Key OU Supporters Recognized at March Regents Meeting

By <a href="http://www.ou.edu/publicaffairs">Public Affairs,</a> (405) 325-1701

University of Oklahoma President David L. Boren today announced those newly inducted into OU’s Seed Sower Society, a distinguished group whose support of the University has reached $1 million or more.

The announcement was made at the March meeting of the OU Board of Regents.

They are Jack Counts Jr. of Oklahoma City, The Meinders Foundation based in Oklahoma City, and the Wisdom Family Foundation based in Alva.

“The new members of the Seed Sower Society are truly making a difference in the lives of our students by creating new opportunities for them,” Boren said.

Jack Counts Jr. and his family are longtime donors to OU, supporting the Athletics Department annual fund, Headington Hall housing project and the Sooner Air Program. Jack and his wife, Alison, are both graduates of OU and are still heavily involved on campus. Jack started his business, Candid Color Systems, as a young entrepreneurial-focused student at OU. Alison is an active member of the Tri Delta alumnae chapter and currently serves as President of the Tri Delta Children’s Fund Board of Directors that organizes the annual Art with a Heart event.

The Meinders Foundation has provided significant resources to Harold Hamm Diabetes Center and recently established an endowed fund to support research seed grants and research enrichment awards. The Meinders family, like so many other Oklahoma families, has been personally touched by diabetes and is passionate about helping those affected and ultimately finding a cure. Herman Meinders, president of The Meinders Foundation, has been an active member of Harold Hamm Diabetes Center Board of Advisors since 2011.

The Wisdom Family Foundation has enhanced opportunities in education, the arts and health care for students at OU and for people across Oklahoma. Peggy Wisdom, M.D., a 1972 graduate of the OU College of Medicine, continues her family’s legacy to the state through the family’s foundation. The Wisdom Family Foundation has been a significant supporter of interdisciplinary education programs at the OU Health Sciences Center, which teaches students from multiple health disciplines to deliver care as a team.

The foundation also has been a longtime supporter of Blood and Thunder: Musings on the Art of Medicine, a humanities journal produced by medical students. In addition, the foundation endowed a scholarship for students from five counties in northwestern Oklahoma – the area of the Wisdom family’s roots – who want to attend medical school. More recently, the foundation has established an endowed fund to award residents in the Department of Neurology.