NEWS
Four educators at the University of Oklahoma have been selected for induction into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame for their distinguished contributions and outstanding service to higher education.
Among the 11 individuals to be honored as part of the 2022 Hall of Fame Class are Mary Margaret Holt, dean of the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts; Gloria Pollard, Ph.D., adjunct professor in the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences; William Ray, Ph.D., dean emeritus of the Graduate College at OU-Tulsa; and Randa Shehab, Ph.D., senior associate dean of the Gallogly College of Engineering.
“We are extremely proud of Dean Holt, Dr. Pollard, Dr. Ray and Dr. Shehab for their selection to the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame – a prestigious honor that reflects their commitment to their students, research and the University of Oklahoma,” said OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. “Generations of lives have been changed through an OU education and because of world-class faculty like these four outstanding educators, who are certainly deserving of this recognition.”
Holt, Pollard, Ray and Shehab join 72 other OU faculty members and administrators who have been inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame since its establishment in 1994. The Hall of Fame recognizes those whose achievements and leadership in scholarship, teaching, research and creative activity, administration, staff support, outreach and public service have brought distinction and honor to higher education in Oklahoma.
Holt, an award-winning educator whose leadership helped propel OU’s School of Dance to one of the top three dance programs in the country, has served as dean of the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts since 2015.
With nearly 40 years of experience in higher education, Holt has held numerous positions while at OU, including assistant professor, associate professor, director and associate dean. As director of the School of Dance, Holt established the Ballets Russes Special Collection and Archive; Dance Partners, a vital support group that has provided more than $1.3 million in scholarships for OU dance students; Once Upon a Dream, an annual fundraiser for the School of Dance; and she oversaw the planning of the Donald W. Reynolds Performing Arts Center dance wing, which opened in 2005. With colleagues in the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts and the Price College of Business, Holt collaborated to create a graduate certificate program and undergraduate minor in arts management/entrepreneurship.
In addition to serving as dean, Holt has taught every course in the ballet curriculum at OU and has led Oklahoma Festival Ballet on numerous international tours to France, Austria, South and Central America, Taiwan and China. She has choreographed over 40 ballets, and her students have gone on to achieve successful careers in dance companies all over the world.
She has received numerous awards, including the Outstanding Teaching Award from Regional Dance America Festival, the CORPS de Ballet International Lifetime Achievement Award, the Governor’s Art Award, and the Student Congress Good Teaching Award.
Holt earned a bachelor of fine arts in dance and master of fine arts in drama with a dance emphasis, both from the University of Oklahoma.
Pollard began teaching English at the University of Oklahoma in 1986 and became the director of the University Writing Center in 1993. Pollard spent the next 22 years with the San Francisco State University Foundation, Millwood Public Schools in Oklahoma City and the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education in Stillwater.
While working as a career development specialist for the Department of Career and Technology Education, she helped develop career guidance programs for Oklahoma public school students. She was also chair of the diversity team, as well as a member and president of the Oklahoma Association of Minorities in Career and Technology Education.
In 2015, Pollard returned to OU to help undergraduate students with research writing in the Department of Human Relations in the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences. Under her leadership, the department revamped the professional writing curriculum for the undergraduate degree program. Her work has been significant in strengthening the academic writing for human relations majors and shaping their preparation as human relations professionals. Last year, Pollard retired as an adjunct writing instructor in the Department of Human Relations, where she left an invaluable legacy.
Pollard earned her Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy studies from the University of Oklahoma and has received numerous awards and honors for her work in education.
Ray, dean emeritus and founder of the OU-Tulsa Graduate College, joined the University of Oklahoma in 1980 in the Department of Mathematics on the Norman campus. After eight years in the Department of Mathematics, Ray moved to the Graduate College where he served as associate dean. During this time, graduate enrollment for under-represented students more than doubled, and he obtained significant federal funding for graduate fellowships. In 1998, Ray moved to Tulsa to serve as the founding dean of the Tulsa Graduate College.
His leadership and vision helped shape the OU-Tulsa campus. During his tenure, the number of faculty members increased sixfold and the university acquired the Schusterman Center Campus. The university also added two academic buildings to the campus – the Schusterman Learning Center and the Schusterman Library – and remodeled extensive spaces for classrooms, labs and student study lounges.
Ray was also instrumental in securing funding to expand access to graduate education at OU from agencies and organizations, including the U.S. Department of Education and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
Ray has published more than 20 research articles on nonlinear functional analysis and a graduate level text, Real Analysis. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics from the University of Iowa, as well as his master’s degree in both mathematics and statistics and doctorate in mathematics.
Shehab is a senior associate dean for the Gallogly College of Engineering and co-coordinator for the Data Science and Analytics Institute, where she has led transformative changes in engineering education to better prepare students for the profession.
As senior associate dean, she developed and launched the Engineering Pathways Program, an innovative new program that combines high-quality teaching with student-centered learning to prepare students to meet Oklahoma’s growing demand for engineers and positively impact the state’s economy. She also was instrumental in updating the industrial engineering curriculum and continues to work on collaborative partnerships with the Department of Defense to increase workforce development.
Shehab has authored more than 85 scholarly publications, focusing on her research in equity and diversity in engineering education. As an educator, she has taught and mentored more than 4,650 undergraduate students and served as advisor to more than 30 graduate students. She earned her bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in industrial engineering from the University of Oklahoma.
OU Alumni to be Honored
Several University of Oklahoma alumni will also be inducted into the 2022 Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame Class, including V. Burns Hargis, president emeritus of Oklahoma State University; and George McLaurin, the first Black student admitted to OU and late professor at Langston University. Gene Rainbolt, OU alumnus, businessman, higher education philanthropist and civic leader, will also receive a special merit award.
