The special ceremonies were part of OC’s annual Homecoming weekend. The honorees were:

College of Arts and Sciences

Scott Filleman (05) - Music
Amanda Gauthier (11) - Nursing
Jennifer Hill (94) - Psychology and Family Studies
Russell Hill (93) - History and Political Science
Lisa Landrum (89) - Biological Sciences
Dana McMichael (83) - Language and Literature
Brian Simmons (87) - Communication
Roy Stevens (79) - Chemistry and Physics
Megan Wilkes (09) - Art and Design

College of Biblical Studies

Chris Stinnett (87) - Alumnus of the Year
Jeremie Beller (00) - Preaching/Ministry
David Duncan (88) - Missions
Josh Yaeger (04) - Youth Ministry 

College of Professional Studies

Jeff Dimick (83) - Mathematical, Computer, and Information Science
Jeremy Edwards (97) - Business Administration
Ben Knowles (00) - Mechanical Engineering
Tessa Tefertiller (95) - Teacher Education
Mitch Warren (05) - Electrical and Computer Engineering

OC was one of just six universities with two teams in the top 25 at the South Central Regional Association of Computing Machinery Computer Programming Contest. The other five were Baylor University, Louisiana State University, the University of Mississippi, the University of Texas-Austin, and the University of Texas-Dallas.

“Our students had a remarkable showing,” said Don Leftwich, chair of the department of mathematical computer and information sciences. “These results show, once again, how well our students measure up when compared with very good students from other universities.”

OC’s teams finished 12th and 21st in the “open” division, which includes universities with graduate programs. Oklahoma Christian placed third and fourth among teams from Oklahoma, and second and fifth among teams without a graduate student.

“In some ways, it’s not a surprise that OC teams did well in this competition,” Leftwich said. “During the past 10 to 15 years, OC teams have consistently placed in the top 25 and occasionally top 10 or top five. Because of our history in this event, competitors and faculty sponsors from other universities expect to see OC teams at the top of the standings.”

OC’s 12th place team consisted of Sarah Bell, Tanya Thompson and Robert Rugamba. The 21st place team consisted of Corbin Murrow of Oklahoma City, Kyler Johnson and Silas Morris.

The contest included 59 teams overall and was held at three locations. OC’s three teams competed at LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas.

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Bobby passed away on Tuesday, Sept. 25 at the age of 81. His funeral service will take place this Friday, Sept. 28 at 2 p.m. in OC’s Scott Chapel.

Bobby and his wife of 21 years, OC Life Trustee Millie Prince Roberson, are longtime supporters of Oklahoma Christian. Bobby would fondly recall attending the 1958 ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring Pat Boone after the school moved from Bartlesville to Oklahoma City.

“We give to Oklahoma Christian because we have so many great friends there," Bobby once said.

Bobby participated on various OC boards and supported Oklahoma Christian in many ways, including a perpetual endowment that will provide scholarships for OC students for generations to come.

Likewise, Millie has supported Oklahoma Christian for decades. Many young engineers have taken their first steps into thermodynamics and systems design within the halls of the Prince Engineering Center, one of OC’s finest academic venues. The PEC, made possible through Millie's generosity, is named in honor of Millie and her late husband, Darryll Prince.

Both Bobby and Millie lost their first spouses early in life, but found a common love for business and a passion for service.

In 2005, Oklahoma Christian presented Bobby with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree for his leadership in business and in the community.

His homegrown company, originally known as Southwest Typewriter Company, began in his one-car garage in 1956 with a $50 loan from his mother. His business grew into a multimillion-dollar conglomerate, ImageNet America, and is now run by his children and grandchildren.

A U.S. Marine and a veteran of the Korean War, Bobby was a lifelong member of the Church of Christ and served as a teacher, deacon and elder.

He is survived by Millie, two children, six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

“Bobby was a great man. He loved his family, he loved his God, and he loved making a difference for others. He will be missed greatly,” OC president John deSteiguer said.

The Roberson family requests that memorials be made to Oklahoma Christian. Online condolences may be shared at www.havenbrookfuneralhome.com.

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Rooney is chairman and controlling shareholder of First National Bank of Oklahoma. He is also extensively involved in the community, serving as president of the Last Frontier Council Boy Scouts of America and chairman of the Oklahoma Student Loan Authority. Rooney also serves as a director for Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and the Oklahoma Medical Center Foundation.

He is a trustee for MAPS for Kids, the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation and the Inasmuch Foundation. Rooney is also past chairman of The Education and Employment Ministry. He has degrees in English and economics from Trinity University.

Commencement will include degree candidates from OC’s Fast Track MBA program, along with the Master of Science in Engineering program. For further information regarding the graduation activities, visit this webpage or call 405-425-5200.

“We are honored to be ranked among the best universities in the West region,” said Mike O’Neal, president of Oklahoma Christian. “This is a reflection of the hard work of our dedicated faculty, staff and students.”

For this project, The Princeton Review asked students attending the schools to rate their own colleges on several issues—from the accessibility of their professors to quality of the campus food—and answer questions about themselves, their fellow students and their campus life.

“We’re pleased to recommend Oklahoma Christian to users of our site as one of the best schools to earn their degree,” said Robert Franek, Princeton Review’s publisher. “We chose it mainly for its excellent academic programs. From several hundred schools in each region, we winnowed our list based on institutional data we collected directly from the schools, our visits to schools over the years, and the opinions of our staff, plus college counselors and advisors whose recommendations we invite. 

The Princeton Review also takes into account what students at the schools reported about their campus experiences on an 80-question student survey for this project.  Only schools that permit the group to independently survey their students are eligible to be considered for the regional “Best” lists. 

The 121 colleges that The Princeton Review chose for its “Best in the West” list are located in 15 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Collectively, the 629 colleges named “regional best” constitute about 25 percent of the nation’s 2,500 four-year colleges.

Last year The Princeton Review also named Oklahoma Christian as one of the top 50 undergraduate gaming design programs in the nation. It was the only one in Oklahoma to make the list.

Students Nathan West and Xu Chen placed second in the circuit design competition. Steven Bell placed second in the student paper category. His article was titled “An Overview of Optimal Graph Search Algorithms for Robot Path Planning in Dynamic or Uncertain Environments.”

J.P. Karenzi, Alain Shema, Alex Tulikumwenayo, Yves Mujyambere and Todd Lukkason placed fifth in the robotics team competition. These five students competed against 26 teams from 10 states.

“Our students represented Oklahoma Christian very well,” said David Waldo, professor of electrical and computer engineering. “We are very proud of them.”

The IEEE is the world’s largest professional organization for the advancement of technology. International, national and regional student competitions are held each year.

Be sure to congratulate these students on their great accomplishments!