[JOE HARROZ] Hi, I’m Joe Harroz. President of the University of Oklahoma. I want to welcome you to our Conversations with the President. This platform gives me the chance to talk to some of the great people who make OU so special. Make sure that you’re subscribed to Conversations with the President, and you’ll be the first to know when new episodes are released. Let’s get started.
Alright, first thing first: During our last conversation, we laid the groundwork for the wonderful research we’re doing here at the University of Oklahoma. Again, I want to thank the greatest name in research, our Vice President for Research and Partnerships, Tomás Díaz de la Rubia, and men’s golf coach, Ryan Hybl for joining the show. In case you haven’t heard that episode, please subscribe to Conversations with the President, wherever you listen to podcasts so you can listen to all past and future episodes.
Now I want to start off today’s show by talking about our alumni and what they’ve done in response to the requests we’ve had. Over the last couple of years, we have told our alumni, we have a strategic plan, we would like for you to invest in it. We truly think that it changes lives. And our alumni have responded in remarkable ways. So if we look back at the year 2021, in that year our alumni responded by donating a record-$237 million dollars to the University of Oklahoma and our purpose. In this past year, which closed June 30, it was an astonishing year. Shattering last year’s record, thanks to Amy Noah who has led that foundation, Guy Patton, and all those involved with our alumni. We shattered the record of $237 million, and our alumni provided $317 million dollars in donations and special gifts. That truly changes lives. There’s no way to express my gratitude for what that does for our students, for our research and the way that we impact our state and nation. Thanks to all of you for doing that.
There’s a couple of areas I want to recognize. In the last episode they had me reading off a teleprompter, which some said wasn’t so great. So, they’ve given me cards today. I’m going to read from those and see if that’s better.
I do want to acknowledge three areas that since our last show have been recognized both in the state and nationally. The first is the College of Nursing. Dean (Julie) Hoff has done remarkable work there. We are recognized since the last show for being the number one college of nursing in the state of Oklahoma. Ninth best in the southwest region. We all know the critical work that OU Health does, and what our nurses do there and around the state and save lives every single day. Especially over the pandemic the last couple of years, being the top school matters in a huge way.
Two more accolades to throw out there. Both of these are actually in the same college – the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences. We have two number one national rankings. The first one is the School of Aviation. Our School of Aviation is important in training in the critical area of flying and aviation related sciences. We were just ranked number one in the country for students who want to receive an education in aviation. Remarkable amount of work. In the last episode we talked to Tomás Díaz de la Rubia and he talked about research and partnerships in preparing our students for their careers. Those partnerships in this number one School of Aviation here at OU include the United States Air Force, Southwest Airlines and all the other major airlines. So that’s exciting news.
And finally, among the bragging of top national rankings, the next one is the School of Meteorology. So many know what’s being accomplished here at OU. Our School of Meteorology is ranked number one in the country. In terms of national research dollars, that college receives more in atmospheric sciences than any other school in the nation. Saving lives every single day with the work that they do. It is stunning, the work of our National Weather Center. Our School of Meteorology, the college itself of atmospheric and geographic sciences and their work with the federal agency in charge of that, we call it NOAA, but it’s the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency is truly important. Later in today’s show, and yes, you have to stay on for all of it. Later in today’s show we’re going to hear from a new professor in the college who’s doing incredible work, his name is Matt Flournoy and we’re going to hear from him in just a minute.
Our first guest who we’re going to welcome to the scene, to our set. To this remarkable and stunning and dynamic set is Dr. David Surratt. Dr. Surratt would you join us please?
That was our first effort at having someone walk in during the show. I think we’ve shown why it hasn’t happened yet.
[DAVID SURRAT] Managing expectations?
[HARROZ] That’s right, man. Managing expectations.
Dr. Surratt, you’ve been here for three-and-a-half years. I want to get into that, but first of all earlier today I was looking out the window at the President’s Office and I saw a gentleman in a sport coat going across campus on a scooter heading to a meeting. Was that you?
[SURRATT] That might have been me. There’s rumors that there’s random footage of students catching me on the scooters. But yeah, that’s true. Don’t tell Risk Management or tell Kesha (Keith). She’s worried I’m going to fall off the scooter.
[HARROZ] That could go viral.
Thrilled that you’re here. Before we get into the details of it, right now we’re sitting here a couple of days before the first day of school. Students have been here, many certainly the freshmen over the last week and a half, tell us about this class and the first week on campus.
