OU Center for Studies in Democracy and Culture

This is a little know Tulsa flag from 1941. Each of our flags has had a story, and this one does too. For "A Quick History of Tulsa As Told by Our Flags", click here: http://tulsagrad.ou.edu/csdc/T_Flags.html

We were honored to have State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister, Dr. Deborah Gist, Hon. Michael Rogers, Dr. Shawn Hime and Dr. Keith Ballard come speak about “The State of Education in Oklahoma” at OU-Tulsa’s Center for Studies in Democracy and Culture luncheon event today.

Eli Dollarhide Ph.D. in Archaeological Anthropology NYU Department of Anthropology Email:  [email protected] curriculum vitae         Research Interests ancient Near East and Arabian Peninsu…

Frank Keating, Oklahoma's former governor, will be my guest for a luncheon talk on Wednesday, August 8. He plans to outline what he sees as the most important challenges for Oklahomans as we face the future.

Noon, Wednesday, Aug. 8, at OU-Tulsa.

No charge for attending the talk, and a light luncheon buffet will be available for $10. (You are welcome to bring your own lunch.)

For more information or to RSVP, call Denise at 918-660-3494.

We are hosting a small luncheon “conversation” on Friday of this week at OU-Tulsa to talk about the place and progress of African-Americans in Oklahoma. This will be the third in a series of lunchtime discussions about diversity issues in our state.

We would love to have you join us as my guest. A complimentary light buffet lunch will be offered.

Our panel resources will include Jabar Shumate, OU’s Vice President for the University Community, and Judy Eason-McIntyre, former State Senator form Tulsa. Ashley Philippsen with Leadership Tulsa will lead the conversation.

If you are interested in joining us, please call my assistant, Denise, at 918-660-3494 for further details.

Taste for adventure Rodger Randle doesn’t need to retire to see the world.

Recently, the new British Consul General in Houston, Karen Bell came to visit Oklahoma. She represents the Queen's Government in our region of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Karen has been with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office since the 1980's, and she has served overseas in Canada, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and Hong Kong.

Part of her visit included meeting Oklahoma Secretary of State, Chris Benge, in the second picture she is standing with State Representative Eric Proctor, his wife Tara, and their two children, Molly and Caroline, Tulsa City Councilors Anna America and Jeannie Cue. In the last picture, she is standing with Sec. of Agriculture Jim Resse, who is inspecting the Oklahoma crops in the demonstration garden in front of the Department of Agriculture in Oklahoma City.

We just completed a six day academy in Honduras focused on leadership development and English as a second language. It was organized by OU CSDC in cooperation with ODECO, a garífuna organization in Honduras. Garífunas are an afro-descendent people with a rich and interesting in history. In the photo are two of the students who participated. Two of us were there from OU, and three faculty from Tulsa Community College.

OU students studying international cultures in the Human Relations program spent a recent Saturday afternoon with visiting African dignitaries from Benin, Uganda, Cameroon, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, and Niger. The African visitors are in Oklahoma as guests of the United States Department International Leadership Program. It was an opportunity for students to learn firsthand about African cultures and to question representatives of different countries about their perspectives on American culture. The students are in Prof. Randle’s summer course on International Human Relations.

The Tulsa Committee on Foreign Relations recently featured a program with Dean Cheng, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation in Washington. He gave an excellent rundown on US-China relations. Xiuling Shang, a visiting scholar at the Confucius Institute on the OU-Tulsa campus also attended. She offices across the hall from me.

From June 11 till August 8, the Circle Cinema Gallery will feature a collection of photos by Prof. Rodger Randle, Director of the Center.

The photos are from countries in Asia, South America, Europe, and Africa. The exhibit states, "This is an exhibit of photos about you ...an exhibit in which you are invited to look into the faces of people from distant places to see the reflection of yourself, and to remember that human values, hopes, and dreams are universal."

With each photo is paired a quotation suggested by the photo from one of Prof. Randle's favorite writers.

The Circle Cinema is located at 10 South Lewis in Tulsa. The Gallery is free and open to the public during the normal operational hours of the theatre.

Another photo I took when I was at the Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey earlier this month was a picture of these colorful chairs. All student backpacks can fit under the seats leaving the floor clear for students to move easily around the room . Makes for a complete mobile classroom. Also, around the campus you will find free to use bikes making it convenient to go from class to class.