In the last 20 years, there has been a lot of hand-wringing about jazz—specifically what it is, is not and whether anyone still cares enough to draw the line. During the last 20 years, there has been a nearly equal amount of indifference, if not disdain for the whole conversation—not least from the members of the Tulsa-based Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey (JFJO), who this year embark on their third decade of challenging (when not outright ignoring) the stereotypes and rules of “jazz.”
With 2014 being their twentieth anniversary JFJO has used their latest record, “Millions: Live in Denver,” to re-imagine old fan favorites and to demonstrate that they only need one-third of the larger band to create a comparable amount of cacophony.
For the most part, the album is a success. JFJO—which now consists of Brian Haas on keyboards, Chris Combs on guitar and Josh Raymer on drums—has long been championed for their unique compositional sensibilities, many of which shine through here.
Being comprised entirely of reworked material from previous releases, JFJO chose some of their best material from the past 20 years. The resulting album is a nice swatch of the band’s career.
Another staple of the band is each member’s incredible proficiency on their instrument, displayed in full force on “Millions.” Haas sounds as invigorated and excitable as he ever has, shifting between grand piano, Fender Rhodes and bass synthesizer (though his best work comes on the Rhodes). Raymer is a dominating presence behind the drum kit, playing with an unmistakable loping swagger that underscores each track.
For the first time on a JFJO record, Combs gets to work with textures as much as melodies, which provides much of the sonic backdrop for “Millions.” Some of the most genuine and interesting moments on the album come from his mastery of tones and effects, specifically delay, which both maximizes the group’s capacity for noise and adds layers of ambiance not often heard in typical jazz.
Of course, there are many sounds and styles on “Millions” not typically heard in jazz, for better or worse. While much of the record is refreshing at first listen, it is also somewhat exhausting after a period of time.
As heavy and dense as so much of it is, there is a surprisingly small amount of counterweight in the form of open, spacial sections. For example, the track “Slow Breath, Silent Mind” ironically carries over neither, which is what gave the 2007 recording much of its character.
The other obvious problem is that, for all the players’ intellect and experience, the songs seem somewhat formulaic in their disregard for formulas.
Every song seems to follow a basic melody-chaos-melody structure, which can be said about much of the jazz genre, but due to the fairly static instrumentation, many of the middle sections of songs sound awfully similar, and are often not engaging enough. Perhaps it is as simple of a fix as a more detailed arrangement, but at this point JFJO is too smart and too successful to be reduced to chaos every four minutes.
There are bright spots, of course. “I Love Steve Haas,” a daring mixture of electro-punk and Miles Davis, seems to exemplify what JFJO does best. While “Seansong,” an homage to their late drummer, is a beautiful closer and welcome return of Combs’ lapsteel, curiously absent from much of the album.
As fluid an art form as jazz is, most every song has its high and low points, amidst the chaos or outside of it, and at such a micro-level, it mostly comes down to taste anyways.
Although little homogeneous, but never bland, “Millions” is at least a good retrospective. With an album of new material due out this summer, fans should not have to wait long to get their Fred fix.
Moreover, even the rougher spots—such as the aforementioned “Slow Breath”—are never offensive. At worst they are somewhat abrasive and difficult—but Coltrane was abrasive and difficult too. If only history would be so kind to JFJO.
There are no rules that cannot be broken. I’ve learned a lot of things from my three years at the Collegian, but no lesson has been as impactful, or as persistent, as the idea that the rules we thought were so critical, so basic to what we do each week, could be easily shattered.
The paper had transformed. But we soon settled on a new set of rules, although this time much more implicit. “We can’t do that because <insert rule>” turned into “we can’t do that, can we?”
Once again, we challenged the rules. We tried new things we never would have imagined doing just months before. We disregarded the boundaries we thought were limiting us, constraining us to “do what a college newspaper should do”.
And sometimes we made mistakes. And sometimes we went too far.
But overall the paper got better. And almost as importantly it was more fun to make. The monotony of producing the same paper every week turned to excitement to see what we would come up with next.
I’ve learned a lot about journalism in the last three years. I now know more about em dashes and Oxford commas than I ever wished to know. I also learned about the difficulties of running an organization, particularly one staffed with many of your closest friends.
But the lesson I will take away most from my time at the Collegian—and the advice I would like to offer, if you will indulge—is to challenge the rules.
Do not always break them, but always question them.
Some rules are outdated. Some rules were never needed in the first place. Challenge them and change the world.
Kalen Peterson
In four years, I’ve worked for the Collegian as a writer, Sports Editor, Opinion Editor, News Editor, Copy Editor, Distribution Manager and Editor-in-Chief, an average of 1.5 different jobs a year. I’ve experienced it all: from the stress of finishing an issue at 4 a.m. on Sunday to the triumph when we were named one of the top three college papers in the nation, in our size category, by the Society of Professional Journalists.
Why have I stuck with this wonderful, weird, ragamuffin publication for so long? In short, because of the remarkable people I’ve had the privilege of laboring beside. They deserve many accolades for transforming the Collegian into a radically different (and more interesting) beast. Kate Kramer knew how to handle calamity with sangfroid, taking even bankruptcy in stride. Catherine Roberts, my mentor and model in all things journalistic, dared to envision a different future for the paper.
Lucas Forsythe, a man of many talents, knew the value of proper white balance, and showed me how to hold a Canon. Meredith Nelson brought sass and wit and down-to-earth decency to her job. Sarah Szabo, rara avis and loyal friend, proved that the phrase “most unique” is no malapropism.
Stephanie Hice, impeccable and individualistic, has been a delight to know. Let the record state that she is not a hipster. Conor Fellin, from day one, was obviously the man for the job, brilliant and unflappable, taking on the Powers That Be. Patrick Creedon exudes sincerity and dedication, bringing out the best in me and others. Will Bramlett expanded my knowledge of hockey and St. Louis by three orders of magnitude. Will Boogart and Amy Bunselmeyer brought fun to the newsroom while hunting down rogue Oxford commas.
Jill Graves, without whom the whole circus tent would have come apart at the seams, displayed both the patience of Job and the genius of Rembrandt. Morgan Kreuger left California for Oklahoma just to join our newspaper. Kyle Walker, paragon of passion and piquancy, with a predilection for populism, pulled no punches in pursuit of political perfection. Sarah Power stepped fearlessly into the madhouse that is our office and got right to (excellent) work. Anna Bennett brought flair and fire to the paper as State-Run propagandist.
Finally, I salute my partner in crime, Yin to my Yang, and dear friend J.Christopher Proctor. His unwavering drive to make the Collegian great has paid incredible dividends, and I could not have hoped for a worthier successor. J., thank you for the hard work and the fun.
One thing remains. Thank you to our readers (I’m assuming we have a few). This paper is for you, and to create it has been a high honor.
Stephanie Hice
First of all, please accept my sincere thanks for providing me with the wonderful opportunity of working at The Collegian during my time at the University of Tulsa. It is hard to believe that I have worked on such a fabulous project for four years. Time has certainly flown by.
