NEWS
NORMAN, Okla. – Faculty and Class of 2025 graduates with the University of Oklahoma’s College of Allied Health sonography program were honored in Denver last month at the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography’s annual conference. The event brings together sonographers, sonography students and physicians to connect, network and learn about new advancements in the field.
Jennifer Bagley, OU’s sonography program director, received the conference’s Joan P. Baker Pioneer Award. The honor is given to sonographers who have made significant advancements in their field. The award is not presented annually, but instead when a qualified candidate has been determined.
“Receiving the Joan P. Baker Pioneer Award is a deeply meaningful honor that validates the years of my work dedicated to advocating for ultrasound safety and education,” said Bagley, who is also a professor in the College of Allied Health’s Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences (MIRS) Department. “I am humbled to be considered among the visionary professionals who have shaped the sonography profession. The award is not just a personal milestone, but a shared celebration of the nearly 50 years of excellence within our OU sonography program.”
MIRS assistant professor Jenny Gilmore, who is the sonography program’s clinical coordinator, and graduate Elise Hodges took home first place in the conference’s sonographer poster competition. Their entry Internalization of External Carotid Artery with Bilateral Internal Carotid Artery Occlusion: A Case Study won the top prize for posters that showcase the results of research studies.
Hodges, who is currently a sonography scanning laboratory instructor with OU, also earned first place in the W. Frederick Sample Student Excellence Award for Original Research Paper. Her submission, Effects of Limb Dominance and Subcutaneous Fat Thickness on Muscle Echo Intensity Measured by Ultrasonography, marks the third year in a row that a student in OU’s sonography program has won the category.
Graduates Maegan Nicole Cowans and Chesna Gordon placed first and second, respectively, in the W. Frederick Sample Student Excellence Award for Literature Review Paper. It’s the ninth straight year that OU sonography students have swept the top two spots. Cowans submitted Diagnosing Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Using Oral Glucose Tolerance Testing and Ultrasound Measurement of Fetal Subcutaneous Fat, and Gordan entered The Accuracy of Ocular Sonography in the Detection and Diagnosis of Retinal Detachment.
The W. Frederick Sample Student Excellence Award was established in memory of Dr. Frederick Sample to acknowledge outstanding achievement in the field of diagnostic medical sonography and to encourage students to submit papers for publication in the Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography.
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.
A newly funded research project led by David Schvartzman will use trailblazing technology to transform understanding of lightning and electrification, helping to improve storm warnings and better assess the risk of structural damage and power outages from thunderstorms.
This spring, the University of Oklahoma will launch a comprehensive Campus Master Planning effort for the Norman campus to guide the development of its physical environment over the next decade and beyond, ensuring it aligns with the University’s increasing impact across its mission areas of teaching and research and its ongoing commitment to the student experience.
The University of Oklahoma community has been recognized by the Broadcast Education Association at its 2026 Festival of Media Arts. Students and faculty combined to earn 35 different awards at the event.
