2019 Honorees

Dr. Charles I. Abramson is a Regents professor and holds the Lawrence L. Boger professorship in International Studies. Over his 26 years at Oklahoma State University he has published almost 300 articles and book chapters. He is also the author or co-author of 20 books. He has received numerous awards for his teaching and research both in the United States and...

Linda Austin is a professor of English at Oklahoma State University and the author of “Automatism and Creative Acts in the Age of New Psychology.” She works in 19th century literature and culture, mostly in Great Britain, and specifically with intersections between physiology, literature, and the fine arts...

K.J. Blocker was born in 1963 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He has spent much of his life trying new things. When he was a boy, he made God-eyes and sold them to make money. Later he began to write songs. He continued in his entrepreneurial spirit by creating The Original Cheesecake Sundae and selling...

Errick Braggs started his career in 1995 after graduating OSU-IT with an associate degree in graphic design. He worked in the advertising agency industry for several years until after the birth of his first child, when he transitioned his career path to corporate, in-house design jobs. In 2008 Errick began working as a senior graphic designer with OSU’s Fire Protection Publications. Not only does he work for Oklahoma’s greatest...

Cindy Brakhage is a Senior Editor with International Fire Service Training Association and Fire Protection Publications. Using her Oklahoma State University degree in English, she has had the opportunity and privilege to work as an editor with IFSTA/FPP for over 35 years. She has worked...

Ben Brock is a senior graphic designer with Fire Protection Publications at Oklahoma State University, a position he has held for the past 20 years. Prior to his full-time employment, Ben interned in the graphics department at FPP and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1999 from Oklahoma State University. He has since collaborated on numerous educational publications, research journals and marketing productions. He currently resides with his wife and daughter in Ponca City, Oklahoma...

After spending 15 years in secondary education in Oklahoma, Colby returned back to his home in Glencoe, Oklahoma. His wife Shelley and he have recently built a home east of Stillwater where they and their four children reside. Between the two of them, they have seven children and five grandchildren. Colby has been a volunteer firefighter for...

Thomas A. Carlson researches the religious and ethnic diversity of medieval Middle Eastern society. The confessionalization of the historical study of the Middle Eastern region, typically framed as Islamic history, excludes the Byzantine Empire and the Crusader States from consideration while including successor states who ruled the same terrain and largely the same society...

An Cheng is a professor of English in the Department of English at Oklahoma State University where he teaches courses in genre studies, writing and research methods. His publications have appeared in the Journal of English for Academic Purposes, English for Specific Purposes, Applied Linguistics, Journal of Second Language Writing and other venues...

Clint Clausing has worked in the editorial department at Fire Protection Publications for 11 years. He graduated from OSU with a BA in English Literature in 1998. Clint has previously authored and/or edited FPP’s “Fire Investigator" 2nd edition, “Fire and Emergency Services Instructor" 8th edition and...

Jonathan Coley holds a doctorate in Sociology from Vanderbilt University and is an assistant professor of Sociology at Oklahoma State University. His research agenda is situated within the fields of social movements and the sociology of religion, focusing on movements for minority-group inclusion within...

Marllon Daniel Cook is a fourth generation concrete finisher. He obtained his Doctorate of Philosophy in Civil Engineering from Oklahoma State University. Dan grew up working for his family owned concrete construction company starting as a laborer and working through the positions of finisher, foreman and estimator...

Carlos Cordova is a professor of Geography at Oklahoma State University. He obtained his doctorate degree at the University of Texas, under the supervision of Karl Butzer. He has undertaken geoarchaeological research in North America, Mexico, the Middle East, Southern Africa, and Crimea and the Black Sea Region and is the author of “Crimea: An Environmental History” and...

Randi Eldevik received a doctorate degree in Comparative Literature from Harvard University in 1987, and she joined the English faculty at Oklahoma State University the same year. Her dissertation was concerned with the Trojan War and with the Latin sources of a medieval Icelandic saga concerning the Trojan War; several of her publications are...

Will Focht is associate professor emeritus at Oklahoma State University. He served as director of several organizations within OSU including the Environmental Science Graduate Program, Undergraduate Certificate Program in Environmental Studies, Graduate Program in Fire and Emergency Management Administration, Institute for Sustainable Environments, and Oklahoma Water Resources Research Institute...