Through my work with The Collegian I have been a part of a team devoted to fostering change and instilling new, creative and intellectual ideas into the minds of our readers. From our in-depth investigations to our light-hearted reviews, our paper has come a long way, and has endured many changes during the past four years.
I have also had the wonderful opportunity to work with such a phenomenal staff. Through our work at The Collegian, we each have grown—matured—into the fine group of adults now ready to put our talents to use throughout the world.
It is difficult to believe that I will no longer be attending TU in the fall. The first shock came when I was not required to enroll for courses, the second, when I received an email highlighting the details of vacating my apartment and the third when I finished laying out the final Variety section of my career.
I will certainly miss TU. I will miss the amazing faculty, my friends and the city itself. In the fall I will be attending graduate school at Iowa State University. Although it will be difficult to up-root once again, I will enter my graduate studies more confident—more empowered—and I owe it all to my time here at TU; each new experience will simply add another notch in my belt, feather in my cap.
With these words, I must bid farewell to The Collegian and my beloved Variety section. The Variety section underwent many changes while I was its editor, and I know that it will continue to grow and develop year after year. In the words of Max Fischer: “Sic Transit Gloria—glory fades”—although the dedication and brilliance of future Collegian staff will never falter, and never diminish. Thank you.
Anna Bennett
Friends, followers, minions, I can’t believe this day has come. I told myself I wouldn’t cry. And because I’m still in denial, I probably won’t. But still.
Let’s be honest; I can’t wait to be done with this stressful college nonsense. It’s been great, but goddammit, I am so tired, you guys. I’m ready to let go of a lot of things, even if they’ve been really good. The Collegian, however, is not one of those things.
In the coming months, someone will probably discover me sleeping in the office, pretending to be the paper’s live-in “advisor.”
I’ve done a lot of things at TU that I’m very proud of (and a few things I’m not, but we won’t get into that) but nothing makes me prouder than looking back on everything we’ve done with this paper over the past few years. I mean, not to brag or anything, but have you seen this damn thing?
I’ve loved being a part of the Collegian’s transformation. It’s been a real honor working alongside these crazy kids. I can’t believe all the stuff J.Chris has let me get away with as State-Run editor this year.
Perhaps the thing I’ve been most thankful for is the diversity of my experience at the paper. I started out writing reviews my sophomore year, then suddenly, I got drafted to be the Photo/Graphics editor. That exposed me to the addictive rush of putting together something out of nothing, and then poof, the next day it’s on newsstands across campus. It’s incredibly rewarding.
I took a semester as a foreign correspondent, then came back as a staff writer. That was a very challenging semester for me; I always considered myself a creative writer, not a journalist. But hey, if these awards are an indication, I learned a few things along the way.
Ever since the infamous 2012 April Fool’s Day issue, the Collegian has been my own personal photoshop training ground. And the success of a humourous issue sowed the seeds of the State-Run Media.
But my time as State-Run editor has truly been my Magnum Opus as a newspaper man, a humorist and a senior. I will be forever grateful for this opportunity to be as ridiculous as possible, to photoshop nipples onto the Golden Driller and to write a recipe including the phrase “stupid whore feet.”
I am also really honored that even after all that, my fellow editors still take me seriously. I’ve reveled in being Lord of the Bullshit, but the fact that I can still have input on content, propose ideas and generate graphics has really made my experience here meaningful.
It’ll be my time here, the skills I’ve learned at this paper, that I put on my resume and try to use to be taken seriously as an adult. I’ll be moving to Chicago as soon as I can afford it, and while I’ll still pursue my dream of being an actor and comedienne, I’m going to need a day job. I sure as hell hope I can find a newspaper staff as fabulous as these guys.
Patrick Creedon
Just minutes ago, I finished laying out my last Commentary Section ever, just one of 47 issues that have been my direct vision for what a section dedicated to student thought should look like. I had no idea that I would be here two years ago. I asked for the Opinion Editor job in September 2012 because I knew there was a vacancy, and I was tired of walking the two miles to Cherry Street for my restaurant job. I knew nothing of the process that goes into creating a newspaper every week or of soliciting ideas that people would find interesting. Only time will determine whether or not my contributions to this paper were of any worth.
Despite tenuous contributions, I now know way more of what goes into producing a coherent argument than I did during the first half of my career at TU. I learned that sometimes form should take precedent over function, especially when that function is loud, incoherent and slightly racist. Being balanced in focus is only useful to a community when both sides are articulate. Additionally, if you’re adamant enough, people will totally latch onto silly ideas. Visit the Room of Truth in our office for an example. I was also fortunate enough to learn just how important Sundays were to my productivity and gracious enough to mourn their loss.
Basically, this job was probably the best I ever could have asked for at the University of Tulsa. I got to produce something that became physical every week with people I respected immensely, people who became good friends and colleagues. This work has led to a satisfaction with both my life and with TU that I had not experienced before my time with the paper. To Kalen Petersen and J.Christopher Proctor, I must say thank you for letting me play journalist with you. To the Collegian’s readers, I thank you for reading the content that I thought was interesting enough to print. As I move to Columbus this fall to pursue a PhD in psychology, I cannot wait to see what comes from this section next year.
Amy Jo Bunselmeyer
When I was a freshman at the activities fair I signed up to be on the Collegian’s email list because I liked to write and I was looking for ways to get involved on campus. I quickly became involved in lots of things, and unfortunately the Collegian wasn’t one of them. It wasn’t until this semester – my final one here at TU – that I actually became a part of this paper.
I wish I had followed through freshman year, because then I could have worked along side all these wonderful people for even longer. I was welcomed as a copy editor and ended up writing some as well, and in the process I have built friendships that I know are going to last even when I move to New York in the fall.
I have loved writing and editing for the Collegian and I am truly going to miss it and all the Collegian staff next year. Thank you for a wonderful semester!
Year’s end brings exciting opportunities for TU students
By Sara Douglas
Staff Writer
The University of Tulsa is chock-full of winners, both of awards and life—that means you, awesome person! Our student body accomplishes a lot academically, athletically, artistically, and otherwise, especially for being a small school.
Recently, achievements have been highlighted by the 17th Annual Research Colloquium, awarding of nationally competitive scholarships, and conferences to which student organizations have been invited.
The Research Colloquium was a weeklong event during which 205 TU students gave 20-minute oral presentations over their research projects, or created a poster for their work to be displayed in a poster session.
Photo courtesy Caitlin Pegg. Caitlin Pegg was an NSF winner.
Photo courtesy James Johnston. James Johnston won a Fulbright grant.
Photo courtesy Jo Bunselmeyer. Weston Kightlinger, NSF and Tau Beta Pi scholarship winner, holds a shark he found on the TU Treks spring break trek to Texas last year.
Photo courtesy Michael Nguyen. Goldwater winner and biology and chemical engineering major Devin Stranford (right) sits alongside fellow chemical engineering major Alex Chong.
