By Ellie Melero, Media Relations Specialist; Jet Turner, Assistant Director of Communications
After almost two weeks of rain, the sun shone bright above W.E. Anderson Stadium as the Langston University Class of 2025 processed onto the football field for the 125th Commencement Ceremony, adding to the air of joy and levity that could be felt all over campus.
Cheering, dancing, noisemakers and more could be heard from all over campus as the hundreds of friends and families packed the stand to celebrate their graduates, nearly 70% of whom are the first in their families to earn a college degree. J’Taelii Heath was one of these first-generation students.
But if it weren’t for the encouragement of her family, and the Langston University McCabe Honors Program, she might not have been able to attend university at all.
Heath grew up in Oklahoma City in a family of entrepreneurs. From working with kids to styling hair, her family was involved in a variety of industries, but the business path never interested Heath. She was more interested in STEM, and the idea of entering the medical field had always intrigued her. When she took a health class in high school with a vegan teacher who taught them about different types of healthy lifestyles, she decided she wanted to go to school to study osteopathic medicine.
“It was just something that stuck with me,” Heath said. “I just wanted to continue to do that research and find a different outlet besides (the plant-based diet).”
Once she knew she wanted to study medicine, Heath knew she needed to get her bachelor’s degree first. As the oldest of five kids, it was also important to her to show her siblings that college was a viable option they could also choose.
As she began looking into schools, she knew wherever she enrolled needed to be affordable, have a good biology program and be close enough to home that she could still be a part of her younger siblings’ lives.
Langston University fit the bill.
Heath earned a McCabe Scholarship, which paid for her tuition, room and board, and entered the Lion Pride as a biology major.
“It just offered the opportunity for me to stay close to family and be able to afford it, of course, with a full ride scholarship,” Heath said. “That was the first step, being in the honors program, having my school paid for, especially coming from a low-income household where I’m the oldest and a first-generation college student.”
When she got to campus, Heath sought out Dr. Byron Quinn. A biology professor and accomplished researcher, Dr. Quinn is a mentor to many LU students, and Heath knew she wanted to join his lab. Dr. Quinn was happy to have her.
In Dr. Quinn’s lab, Heath learned how to properly conduct research. She learned how to handle different types of equipment and run simple experiments. She was eager to learn and a quick study, and she impressed Dr. Quinn. He helped her apply for an internship with the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) as one of the first OMRF-LU Scholars.
During her OMRF internship, Heath helped design and conduct an experiment using black pepper, more specifically a compound called piperin, as a treatment for multiple sclerosis. Her goal was to find a more natural alternative treatment for the disease that didn’t rely solely on drugs. To her delight, the experiment was a success.
Heath continued working with OMRF as an LU Scholar after the internship was over, and she also began to help out more in Dr. Quinn’s lab. Heath found she really enjoyed research, so she decided to apply to OK-LSAMP, a statewide program that provides financial assistance to student researchers so they can present their research at professional conferences and conventions.
Over the course of her time at Langston University, with the assistance of her professors and the OK-LSAMP program, Heath has presented her research 15 times at local and national conferences.
“It has helped me see the world differently,” Heath said. “Traveling from state to state, people do things differently… It also helped me learn public speaking skills. I’ve always been very shy and not prone to want to go talk to people.”
Heath has also had the opportunity to assist with NASA research at Langston University, specifically with a project focused on studying how to keep astronauts’ immune cells active while in space conditions. Currently, the LU research team is preparing samples to be sent to the International Space Station. Heath will be a part of the team that will analyze the samples upon their return to Earth.
OK-LSAMP manager and associate professor of chemistry at Langston University, Dr. Lindsay Davis, immediately recognized Heath’s potential as an excellent student from the moment she met her in 2021.
J’Taelii Heath receives the Outstanding Senior Leadership Award at the 2025 Graduation Ceremony.
Since then, Dr. Davis has seen Heath grow into the inquisitive student she is today. A student who always seeks to improve herself. A student who seeks new opportunities wherever she can find them.
“(Heath) is always wondering how to improve,” Dr. Davis said. “I don’t know if she really realizes her power. (Her power) is evident by all of her accolades. It’s evident. I wish she would seek that part of herself more. But that’s part of being a young Black scientist; you just kind of do it, and she’s doing it.”
As Heath stood to be recognized as a winner of the Outstanding Senior Leader Award during the commencement ceremony, she beamed with power. The award is earned by graduating seniors who go above and beyond throughout their college career in their commitment to leadership, academics, campus involvement, community service and exemplary character, all of which embodied her journey at Langston University.
Eventually her name was called to receive her diploma, and she strolled up the ramp and onto the commencement stage, taking a photo with President Ruth Ray Jackson and shaking hands with the members of the dais.
