Class Notes

Stephen Vargo (BA, Psychology, 1967; MS, Psychology, 1969; Ph.D., Business Administration, 1997), University of Hawaii Shidler College of Business professor, was named to the 2020 Web of Science’s World’s Most Influential Researchers in the business and economics discipline.

Karen McGinnis (BBA, Accounting, 1989) has joined the board at AbSci as an Independent Director.

Amanda Rodriguez (BBA, Marketing, 2003) has been named Chief Financial Officer for the state of Oklahoma.

Bethany Eggleston (BBA, Marketing, 2004) has joined ACCEL, a nonprofit organization serving children and adults who have developmental disabilities, as its Advancement Manager.

Ward Eastman (BBA, Finance, 2006) has been named the Senior Vice President of CBRE’s Advisory and Transaction Services group.

Kyle Bertholf (BBA, Accounting, 2006; Master of Accountancy, 2007) has joined McAfee & Taft as its new Chief Financial Officer.

Kristin Millington (BBA, Accounting, 2009; Master of Accountancy, 2010) has been named the Vice President of Stream Realty Partners’ Dallas office.

Tasha Fox (BBA, Management, 2011) has been named one of the 2020 Most Powerful Women in Accounting by the American Institute of CPAs and CPA Practice Advisor.

India Wilkerson (BBA, Marketing, 2015), has been named GH2’s new Special Projects Coordinator.

Christy Thelen Rhea (BBA, Marketing, 2016) has joined JLL Dallas as a Senior Associate for its office tenant representative team.

Laurence Burnsed (current MBA student) has been named the Director of Health and Social Services for the Town of East Hartford by the mayor.

Brant Christensen, Dipankar Ghosh and Accounting Ph.D. student Deonette Lambert have been awarded $25,000 by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) for their research proposal, Corporate governance response to concurrent internal and external risk, as part of the IMA Research Foundation 2020 Special COVID-19 Call for Research Proposals.

Harold Heiple (BBA, Management/Entrepreneurship, 1956; Bachelor of Laws, 1961) has passed away. Heiple, a longtime attorney and councilman in Norman, was hailed as an attorney who spent a career advocating for clients before the Norman City Council, Planning Commission and other halls of government. He served on the council during the 1970s and was chairman of the Charter Review Commission in 2014.

Mike Samis (BBA, Finance, 1977), a private investor and philanthropist, has passed away. Samis led the negotiation to acquire Hospital Association of America’s interest in the former OU Medical System, which secured Oklahoma’s flagship academic medical center, as well as Oklahoma’s only freestanding children’s hospital. Samis also served as a director of BancFirst, Sovereign Asset Management (an investment of the Chickasaw Nation), the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, and more. He was appointed by Oklahoma Gov. David Walters as the first chairman of the University Hospitals Authority, where he served for 25 years. After graduating from OU, he joined Macklanburg-Duncan Co., a manufacturer of home improvement products, where he eventually served as president and CEO until the company was sold to General Electric. He also served as chairman of MD Building Products for several years.

Royce Colbaugh (BBA, Marketing, 1980) has passed away. Colbaugh made his career in sales with Sysco Food Service as a buyer, then with Ming Foods as a national sales manager. In 1990, he joined Wisconsin Tissue, which became SCA and eventually Essity Professional Hygiene. On September 14, 2020, he celebrated 30 years with the company. He was a recognized producer, winning several awards, including trips to Stockholm, Sweden, and Monte Carlo.

Joshua Leffler (BBA, Energy Management, 2009) has passed away. Leffler graduated from Velma-Alma high school in 2004, and from OU in 2009, with degrees in Energy Management and Finance. At only 24 years old, he started his first company, Black Hawk Mineral Partners. He continued to be a founder and developer of numerous businesses, including Peak Energy in 2017.