A total of 24 special topic sessions, plus one for community service, were each comprised of typically six presentations and had three to four judges present to determine the best presenter in each session, along with the overall 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners of the Colloquium.
First place at the Colloquium was won by Samuel Marzouk, who presented his research, “Correlates of Drug Use Among Women During Treatment: A Prospective Study”, in the Psychology session. Second place was taken by Joanne Ishak, a Mechanical Engineering student whose research was entitled “Fatigue Life Improvement via Autofrettage: Overview and Numerical Simulation”.
Third place was a four-way tie between Sara Douglas, Melissa Miller, Yalin Yang, and Alec Wright, who presented in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, Anthropology, Contemporary Issues in Education Policy and Practice, and Rainforest Ecology, respectively.
Other students who were honored at the Research Colloquium’s Award Banquet included all of the Best in Session winners, those who scored highest in their particular session.
The following students were given this award: Kalli Hannam, Sarah Pook, Justin Rankin, Kaylen Wood, Mitchell Trafford, Kelly Lacey, McKenna Leclear, Kenan Tawaklna, Connor McGariety, Abdulah Mahayni, J. Christopher Proctor, Christopher Burnworth, Laura Bryant, Matthew Whittaker, Scott Gove, Babak Akbari, Maria Puhl, and Jill Sandberg. Also, the Community Service Symposium’s best presentation, M.A.D.E. at TU, was by Katy Riojas and Megan Shewey, while Thomas Gaus and Maria Castaneda were awarded Best Presentation and Honorable Mention, respectively, in the Poster Session.
We’ve also had more than a few students here at TU win highly competitive scholarships and grants recently; the amount of scholarships won this year is impressive considering the size of our student body.
We have two Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship winners on campus, both juniors, out of 283 science, math, and engineering Goldwater Scholars in the nation: Devin Stranford, a Chemical Engineering and Biology major, and Mitchell Trafford, a Mathematics and Chemical Engineering student.
The philosophers of old were driven by their desire to know empirically what made up not only the world but man. This desire oft went unfulfilled due to the mercurial nature of people’s consciousness and the inherent biases of the individual philosophers.
The nature of the mind has always fascinated those philosophers, but it was not until the late 1800s that anyone resembling a scientist began to tackle the problem of ascertaining individual variations in thought. That was when Wilhelm Wundt set up the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig.
In fact, psychology is the most popular major in the Henry Kendall College of Arts and Sciences here at the University of Tulsa. If the major is so ubiquitous in contemporary academic life, it becomes important to discuss its utility.
The purpose of a contemporary undergraduate stint in college is often said to be to develop skills and expertise that make someone more attractive to the world of business.
What does a degree in psychology do for the typical student when the goal of most psychology curricula is to produce competencies and comprehension of psychological theory and studies? A whole lot, actually.
Because most psychology classes focus sheerly on the comprehension of a potentially esoteric knowledge base, especially when few high schools give much of a grounding in the field beyond AP Psychology, students learn to take in a large amount of information and process it in ways relevant to everyday life.
Even outside of the disciplines of mental health and social work, psychology majors are being increasingly sought after by businesses for expertise in working with people. Whether or not those skills actually come from a psychology program is not for me to say, as my experience of a psychology curriculum is limited to the University of Tulsa.
TU’s Department of Psychology has been instrumental to my growth as someone who might one day be considered an academic.
I was originally attracted to the major because I liked the AP class I had taken in high school, and I thought that the experiments in psychology were, and I quote, “hella cool.”
I was quickly convinced by the department’s faculty and older students that the only way to do anything interesting in psychology that did not involve clinical or social work would be to get a PhD and do research.
That may have been a slight exaggeration on their part, but what I developed over the past several years here was a deep reverence for the process of conducting research and communicating scientifically.
This process was ameliorated by TU’s psychology program being so willing to work with undergraduate students.
I once walked into a professor’s office with little to no preamble and asked if he had any projects to work on, and a year later we were on a plane to New Orleans to present research at a national psychology conference.
The study of psychology has exploded in a way that the field’s fathers William James or Edward Titchener could not have foreseen in the early 1900s. However, its study opens up so many doors for students wishing to do a myriad of different things, whether it be academia, mental health, industry, or business.
Getting a degree in psychology gives students the capacity for complex analysis; they just need to take initiative to find what they want to do with those skills.
TU student Jade Moon Dittus to showcase work at The Phoenix
By Helen Patterson
Staff Writer
Jade Moon Dittus, a senior Fine Arts Major at TU, will debut her paintings and prints in a show entitled “Pieces” throughout the month of May at The Phoenix, located at 1302 E. 6th Street. The Phoenix regularly displays the work of an Artist of the Month without cost to the artist. Jade will be the first TU student to have a show there. She is very enthusiastic about working with The Phoenix. She says that “it’s always about the artist there.” There is an opening reception at The Phoenix on Thursday, May 1 from 6–9 p.m.
As part of her graduation requirements as a fine arts major, Jade was required to put together her own show. She had to find the venue herself and do all of the advertising, which was a daunting and time-consuming process. However, it all came together in “Pieces.”
The show will have between fifteen and twenty pieces ranging from small etches to a huge oil painting. Jade works mostly in oil paintings, monotypes and etches. Though she only discovered it in the fall of 2012, oil painting is Jade’s current favorite medium. She says “it gives a whole other texture” to her painting, a texture lacking in acrylic paints or watercolors. Printmaking and monotypes are also relatively new to her. She has enjoyed learning these and other techniques and fusing them with her own personal style during her time at TU.
After her May graduation, Jade wants to continue to hone her artistic skills. In the upcoming year, she is looking into travelling around the country to different studios and workshops where she can study with experienced artists and build up her portfolio. She is looking into several graduate schools which offer MFAs in painting, including SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) in Georgia and AI (Art Institute) in California. In the future, she wants to be a full-time artist, and possibly the owner of a small café, vintage and gallery venue and/or an art instructor.
Jade will also have a piece displayed during the TU Arts and Humanities Festival on Tuesday, April 29 from 1–5 p.m.
In celebration of Dan Patten’s recently announced candidacy for city council, we at the Collegian are taking a look back at some of the best articles written by or about Patten while he was at TU.
Below: Taken from the April 7, 2009, issue, this letter by James Santucci advocates Patten in the upcoming presidential election and professes the belief that Patten is capable of being in multiple places at once.
Above right: In this Oct. 27, 2009, letter, Patten announces his first use of the presidential veto, killing a bill to make the Caf trayless.
Below right: By April 6, 2010, Patten’s term was drawing to a close. In this letter, he describes the up-and-coming SA executive candidates with some truly groan-worthy rhymes.
Dan Patten, a University of Tulsa alumnus and Student Association’s president during the 2009–2010 school year, entered the race for the District 4 seat of Tulsa City Council on April 15. Patten will be running against incumbent and Blue Ox Dining Group owner Blake Ewing.