[SURRATT] Yeah, I’m excited about it, right? So we had kickoff last week. We saw the energy that was happening there. We had the cheer squad, you had the Pride there, you had faculty and staff and over four thousand new students come to campus, so you felt the energy here in Norman. You’ve got students obviously joining us here at HSC and Tulsa, I’ve got staff there too, I'm excited about that. You think about a lot of the energy when you have new students come into that stadium for the first time and feeling that exciting. It’s huge, it’s palpable, right? Especially with these first-year students right now, they’ve lost a couple years to the pandemic in terms of their high school experience and so. They were super grateful, super energized. We got through move-in, we’re in the middle of Camp Crimson right now and getting excited for next week.
[HARROZ] Yeah, it’s amazing. And for those who haven’t been here for a while, over the last two years – and it took a year to develop – Dr. Surratt put together a program where all entering freshmen to be a part to what has been known and what is known today as Camp Crimson. But your move-in is actually a week before it use to be which creates all kinds of threats and dangers. But allows the freshmen to come in here and hopefully all feel connected to the university. I walked into the stadium this past Friday evening and there were, like you said, nearly 4,700 students all learning the cheers and chants and traditions of the university. That’s exciting and it’s a product of what you and your team have done.
[SURRATT] Yeah, we’re in year two. Last year was tough because we were in the onset of the pandemic, in the middle of it. This year feels more normal than years past. The big thing that people need to recognize about too about this Camp Crimson versus the previous one was previous one was previous one was multiple small meetings during the summertime. It caused issues for international and out-of-state students that travel here and participate in camp. It had a disconnect there. We also worked with our Greek communities. Especially Panhellenic recruitment who traditionally, maybe for thirty-plus years, were actually the first ones to arrive and recruit thousands of women. And then have an orientation for the rest of our students. We wanted to flip that. We wanted people to be oriented to what it means to be an OU student first and then talk about ways in which you connect to communities within communities. First you have that OU identity and then next get a sense of how you can develop more connections and friendships on campus too. So it’s been awesome.
[HARROZ] It’s remarkable. It’s all a part of a clear and coherent strategy. It's also a product of your experiences. So you’ve received two of your three degrees from the University of Oklahoma. So you might just tell the listeners and the hundreds of thousands of viewers who watch the show, you might tell them a little bit about your background, where you’ve been and how those are being brought to bear to help OU students.
[SURRATT] I’m a proud OU graduate. Two degrees here and my doc work at George Washington University. Funny enough, when I think about why I even chose the profession I started here, I tell people my wife is responsible for that. She’s the one who applied to be an RA (Residential Advisor) and I was like, “What else do I have to do? I’ll apply, too, and see what happens.” And we both got selected. So OU was the starting place for me to get involved in student affairs. Real quick, student affairs, what it is, right? So when people think about that, they don’t fully know what it is, so I tell people that we’re in charge and responsible for learning outside the classroom. As a result of our programs and services, twenty-plus services across all of our campuses, we are helping students develop personally, and we help them with their career development. We help them understand their community impact through service and engagement on campus. And we help them with their well-being and being safe on campus. That’s kind of the three learning aims that we have for our division, right? But yeah, I came to this profession because of students. The funny story is I left OU, went to Penn State University at Penn State Mont Alto specifically. Tiny campus. I go there and in my first year, I wasn’t making a lot of money and the students there found out that I didn’t have plans for Thanksgiving, because I couldn’t afford to take a flight for Thanksgiving and Christmas and come back to Oklahoma. I was raised here, right? And when they found that out at Thanksgiving, I was putting on a program, we had a comedian show up and before he starts his set, he says, “Is David Surratt in the audience,” so he calls me up and I say, “Hey, what’s going on?” He says, “I’ve got something for you.” So, he hands me this bag and in it is a plane ticket to fly to Tulsa and a card from the residents in the community that I helped support when I was a resident there, too. I tell people at the time that this work was about those things I mentioned about developing the experience, but I found that because of the students, I realized I didn’t need the ticket, but it was more so a reflection of thinking that I was having an impact in the community and not even realizing it at the time. It was a huge thing for me.
[HARROZ] These jobs are incredible and the ability to be around students is beyond special.
[SURRATT] Yeah, I know you love it, for sure. And sometimes you even tire me with the way you run around.
[HARROZ] So, we think about, we’ve spoken on this program about the strategic plan. Tomás was on the recent episode talking about, as only he can, talking about the research verticals and horizontals. We’ve talked a lot about the strategic plan. We talk about the life of a university, the life of a student, its success. Where do student affairs intersect in that plan?