Jeff Fortney is a senior editor at Fire Protection Publications. He has served as project manager on International Fire Service Training Association’s “Plans Examiner" 1st edition, “Industrial Exterior and Structural Fire Brigades" 1st edition, “Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting" 5th edition, “Vehicle Extrication" 3rd edition, “Orientation and Terminology" 5th edition, “Company Officer" 5th edition, “Chief Officer" 3rd edition” “Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting" 6th edition and “Facility Fire Brigades" 2nd edition” manuals...

Fire Protection Publications senior editor Michael Fox made quite a few stops before landing in Stillwater: Cornell University football correspondent; Health & Fitness editor in Florida, oil and gas pipeline journalist in Maryland, and sports agate clerk in his hometown of Utica, New York. Fox came to FPP with degrees in...

Beth Ann Fulgenzi is an instructional developer for Fire Protection Publications. Beth Ann has more than 25 years of professional experience in technical writing and editing, curriculum design and development, proposal development and publications management. She has worked on numerous International Fire Service Training Association curriculum packages over the years...

Ryan Gardner is the associate professor of Trumpet at Oklahoma State University. Originally from Santa Monica, California, Gardner received his Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music with highest distinction, his Master of Music from Rice University - Shepherd School of Music, and his Doctor of Musical Arts from the Manhattan School of Music...

Dr. Graham's research examines the intersection of politics and religion in medieval Europe. Her research interests include sanctity, monastic orders, religious reform and heretical movements and papal politics. Dr. Graham's current book project, Princes, Popes, and Heretics...

G. Michael Grammer is a professor at Oklahoma State University where he holds the Chesapeake Energy Endowed Chair of Petroleum Geology. Mike received his doctorate degree in 1991 from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and specializes in carbonate depositional systems and reservoirs with an emphasis on...

Missy Hannan is a native Oklahoman, wife, mom and a big-hair aficionado. She is a senior graphic designer and has been with Fire Protection Publications for 20 years. She graduated from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma with a degree in graphic art, industrial technology. She started her career at...

Sunderesh S. Heragu is a regents professor, the Donald and Cathey Humphreys Chair and the head of the School of Industrial Engineering and Management at Oklahoma State University. Previously he was the Mary Lee and George F. Duthie Chair in Engineering Logistics in the Industrial Engineering department at the University of Louisville, where he...

Growing up on a black sheep farm in south-central Kansas with Oklahoma Agriculture and Mechanical College-graduate parents, Hughes began teaching adults hand spinning and natural dyeing at the age of five. Education has been Hughes’ lifelong career: teaching grades 7-12 Home Economics at USD #378 Riley County, Kansas; working as an...

Dr. Farida Jalalzai is the Hannah Atkins Endowed Chair, professor and head of the Department of Political Science. Her research analyzes the representation and behavior of women and minorities in politics and the role of gender in the political arena. Her work focuses on women national leaders...

Joshua Jansa is an assistant professor of Political Science at Oklahoma State University. He received his doctorate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2016. His research focuses on topics in American politics and public policy, including interest groups, lobbying, and campaign finance, state politics...

Shelia M. Kennison is a professor of Psychology. She earned her doctorate in Psycholinguistics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and bachelor’s degree in linguistics and psychology from Harvard University. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Psychonomic Society. She has authored numerous works including...

Pedram Khosronejad is the Farzaneh Family Scholar and the associate director for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies Program at the Oklahoma State University and also associated member of Groupe Sociétés, Religions, Laicités, CNRSParis, France. He obtained his doctorate degree at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris...

Allison Lang is a passionate 22-year-old from Tulsa, Oklahoma. She is an Oklahoma State University student majoring in Wildlife Biology and Pre Veterinary Medicine. She loves to help animals and is planning on continuing her education in graduate school this year.

Mary A. Larson is the associate dean for Special Collections and the Puterbaugh Professor of Library Service at the Oklahoma State University Libraries, and she is a two-term past president of the Oral History Association (US). She has worked as an anthropologist and oral historian for more than 30 years, and much of her research has focused on ethics in oral history, particularly relative to evolving technologies. A second area of emphasis...

Jiri was born in Prague, then Czechoslovakia, and moved to the United States in early teens with his family. While in college, Jiri was involved in the free software movement, working on the GNOME desktop environment for Linux...