The Collegian talked to Patten about the race, his time at TU and his plans for Tulsa.
Though he has been involved in student government as far back as he can remember, Patten describes his time with SA as the first time he had to deal with constituents.
“When I ran as SA president, I thought I had a lot of great ideas as to how I wanted the school to be,” Patten said. When he was elected, however, he found that “you have a lot of competing interests, and most everyone has a pretty valid point on why they want something the way it is or the way it should be.”
“I wanted to be president...when I saw Danny Patten’s leadership in that office,” said John Lepine, then a freshman senator who would go on to take the presidency in 2012.
Patten first became involved in local politics when he served as campaign manager for Dewey Bartlett in the most recent Tulsa mayoral election.
“Even though (Bartlett) was speaking at events, a lot of times I was speaking for him,” Patten said, “and I was handling the constituents’ concerns. That was when I was figuring out what it was going to be like running for city councillor.”
Patten is now running for city counsel on a platform of fiscal conservativism, road development and improved public safety.
Patten denied concerns that, as Bartlett’s former campaign manager, he would be “the mayor’s puppet.” When asked how his policy would differ from Bartlett’s, he said, after a short pause, that he would be a little more willing than Bartlett to invest in Tulsa’s future.
Patten commented upon the difficulty of running against Ewing, the incumbent District 4 city councilor and owner of the restaurant conglomerate Blue Ox Dining Group, which among others includes Joe Mamma’s and the Phoenix. However, recalling his tough race to become SA president, Patten expressed confidence in his ability to win.
To pull that off, Patten plans to spend his time door-to-door campaigning in the months between now and the Nov. 4 election.
When asked if he had any advice for the newly incumbent Michael Mancini, Patten kept it simple. “Have fun,” he said. “Being SA president was one of the most fun years of my life.”
On April 15, the St. Louis Rams offered $100,000 to anyone who could correctly guess the team’s entire regular season schedule. Of course, my first thought was, “Hey, I’d like to move on and forget my terrible March Madness bracket. Just maybe I’ll get lucky this time!”
But then the reality hit me harder than sobriety hits a gambling addict, because the promotion stipulates that you must guess the correct opponents for each week AND the bye week AND the day of the week for each game. And, boy, does the NFL love its Thursday night games.
So I’m going to be the first to tell you: the Rams are a tease. They’ve given me hope every single year for over a decade, yet I still pine for the sweet aroma of playoff football. This contest is no different; your dreams will be crushed. But I, a desperate lover, will inevitably crawl back to them. And despite my better judgment, I’ll enter the contest. So I write this for your sake: get out while you still can!
The Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin, known for his flopping and Academy-Award-worthy acting in Kia commercials, found yet another opportunity to employ his dramatic skills in the first playoff game against the Golden State Warriors. After fouling out, Griffin was anything but neighborly to his in-state comrades when he decided to get back at an especially vocal Warriors fan. Griffin “accidentally” dumped his cup of water on the fan while watching the replay of his final foul. However, it doesn’t take a Juilliard professor to notice that Griffin’s acting needed some work. As it stands, Griffin’s capability is a notch below Shaquille O’Neal’s in Kazaam. Maybe Michael Jordan could lend a hand?
In another NBA playoff contest, the shot clock ceased functioning during the third quarter of the Raptors-Nets matchup. After failing to install temporary shot clocks, the Raptors resorted to a PA countdown, which concluded with the announcer saying “horn” when the clock expired.
I would’ve enjoyed the countdown, perhaps even joining in myself, while pretending to be in a spaceship, but the incident isn’t the best PR for the Raptors, who made the playoffs for the first time since 2008. And it doesn’t exactly help that the Raptors GM Masai Ujiri uninhibitedly proclaimed, “F*** Brooklyn!” at a recent fan rally. Didn’t his mother teach him that, if he didn’t have anything nice to say, he shouldn’t say anything at all?
In the first game of the playoff series between the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues, unstoppable rage enveloped Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville after a non-call. In a blind fury, to properly convey the gravity of the situation to the officials, Quenneville grabbed his crotch, which later resulted in a $25,000 fine. It doesn’t even cost that much to have someone else grab your crotch!
Quenneville later apologized, calling the gesture “Bush league,” a comment which Quenneville didn’t fully consider before saying.
The NCAA finally approved unlimited meals for student athletes, which is great news for athletes and even greater news for moochers. In a totally unrelated note, I’m seeking student athletes as friends. I enjoy long walks along Riverside, watching the sun set on the Old U, and I tell lots of jokes, some of which are funny.
Thanks for reading this year. If you enjoy the column, spread the word. And I’ll see you in the fall!
The Tulsa women’s softball team has been performing exceptionally well all season, consistently pulling in wins that have vaulted them to the No. 1 position in our conference and landed them the No. 20 spot in the NCAA. Our softball team currently holds a 41–5 record overall, having only lost one home game and two within C-USA.
No losses were incurred by the Golden Hurricane, only by the three teams they beat in the five-game series. During the Georgia Tech-Kennesaw State Crossover, our team won all but one of their matches; Georgia Tech outpaced them by just one run in the penultimate game of the series.
At home, the softball women always rule their field, a fact they demonstrated initially at the Tulsa Invitational on the first weekend of March and which has held true since then. Just one team, one time, has managed to take a lead on our home turf. East Carolina beat Tulsa two Saturdays ago in an energetic game during which they scored ten runs while we only managed two, even though the preceding game of that day’s double-header had seen us outpace them 11–9.
A 17-game winning streak steadily advanced our team to the top of the standings, as they swept series against Western Illinois, Marshall, Charlotte and UTEP; our final game against UTEP was an outstanding no-hitter thrown by our pitcher Aimee Creger in which we accomplished 13 runs. The women also won single games facing Arkansas, Bradley, Missouri State (an impressive 11–0 shutout), Wichita State and Central Arkansas throughout March. A 4–2 loss to University of Alabama at Birmingham brought that trend to an end, but it was the only game they gave up to UAB of a three-game match.
Over this past weekend, the team traveled to San Antonio, Texas to play UTSA. TU defeated the Roadrunners 4–0 in the first game of a double-header Friday, but needed to play four extra innings in the second game which TU won 12–11. TU swept the series by beating UTSA 2–1 Saturday afternoon.
More than a few of Tulsa softball’s games this season have been won by spectacular pitching performances by Aimee Creger, who is one of the Top 25 Finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year along with her teammate Jill Barrett. Creger is first in the nation in strikeouts per seven innings at 12.2, and this season she has pitched six shutouts, three no-hitters and three one-hitters; her opponent batting average is a meager .125.
Barrett has led our team to victory with three home runs this season and a .487 batting average that sets her at second in the nation. Her 42 total runs scored have also delivered us multiple games.