She walked off the opposite side ramp the first member of her family to graduate college.
“I just want to be the outlet for my siblings, to be that extra guidance to a different path for our family and for generations to follow,” Heath said. “There is a different path that is an option for us.”
Graduating seniors from the Langston University School of Business (LUSB) scored in the 99th percentile nationally on the rigorous Peregrine Outbound Business Exam, outperforming more than 83,000 students across the United States.
The LUSB Class of 2025 posted an average score of 80.13% on the exam, far outperforming the national average of 61.34% and putting their scores in the Top 1% nationally. LUSB students achieved top marks across all core business disciplines, including finance, economics, strategic management, marketing and business ethics.
“This is not just an academic win; it’s a statement,” said Dr. Daryl Green, Dean of LUSB. “It proves that with the right approach, our students, many of whom are first-generation college students, can compete and dominate nationally.”
Every year, graduating business students take the Peregrine Outbound Business Exam, a rigorous assessment administered by over 500 colleges and universities around the world. The exam evaluates students’ mastery across core business disciplines such as finance, economics, management, marketing and business ethics.
The Class of 2025’s success on the exam is a reflection of LUSB’s innovative curriculum and expert faculty.
LUSB recently restructured its capstone course “MG 4703: Strategy & Policy.” Co-taught by Dr. Green and Dr. Charles Mambula, the class was reimagined with an emphasis on student ownership and practical engagement. The class incorporates team-based learning, self-designed study sessions and student-led instruction, all of which led to positive learning outcomes.
Outside the capstone, LUSB continues to distinguish itself with a faculty of experienced industry professionals who bring real-world expertise into every classroom. Students receive close mentorship, professional coaching and leadership development from the start of their first year.
“Our students aren’t just preparing for jobs,” Dr. Green said. “They’re preparing to launch their ventures, lead organizations and build communities. Our students think like entrepreneurs, act like consultants, and grow as leaders. That mindset is baked into every course we teach.”
In 2023, Langston University was named one of the Best HBCUs for Entrepreneurship by BestColleges.com, thanks in part to its Master of Entrepreneurial Studies program and its student-centered business culture. The Class of 2025’s test scores are another testament to LU’s HBCU excellence.
“We believe in turning raw talent into polished excellence,” Dr. Green said. “That’s the Langston way. And this exam result is proof that our approach is working.”
By Jet Turner, Assistant Director of Communications
Langston University held its 25th Annual Research Day on April 18, 2025. Research Day includes various disciplines, majors and students. Whether you are a biology or chemistry student, psychology student or even a computer science student, you are welcome to participate in Research Day.
Research Day aims to help students understand the practical applications of their learning. It shows students how their knowledge can serve society and provides an opportunity to demonstrate their problem solving and articulation skills. It also allows students to build their resumes, prepare for internships and graduate school applications, among many other skills.
“It’s the value added,” said Dr. John K. Coleman, Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “Once you get a culture where students (are presenting their research), you look at the student and you just see the product. Now they are starting to learn why they’re learning these theories and why they learn these concepts, and then what you can actually do with it and how you can help society. You’re here to learn, but you leave to serve. So how do you use what you’re learning? This is the part that teaches you how you use what you’re learning to serve society.”
Dr. Lindsay Davis, associate professor of chemistry, participated in the 13th Research Day when she was a student at LU.
Despite her fear and hesitation to present her research, she was well prepared and supported.
“Ultimately, Research Day gave me the confidence that I needed to pursue graduate school and to make these presentations a norm for me,” Dr. Davis said. “I was so scared of public speaking, and now it’s easy.
“So, Research Day definitely helps with their communication skills. But most importantly, I think it allows them to be a scientist, to communicate through research and to really achieve their goals.”
This year over 20 students participated in Research Day.
Josiah Grayson – Selection of Undergraduate Degree Major Among College Students
Senior, Computer Science Major
Josiah Grayson’s research explored the psychological and social factors influencing how college students, especially those at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), choose their academic majors.
Grayson’s studies revealed personal interest is the most important factor when a prospective student selects a major, which contradicts his hypothesis that financial considerations would be at the forefront of their decision-making process.
Grayson highlights that student interests are often “shaped by what they have been exposed to,” meaning individuals are more likely to pursue careers and majors they have seen modeled in their communities. For Black students specifically, this means decisions are “shaped by survival, legacy and representation.”
“Institutional culture and climate impacts persistence,” Grayson said. “What goes on at the university and then specifically in the department, how they teach the information, how they work with the students. Is there tutoring? These things highly impact whether or not somebody is actually going to finish their degree.”
Financial status, according to Grayson, still plays a significant role in a student’s decision in what major they select, even if it isn’t the primary driving force. Grayson notes that students from a lower socioeconomic status tend to be more risk-averse, often choosing a “more stable” career path, while students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds have more flexibility to pursue less conventional majors, if they so choose.
