OSU College of Education To Induct 2008 Hall of Fame

Stephen Birch of Stratford, Connecticut; Dr. A.B. Harrison of Stillwater; Dr. Cecil Miskel of Ann Arbor, Michigan; Dr. Jill Shackelford of Kansas City, Kansas; and Randall and Carol White of Tulsa will be inducted at the 10th annual event on Friday, June 6, 2008, at the ConocoPhillips Alumni Center in Stillwater.

Induction into the COE Hall of Fame is the highest honor bestowed by the College. Inductees are chosen by a committee of representatives of the College's Alumni Association, Associates, students, faculty and administration.

Mr. Stephen Birch

Mr. Stephen Birch

Stephen Birch was born in Ogden, Utah, March 23, 1972 and adopted three days later to a Marine Corp Staff Sergeant father serving out his commitment as a recruiter and Mom who worked at the local college, Weber State.  Shortly after being discharged, the family moved to Phoenix, Arizona, for four years prior to moving to Dallas, Texas.  While growing up as an only child, Steve earned the highest rank in Boy Scouts, Eagle, at the age of 14.  He also earned a private pilot license at age 16 and commercial multi-engine instrument ratings at ages 17 and 18.  Steve achieved a near perfect score on the ACT college placement test and on the government advanced placement test.  He recorded a perfect score on the advance placement test for U.S. History.

Upon entering Oklahoma State University in 1990, Birch found many ways to expand skills and gain the education necessary to build a strong foundation for success.  Active in Student Government, Steve participated in Education Student Council, won two elections to be a College of Education Senator in the Student Government Association, and served for two years as the Chairman of the Committee on Student Organizations in student government.  He also participated in the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature (OIL), where he earned an award as the best freshman and served as committee chair for the education committee.  Birch assisted with organizing the College of Education's (COE) first Celebration of Teaching event in 1991.  He served as committee chair for the COE Awards Banquet in each year, was an active member in the Flying Aggies as chairman of various committees, and was a founding member of the student chapter of the American Association of Airport Executives.  After graduating from OSU with a degree in aviation sciences, Steve returned to Dallas to start a career.

Shortly after leaving OSU, politics was still of great interest.  As a result, in 1994 Steve ran for State Representative, narrowly losing.  From there, Birch slowly gained practical employment experience by serving in various leadership roles.  He worked at an aviation-related company,  his own company and then as an information technology manager and quality leader at General Electric.  Steve moved into a role as Assistant Vice President at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and finally became an executive at Aduromed Corporation.

Steve has continued his involvement in many activities, including serving on the boards of numerous non-profit organizations such as Education Through Music, Sky King Foundation, Connecticut Historical Society, Connecticut Air and Space Museum, and Angel Flight Northeast.  He is also a member of the American Society of Quality, Association of Infection Control Practitioners, Underwriters Laboratories Standardization Committee, the United Nations Environmental Programme Waste Impact Committee, National Eagle Scout Association, OSU College of Education Associates, and the United States Golf Association.  Steve currently resides in Connecticut.

Dr. A. B. Harrison

Dr. A. B. Harrison

A. B. Harrison was born February 14, 1925, in Zearing, Iowa.  He grew up as the son of a dentist in Marshalltown and graduated from high school at the age of 17. 

Following one year of junior college in Marshalltown, Harrison enlisted in the Air Force in 1943.  He graduated from bombardier school with the rank of Second Lieutenant and served in the South Pacific during World War II. At the end of the war, Harrison served as a Special Services Officer in Japan.

Harrison enrolled at the University of Illinois in 1945 and received his bachelor of science in 1949 and a master's of science in 1950, both in physical education.  He continued his education at Michigan State University, becoming the first Ph.D. graduate in physical education in 1959.

After marrying his wife Gwen, the couple came to Oklahoma State University in 1950.  He served on the OSU faculty for the next 36 years as an assistant professor, associate professor and professor before retiring in 1986. 

Harrison was the director of graduate studies in health, physical education and leisure services from 1972-1982. Under his leadership, the program became the flagship of health, physical education and recreation in the state of Oklahoma and attracted students from throughout the region and from other countries.