For those of you who have not been out to see a softball game, Tulsa will face Middle Tennessee in a double-header on Saturday, April 26, beginning at 1 p.m. and then the two teams will play again at noon on Sunday. Tulsa and Oklahoma State will also face off in Stillwater, Okla. Wednesday at 7 p.m. and in Tulsa a week later at 5 p.m.
With the help of a search firm, University of Tulsa Athletic Director Derrick Gragg and President Steadman Upham labored for two weeks to find a new coach after previous men’s basketball coach Danny Manning departed for Wake Forest on April 4.
After a laundry list of candidates, including Mercer’s Bob Hoffman and Valparaiso’s Bryce Drew, Gragg and Upham swiftly decided on the University of Missouri’s Frank Haith, penning him to a seven-year contract, worth roughly $1.3 million per year. After initial contact on Thursday, TU officially announced Frank Haith as its 30th men’s basketball head coach.
After his initial weekend of press conferences and radio appearances as Tulsa’s head coach, Mizzou fans were quick to point out his comical gaffes. Nothing evidenced the rapidity of Haith’s hire more than his apparent lack of awareness of the University of Tulsa. During his first press conference, Haith lauded Tulsa’s move to “the Atlantic,” while Tulsa, of course, will be joining the American Athletic Conference.
Haith flattered the Tulsa fanbase with the bold claim that, “It had to take a place like [Tulsa] to leave Missouri.” However, to even the most delusioned Hurricane fans, the compliment sounded too good to believe.
Given Haith’s checkered past, to say that fans view the hiring as controversial is an understatement. Haith was convicted and punished by the NCAA for paying $10,000 to a booster while head coach at the University of Miami, an institution not exactly known for the integrity of its athletic department.
Nonetheless, Haith checked out with Gragg, a former director of compliance and operations at the University of Missouri, and Upham, a former NCAA board member who oversaw Haith’s Miami incident. If any two collegiate administrators could vindicate Haith and justify a career resurrection, Gragg and Upham would be among the two most qualified.
Haith compiled a 76–28 record during his three-year tenure at Mizzou, including two NCAA Tourney appearances and one NIT appearance. While Haith never carried the Tigers deep into the Big Dance as his predecessor, Mike Anderson, did, Haith perpetuated a high level of success in Columbia.
Mizzou fans may soon suffer according to the old adage, “you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.” Despite all the disapproval, Haith boasted a resume with three consecutive postseason appearances.
Despite Haith’s promise, there are nonetheless legitimate reasons for hesitation. Though Haith’s violations cleared with Stead and Gragg, they still happened. After recently having an athletic director fired for gambling on collegiate games, Tulsa’s fairly clean history can’t use another blemish.
Having reached the postseason three years straight, Haith choked faster than Bartolo Colon at an all-you-can-eat buffet. After winning AP Coach of the Year in 2012, Haith’s Tigers compiled a 30-win season, then lost in the first round to Norfolk State. After earning another shot in 2013, Haith’s squad fell to Colorado State in its first matchup. This year, Haith earned a decent 22–11 record, but was relegated to the NIT, losing to Southern Miss in the second round.
Notably, Haith’s record worsened with each year, a downward trend that everyone hopes is a fluke. The declining record could suggest that Haith couldn’t win with his own players, instead living off the scraps that Anderson left behind. However, Haith’s greatest strength may be his recruiting.
After his first two years at Mizzou, Haith couldn’t crack Rivals.com’s top 30 recruiting classes. Yet, for 2014, Haith reeled in the nation’s 27th best recruiting class, including two top-100 recruits. Haith’s successful shift in recruiting could bode well in the future, perhaps drawing national talents into Tulsa.
Haith’s future is like a mystery bag of Jelly Beans, you could eat poop or you could Dr. Pepper. You won’t know for certain until Haith’s Tulsa squad takes the floor In the fall. Nonetheless, the hire—and salary—represent an official end to complacency in Tulsa athletics. As evidenced by Gragg’s demand for a former head coach, the school will no longer settle for no-name assistants, bargain coaches or prolonged mediocrity. The Doug Wojcik era couldn’t seem further away. And the Frank Haith era couldn’t appear much more exciting.
This is the last issue of the Collegian until September, but sporting events in Tulsa do not take a break while we are gone. Here are a few things to do for those of you staying in Tulsa this summer.
The Tulsa Drillers began play at the beginning of April and currenly are one game back from the first place Springfield Cardinals in the Texas League North division. The team has 60 regular season games remaining in the home stadium, ONEOK Field, in downtown Tulsa.
There is a promotional offering of some sort at nearly every Drillers game. General admission for Tuesday games is just $2. A hot dog, a 21oz. soda, a soft pretzel, popcorn or a slice of Mazzio’s pizza also will only cost fans $2 each on Tuesday. Lastly, a 12 oz. Corona costs only $2 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Wednesday night games are “Bark in the Park” night where fans are allowed to bring their dogs to the lawn seats past the outfield.
Fans can enjoy a $1 12 oz. beer or 16 oz. soda Thursday night. There will be fireworks following Friday and Saturday games.
If you need more soccer following the World Cup in June, the Tulsa Athletics of the National Premier Soccer League will be playing in Old Drillers Stadium.
The team returns to action in a friendly match against the Fort Worth Vaqueros in the Red River Cup on Friday, May 2 at 6 p.m. The final match of the Red River Cup is the following day at the same time.
Their season will begin on the road against the Vaqueros May 9. The team will also play in Oklahoma City against Oklahoma City FC on May 25 before returning to Tulsa for the team’s first home game of the season is on May 30 against the Joplin Demize at 7:30 p.m in Old Drillers Stadium.
The Old Drillers Stadium, at 15th & Yale, has been completely repainted and cleaned up plus the pitch has been expanded in the team’s off-season to make for a better soccer-going experience. Single game tickets start at just $5 and season tickets cost as little as $40.
The roster for the Athletics is filled with many current and former TU and ORU soccer players.
If you are looking for a team in a top-tier league, look no further than the Tulsa Shock of the WNBA. The team, which plays in the BOK Center, has a preseason matchup against the San Antonio Stars on Friday, May 2 at 11:30 a.m.
The team begins their fifth season in Oklahoma and their first with second overall draft pick Odyssey Sims two weeks later against the Minnesota Lynx at 7 p.m. The Lynx are the defending WNBA regular season and WNBA Finals champions.
Tickets start at just $9, and, like the Drillers, the Shock have many theme and promotion nights. The Shock will also appear on ESPN2 when they travel to Chicago to play the Chicago Sky at noon on June 22.
The New York Liberty, the most popular team in the league, will be in Tulsa on June 10 for an 11:30 a.m. game and the Shock will face the Liberty in Madison Square Garden on July 1 with tip-off set for 6 p.m.
The UFC will be coming to the BOK Center two days before classes start. This is the first UFC event in Tulsa since “UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors” at Expo Square Pavilion in December 1994. The fight on Aug. 23 will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1.
The Oklahoma City Thunder and Oklahoma City Barons are also both in the playoffs. Plus, TU is hosting the NCAA D1 women’s golf championship beginning May 20.
Or you can just ogle the lovely new football posters all summer.
Spring collegiate seasons are winding down. The Conference USA men’s and women’s tennis tournaments were played over the weekend. The conference’s women’s teams traveled to Norfolk, Va., and the men’s teams came to the University of Tulsa.
Tulsa entered both tournaments as the top seed, earning a free pass to the quarterfinals.
In the women’s team’s first match of the tournament on Friday, the Golden Hurricane held off the ninth seed Blue Raiders from Middle Tennessee 4–3 in a lengthy battle that would last nearly six hours.
Photo by Sara Douglas. The TU men’s tennis team finished their stay in Conference USA on home court by winning the end-of-season C-USA tournament for the seventh time in nine years.
Photo by Sara Douglas. James Flanders had two rushing touchdowns over 40 yards in the half-field scrimmage in the football team’s spring game and true freshman Jabe Burgess was five-of-eight passing for 64 yards and two touchdowns.
Photo by Will Bramlett. The TU men’s soccer team played their cross-town rivals, the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles, to a nil-nil draw in an exhibition match Friday night at Hurricane Stadium. The team plays Creighton at home on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
Photo by Will Bramlett. The TU women’s rowing team put on a show for Golden Hurricane fans who made the trip to Catoosa, Okla. early Saturday morning. A Tulsa boat finished first, beating SMU and Creighton, in all seven races of the eighth Lawless Cup. The Lawless Cup is named for former TU President, Dr. Robert Lawless, and his wife, Marcy.
The marathon win earned the Golden Hurricane the right to play the Marshall Thundering Herd in the semi-finals. While not another six-hour match, the teams battled for nearly four hours, but TU held off another determined opponent by a score of 4–2.
Tulsa faced the defending conference champions and No. 29. ranked Rice Owls Sunday morning. The Owls, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, jumped out to a 3–0 lead which was too much for TU to catch. The Owls beat the Golden Hurricane 4–2.
The men’s team’s first match was also Friday afternoon. The Golden Hurricane would start the tournament by dominating the Southern Miss Golden Eagles 4–0.
The Golden Hurricane showed its force again Saturday by devastating the Rice Owls with another 4–0 victory.
Tulsa’s win would bring the Golden Hurricane back to a place it has become very familiar with since TU joined Conference USA in 2005: the conference title match. The Golden Hurricane has played for the men’s tennis title every year as a member of Conference USA.
In all of those matches, TU has only lost twice. In 2013, TU lost as the top seed 4–2 to the No. 2-seed Memphis Tigers and top-seeded Tulsa lost to the second seed Rice Owls 4–2 in 2010.
The team’s determination to leave Conference USA on top paid off Sunday afternoon as the Golden Hurricane once again took home first place with another 4–0 victory, this time over No. 2 seed Tulane Green Wave.
The NCAA men’s regionals will begin May 8 while the women’s NCAA regionals begin the next day. The seeding for the NCAA tournament will be announced at 4 p.m. on April 29 on NCAA.com. Following that, the women’s bracket will be released at 4:30 p.m.
Both tournaments will finish in Athens, Ga. at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex at the University of Georgia beginning May 15 and running through May 26.
The TU rowing team hosted the eighth Lawless Cup Regatta in Catoosa, Okla. Saturday morning. Teams from SMU and Creighton traveled to Oklahoma to compete.
Fans lined up alongside the Verdigris River to watch the Golden Hurricane finish a boat in first place in all seven races.
The Varsity 4+ boat finished the race, which went from approximately the I-44 bridge to the finish line just before the OK-66 bridge, with a time of 7:36.34, more than 18 seconds ahead of the second place boat from Creighton.
Tulsa’s Varsity 8+ boat had a fantastic run, finishing the race with a time of 6:38.5, edging out the boats from SMU and Creighton which finished with a time of 6:45.27 and 6:51.28, respectively.
Next up for the team is the UCF Invitational in Orlando, Fla. this Saturday and Sunday.
The University of Tulsa and the Tulsa Sports Commission will be hosting the NCAA D1 women’s golf national championship at the Tulsa Country Club. The championship runs from May 20 to May 23.
Conor Fellin: We’re looking at the end of the second year since your return to TU. What have those last two years looked like for you?
Steadman Upham: My gosh, they have gone so fast. It is remarkable. I was 74 days into retirement when I got the phone call and to be honest with you the first few weeks of retirement I was pretty restless. I didn’t have the routine that I normally had, but after 74 days, I was settling in.
But coming back has been terrific. I realized, in coming back, how much I loved this place and how special the University is. You know, sometimes God just opens up opportunities for you, and you just have to go with the flow. What it said to me was my work’s not done here.
CF: Do you tend to see the years after Orsak as being continuous with the years before him?
SU: Well, I think it was your paper that called me the Grover Cleveland of the University of Tulsa.
In my mind, it’s continuous. Seventy-four days is really not long enough to see a separation. Although quite a few things changed while I was gone, nothing irrevocable. We’re very much back on track.
CF: Is there a retirement time in the works right now, or is that something that’s still undetermined?
SU: To be honest with you, it’s undetermined, but the board of trustees is working on a package that would be probably another couple of years. There’s no agreement, but it’s being proposed. I’m talking to my wife about it, because we’re partners in this. She works as hard as I do for the University. So we’ll see, but my anticipation is I’ll be here for another couple of years. Maybe longer, maybe three.
J.Christopher Proctor: When you first came back, we just assumed it would be a quick band-aid until we could get someone new, but it’s been great having you stay.
SU: The way that transition occurred, there was a lot of talk about what would be the right time to go back into a search process. To have another one right then probably would have damaged the institution a little bit. It’s been easy to stay. I love this place.
CF: What is the typical day in the life of Steadman Upham like?
SU: Every day is different. And that’s one of the fascinating things about the job. Even if you have a schedule laid out, like I do for every day, you just never know what is going to land on your desk or walk through the door. In a lot of respects, we’re like a small city. We have 4600 students. We’ve got 1200 employees. There are all kinds of people coming on and off campus. Because of that, things happen. It’s life in action. And there are unexpected opportunities that arise and take you off your schedule. I need to call this person, or I need to call that person. It’s a great job, but it’s always different.
CF: Can you think of a specific day that you were surprised by what the day brought you?
SU: Routinely. It happens several times a week, actually.
April 4 was my birthday, and so I woke up thinking, “Oh my gosh, I’m gonna come in and everybody’s going to be telling me how old I am.” The very first thing that happened is I got a call from Danny Manning saying he was leaving. He did such a great job for us. I just wish him the best. That set in motion a process that’s consumed me for two weeks.
JCP: It’s always so nice when these coaching searches are finally over.
SU: Yeah, and there’s always second-guessing. You’ve just got to close your ears and not read the paper.
JCP: What is your favorite part about being president?