Kimbree Layton – Studying the Relationship Between Mental Health, Emotional Well-Being and Academic Well-Being Among College Athletes
Senior, Psychology Major
Kimbree Layton conducted a comprehensive study examining the relationship between mental health, emotional well-being and academic well-being among collegiate athletes at Langston University. Her research focused specifically on anxiety, depression and stress levels among student athletes.
The study employed a multi-scale survey approach, utilizing four different psychological assessment tools. Layton was able to collect data from 15 of Langston University’s student athletes, all of whom were female.
Findings revealed that Langston University student athletes generally demonstrated positive mental health indicators, showing no significant signs of depression, anxiety or stress.
“(The student athletes) think highly of professional help and seeking it when it is necessary,” Layton said.
Layton’s research highlighted several critical factors influencing student athlete mental health, including “the importance of their relationships” with coaches, professors and family. Modern student athletes must overcome a tough emotional landscape, and many challenge the stigma that they should always be “very mentally tough” and not show emotions.
While the study provides valuable insights, Layton recognized limitations in her research, including the small sample size and the use of somewhat dated psychological assessment scales. She recommended future research should “examine what relationships between scales and demographics” exist and potentially explore the impact of teammates on mental health, a dimension not fully explored in this current study.
Reginald M. Archibald II – Artificial Intelligence Biases in Healthcare
Senior, Computer Science Major
Reginald Archibald II explored the critical issue of artificial intelligence (AI) bias in healthcare, highlighting how AI models can perpetuate systemic inequalities.
Archibald’s research uncovered six types of bias in healthcare AI models: implicit, selection, measurement, confounding, temporal and algorithm bias.
An example pointed to in this research is the dermatology AI tool developed by Stanford University, which was trained predominantly on images of lighter-skinned individuals. This could have a significant negative impact on patients who have a darker skin complexation.
“When you go in and they’re trying to detect for skin cancer, oftentimes they’re not able to find it, and they might (misdiagnose) you,” Archibald said.
Several other real-world scenarios demonstrate the potential harm of biased AI. During the COVID-19 pandemic, pulse oximeters were found to miss conditions in Black patients three times more often than in other races. Another study revealed an AI algorithm that based healthcare decisions on costs that systematically undervalued Black patients’ health needs.
To address these critical issues, Archibald proposes multiple solutions. These include conducting bias audits before AI deployment, training healthcare professionals on AI decision-making processes and incorporating synthetic data to improve representation.
He emphasizes the importance of diversity in AI development, stating that diverse team members can provide “ethical background knowledge about their race, their gender, their age group and their economic status.”
By The Langston University Office of Public Relations
TULSA, Okla. – The Langston University – Tulsa Campus will begin offering Public Health and Healthcare Administration majors during the 2025-2026 academic year.
These additions to the LU – Tulsa campus support Langston University’s commitment to expanding the healthcare workforce not just in the Tulsa community, but also throughout the state of Oklahoma and beyond.
These additional programs added to LU – Tulsa expand learning opportunities for working adults, older learners and returning students to pursue a degree with the flexibility and support needed for their busy lives and career goals.
Assistant Professor Dr. Sandra Brown said the classes in the Langston University School of Nursing and Health Professions are designed to focus on the practical application of public health and healthcare management theories, offering real-world and dynamic teaching-learning experiences.
“We provide an interdisciplinary approach to learning,” Dr. Brown said. “Healthcare leaders can no longer afford to learn and work in silos. Interdisciplinary professional education is critical to understanding the multiple roles in healthcare, is essential in fostering mutual respect, and helps to enhance patient outcomes.”
Healthcare administrators are crucial for the efficient and effective operation of healthcare facilities, while public health professionals are critical for protecting and improving community health by focusing on disease prevention, health promotion and equitable access to healthcare.
Because of the importance of these programs, they will have a significant impact on the Tulsa area by producing a more skilled and better-prepared workforce to meet the growing demand in the healthcare industry. With a projected job growth rate of about 28% – one of the highest in the nation – there is no indication of a slowdown. By equipping professionals with advanced knowledge and practical skills, the public health and healthcare administration programs will contribute to enhancing the overall quality of care in the communities of Tulsa and surrounding areas.
Dr. Teressa Hunter, Dean of the School of Nursing and Health Professions, expressed her enthusiasm for the expansion.
“We are proud to expand Langston University’s presence in Tulsa by offering degree programs in Public Health and Healthcare Administration,” Dr. Hunter said. “These new majors reflect our strategic focus on workforce development and health equity throughout Oklahoma.”