[SURRATT] Yeah, when we talk about those learning objectives and personal development, I’m talking about sometimes when our students are engaging in our different programs and services, whether it be in Greek life or one of our five hundred-plus registered student organizations on campus, sometimes one of their first learning opportunities in learning how to engage in teams, how to lead, their learning how to interview in roles, sometimes the first interview they’ve actually had. So, these are some of the things that are happening at the time. Throughout the division of Student Affairs, we employ anywhere from four hundred to six hundred students in some capacity on campus. So, they’re learning through their job requirements on how to engage. On top of that, they’re tapping into our career center, right? So, they’re learning how to access our Handshake – our career management tool – to interview with potential employers for internships for full-time jobs either while they're here or post-graduate. So, when we talk about that, that career destination piece of it, that’s a big part of the plan, I think that we’re trying to make sure that people understand that there are benefits to education, getting that degree and leaving with success. The other piece is about belonging. So, when we talk about the ways in which students connect, you’ve got move-in, you’ve got camp. You’ve got all the ways in which we engage with our students on campus. On top of that, making sure they’re successful, and actually moving through their experiences in education here. We also have the public service arm, with Goddard Health Services Fitness & Recreation. If we don’t have healthy students, they don’t succeed here, they don’t stay here, they don’t thrive. It’s all kind of encompassed in this kind of package to support the strategic plan, that’s for sure.
[HARROZ] It’s incredible. We want for the students what we received during our time at OU. Both of us receiving undergrads from OU. This idea that you belong. You didn’t just get into the university, but you belong here. Those life lessons that you learn outside of the classroom about how to be successful and what definitions of success that we want for ourselves will be fulfilling. I love the way that you and your team approach it. It really is stunning to watch my perception of what Student Affairs did for me when I was a student is very different from what it is in this role. You really are there for the greatest triumphs, the greatest challenges and the greatest tragedies that happen in the community. We’re really lucky to have you on the team.
[SURRATT] Thank you. When you move a small city on to campus in a matter of days, things are bound to happen, good or bad. So you’re right. There’s moments where I tell people whenever they ask me about my job, I say I can wake up and I can be in front of thousands of students at the stadium, giving them support, talking about our services, what it means to be here. I can be meeting with small groups, looking over strategies and operations. Or at the end of the day, I can be having a really difficult conversation with a parent or family member who may have lost a student. Trying to talk through what that means for them, how to support them. The spectrum of the work that I get to do every single day is massively large in scope, but I always tell people that it’s a chosen labor. It’s one that I appreciate because I remember what it was like, like you, to be here at OU’s campus and figure out what that looks like. I joke with people on move-in ay all the time that my dad, he pulled up to Walker Tower, he stayed in the truck the whole time and said, “I gotta watch your stuff, so you gotta move your stuff.” So, I’m moving my stuff to the fifth floor of Walker Tower and it’s a melee.
[HARROZ] It’s madness. For me it was Adams Tower. Dad was really busy. Mom came and almost didn’t leave, but it was madness trying to get in.
[SURRATT] At least your mom came. She came in the summer when I got my classes, and I don’t think she could see her baby boy go to school. So she didn’t come back to visit me on campus until my junior year.
[HARROZ] I don’t blame her. Not because I wouldn’t want to see you, but because I just dropped off my son Joseph, my oldest, for the dorms last week. And no one’s ever had ana easier time with their first kid going to college than me. He literally is going to OU. I walk him over to the dorms, the move-in process is not what we experienced. This is a fine-tuned, well-crafted, personalized service. It’s amazing what the team does. My biggest issue was that I had to walk away because I had dust in my eyes.
[SURRATT] Allergy season. I know, it hits us all.
[HARROZ] I was crying like a baby. Trying my best for him not to see it. I know how your mom feels. It’s hard to be around.
[SURRATT] You gotta keep it low key for Jo.
[HARROZ] That’s right, you gotta play it cool. The truth of the matter is parents, the idea of sending your son or daughter off to college and you know that they are adults technically but there’s so much to learn. So many mistakes that have to happen for them to fully develop. For me the essence of what Student Affairs does, the greatest hope we have, is that we’re there to help. To make that student feel connected and to help them grow in these fully formed adults that can feel fulfilled and realize their potential in their own lives. TO help other people. It’s a big handoff as a parent. You have them for 18 years if they’re a traditional student, and then you don’t. From my perspective, I’m just grateful to you and to student affairs because a critical part of the education happens in the classroom. A critical part of education happens outside the classroom. The truth of the matter is for the OU experience, the on-campus experience to be realized, both kinds of growth have to happen in a way that intersect and come together for that full experience. When you think about the various sides of the university, Student Affairs is an absolute critical part of that.