Lisa Lewis was educated at the Iowa Writers Workshop, Master of Fine Arts, and the University of Houston, doctorate degree. She has received awards from the American Poetry Review, Crazyhorse, and the Missouri Review, as well as a Pushcart Prize, and her poems appear in two editions of Best American Poetry...

Matthew Tyler Ley, Ph.D., P.E., has roughly 20 years of experience in the concrete industry. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in California. Tyler obtained his Bachelors of Science from Oklahoma State University and his Master of Science and Doctorate of Philosophy in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin...

Stephanie Link is an assistant professor of Teaching English as a Second Language and Applied Linguistics. She is also the director of International Composition in the English Department and Graduate College Faculty Fellow...

Jeffrey Loeffert serves as associate professor of Saxophone at Oklahoma State University. A dedicated teacher, Loeffert recently received the Oklahoma State University College of Arts & Sciences Junior Faculty Award for Scholarly Excellence, the Wise-Diggs-Berry Award for Teaching Excellence, and the Friends of Music Distinguished Music Professor Award. Loeffert is...

John is an assistant professor in the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering and a fully licensed professional engineer in the state of Oklahoma. He currently serves as the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service’s state agricultural machinery and technology specialist where his work focuses on the implementation of intelligent machinery and technology into agriculture...

Michael A. Long is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at Oklahoma State University. His research addresses social inequality using political economic theory as applied within the areas of environmental sociology, green criminology, corporate crime and food security and ethical trade...

Born and raised in Arkansas, Brad McLelland spent several years working as a crime journalist in the South before earning his Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Oklahoma State University. In 2016 Brad and his writing partner, Louis Sylvester of Lewiston, Idaho, sold their four-book Western Fantasy middle-grade series to...

Tami L. Moore is an associate professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs and serves as co-director of the OSU Tulsa Center for Public Life. Her scholarly work examines various roles that universities – faculty, students and universities as institutional actors – play in the communities they serve...

Lynne Murnane graduated from George Washington University and has worked as an editor at Fire Protection Publications for 32 years. Once you are promoted to the position of company officer, the knowledge and skills required are not automatically granted to you. The “Company Officer’s Handbook” is based on Robert Murgallis’ own experiences as a new company officer as...

Dr. Jennifer M. Murray is a military historian, with a specialization in the American Civil War, in the Department of History at Oklahoma State University. Murray’s most recent book publication is "On A Great Battlefield: The Making, Management, and Memory of Gettysburg National Military Park, 1933-2013," published by the University of Tennessee Press in 2014. Murray is also the author of...

Angel Muzik has been an instructional developer at Fire Protection Publications since 2014. Before that, she worked as an educator for Stillwater Public Schools and the OSU College of Education. She earned both her bachelor's in Elementary Education and a master’s in Educational Technology from OSU, so she’s orange and black, through and through...

Kelly Naas graduated from Oklahoma State University with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. She joined Fire Protection Publications in 2015 as an Electronic Products Specialist. Before joining the eProducts team at FPP, she was a teacher, softball/golf coach and an IT Department hero for Pryor Public Schools...

Stephen Nemeth is an assistant professor of Political Science at Oklahoma State University. He received his doctorate degree from the University of Iowa in 2010. His research interests include interstate and intrastate conflict, terrorism, and environmental politics.

Dr. Bruce Noden is an assistant professor of Medical and Veterinary Entomology with the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at Oklahoma State University...

Christy Olson began her professional writing career as a full-time lead instructional developer at Fire Protection Publications in 2016. Before joining FPP, she worked with adults with intellectual disabilities for a local nonprofit organization, and before that she was an English undergraduate student at Oklahoma State University. Christy lives in the woods of Coyle, Oklahoma with her...

Clint joined Fire Protection Publications in 2003 as a Senior Graphic Designer. In 1999, he graduated from Oklahoma State University with a Bachelor of Arts. He has done the design for more than 50 fire service training manuals, including “Essentials of Fire Fighting” and “Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting.” In addition to graphic design, he has also done photography for...

Dr. Susana Perea-Fox is an associate professor of Spanish and Latin American Literature at the Department of Languages and Literatures at Oklahoma State University. She obtained her bachelor's degree in Spanish at Oklahoma State University, and her Master of Arts and doctorate degree at the University of...

Dennis R. Preston is a regents professor of linguistics, director of research on the Dialects of English in Oklahoma and co-director of the Center for Oklahoma Studies at Oklahoma State University and University Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Michigan State University. He has been a visiting professor at numerous United States and overseas institutions...