With a low faculty-to-student ratio, students enrolled in the Public Health and Healthcare Administration majors will have more one-on-one learning opportunities. This creates a highly engaged and supportive learning environment. Students interested in these programs can expect a dynamic and enriching education led by experienced, compassionate faculty who are committed to student success.
Enrollment is now open for Healthcare Administration and Public Health classes at LU-Tulsa:
Healthcare Administration Courses:
HA 3253 – Introduction to Healthcare Administration
HA 3063 – Introduction to Gerontology
Public Health Courses:
PUH 2333 – Introduction to Public Health
PUH 2313 – Global Health
If you are currently a student at Langston University, you may enroll in these classes by contacting LU-Tulsa Campus Advisor Ms. Deborah O’Guin at deborah.oguin@langston.edu and at (918) 887-8123. You may also reach out to Langston Campus Advisor Ms. Carolyn Johnson at carolyn.s.johnson@langston.edu.
If you are not currently a student at Langston University, you may apply at the Langston University website.
Every year on Mother’s Day, Dr. Emily Patterson Harris gets a call from one of her former students.
When that student was younger, he attended and dropped out of two colleges, but Dr. Harris wasn’t having it.
“It took me two years to talk him into coming to Langston University and giving it another try,” Dr. Harris said. “And he did. We had some rough times in there, but he finished, and he calls me on Mother’s Day.”
Not all of her student interactions have been as friendly.
Once, while walking down the stairs at the LU-Tulsa campus, a student stopped Dr. Harris to talk. She knew the student sometimes struggled to balance his schoolwork with his responsibilities as a father, but she also knew he was capable of it.
“He stopped me, and he said, ‘Well, I want you to know that I’m going to graduate, if for no other reason than to get you off of my back,’” Dr. Harris said. She responded with an upbeat, “OK!”
That student did graduate, and he went on to earn his master’s degree, too. She still sees him and talks with him occasionally.
Dr. Harris has countless stories like these because she’s been working with students for over 40 years. She has worked tirelessly to develop well-defined and relevant programs that will help students get jobs after graduation, and she has also worked to make sure students make it to graduation. From working with them in the classroom to advising those who left to figure out how to come back, Dr. Harris doesn’t give up on her students. She cares about them, and she knows that for many, earning their degree will change their life.
Education is Transformative
Dr. Harris has always believed in the power of education, and she understands better than most that the transformative effects of earning a degree can be felt for generations. Her own family is a prime example. Her maternal grandmother, Emily Alford, only had an 8th grade education, but she was determined to send her children to college. They came to Langston University.
Violet Alford, Dr. Harris’ mother, graduated from Langston University with a B.S. in Business in 1950.
Dr. Harris’ mother, Violet, graduated from Langston University in 1950 with a B.S. in Business. Her father, Lee V. Patterson, Sr., graduated from LU that same year with a B.S. in Industrial Arts. They both had successful teaching careers in Oklahoma, and they made sure their children understood education was important. The message was echoed by Dr. Harris’ aunts and uncles as she and her cousins prepared to go to college, and they eventually passed the message along to their children, too.
Today, the younger generations of the family understand that education is transformative, and Dr. Harris’ son Erick said they all expect to go on to earn the highest-level degrees available for their chosen professions. Four generations after Emily Alford, the average degree in the family is a masters.
“I go back to that initial decision that my grandmother made that a college education was important,” Dr. Harris said. “That one decision has impacted generations of my family.”
It has also, in turn, allowed Dr. Harris to impact thousands of others.
Dr. Harris graduated from her father’s alma mater, Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but she did not follow in her parents’ footsteps to attend Langston University. Instead, she chose to attend Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, and her experiences there reinforced her beliefs about the power of HBCUs. She went on to earn her Master of Library and Information Studies from the State University of New York at Buffalo before moving to Texas to serve as a librarian at Houston Community College.
After a three-year stint in Houston, Dr. Harris came home to Oklahoma. Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Roosevelt Mack, she officially joined the Lion Pride as a librarian at the LU-Tulsa campus in 1981.
Building Something
Langston University’s Tulsa campus opened in 1979. It was the first public institution to offer graduate and upper level higher education courses in Tulsa.
The Langston University-Tulsa campus had been established just two years prior when Dr. Harris joined the staff.
It was the first public institution to offer upper-level higher education classes in Tulsa, and in 1982, it worked together with Oklahoma State University (OSU), the University of Oklahoma (OU) and Northeastern State University (NSU) to form the University Center at Tulsa. Still a firm believer in the importance of education, Dr. Harris was excited to be a part of bringing access to higher education to her hometown.
Serving as a librarian for all academic programs gave Dr. Harris an opportunity to work closely with the students in Tulsa, and she found she enjoyed getting to know them while helping them access the materials they needed for their classes. She was good at her job, and she was soon asked to move to the Langston campus to serve as the Acting Director of the G. Lamar Harrison Library while the school looked for a permanent director.
