I don’t think I could have imagined a more exciting first year at The University of Tulsa! From my first homecoming to my first commencement, it has been an absolute thrill to learn about all the things that make this place distinctive and transformative. Our small-school experience means that when I shook the hands of 105 Arts & Sciences seniors at graduation, I was able to know them by name and join their families in genuine pride over their accomplishments. Read more about one of them, our standard bearer Cyrus Carter, here.
We were also able to welcome back many of our past graduates to campus as speakers in our newly re-imagined career preparation class, “Liberal Arts and Life.” Guests included Tulsa’s newly elected mayor, Monroe Nichols; philanthropist and internationally renowned soprano Yolanda Johnson; and screenwriter and production assistant Taylor Chukwu. Taylor is also the newest member of our Kendall College Board of Visitors, and you can learn more about her exciting career working on shows like “Hacks” and “Man on the Inside” with Ted Danson.
Finally, we were able to keep strengthening the kinds of programs that have helped our alumni succeed, while adding innovative new pieces to our curriculum. Music had a banner year, with a marching band that nearly doubled in size and an absolutely stunning year-end presidential concert. History made an amazing hire in Cherokee Historian Julie Reed. English Professor and Oklahoma Center for the Humanities Director Sean Latham won a $500,000 Mellon grant for “Sovereignty and Democracy in Indian Country” – and all of this just scratches the surface. Among our new programs, Professor Miriam Belmaker shepherded a new Judaic and Near Eastern Studies minor through the curriculum, and you can learn more about the opportunities it will provide for our students.
Thank you for welcoming me to the Tulsa family! We in the dean’s office are going to spend the summer planning for another exciting year, and I can’t wait to welcome you back to campus and tell you all about it in the fall.
Sincerely,
Blaine Greteman
Dean of the Kendall College of Arts & Sciences
The University of Tulsa