By News Director Jared Atha
Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford is set to receive the largest single donation in the history of the university.
Longtime SWOSU benefactors Jerry and Margaret Hodge of Amarillo, Texas have generously committed a record-breaking $5 million charitable gift.
The Hodge donation will enable SWOSU to take the next steps toward construction of a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to healthcare education and pharmacy, named in honor of the Hodges.
The gift will also establish a substantial new endowment benefiting students enrolled in the SWOSU College of Pharmacy.
Jerry Hodge, former chairman and chief executive officer of Maxor National Pharmacy Services Corporation, is a 1965 graduate of the SWOSU College of Pharmacy and a long-time supporter of the university. He was inducted into the SWOSU Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame in 1979 and was honored by the SWOSU College of Pharmacy as Outstanding Alumnus in 2008.
By News Director Jared Atha
Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford recently obtained its first United States Patent, making it one of only four universities in the state that hold U.S. Patents.
The inventors named in the patent are SWOSU Department of Chemistry and Physics Chair and Bernhardt Professor of Chemistry Dr. Tim Hubin; former faculty member in SWOSU Pharmaceutical Sciences M. O. Faruk Khan; and collaborators Babu Tekwani at the University of Mississippi and Steve Archibald at the University in Hull in the United Kingdom.
The patent includes the synthesis of a large class of novel macrocyclic compounds originating in the labs of Hubin and Archibald. These compounds contain multiple nitrogen atoms arranged in ring structures that are further structurally reinforced by additional carbon-chain bridges between nitrogen atoms. These structures allow extremely strong binding to transition metal ions like iron, copper, manganese and many others.
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By News Director Jared Atha
The Elk City School Board met on Monday night in regular session and formally approved the hiring of the district’s next superintendent.
Mike Sparks was approved to take the reigns as the district’s next leader during the meeting. His first day on the job will be July 1.
Sparks, who currently serves as superintendent and principal at Pioneer Public School in Chickasha, says he has always had an admiration for Elk City while he served as a coach, teacher, and eventual high school principal at Anadarko.
After graduating from Laverne High School, Sparks earned both his Bachelor and Masters in Education from Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford.