Current Recipients
Join us in congratulating our 2025 Hall of Fame and Outstanding Alumni award recipients!
Dr. Debbie Blanke
Hall of Fame
Dr. Debbie Blanke is a third-generation Oklahoman and the first in her family to graduate college. That journey, marked by determination and grit, led her to earn both her bachelor’s
and doctoral degrees from Oklahoma State University, and her master’s from Cameron
University. With a career that spans over 35 years in administration and teaching, Dr. Blanke stands as a visionary, advocate and mentor in Oklahoma higher education. As the retired Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs at the Oklahoma
State Regents for Higher Education, Dr. Blanke was instrumental in developing state
wide initiatives, including Reach Higher, Oklahoma’s statewide adult degree completion initiative, and overseeing
UpSkillOK, Oklahoma’s statewide micro-credential project for workforce development.
Dr. Blanke served as both the Chancellor’s designee for the Senate Bill 292 Concurrent
Enrollment Task Force and the Dual Enrollment Advisory Panel for the Southern Regional
Education Board. Dr. Blanke has been recognized by the Journal Record’s Woman of the
Year Program as a “50 Making a Difference” honoree, and the Oklahoma Women in Higher
Education Executive Board has also recognized her work advancing women’s leadership
by creating a scholarship in her name.
- B.S., Secondary Social Studies Education – 1985
- Ed.D., Higher Education – 1999
Connie Hull Boone
Hall of Fame
Connie Hull Boone’s journey from Oklahoma State University to the forefront of the
fashion industry is a story of vision, creativity and heart. Connie began her path
at OSU with a love for design and a strong sense of purpose, graduating with a degree
in Design, Housing and Merchandising in 1988. Connie took her passion for family and
the great outdoors and used it as a catalyst in founding Sweets Turns, a lifestyle
brand known for its vibrant and cozy winter apparel and accessories, in 2012. The
Sweet Turns collection includes knit hats, scarves, and gloves for women, men and
kids. Under Connie’s leadership, the company has become nationally recognized for
quality and creativity, doubling its business year after year, selling over 50,000
pieces annually to well-respected retailers like REI, Dillard’s, and loyal boutiques
across the country. Her achievements earned her recognition in the inaugural Cowboy100,
honoring Oklahoma State University Cowboy-owned businesses — a distinction she has
received four times. Connie’s legacy is one of innovation, dedication and inspiration.
She has built more than a brand — she has built a life of purpose, balancing business
and family with grace and determination.
- B.S., Design, Housing and Merchandising – 1988
Tim McKay
Hall of Fame
Tim McKay graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1984 with a bachelor’s degree in secondary
science. While at OSU, Tim was recognized as one of the College of Education & Human
Sciences’ Top 10 Seniors and was inducted into the Blue Key Honor Society. He also
served the OSU Homecoming Committee as executive vice-chair during his membership
in FarmHouse Fraternity, and he was honored with the Redskin Congratulate. After graduation,
Tim began his career in the classroom, teaching and coaching, before later returning
to serve OSU on staff with the OSU Alumni Association and OSU Athletics. He eventually
transitioned into a commercial real estate career, where he has financed over $7 billion
in multifamily assets and been recognized multiple times as a recipient of the Commercial
Real Estate Council of Oklahoma’s Deal of the Year award and the Multifamily Sale
of the Year award by the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties.
Tim has been named a CoStar Power Broker for 10 consecutive years and has been given
Newmark Oklahoma’s Chairman’s Circle multiple times. Tim is also heavily involved
in the Oklahoma Fellowship of Christian Athletes, where he serves as chair of the
Oklahoma State Board.
- B.S., Secondary Science Education - 1984
Dr. Dana Moore Gray
Outstanding Alumni
Dr. Dana Moore Gray is a successful first-generation college student who earned her
bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Tulsa and continued her
education at Oklahoma State University, earning her master’s degree in telecommunications
management and a Ph.D. in occupational adult education. She spent nearly 20 years in corporate marketing and public relations before transitioning
to academia in 2004. Dr. Gray is now a professor emerita of Rogers State University, where throughout her tenure she
has received every faculty award, including the prestigious Pixley Award for Outstanding
Faculty Member. She authored the marketing option for RSU’s BSBA degree and developed
both graduate and undergraduate marketing courses, several of which have earned Quality
Matters certifications. Dr. Gray has presented her research on adult learning and
online course delivery all over the world, including locations such as Poland, Finland,
Iceland, Greece and Austria, and she has served as president of the USA chapter of
the International Society of Business Educators.
- M.S., Telecommunications Management – 1998
- Ph.D., Occupational Adult Education - 2007
Dr. Jason Johnson
Outstanding Alumni
Dr. Jason Johnson is an accomplished leader and author whose perspective is informed by his experience
as a first-generation college student and a former student-athlete, having played football
at Oklahoma State University from 1997 to 2001, where he earned three varsity letters. Johnson holds a bachelor’s degree in health promotions and a Ph.D. in social foundations
of education from OSU, as well as a master’s degree in urban education from Langston
University. Johnson has been named the Oklahoma Association of Community Colleges
Outstanding Staff Person of the Year, a Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions
Aspiring Leaders Program Fellow, a Clark Atlanta HBCU Executive Leadership Institute
Fellow and a Harvard University Institute of Educational Management Fellow. He has
also been recognized as a Journal Record 40 Under 40 honoree, University of Oklahoma
Staff Person of the Year and Oklahoma State University Advisor of the Year. Johnson
is also an Oklahoma Policy Institute Fellow and a life member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity,
Inc., where he has served as the Oklahoma district director.
- B.S., Health Promotions – 2003
- Ph.D., Social Foundations of Education - 2018
Dr. Brenda J. Smith
Outstanding Alumni
Dr. Brenda Smith graduated from Oklahoma State University with a Ph.D. in nutritional sciences after
receiving a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma Baptist University and a master’s degree
in clinical exercise physiology from the University of Texas at Tyler. Dr. Smith served
as a clinical instructor in exercise science at OBU before spending more than 20 years
on the faculty of Oklahoma State in the Department of Nutritional Sciences. During
her tenure at OSU, she earned the title of Regents Professor, received the John and
Sue Taylor Professorship and served as associate dean of the Graduate College. Smith
relocated to the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis in 2022, where
she serves as professor and Vice-Chair of Translational Research in the Department
of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Smith oversees a laboratory in the university’s
Center for Musculoskeletal Health where her team conducts clinical research focused on muscle, bone and joint health in women. She co-directs the ICMH Musculoskeletal Health Sciences PhD program and co-leads
the ICMH Lifestyle Modification Research Team.
- Ph.D., Nutritional Sciences - 1999
Dr. Christopher Taylor
Outstanding Alumni
Dr. Christopher Taylor received a Ph.D. in nutritional sciences from Oklahoma State
University, after earning his B.S. in dietetics from Bowling Green State University
and M.S. in family resources and human development at Arizona State University. Dr.
Taylor is a registered dietitian nutritionist and a professor of medical dietetics
with a joint appointment in the Department of Family and Community Medicine in the
College of Medicine at The Ohio State University, serving as Division Director of
Medical Dietetics and co-director of the Master of Dietetics and Nutrition Graduate
Program. Dr. Taylor has focused considerable efforts on professional service, including
serving on the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, as Associate Editor for
the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, and held several roles within the
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics as Chair of the Research Dietetic Practice Group
and Chair of the Academy’s 2020 Dietary Guidelines Collaborative. He has been recognized
as a Fellow of the Academy and in 2024 received the Academy’s Medallion Award.
- Ph.D., Nutritional Sciences - 2004