When she returned to LU-Tulsa a year later, she knew she was ready to take on more responsibility.
She transitioned from the library to a position as an academic counselor. It was around this time that Dr. Wessylyne A. Simpson, Dr. Harris’ aunt who was then the Dean of the School of Education and Behavioral Sciences (SOEBS), was working to expand the program offerings at the Tulsa campus. Dr. Harris worked with Dr. Simpson, SOEBS faculty and Diana Sharp to bring the Teacher Education program to Tulsa.
“We worked on paperwork and made sure we had all the bylaws and everything set up before we could start recruiting students,” said Sharp, who still works at LU-Tulsa as an administrative assistant. “We all put our heads together and started the program here, and it’s taken off ever since.”
Diana Sharp (right) has worked with Dr. Harris since she joined the LU-Tulsa staff in 1983.
Sharp liked working with Dr. Harris right from the start. Her first impression of Dr. Harris in 1983 was of a peppy, happy-go-lucky person who was very easy to talk with. Forty years later, Sharp said that’s still how she’d describe her.
This was the first of many projects Sharp and Dr. Harris would work on together over the years, and Sharp said she appreciated Dr. Harris’ positive attitude and her willingness to try several approaches until they found one that would work. She also appreciated that Dr. Harris knew how to leave work at work, allowing them to form a personal friendship in addition to a professional one.
Thanks to their hard work, they were able to bring the Teacher Education program to LU-Tulsa in 1985. The program was housed on the seventh floor of the building they shared with OSU at 440 S. Houston St., and Dr. Harris took on the role of Associate Director for Teacher Education at LU-Tulsa.
For 12 years, she supervised the teacher education program at the Tulsa campus. She loved working with students and continued to serve as an advisor. In 1986, she also began teaching as an assistant professor in SOEBS, focusing mostly on psychology and education courses.
She went back to school and earned her Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration from OSU in 1989, and she said she is eternally grateful to the late Dr. Mack for his continual support throughout this time as she juggled work and doctoral coursework. She also wanted to thank Dr. Ernest L. Holloway, LU’s longest-serving president, and Dr. C. Gary Crooms.
“There’ve been powerful leaders, master teachers and mentors that encouraged me and were great at their chosen fields,” Dr. Harris said. “The late Dr. Holloway continually focused on challenges as opportunities. Dr. Crooms taught me to look at those challenges from multiple perspectives.”
Dr. Harris finished her doctorate, completed additional coursework in Behavioral Sciences and became certified to teach Social Studies, Language Arts and Library Media. She took her mentors’ lessons as well as everything she’d learned from her own classroom experiences as both a teacher and student to try to continually improve her own classes.
“What I loved about teaching is just the fact that there’s always more information,” Dr. Harris said. “And I’m a librarian, so I love looking for information. You can never get tired of finding new things or new ways of doing things, and sometimes your students will send you off in a different direction.”
Students First
Dr. Harris (far right) served as the Associate Vice President for the LU-Tulsa Campus for almost 12 years.
Dr. Harris was dedicated to her work, and that’s something to which her family can attest. Her two sons spent a lot of their free time at the LU-Tulsa campus and witnessed how hard their mother worked for the students there.
One day, an 8-year-old Erick approached Dr. Virginia Schoats, the campus site director, and told her as much.
“My mom was always working hard,” Erick said. “I had just found out what the word ‘promotion’ meant, and once I realized that I said, ‘Oh, well she deserves one of those.’ And because (Dr. Schoats) was her boss I thought, ‘She’s the one that can give it to her.’”
Not long after, Dr. Schoats did recommend Dr. Harris for a promotion.
In 1997, she became the Associate Vice President for LU-Tulsa, the person who ran the campus. She also served as the Institutional Representative for Langston University to the University Center at Tulsa, advocating for the needs of LU students and faculty while working to improve access to higher education for all Tulsans.
Though her duties and responsibilities changed, her goal stayed the same: to guide students to degree completion.
At this time, the average age of the students at LU-Tulsa was about 34. Dr. Harris recognized early on that their needs would be different than the needs of students at the Langston campus, so she tried to keep their work and familial responsibilities in mind. She, the faculty and staff in Tulsa tried to make it as feasible as possible for students to take classes, offering everything from a bookstore to a registrar’s office on campus so students wouldn’t have to make the drive to the Langston campus.
“We had it set up making sure that once they got out from work, we had every avenue for (students) to be able to take courses so that they would still be able to graduate,” Sharp said. “We made sure the students were happy and taken care of, no matter how many different hats we had to wear.”
Dr. Harris’ motto was to meet students where they were and never take anything personally, and she gave that advice to her student teachers as well as her faculty.
