Due to the generous donations of University of Oklahoma faculty, staff, students and the broader community, more than 130 books have been sent to the Eddie Warrior Correctional Center (EWCC) since August 2020. EWCC houses more than 800 incarcerated women, 580 of whom tested positive for COVID-19 in September 2020.
Roxie Kirk, who oversees the EWCC library, said “[The books] have been unbelievably helpful during this stressful time. I can’t thank you enough. The women have been devouring them”.
Donated books include Toni Morrison’s Bluest Eyes and Jazz, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, There, There by Tommy Orange, Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward, The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory, and Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, among others. Best-selling author Celeste Ng, who wrote Everything I Never Told You and Little Fires Everywhere, donated ten books as well.
The wish list remains online for anyone who would like to donate.
Special thanks to OU Carceral Studies Consortium board members Emma Colven, Anthony Levenda, and Olivia Robson for organizing the book drive.
Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture assistant professor Amy Leveno and Mark Leveno, co-founders of OFFICIAL Design, have received a 2026 AIA Central States Region Design Award for the firm’s Granger Annex Community Center project in Garland, Texas.
Construction Industry Speaker Series welcomed Stephen Evans from the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum to give a lecture on better conversations and relationship building.
The University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture Hall of Fame recognizes a select number of high-character individuals who have made a significant and lasting positive impact on Gibbs College, its students, staff, faculty, alumni and/or to communities across the globe. The impact may have been, or continues to be, in the form of service and mentorship, sustained professional excellence, and/or advancement and financial support. Joseph Edgar Smay is part of the 2025 Hall of Fame class.