Harrison won the OSU Arts and Sciences College Outstanding Teacher Award in 1979-80.  He was also selected the School of Health Physical Education and Leisure Studies Outstanding Faculty/Staff in 1979.   He also served a three-year term on the Faculty Council, representing teacher education. 

Harrison was personally involved in the progress and success of his graduate students.  He was one of the founders and first Presidents of the Central States Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine (CSC-ACSM).  In 1999, Harrison won the honor award from the Central States Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine.

During the 1980s, Harrison conceived and directed the operation of the OSU Health and Fitness Center. Additionally, he directed the operation of the OSU Mobile Fitness Laboratory, which traveled to many cities and towns throughout Oklahoma providing cutting edge health and fitness evaluation technology for hundreds of Oklahomans.

Along with his wife Gwen, Dr. Harrison has established the A. B. Harrison Endowed Scholarship for graduate students in health and human performance. The scholarship is awarded to a deserving graduate student annually.

Following retirement, Harrison has continued to provide leadership at Oklahoma State, serving as President of the Emeriti Association and on Faculty Council Benefits Committee.  He is a Life Member of the American College of Sports Medicine and Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society.  Harrison and his wife reside in Stillwater.

Dr. Cecil Miskel

Dr. Cecil Miskel

Born at home in Camargo, Cecil Miskel was the youngest child of Stanley and Eunice Miskel. Growing up in this very small western Oklahoma town, he actively participated in school and community events, and worked in his dad's gas station. Because of his father's own hardships as a child and their hard manual labor as adults, his parents saw education as the pathway to a better life. From Cecil's earliest days, Stanley and Eunice expected that their son would be the first in the family to attend college. Completing high school in 1959, Cecil enrolled in the University of Oklahoma, graduating in 1963.

Cecil began his career by teaching science in Seiling, Okla., for three years. Early in 1966, he was accepted for a National Science Foundation year-long program in the biological sciences at Oklahoma State University. While the program of study was great, most importantly, Cecil met another OSU graduate student, Dora Sue Moorer Gieb. At the end of the academic year, they were married in Stillwater. The newlyweds moved to Seiling, where he served as a principal during a tumultuous school year.

After deciding to pursue a career in school administration, Dean Helmer Sorenson and Professor Kenneth St. Clair strongly encouraged Cecil to return to OSU's College of Education. At OSU, Cecil worked with outstanding professors to earn his doctoral degree. Although Cecil was a teaching assistant in the teacher education program, Sue provided the primary support for the endeavor by teaching home economics at Stillwater High School.

In the spring of 1970, Cecil accepted a position as an assistant professor of educational administration at the University of Kansas. He was promoted to associate professor and professor in 1973 and 1978, respectively. His career as an academic administrator started at KU when he was appointed associate dean and subsequently associate vice-chancellor in the Office of Research and Graduate Studies. Moving to the University of Utah in 1982, he became chair of the Department of Educational Administration; one year later he was named dean of Utah's Graduate School of Education. Starting in 1988, he served for 10 years as dean of the School of Education at the University of Michigan. Under his leadership and with tremendous help from Sue, the education programs at Utah and Michigan gained wide recognition for strengthening their teaching and research programs and for significantly advancing their national statures.

Throughout his 35-year career as a professor, Cecil was a productive teacher and scholar. Every year he taught graduate classes and advised graduate students in the areas of school organization and administration and education policy analysis. His continuous program of research and scholarship included directing numerous externally funded projects, authoring more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and refereed conference papers. He also served as editor of the Educational Administration Quarterly for two years and as a member of its editorial board for 10 years, and co-authored eight editions of Educational Administration: Theory, Research, and Practice, a leading textbook in the field.  The quality of his research was recognized by receiving the William Davis Memorial Award in 1980, 1983, and 2005 for the most outstanding article in the Educational Administration Quarterly. Finally, his contributions were recognized by receiving the Roald F. Campbell Lifetime Achievement Award for 2007 from the University Council of Educational Administration. Miskel and his wife, Sue, reside in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Dr. Jill Shackelford

Dr. Jill Shackelford

Jill Shackelford grew up in Tonkawa, Okla., and after graduating from high school, entered Oklahoma State University, beginning in 1963.  While at OSU, she was active on campus, serving as president of Education Student Council and Chi Omega sorority. She was also tapped for Mortar Board and elected to Phi Kappa Phi. 