[SURRATT] Yeah, I tell people for every hour you spend in the classroom, there’s eight to 10 hours outside of it. So, there’s learning happening on all parts of the experience for our students, for sure. I’m grateful to have your support, also your experiences as a student really speaks to you wanting to come pour into our experiences for our students, too. That’s super helpful and super supportive for our staff, for sure.
[HARROZ] I know you spent time at the University of California – Berkley. I spent time on the east coast at a university there. I think it’s great to have that variety of experiences for you both as a student and working at other universities, where you can bring the best and the lessons from mistakes that are made by others. For me, I really thought that maybe some of these east and west coast universities have something that we don’t have. While there are things to learn and take, the overall connectivity that was there for me in ‘85 and you 10-15 years later, hopefully we’re able to repay that in a way that our students have the benefit of those experiences. I know I’m like you and we talk about it all of the time. I’m so thankful to be a part of it, thankful to have you here. On a practical level, we do know that increasingly students are asking the question that as they're looking at universities, okay what happens after? Can you talk about what we’re doing, what you’re doing, what your team is doing around the idea of preparation of students for their careers and connection to careers.
[SURRATT] Yeah, for sure. There’s definitely a recent announcement that went out to the community about investment in the career center. So, one of the biggest things that you have to have is actual staff to support the capacity for students to be able to engage with them right? So we looked at ratios and studied that more closely to see what a more beneficial ratio for our students to our staff is. The two areas that are buckets that I’d say are our largest investments in the career center is staff supporting employer relations and reaching out to potential employers who could hire our students for internships and actual jobs. The other one is around career coaching. How are we teaching students how to leverage their experiences on a college campus, whether it be in traditional ways like internships and what not. But also, in nontraditional ways. How are they selling themselves when it comes to their experiences on campus in various ways? Like I said we have a lot of students who work and volunteer on campus. Funny story, I had a student worker in my office who got a job recently in Oklahoma City and she mentioned that the first-time interviewing was for executive position for Dance Marathon on campus, and she said, “Because of that experience with the panel and the presentation with the interview, it translated to her employer interview that was a panel discussion, panel interview and it made her feel more confident and more comfortable. We think about those ways that we are engaging with our students all the time. How are we engaging with students about career preparation? How are we connecting them to employers and how we actually measure that data so we can tell the story about the investment in an OU education leading to transformative opportunities professionally after they graduate.
[HARROZ] That’s really it. I mean, people all the time will ask, will I have this opportunity versus OU? Which one should I take and the answer is where is the value. And the answer is excellence and access. It’s in the classroom, it’s outside of the classroom, it’s building that whole person. Their response has been great over the years. We had a record class this year. I did the intro to you by bragging about things at OU. Tell us about this year’s class profile, and what this year’s freshman class looks like.
[SURRATT] Yeah. We’ve seen the announcements about the largest, most diverse class. When we talk about what that means and probably in an environment nationally where there’s a lot of conversation about the value of a college degree and an education. We see some of the data out there, but OU represents a strong profile about the experience and education. I love the emphasis on diversity, not only around ethnic and racial diversity but first-generation college students. The data often critiquing education doesn't kind of nail down further into demographics about ways in which first generation college students often times benefit longitudinally in terms of earning value, wealth, the ability to do the things, I mean you have an incredible story about how you and your family have been able to benefit from a strong education and a lineage of building that up. It tells a story to me about why I am proud to be at OU, why I chose OU in 1998 as a student. I would have stayed if I had a job, but I took some circuitous routes on the east coast and the west coast, and I came back here after working at the number one public institution in the world at Berkley, I came and I chose OU always because I know there are so many benefits to being here in this place, on this campus in the heart of Oklahoma. It’s great.