SU: I certainly like working with students. That’s what brought me into the university in the first place. I taught for many years before I got into administration. Every time I’ve had an administrative job, whether it’s been a dean or a vice provost or whatever, I’ve found ways to continue to interact with students, even if it’s just driving a golf cart across campus and stopping to talk to students. That’s what keeps me going.
CF: What’s your least favorite part about being president?
SU: Oh, golly, all the issues that require dispute resolution. That’s probably the nicest way to say it. In a big organization, not everybody gets what they perceive is coming to them. So you need to adjudicate.
JCP: If you could get a degree in something other than your college major and what you’ve taught, what would it be?
SU: My degree is in archaeology, and about halfway through my career, I realized that I was limiting myself in my study of the past. I got involved reading a lot of paleontology, because the time depth goes all the way back to basically the first organisms on the planet. My son’s working on that. At that time—I don’t remember what year it was—he was just a preteen, and I was doing a lot of talking about that at home. He just finished his PhD in evolutionary biology, which is a combination of mamology (the study of mammals) and paleontology. So I’m living vicariously through his accomplishments in the paleontological realm.
JCP: Yeah, I was expecting something like business or “how to run a university.” But paleontology? That’s more interesting.
CF: Or something related to your painting.
SU: That’s strictly avocational.
CF: Actually, could you tell us a little bit about your artwork?
SU: I’ve painted on and off my entire life. You know, I don’t know exactly how to describe it. It’s an outlet for me. It’s peaceful. It’s solitary. The style of painting that I do requires concentration, and it’s sort of Zen-like after a couple of hours, so it’s really relaxing.
I guess that’s why I do it, but I also like the end product. I love color. I love texture.
JCP: In the off-chance that any future university presidents are reading this interview, do you have any advice for them?
SU: You know, one of the things you learn after being president a long time is that advice to a potential president is probably not terribly welcome.
The first thing I would say is being president is an eating job, sometimes three meals on the job, sometimes more than three meals if you get double-scheduled for a dinner or a lunch.
There’s an incredibly important pastoral function that goes along with the job. People look to you for advice and making the right decision and creating the right kind of atmosphere.
A new president suffers from the five-pound rule; for every one of the first five years a person is president, they gain five pounds a year. If you’re not careful, it can begin to slow you down. I’ve been through those cycles.
Other than that, I’d say it’s a fabulous job. Anyone who has the opportunity to be the president of a university is very privileged.
JCP: There are fears among some students who are more football inclined that we might be turning back into a basketball school like we were in the early 2000s. What are your thoughts about that?
SU: My mantra is, if we’re going to participate in any endeavor, we need to work as hard as we can to be participants at the highest level. It was only a short two years ago that we were 11–2, went to a conference championship and went to the Liberty Bowl where we beat a Big 12 team. I’m not terribly worried about football. Last season was disappointing, and the first person who would tell you that is Bill Blankenship. He was very challenged and upset about the season. He’s working hard. His coaches are working hard. We’ll be better this year, how much better I don’t know.
We’re committed to the Division I profile. I don’t think our alumni or the boosters of the university, and certainly not the board of trustees, want any diminishment of our competitive edge. So we’ll do our best.
JCP: As a history major, I have a bit of an issue; we don’t have a history professor that specializes in European history anytime after the fall of the Roman Empire and before the Russian Revolution. That’s a pretty big gap for a history department to have. I know in the state of the university you discussed how it’s really only in the last four years that we’ve had this exodus of students from the arts and sciences. Is that something that the university’s wanting to fight against, or are we just going to let what happens happen and adapt to it?
SU: This year, for the very first time, we have changed our financial aid strategies to encourage students who are interested in arts and sciences to actually come to TU. The change in the balance is not a problem—we’re managing it well—but the arts and sciences college really represents the core of the liberal arts, and we’re a liberal arts university. We don’t want to be overly weighted so that we are perceived as a technical university like Rice University or MIT. That’s not our aspiration. We really want to balance it.
We’ve added a lot of faculty and resources in engineering and natural sciences to keep pace with the student growth. We have very good faculty members who have said precisely what you just said about the gaps. Actually, the gap in history is probably closer to the top of the list. As soon as we can stimulate some more student growth, which I think we’re going to see this year, there will be additional resources.
JCP: While we’re talking about changes for next year, will we be putting students in the Aloft again?
SU: We hope not. There’s a real issue when you have enrollment growth, especially for a residential campus. Do you build the dorm before you have the growth and then hope for the growth, or do you have the growth and then build the dorm to accommodate the growth? We had a plan to create more housing in advance of the growth, but when the markets crashed in 2008, it really took us off our game. We put all our efforts into preserving programs and making sure we didn’t have to terminate or lay off any employees. So all the things we were doing to stimulate student growth went on, and all of the sudden we have this tidal wave of students coming at us. We have another tidal wave, but right now it looks like we’ll be able to accommodate everyone on campus. Undergraduate places on campus have been prioritized. If there is displacement this year, it will probably involve some graduate students or English Institute students.
JCP: One of the things that people have been most excited about this year are the new dining options in ACAC. Could you talk a little bit about that change? Are there other big physical changes to campus that we should be looking for in the next few years?
SU: Let me talk about the first part. We have wanted more dining options in ACAC, and it began with Chick-Fil-A and Subway. We redid the menu at the Hut. There was Benvenuto’s.
But the prime mover on this was the fact that we’re building a new dormitory with 311 beds right next to ACAC. The demographic shift of residents is going to be noticeable. We wanted to create more dining venues in the center of campus. Pat Case is great. Pat Case is crowded. We’re more than doubling the seating in ACAC, and so there’ll be more sit down space. I think there’s going to be eleven or twelve dining options when we’re done. It’s gonna be fun.
What to expect in the future? The next thing on the list is a classroom/office building. We need more classroom space. We need more faculty offices. So we are looking at options right now—actually had a meeting yesterday—about the possibility of getting a classroom/office building going.
We’re renovating the John, a $10 million project, and as soon as we finish the John we’ll immediately go over to Lottie Jane and do the same thing.
JCP: A few more narrow questions: It seems like every year we make the list of the “most overachieving” universities, which we tout as a good thing, because it seems like we’re better than people think we are. But it also means people don’t know we’re as good as we actually are. I know part of it’s overcoming the “where’s Tulsa” effect. I was wondering if you could talk about anything we’ve been doing recently to fix that.
SU: That’s a very slow indicator to change, but it is getting better. We’re just going to keep doing the things we’re doing. We reach out. We publicize. We get help whenever our team plays in the NCAA, and the announcers say, “Tulsa’s a small school and a high academic school.” A lot of people still think we’re a large, public, urban university. Even people who know ought to know better, people who have been in higher education a long time say, “Really? Tulsa’s private?” It’s very frustrating.
JCP: There’s one of my personal ideas that I want to run by you, because I will never get the chance again. We’ve had a lot of complaints about the traffic on Delaware. It’s the only real street that crosses through campus. That can sometimes be annoying and sometimes be a real problem. I know a lot of the girls have problems with getting cat-called on Delaware. Would it be possible to cut off Delaware right in front of the U between Sixth and Fourth, fill that in, have another intramural field and cut off the campus more so?