Upon completing her undergraduate degree, Shackelford landed her first job as a first and second grade teacher in Marland, Okla.  She went on to teach at Kay County Dependent Schools, a small, rural school district near Blackwell, and then returned to teach in Tonkawa.  She served as the president of the local Oklahoma National Education Association chapter and was named teacher of the year during her time in Tonkawa. 

Jill went back to graduate school, completing her master's degree in curriculum and instruction in 1982 and her reading specialist certificate in 1983 at OSU.  After earning administrative certification, she became a principal in Bartlesville, Okla.  Four years later, she was named the Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction in Bartlesville.  While serving in that position, Shackelford pursued her education doctorate in education administration at OSU, finishing in 1992.  Her dissertation, which received an American Educational Research Association nomination for outstanding dissertation, was titled "An Uphill Battle: Socialization of a Novice Female Elementary Principal (An Ethnography)."  Shackelford went on to complete post-doctoral work for a Superintendent Certification.

From Bartlesville, she moved to Kansas, where she became Executive Director of Student Learning in the Turner School District in Wyandotte County.  Following three years at Turner, Shackelford moved to the neighboring Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools (KCKPS) as assistant superintendent for curriculum and standards in 1997. Shackelford became the first female superintendent in the 138-year history of the Kansas City Kansas Public School District in 2005. 

She is active in community organizations. She is a member of the KCK Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors,  the KCK Women's Chamber of Commerce, the KCK Downtown Kiwanis Club and is President of the Board of Directors for the Children's Museum of Kansas City.  In 2006, Shackelford was honored by the KCK Community College Intercultural Center as one of the "Women Builders of Communities and Dreams."

Shackelford has received the Distinguished Service Award from the Kansas Association of School Librarians and was selected the Distinguished Educator for Arts Partners of Kansas City.  In addition, she was recognized with a Summer Reading Award from John Hopkins University and Who's Who in Education. 

Though she has worked in Kansas for many years, she has always maintained a home in Tonkawa, and plans to come back to Oklahoma after retiring from KCKPS.  Shackelford has three grown daughters who are teachers.

Mr. Randall and Mrs. Carol White

Mr. Randall and Mrs. Carol White

Randall White grew up in Keystone, Okla., while Carol (Thompson) White claims Tulsa as her hometown.  The two met at a Methodist church camp well before entering high school. 

Randall attended Northeastern State University for two years and enrolled at OSU in 1961.  Two years later, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting.  In the same year, Carol was a student of the College of Education.   The couple married in 1964 and made their home in Tulsa.

Randall, who formerly worked as the chief financial officer for a large drilling contractor, changed job settings in 1983. He joined Educational Development Corporation (EDC), a children's book publishing company in Tulsa, whose mission is literacy and education.  Randall started as controller for the small company and soon took over as president and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of EDC in 1986.  With Randall as president and CEO, the company has been recognized as one of the "200 Best Small Companies in America" by Forbes Magazine twice.  The company has grown tremendously and remains strong financially. 

Carol, who is an experienced discount shopper and has a genuine love for children, donates to the Head Start program at Family and Children's Services, buying toys, clothing and other items families need year around.  This act of generosity makes a huge difference for kids who are less fortunate and live in poverty.

Together, the couple has donated thousands of children's books to the Randall and Carol White Reading and Math Center at OSU in Stillwater, named in recognition of the couple's generous gifts totaling more than $125,000 to benefit the center. The goal of the center is to offer low cost math and literacy tutoring programs for at-risk youth while providing opportunities for OSU students to gain valuable professional training in literacy assessment and instruction. Each semester, one hundred fifty students are served and tutored at the center.  Funds are currently being raised to initiate a reading and math center at OSU Tulsa.

To exemplify how deep Oklahoma State University runs in the White family, Carol's parents met at OSU and her uncle, Doyle Parrack, was inducted into the OSU College of Education Hall of Fame in 2006.  Randall and Carol's two sons, Craig and Todd, and daughters-in-law all graduated from Oklahoma State University. The Whites are the proud grandparents of six children who all plan to attend Oklahoma State University in the future.

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Last Updated Tuesday, June 3, 2008 9:56 AM