She understood that students, the same as everyone, had challenges in their lives outside of class and were sometimes prone to take that out on their teachers. But she also knew she had to look past that in order to assist them, and she was determined to help them.
“We’re all works in progress,” Dr. Harris said. “I emphasize that we each have our own individual paths.”
Dr. Harris has always done everything in her power to help students make it to graduation.
Students drop out of college for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes they don’t feel they have time to go to class. Sometimes they can’t afford it. Sometimes they just don’t want to do it anymore. If a student dropped out of LU-Tulsa, Dr. Harris wanted to know why.
She would contact them to follow up on why they chose to leave school. Then she would encourage them and brainstorm solutions.
“She would make those calls, and once she got them here, she would do all the rest of it,” Sharp said. “She was making sure that students were taken care of and just trying to get them to realize that, you know, ‘You’re so close. Don’t lose this.’”
Many students returned to school thanks to Dr. Harris’ efforts, and many other students stayed in school for the same reasons.
Dr. Harris recalled that once, an alumnus whom she hadn’t seen in years walked up to her and abruptly told her that he used to hate her. Unflappable as always, she simply responded, “Oh, you did?” He said he really did.
He told her he used to complain about all the work she made them do in her classes. He didn’t appreciate all the readings, essays and other homework she assigned, and it made him resent her during his time as a student.
“And then he said, ‘I just wanted to tell you that I earned my masters,’” Dr. Harris said. “And he told me the program he’d gone through, and he said, ‘If it hadn’t been for you, I would not have made it through that program. And I just wanted to come back and share that with you.’
“That’s the beauty, I think, about Langston University, no matter the campus. There is just a history of balancing those two things of nurturing a student but also having great expectations for those students. ‘LU graduates around the globe serve as leaders, innovators and engaged citizens,’ to quote our vision statement.”
A Lasting Legacy
Dr. Ruth Ray Jackson said Dr. Harris embodies the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., motto: Service to All Mankind.
In 2008, Dr. Harris became the “Gear Up” Program Director and Coordinator for the Department of Psychology at LU-Tulsa. She worked closely with Tulsa Public Schools to design and deliver programs meant to encourage college attendance and completion at Tulsa-area middle and high schools while continuing her work as a professor and the leader of the psychology program in Tulsa.
In 2018, she was appointed Chair of the Department of Psychology for all LU campuses, and in 2019 she became Dean of the School of Education and Behavioral Sciences. She has also served, when the need arose, as Acting Dean of University Libraries. Throughout it all, she has continued her efforts to help students learn and make it to graduation.
“Dr. Harris has done a phenomenal job,” President Ruth Ray Jackson said. “Even in her role as Dean, she continues to advise students and to meet with transfer students. Of course, she’s now in a position where she’s solving problems and listening to complaints and concerns from both students and faculty, but she’s consistently energized and ready to meet somebody and help them get to where they want to go.”
Dr. Harris has become known for the positive energy she brings to projects and her willingness to try several routes until she finds the one that will work. Dr. Jackson called her a creative problem solver, and she’s had a lot of experience doing it.
During her 44 years at Langston University, Dr. Harris has tackled lots of challenges, from redesigning curricula to helping develop completely new ones. Though she has almost 40 years of teaching experience, she continued trying out different teaching strategies up until she taught her last class in 2024 because she knew there was always room for improvement. She knows Langston University inside and out, and she has made a lasting impact.
“My mother is one of the most encouraging people that I’ve ever known,” Erick said. “She supports you, but there’s a nice edge to her that will push you and encourage you to keep moving forward. And that’s what she’s done at Langston University.”
Throughout her career, Dr. Harris has been the model of a servant-leader, both in her personal and professional life.
Her youngest son, Christopher, said he’s grateful to have grown up with Dr. Harris as a role model because she inspires him to try to be a leader in his own industry, noting that he often models his own behavior after her in professional settings. He also recognized that his mother’s career at LU has always gone beyond her job descriptions.
“You recognize the sacrifice almost after the fact,” Christopher said. “She could have had positions and titles that would’ve paid more at other institutions and in other states, but not everything is about financial gain.
“It’s having us grow up around our grandparents, and from a career perspective, it’s saying that you can have a positive impact on people’s lives and be that role model of what leadership looks like.”
She is a longtime member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and Dr. Jackson, a fellow AKA, said Dr. Harris embodies their sorority’s motto: Service to All Mankind.
Dr. Harris said it’s not hard to find ways to serve because they will usually find you. Now, after four decades of service to Dear Langston, she is finally ready to retire. Her last day will be June 30, though she jokes it will really be “the 12th of never.”
“I’m sure I will (miss teaching),” Dr. Harris said. “But I’m sure that I can find all kinds of creative things to do.
“I say, ‘Don’t look back. You’re not going in that direction.’”