Adrienne Redmond-Sanogo is an associate professor of Mathematics Education at Oklahoma State University and an associate dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Education, Health and Aviation. She began her career at Oklahoma State University in 2009. Her research interests center on connecting students to science, technology, engineering...

Russ Rhinehart, professor and BP Chair emeritus in the School of Chemical Engineering at Oklahoma State University, has 13 years of experience in industry and 29 years in academe. He was head of the School for 13 years. His career interests have been modeling, optimization, and control of processes and products. Rhinehart is a fellow of the International Society of Automation, and served as...

Simone Rowe joined Fire Protection Publications as a lead instructional developer in 2014. She has been a technical writer and editor for more than 15 years, and has had previous careers in nursing and archaeology. For fun, she enjoys digging in the dirt and seeking out obscure museums and traveling with her husband Eric... Rhinehart is a fellow of the International Society of Automation, and served as...

Dr. Jennifer Sanders is a literacy faculty member and the school head of the School of Teaching, Learning & Educational Sciences at Oklahoma State University. Dr. Sanders’ academic passions are developing teachers’ knowledge of effective writing instruction and supporting the literacy learning of underserved students in high-needs communities...

David Schaap is firefighter for Stillwater, Oklahoma, a part-time curriculum developer for Fire Protection Publications and a recipient of a master’s in Professional Writing from Oklahoma State University. He owes his interest and career in the fire service to Fire Protection Publications/International Fire Service Training Association and is...

Originally from Germany, Karin Schestokat is a professor of German in the Department of Languages and Literatures and currently the department head. After getting a Staatsexamen in English and History from the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität in Freiburg, Germany, she obtained a master’s of art in German Studies from the...

Joey Senat, Ph.D., teaches mass communication law and multimedia journalism courses in the OSU School of Media & Strategic Communications. He writes an open government blog for Freedom of Information Oklahoma Inc. and is quoted frequently by national and statewide news outlets on FOI and media law issues. He has spoken on...

Louise Siddons received a doctorate degree from Stanford University and is an associate professor of Art History, teaching courses in American and Native American visual and material culture. She has published on topics from the 18th century to the present and is active as an independent curator and critic. Siddons joined the faculty at Oklahoma State in...

Justin Smola is the electronic products manager for Fire Protection Publications at Oklahoma State University. He began his career at Fire Protection Publications in 2007 after graduating Oklahoma State University with a degree in Management Information Systems. He was part of the team who created...

Ryan Souders hails from an entire family of OSU alumni, moving his own to Stillwater in 2011 when he accepted a graphic design position at his alma mater. An avid mountain biker, photographer, fly-fisherman and barely passable guitarist, Ryan enjoys pursuing a range of hobbies regardless of skill or lack thereof. He can be found most weekends...

Shannon Spaulding is an assistant professor of Philosophy at Oklahoma State University. Her general philosophical interests are in the philosophy of mind, philosophical psychology and the philosophy of science. The principal goal of her research is to construct a philosophically and empirically plausible account of social cognition. She also has research interests in...

Adam Stroud is a visiting assistant professor within the Research and Learning Services Department and has served as an adjunct faculty member teaching Science in the Elementary School Curriculum courses for Oklahoma State University's College of Education, Health and Aviation. His research interests include science, technology, engineering, arts...

Rebecca Weber is the education and teaching librarian at Oklahoma State University. Her research interests include the intersection between curriculum and library services, as well as the disability experience in higher education. She holds a Master’s of Library and Information Science from the University of Oklahoma...

Shelbie Witte is a professor of Adolescent Literacy and English Education and the Chuck and Kim Watson Endowed Chair in Education at Oklahoma State University. She also serves as the director of the Oklahoma State University Writing Project and the founding director of the Initiative for 21st Century Literacies Research...

Anna Zeide is a clinical assistant professor of History at Oklahoma State University. She received her doctorate degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the History of Science, Medicine and Technology. In her 2018 book “Canned: The Rise and Fall of Consumer Confidence in the American Food Industry,” as in all her work, she explores the ways...

Dr. Guoping Zhao is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of philosophy of education, comparative philosophy and Chinese education. Her work covers a broad range of topics including the theories of the subject, ethics, spirituality, democracy and the politics of education, and philosophical dialogue between Western modern and postmodern philosophy...