[HARROZ] We’re beyond blessed to have you now for three and a half years. I’ve been in this role for three years so I was lucky to get to know you in that role and thrilled that you’re there. You are more humble and modest than I am about it so I’m just going to lay the numbers out there. Largest class in school history. 138 years. 4,706 students in this class. Most universities are contracting, regrettably, ours is growing. 39 percent of our students are from historically underrepresented groups, and the one that you’ve touched on to me that I’m absolutely so proud of when you ask, “What is the dream? What is the opportunity that we provide through higher education?” 25 percent of our students, one in four of our students for the second year in a row coming in for this class are the first in the history of their families to go to college. And that changes their lives, the life of their family, the life of their communities. It’s stunning work and the education they receive here. Because of your team, outside of that classroom. I promise you, we know it is second to none. Truly grateful. Thank you for being on the show. I’ll probably see you a little later in a meeting.
[SURRATT] Probably so.
[HARROZ] Thank you for being here.
[SURRATT] Sounds good, thanks Joe.
[HARROZ] Thanks, Dr. Surratt.
If you recall from our previous episode with Tomás, we talked about the verticals and the horizontals test to follow the great research happening here at the University of Oklahoma. I now want to welcome to the show a bright research scientist in meteorology. He comes to us from Massachusetts where he received his undergraduate degree at Penn State in 2015 before coming to the University of Oklahoma to pursue and ultimately receive his Ph.D in 2020, doing his postdoc work here as well now as a research scientist here at the school. He works with the Cooperative Institute, now this is a mouthful so hang tight, he works for the Cooperative Institute for Severe and High Impact Weather Research and Operations at the National Weather Center, known to all of us as the acronym CIWRO. CIWRO is the largest research center at the University of Oklahoma, employing over 215 researchers, support personnel and students. He was recently involved in the Targeted Observation by Radars and Unmanned Aircraft Systems of Supercells. As Oklahomans we all know what supercells are. This is a study that involves that, it’s known as TORUS, which concluded its two-year study just this last year. With that, I want to welcome Matthew Flournoy here. We’re thrilled to have you here. I’ve covered a bit of the formal things, but can you just tell us about your journey here to this position.
[MATTHEW FLOURNOY] First of all, thanks so much for having me. This is a delight to talk about this stuff.
[HARROZ] It’s my joy. It’s really heightened by the fact that you have the greatest socks on of any guest with the socks that have the representations of your two cats.
[FLOURNOY] They do. My two ginger tabbies, Diego and Mogli, gotta represent them.
So, I’m originally from Massachusetts. I’m from there and I did my undergraduate at Penn State like you mentioned earlier. While at Penn State, I actually had the opportunity to come down to Norman for summer internships through the NOAA Earnest F. Hollings Scholarship Research Program for Undergraduates. It’s a wonderful program. I recommend any undergrads to take advantage of that and at least apply. I came out here and was paired up with an advisor for that project. This is in between my junior and senior year at Penn State. I fell in love with it. Fell in love with the advisor, too. Dr. Mike Conignlio and he actually became my Masters and Ph.D advisor, too. So, I high tailed it back up to Penn State and came back to Norman a year later. I got my master's degree in 2017 and my Ph.D in 2020. During the lost COVID years. I was a postdoc from 2020 to 2022 and now I’m a research scientist. So that’s kind of my professional journey to Norman, Oklahoma.
[HARROZ] Well that’s fantastic. Whenever you tell people what you do and you describe it to people off the street, what do you tell people that you do?
[FLOURNOY] That’s a great question. I study supercells and tornados. Sometimes I have to clarify what supercells are, but like you said with Oklahomans that’s typically not the case. Big spinney storms. I study things that spin, I’ll put it that way. I study severe weather that spins on a small scale, so not hurricanes but supercells and tornados. I study why tornadoes form in some supercells and why they don’t in other supercells. Really, a hot topic in the field right now is tornado genesis but also failed tornado genesis and why some storms don’t produce tornadoes. That’s some of the hot topics in the community right now that we’re trying to observe in the field.
[HARROZ] That’s fantastic. You just finished this two-year study, the TORUS study. Tell us what you can about the research study and what you’re excited about.
