Happy New Year, Gaylord College alumni!
It’s been an exciting six months since I became the interim dean July 1.
Thanks to the work of our great faculty, staff and students, we are doing what I hoped: maintaining our momentum across all of our majors and programs, undergraduate and graduate alike.
Every week of the semester I am in awe of what I see – whether it’s Creative Media Production students working in the Greenlight Productions film club, Gaylord News students in Washington covering the historic tumult over the speaker of the House, Public Relations and Advertising majors partnering with the Route 66 Centennial Commission, or Professional Writing students creating books and podcasts. Or our graduate students presenting their research in national venues.
We continue to celebrate the ranking the college achieved for the second year in a row as the No. 2 media program in the country based on student awards from the Broadcast Education Association – with a No. 1 ranking in film and video production, No. 2 in news, No. 5 in sports and No. 5 in scriptwriting.
But one of the things I love about Gaylord is that it’s not only a place where people do excellent work; it’s also a family. Students see that it’s a place where faculty and staff know them and care about them personally, and it’s a place where mentoring and coaching outside the classroom lead to great career opportunities.
The second half of 2023 brought the Gaylord College family a number of new faces and people taking on new roles.
Dr. Desiree Hill joined us in October as assistant dean for student affairs, replacing Yvette Walker, who left to become opinion editor at The Kansas City Star. Desiree, who was previously on the faculty at the University of Central Oklahoma, is a doctoral and bachelor’s graduate of our program. She brings a strong combination of university and broadcast industry background, including leadership roles in both areas, to her responsibilities in student services, recruiting and broadcast operations oversight. She is also an important member of the college leadership team.
Breann Miller became director of development for the college in September, following Paige Uhr’s move to work with the OU women’s basketball team. Like Paige, Breann works for the OU Foundation but is based in Gaylord. Breann previously was director of the President’s Associates at the Foundation after serving in development roles at INTEGRIS Health Foundation and the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.
Deyna Aragon became community and activities director for the college in August, stepping in after the retirement of Lee Reynolds. Deyna was previously on Gaylord’s advising staff. Her new job includes coordinating events, interacting with alumni and supporting initiatives for students in the college including the Gaylord Ambassadors.
Two other staff changes: Kailee Kreger replaced Deyna as the advisor for Professional Writing majors. And Gaylord alum Kennedy Sepulvado will join the college in January as production manager working with Gaylord’s news and sports broadcast programs.
Four new faculty members also joined the college in August:
Dr. Changsup Park, associate professor of Journalism: A veteran journalist, Dr. Park has research interests in news engagement on social/mobile media, newsroom adoption of AI and how journalists adapt to rapidly changing technological environments.
Erin Kökdil, assistant professor of Creative Media Production: She is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and educator interested in solidarity and social change through film. Her work has been supported by National Geographic and Fulbright, among others.
Jay Gilmore, instructor in Journalism: He has worked as a sports reporter and anchor and sports director at TV stations across the country, including West Palm Beach, Fla., and Atlanta. He has previously taught at Belmont University, West Virginia University and the University of Memphis.
Rachel Patterson, instructor in Professional Writing: An Oklahoma native writing under the name Rachel Vincent, she has published 33 novels and assorted short fiction for both teens and adults with publishers including Random House and HarperCollins.
We are fortunate to have these talented people joining the college and continuing to strengthen the Gaylord family.
And I’m grateful for your part in the college’s extended family! I hope 2024 is a wonderful year for you all.
David Craig
Interim Dean