SU: It’s a highly desirable idea. Whether we could get it through the city is another matter. Delaware is viewed as an artery to 244, so I think it would probably be a long, bitter battle. We also have a very good neighbor who is an industrial partner, Bama Pie. They’ve got big trucks coming in and out all the time. They use Delaware usually.
But it’s a great idea. I would support it wholeheartedly. We can have a conversation with the city about it. The one thing in our favor is that we own both sides of the street. That’s one of the criteria if you’re going to close a street. So we could proceed on that basis, but it would be a fight.
JCP: Maybe Atlanta could be expanded?
SU: Kendall-Whittier School is in the way. Then you have EduCare and then West Park. It’s pretty continuous.
This is way before your time here, but we went through a process before we began to acquire property in the neighborhood. It was not always very peaceful. There was a lot of acrimony. Same when we started buying the south campus property. To reopen those wounds by trying to do something so major in the neighborhood would probably irritate people. We have good relationships with that neighborhood right now.
This interview was edited for brevity and clarity.
TU dominates Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup competition
By Kimberly Poff
Staff Writer
On Thursday, April 10 three University of Tulsa teams were awarded more than $50,000 in prizes and scholarships at the 2014 Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup collegiate business plan competition.
The prizes were awarded after a two-day business presentation competition on April 4 and 5. TU took first and second in the undergraduate division, as well as first in the graduate division. All three teams will be moving on to compete against winners from Arkansas and Nevada in the tri-state competition in Las Vegas on May 22 and 23.
First place in the undergraduate division was awarded to Owlpal Healthcare composed of Jordy Albert and MacKenzie Ward. Owlpal is a smartphone app which records wheezing and coughing rates in sleeping children for better diagnosis and monitoring of asthma. In addition to Owlpal’s $20,000 prize winnings, junior management major Ward was also the recipient of a $5,000 Oklahoma business Roundtable Paulsen Award Scholarship.
Owlpal’s first place finish and the interest it has generated from the venture capital community in the area, has allowed CEO Albert to pursue the company full time after graduation. “Up until the competition, my plan for this May had been to move to Boston to stay within the venture capital space,” said the senior economics major. “Never did I expect our product, Owlpal, to generate as much traction as it has recently. As a result, I will no longer be moving to Boston. Instead, I will be in Tulsa running my own digital health company at 21 years of age.”
Second place in the undergraduate division was awarded to Valoshade, composed of seniors Eric Kuxhausen, Jack Lestina, Alex Lach and Kimberly Poff. Valoshade is an app which controls the opacity of a thin plastic film applied to windows allowing users to control the degree of natural lighting in rooms from their smart phone.
The Valoshade team drew upon CEO and computer science major Kuxhausen’s experience in designing a market-leading app for Phillips Hue light bulbs. The app allows smartphone control of the intensity and color of artificial lighting.
This team is slightly unique in that, despite its tech start-up experience, it featured no formal business majors. CFO and computer science major Lestina felt that the competition gave them access to experts in areas which balanced the teams’ weaknesses. “It was a great experience to receive helpful feedback from so many professionals in the tech startup scene.”
First place in the graduate division was taken by the largest team, AeroHead. Lead by MBA student Philip McCoy and composed of undergraduate members Bryan Kinzer, Kristina Merkle, Gann Swan, SeYeon Kim and Yang Zhao, this team swept the graduate competitions, winning the pitch, interview and oral presentation components.
AeroHead is bringing a new golf putter to the market which induces overspin and allows for a straighter, longer ball trajectory. The putter draws on thirty years of putter research by AeroHead advisor and mechanical engineering professor Steve Tipton.
Dr. Tipton leads a team with a mix of students across ages and disciplines. “I’m very fired up about our team since all three mechanical engineering students are freshmen. The lone grad student is exceptional and the business seniors are very cool. We have a unique collection of talents and personalities. I think everyone on the team contributed a lot and grew accordingly.”
Team leader McCoy came in thinking of the competition as an academic exercise. “I originally chose to compete because my advisor told me ‘no quizzes, and no tests’, and the class sounded like real world experience and also super fun.” Instead, he walked away not only with a portion of the team’s $20,000 winnings, but also the experience of a lifetime. “It ended up being by far the most work I’ve ever put into a class, and it has been insanely rewarding.”
This is the second year in a row TU has swept both the undergraduate and graduate divisions. All teams have high hopes for the tri-state competition in Las Vegas, where first place teams will be awarded $30,000.
A University employee reported 2 unidentified males approached their juvenile daughter and a friend to pose for pictures for a school project while they were playing on Dietler Commons. When the child went to ask for permission from the parent, the males left without incident.
19:25
An employee reported 2 unidentified juveniles threw a rock at a shuttle bus as it approached West Park Apartments. There was no damage to the bus and Officers were unable to locate the suspects.
April 11
12:35
A custodial employee was terminated after a supervisor found a small bag of marijuana on the employee’s cart in Rayzor Hall. No arrest was made and the marijuana was confiscated and destroyed by Campus Security.
April 13
1:40
An Officer on patrol observed a female helping what appeared to be an intoxicated male off the ground near Fisher East Hall. After making contact, Officers learned the male had attended a fraternity party, was intoxicated, not of legal age to consume alcohol and not affiliated with TU. Officers have had previous contact with the suspect. Officers contacted Tulsa Police and detained the suspect after he became uncooperative, verbally abusive and spit on the Officers. The suspect was arrested by Tulsa Police for Assault with Body Fluids and Intoxicated Disturbing the Peace. Officers issued a Trespass Warning to the suspect.
1:00
Officers responded to a Mayo Village Apartment regarding a noise complaint. During the investigation, Officers observed the smell of marijuana in the room, paraphernalia in plain view and a prescription bottle for Adderall prescribed to a person not associated to the residents. Officers searched the apartment but were unable to find more contraband. No arrests were made. The paraphernalia and prescription medicine was confiscated and destroyed.
April 15
17:05
Officers responded to a call from staff in Fisher South about a strong odor of marijuana. After a standard room search, marijuana and paraphernalia were found and destroyed.
20:00
Officers responded to a student in University Square South Apartments for a complaint of a hit and run accident. The investigating officer found no evidence that the vehicle which caused the damage was still in the area. There are no suspects at this time.
9:15
A checkbook was turned over and impounded at Campus Security for safekeeping.
10:15
A student’s vehicle was impounded from the LaFortune Lot after it parked in violation and had been previously identified as a frequent violator of TU’s Parking Regulations.
April 16
17:06
An officer observed a child riding in the bed of a truck with no child restraint. Officers stopped the vehicle at 5th Place and Harvard Avenue. Tulsa Police were contacted and citations were issued for having no child restraint and for driving without a license.
The Collegian does not produce or edit the Campus Crime Watch except for content and brevity.
