NORMAN – University of Oklahoma President David L. Boren today announced that gifts to OU from six major donors bring to 206 the number of those inducted into the Seed Sower Society, a distinguished group whose support of the University has reached $1 million or more. The majority of new gifts were designated for the Michael F. Price College of Business.
“The University of Oklahoma is breaking into the top ranks of American universities because of the generosity of exceptional donors and friends of the university in the last quarter century,” Boren said.
Private support is helping Price College achieve top national rankings. The Center for Entrepreneurship is ranked in the top 10 in the nation at the undergraduate level and in the top 15 at the graduate level by Princeton Review and Entrepreneur Magazine. The International Business program ranks as a top 30 program by U.S. News & World Report for the 11th consecutive year. The Price College MBA Program ranks as a top 10 program by CollegeAtlas.org for its affordability, academic quality, accessibility, GMAT average and job placement results. The college’s Supply Chain Management division is ranked as a top 20 program by Gartner.
Boren announced to the Regents that Carole and Jack Kinnebrew of Dallas, Dana and Danny Heatly of Norman, Lenise and Randall Stephenson of Dallas, and the Stanley White Foundation based in Tulsa had all been inducted into OU’s Seed Sower Society as a result of their continued support. The other two recent donors achieving induction into the Seed Sower Society wish to remain anonymous.
Carole and Jack Kinnebrew have been long-time supporters of OU, and in 2015 established an Academic Scholarship Program. Jack earned a bachelor of business administration in accounting from OU in 1963. Together, he and his wife, Carole, endowed a scholarship to help incoming freshmen in the Price College of Business. The program provides two scholarships annually to incoming freshmen at a minimum of $12,000.
Dana and Danny Heatly have been exceptional supporters of OU with numerous gifts to create scholarships, including Sooner Heritage Scholarships and the Wayne L. Garrison Accounting Scholarship. Dana graduated from OU in 1981 with a bachelor of science in elementary education, and Danny earned his bachelor of accountancy in 1978. Danny was presented a Regents Alumni Award from OU in 2009 in honor of his service to and support of OU.
Lenise and Randall Stephenson have endowed a need-based scholarship for students in Price College and have committed a generous gift to create a masters of accounting online program. Randall Stephenson, Chairman and CEO of AT&T, graduated with a master of accountancy from OU in 1986. He was honored with a Price College Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2012. Lenise and Randall are members of the Executive Cabinet for the Live On, University: 125th Anniversary Campaign for the University of Oklahoma.
Stanley Emmett White, who passed away in 2002, was a 1958 graduate of OU with a bachelor of business administration in accounting. His foundation, the Stanley White Foundation, has taken a leadership role in supporting the Price College of Business Center for Entrepreneurship. The foundation has given more than $1.2 million to the center over the last 12 years for program support and to establish the Stanley E. White Executive Director position, which oversees the entrepreneurship center.