Dr. Harris will retire from Langston University after 44 years of service on June 30.
Langston University is excited to announce an allocation of $10,125,000 from the Oklahoma State Legislature to address deferred maintenance projects across the university in fiscal year 2026. This special allocation is a direct result of the recent Carnegie designation of Research or College University awarded to our institution. The funding will be used to address infrastructure needs at all three LU campuses with a particular focus on the needs of the university’s historic Langston campus.
The Legislature passed Senate Bill 1169, which increases the percentage of Oklahoma Capital Asset Management and Protection (OCAMP) deferred maintenance funding allocated to Langston University by the Oklahoma Legislature. With this funding, the university plans to pursue a number of high-impact projects which are aimed at enhancing the experience for students, faculty, and staff including select HVAC upgrades, plumbing modernizations, and addressing various infrastructure priorities that will improve campus safety, accessibility and operational efficiency.
“The funding will help us make prioritized improvements which are essential to providing our students, faculty and staff with the quality learning, working and living environments they deserve,” President Ruth Ray Jackson said.
Langston University has continually made strategic investments through federal grants and other funding sources to address critical infrastructure needs at the Langston, Tulsa and Oklahoma City campuses. However, many of these necessary improvements take months of planning, must be competitively bid, and the scope of required improvements has consistently exceeded available resources. This increased funding will greatly aid the university as it prepares to take on these high-priority projects.
Last year, the university received $3.5 million to address deferred maintenance projects, $2.5 million of which is earmarked to replace the roof at the LU-Oklahoma City campus.
Langston University appreciates the leadership of the Oklahoma Legislature, Gov. Kevin Stitt, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and the Oklahoma A&M Board of Regents for their continued support of higher education infrastructure.
The university is especially grateful to Sen. Chuck Hall, who represents the Langston campus, for his leadership in advancing this legislation. The university also recognizes the broad, bipartisan support from legislators across the state who understand the critical importance of this investment in Oklahoma’s public institutions.
“Langston University is committed to responsibly stewarding these resources to advance our mission and continue serving our students and communities with excellence,” Dr. Jackson said.
At 10 a.m. on a bright and sunny Monday morning less than two weeks into his summer vacation, Tomas was back in the classroom.
The rising junior from Southeastern High School in Oklahoma City listened excitedly as Dr. Lindsay Davis explained the Quiz Bowl rules to a lecture hall full of students from the 2025 Langston University Math and Science Academy. Like many of his fellow Academy students, Tomas was ready to compete for bragging rights in the fast-paced trivia game.
They were split into two teams that rotated in groups of four to compete head-to-head answering questions ranging from pop culture trivia to properly solving math equations. In no time at all, the room was filled with excited shouts and laughter as the students raced to their buzzers, trying to be the first to correctly answer a question and earn points for their team.
“Currently, since we’re learning about the Quiz Bowl, I’m going to try my best to excel in that,” Tomas said. “And just overall, I’m trying to improve my skills and learn new things with my teachers.”
Students play Quiz Bowl at the 2025 Langston University Math and Science Academy.
The Quiz Bowl was just one of many activities these high school students participated in during the Math and Science Academy. For two weeks, the 25 students who made up this year’s cohort lived on LU’s Langston campus and got a taste of what life is like in college. They spent their days learning about math, science and technology and their evenings relaxing and having fun.
The students took classes on public speaking, ACT preparation, math, biology, chemistry and technology. They also went on outings such as touring the E. Kika de la Garza Goat Research Center, a day trip to the Oklahoma Science Museum in Oklahoma City, and a field trip to a water park. In the evenings, there were movie nights and other recreational activities.
“What I especially like here is that while they are giving you work, they’re more into their lessons,” Tomas said. “They’re more into teaching. Like, I have this one teacher, Dr. Abraham, and while in the middle of lectures, if you have questions, he makes sure to answer all of them. That’s really cool because the teachers here invest so much of their time and knowledge into the students that even if you didn’t want to do the work, you’re still going to learn.”
For more than 30 years, Langston University has hosted the Math and Science Academy in the summers to inspire high schoolers to pursue careers in STEM. Dr. Lindsay Davis took over as Summer Camp Director for the Academy three years ago, but long before that, she was a student herself.
As a high schooler in Oklahoma City, Dr. Davis attended the Math and Science Academy every summer. That’s where she first met Dr. John Coleman and Dr. Alonzo Peterson, who were LU faculty members in chemistry and mathematics, respectively. It was the first time she had ever met a Black chemist or a Black mathematician, and it was also the first time she realized those were careers she could pursue if she wished.
Each summer, Dr. Davis was excited to return to the Academy and learn more about math and chemistry until she was finally able to enroll in the Chemistry program at Langston University. She went on to become the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Texas at Arlington in 2021 before returning to Langston University as a faculty member working under Dr. Coleman, Interim Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences; and Dr. Peterson, Vice President of Academic Affairs.