[FLOURNOY] Oh yeah. It’s very exciting. It was delayed for 2020 and 2021 because of COVID. But we did go out there and collect data in 2019 and 2022. In essence, TORUS is a supercell focused field campaign. A fully nomadic campaign so we’re basically following and intercepting these storms all around the Great Plains. There’s a few institutions that are involved from Nebraska, Texas Tech, Colorado and a lot of folks here in Norman through OU and NSSL and CIWRO. We head out there to the Great Plains and our observing vehicles to sample supercells. Supercell thunderstorms. When they’re there, tornadoes, and when they’re not there, non-tornadic supercells. Both of them matter to us. We’re after the supercells. What we’re specifically trying to get at is new regions of the storm, the supercell itself that we really haven’t observed before. Specifically, we call it the left flank of the supercell, but it’s pretty much the area right upwind of the tornado or the low-level updraft. When it spins, we call it a mesocyclone. It’s the air that’s flowing into those features and causing all the severe weather that for the first time TORUS was really able to sample not only the ground but also with UAS’s and balloons aloft. What will we learn from this? We haven’t learned too much because we just finished it. But in the coming years, we’re going to analyze all that data, that’s going to take probably a decade or more to do which is wonderful. And we will learn about the processes within the storm, within the supercell that actually cause the seeds for tornadoes at the ground. That’s what we’re after here with this project.
[HARROZ] Yeah, it’s exciting, At the top of the show I talked about our School of Meteorology being ranked number one in the country. We talk a lot about the teaching, the service and the healthcare that is provided at the university. But specifically as a research scientist in this early stage of your career, you’ve talked a bit about the TORUS research study but as you think about what you hope to accomplish in your research agenda over time during your career, tell us a little about that and what that impact you think will be on Oklahoma, the region, the nation and the world.
[FLOURNOY] Yeah, it’s kind of the golden career question. I don’t know it now. I certainly hope to keep on studying supercells and tornadoes. Right now, I’m particularly interested in warnings so there’s a lot of facets to the tornado warning problem, and ultimately protecting lives and property. That’s always the ultimate goal. Unfortunately, people still die and are injured or lose money because of tornadoes. I am just one part of a huge, multi-faceted group that tries to tackle these problems. I hope to address some questions on the science side, like TORUS. Why do certain things happen in supercells that cause tornadoes and why don’t those things happen other times? What actual physical processes are happening that we still don’t understand? And on the other side of the spectrum is the human side. “Okay, Matt, now we understand the left flank of the mesocyclone and supercells, what does that mean for better warning these storms and actually better at saving lives and property?” And that depends on people even getting tornado warnings in the first place whether it’s from their radios, TV’s, their phones, etcetera from the sirens. And then ultimately, what do they do when that happens? Is there immediate thought to go to a shelter? That would be great, and it would probably save their life if it did or is it to go get grandma down the street and help her out too? There’s so many different scenarios. Also, in addition to the supercell TORUS type processes to finally solve that question and better saving lives and property from tornadoes. In the grand scheme of things, that’s what I hope to contribute to.
[HARROZ] To me, the research enterprise is so exciting to see where the theoretical meets the application. Where all of this work around a specific area of research and the partnerships between the federal government and the university can come together, as they do in the National Weather Center, as you say, save lives and create and minimize economic damage, create opportunity. Often times, my kids will ask me now, “What do you do as a college president?” And I tell them, “I work with individuals that do amazing things for humanity.” What you do is a big part of that. In a format like this, in a podcast setting, because this isn’t seen by so many people. The people in their careers like you, that have committed so many years already coming here in 2015 from Penn State, that are here making a difference in the lives of so many people. I am unbelievably grateful and I can’t wait to watch the trajectory of your research and its application in improving the lives of so many. Really grateful for you being here.
[FLOURNOY] Thanks, I really appreciate it.
[HARROZ] And before we end the show. I want to congratulate a member of the OU family. Congratulations to OU Law class of 1976 alumni Dwight W. Birdwell for receiving the Medal of Honor from President Joe Biden for is bravery during the War in Vietnam. Birdwell moved to Oklahoma when he was very young, and following his heroics abroad, he served on the Judicial Appeals Tribunal for the Cherokee Nation from 1987 to 1999. Having served as Chief Justice from 1995 to 1996. Birdwell distinguished himself with bravery and selflessness serving with Troop C, 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry, 25th Infantry Division in January of 1968 by defending his unit against heavy fire. Even after sustained injuries from gunfire, Birdwell refused to leave his men behind and instead led a flanking maneuver against the enemy that successfully repelled the enemy until reinforcements arrived. Thank you to Mr. Birdwell and the countless members of the OU family who have served in all branches of the military to protect us. We are forever grateful.
And finally, with students returning to campus, I want to wish you all a happy and safe first semester here at OU. To all returning students, I wish you all well as you continue your individual path to success.
Thank you everyone for listening to Conversations with the President. I want to thank our guests Dr. David Surratt and research scientist Matthew Flournoy. Don't forget to subscribe to Conversations with the President. I'm looking forward to our next conversation.
