing metabolic diseases earlier and more severely as they age. With a new grant from the National Institutes of Health, he is furthering his investigations while taking another step toward a career in academic biomedical research.
Zhenghong Tang, Ph.D., has been named chair of the Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability in the University of Oklahoma’s College of Geographic and Atmospheric Sciences. A leader in the field of planning, Tang will oversee the department and its mission of creating a community of interdisciplinary scholars and experts who aim to better understand the Earth’s human-natural systems.
