Five former Seminole State College employees will be recommended for Emeritus status next week during the College’s Board of Regents meeting on Thursday, March 15. A special afternoon reception recognizing these employees will follow the meeting, beginning at 2 p.m. in the Haney Center Utterback Ballroom. Campus and community friends of the honorees are invited to attend.
The five retirees being considered for Emeritus status are:
Katherine Benton (1998-2016)
Larry Birdwell (1997-2010)
Marie Dawson (1998-2015)
Kathy Hoover (1980-1983, 1987-1988, 1989-2015)
Kelly Kirk (1976-2015).
SSC’s Policy on Emeritus status states that the SSC Board of Regents, at its discretion, may honor recommendations of the President granting retired faculty, administrators, or professional staff members emeritus status after retirement. In evaluating candidates for this honorary status, consideration may be given to length of service, special recognitions and activities, and similar items related to performance.
Benton served in higher education for almost 30 years – 18 of those years at SSC. She began in the Talent Search Program in 1998. She also worked as Director of Financial Aid and then Director of Enrollment Management before assuming the position of Vice President of Fiscal Affairs.
In her role as Vice President, she managed the Fiscal Affairs, the SSC Bookstore, Human Resources, Business and Physical Plant Operations, Financial Assistance, the Office of Sponsored Programs and the GEAR UP federal grant program. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Human Resource Counseling and a Master of Arts in Human Resource Administration, both from East Central University.
Birdwell served SSC for over 12 years as a Mathematics Instructor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physics from East Central University and a master’s degree in mathematics from Oklahoma State University. Birdwell previously served as a geophysicist for 20 years with Oryx Energy Company. He has also served as Assistant Director and Chief Engineer for the “Peek Into Engineering” summer youth academy.
Dawson taught speech and communication courses for 20 years as a full-time faculty member and seven years as an adjunct instructor at SSC. While working at SSC, she served as Faculty Senate President, Faculty Welfare Committee Chair, Assistant Division Chair, Coordinator for the Language Arts and Humanities Speech Communication faculty and sponsor for the Native American Student Association.
Hoover served SSC for 31 years. She was responsible for 10 federal grants and two state-administered grants. She wrote nine of the 13 federal grants currently at the College. She was responsible for ensuring that the College’s grant programs were in compliance with the required regulations and guidelines. She also wrote the FEMA grant to help fund the safe room in the new Dan and Andrea Boren Center on campus.
Kirk served the College for over 40 years. He worked as a faculty member and chairman of the Art Department and was also chair of the Language and Humanities Division for over 12 years. Kirk has been involved with the College’s Global Studies Program for many years and has organized and chaperoned approximately 25 trips, including visits to Egypt, China, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Greece and France.
For more information about this event, please contact the Seminole State College President’s Office at 405-382-9200.