Homecoming at UTulsa is a season of return with familiar faces, favorite places and stories that pick up right where they left off. As the golden leaves gather along Dietler Commons, the pale afternoon light sets our stone buildings aglow and warms our red-brick walkways. The days are cooler, and we are thrilled to welcome alumni back to a campus that is both beautifully unchanged and boldly moving forward.
The Collins College of Business is humming. We just launched a fully online MBA program with seven concentrations, built for working professionals and taught by scholar-practitioners, underscoring our commitment to flexible, high-impact graduate education. Applications for the January 2026 start close Jan. 5.
Our faculty continue to push the frontiers of knowledge and elevate UTulsa on the national and international stage. Several examples are highlighted in this newsletter, but know that each high-quality research project represents years of dedication by our faculty and contributes to the rigorous knowledge that shapes our society.
Our students continue to learn by doing. The Student Investment Fund, founded through Friends of Finance, now manages a real portfolio valued at more than $9 million. Analysts debate sector allocations, execute trades and translate classroom theory into professional practice. The fund has also generated more than $1 million in scholarships, tangible proof of experiential learning at work.
Beyond the classroom, our Friends of Finance series is off to a great start. Two luncheons featured inspirational talks from alumni Paul Coury and Rick Dickson, who now serves as interim university president. We also celebrated five remarkable leaders at the 2025 CCB Hall of Fame: Caron Allen Lawhorn, Alex Lintner, Philip J. Eller, D. Nicholas Allen and A. Gale Sullenberger, whose careers exemplify service, discovery and sustained impact.
Our centers for innovation and entrepreneurship, real estate and energy studies all held their advisory board meetings this month. Each continues to provide opportunities for students to learn, faculty to pursue meaningful research and the community to engage in powerful ways.
Come visit with us. Whether you graduated five years ago or 50, UTulsa is still your home. We cannot wait to swap stories, spark new ideas and show you how your college continues to grow with the same small-college heart and a reach that is wider than ever.