NEWS
NORMAN, Okla. – Rebecca Cruise, Ph.D., associate provost for global engagement at the University of Oklahoma, has been named a 2025-26 Alumni Fellow of the Southeastern Conference Academic Leadership Development Program (SEC ALDP). The initiative aims to support SEC faculty and early career administrators in becoming part of the next generation of academic leaders.
Cruise was previously named a 2024-25 SEC ALDP Fellow and is now OU’s first recipient of the program’s alumni fellowship, which connects faculty to other SEC universities to strengthen their knowledge and skills. Through this opportunity, she plans to learn from other leaders and staff at global engagement and international affairs offices about their domestic study away programs.
“We are thrilled that Associate Provost Cruise has been selected for this fellowship,” said OU Senior Vice President and Provost André-Denis Wright. “She has been critical in supporting a wide scope of student learning opportunities, and this program will advance those efforts.”
In addition to serving as OU’s senior international officer, Cruise is an associate professor of security studies and comparative politics in the College of International Studies (CIS) and the director of FYE Global Perspectives within CIS.
“Leadership development programs like ALDP maintain our university’s strong institutional momentum,” said Vice Provost for Faculty Sarah Ellis. “Through our SEC membership, these opportunities will continue to support our success.”
Earlier this year, four OU faculty members were named 2025-26 Fellows for the SEC ALDP program.
For more information about the SEC Academic Leadership Development Program, visit secsports.com.
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.
The Native Nations Center for Tribal Policy Research at the University of Oklahoma will launch its first Sovereign Policy Intensive in September, a new program designed for elected tribal officials that focuses on understanding broadly relevant federal systems grounded in departmental structures, legislation and appropriations, and legal frameworks.
For 46 years and counting, G. Frans Currier, D.D.S., M.S.D., M.Ed., has been a faculty member at the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry. This year, the American Association of Orthodontists recognized his service with a conference named in his honor and the opportunity to give a lecture to his fellow orthodontists from around the nation.
The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History at the University of Oklahoma recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of its current building’s public opening, as well as its impact on the university, state and beyond.
