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.
Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to recognize Petya Stefanoff, who is pursuing her doctorate in the Planning, Design & Construction (PDC) program, has been appointed the new role of Director of Community Development for the City of Shawnee, Oklahoma. She joined the city in 2024.
Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce that Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., associate professor in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design and director of the Institute for Quality Communities, has received national recognition for her book Model Schools in the Model City. The book has been named a finalist for the 2026 the PROSE Awards.
Gibbs College of Architecture Regional + City Planning Professor of Practice Vanessa Morrison and Associate Professor of Architecture Deborah Richards’ Open Design Collective received top honors at the inaugural BlackSpace Urbanist Collective Studio KIN Pitch Night Competition, held last month in Brooklyn, New York City.