“Oftentimes, I tell people that Math and Science Academy is what inspired me to become a chemist,” Dr. Davis said. “Because I’ve been through the program, I understood the impact that it had. So, my goal (as director) was to be very intentional, to plant seeds in the students because it was once a seed planted in me.”
Chloe, a rising junior at Baton Rouge Magnet High School in Louisiana, has been inspired to explore new career paths thanks to her time at the Academy.
Before coming to the Academy, Chloe was thinking about becoming either an interior designer or a physical therapist, but she hadn’t made up her mind. The Academy gave her an opportunity to learn more about other fields she hadn’t considered.
In her technology class, she learned about different types of coding and had an opportunity to practice coding on a board while building a smart farm. As someone who loves lotion, one of her favorite activities was making lotion in her chemistry class.
“(The Math and Science Academy) is all about STEM, so it really gives me an inside look into what it’s like,” Chloe said. “The teachers talk about what they do, and the different fields and majors you can go into. You get to do a lot of different things.”
This year, in addition to the traditional academic and social elements of the Academy, Dr. Davis wanted to add professional development and community building elements. She added Intro to Public Speaking to their daily class schedules and brought in faculty and staff members to serve as guest speakers on topics like financial literacy and navigating financial aid in college.
In an effort to be more connected to the local community, this year’s cohort also attended a Memorial Day program at the Wm Conrad Veterans Memorial Gardens in the Town of Langston. Later in the week, they completed a service-learning project to help beautify T.G. Green Park in the Town of Langston.
“I think that the Math and Science Academy can help in many ways,” Dr. Davis said. “Not only academically, socially and personally, but we had a chance to get the students into the community and to do some good work.”
Another important element of the camp was preparing students for the ACT.
On their first day, the students took a practice ACT to help give them a baseline from which to start. For some of the students, it was their first time taking an ACT or SAT test. Every day, they attended an ACT preparation class in the mornings, and on the last day of the Academy, they took the official ACT exam.
On average, each student improved by three points from their practice test score.
The opportunity to improve his ACT score was something Tomas was happy about because he’d only taken the test once before the Academy. Improving his score was important to him because he knew he wanted to pursue a career as a forensic chemist, and a good ACT score will help him get into a good program.
Throughout the Academy, though, he learned a lot more than just how to improve his ACT. He was particularly excited to discover a new interest in pathology thanks to his biology class with Dr. Abraham. He learned the difference between epidemiology and pathology, and it’s already changed his perspective on his potential future career.
Experiences like this are part of what allows the Math and Science Academy to have such a profound impact on students, and it’s why Tomas said he encourages other students to apply.
“It was a very good experience,” Tomas said. “This camp is amazing, and it can teach you so many new things. In one week, you learn stuff that it would take regular teachers weeks to teach. It’s just amazing.”
The Math and Science Academy is funded by the Oklahoma Regents for Higher Education, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
The Langston University Marching Pride Band has once again earned its place on the national stage as it was invited to compete in three “Battle of the Bands” this fall, including the 2025 Pepsi National Battle of the Bands.
The Marching Pride is an elite and celebrated ensemble consistently ranked among the Top 10 HBCU Division II bands, and it will be one of eight Historically Black College or University (HBCU) bands competing in the Pepsi National Battle of the Bands in Houston on Aug. 22-24. This will be their third time participating in the Pepsi National Battle of the Bands; they made their last appearance in 2023.
“The students put in a whole lot of hard work,” said LU’s Director of Bands Dr. Mark Gordon. “From dancing to playing to keeping time, we do stuff that a lot of people can’t do. Not everyone can play the horn and dance and mark time and stay in sync all at the same time.”
The Pepsi National Battle of the Bands was established in 2014 as a celebration of HBCU musical excellence, cultural pride and community engagement. Gordon plans to take between 260-300 students to Houston to compete alongside bands from Alabama A&M University, Albany State University, Florida A&M University, Jackson State University, North Carolina A&T State University, Prairie View A&M University and Texas Southern University.
The Marching Pride will compete against many of these bands again a week later in the HBCU Labor Day Classic Battle of the Bands in Jackson, Mississippi.
Established in 2016, the HBCU Labor Day Classic will bring together the Top 10 HBCU Bands from across the country for an exciting competition that will exhibit the rich traditions of HBCU musical excellence. This year, that lineup will include Langston University, Jackson State University, Alabama A&M University, Alcorn State University, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Southern University, Alabama State University, Grambling State University, Talladega College and Mississippi Valley State University.
Following the Langston University football season opener against Grambling State University in Shreveport, Louisiana, on Aug. 30, the Marching Pride will load their buses and head to Mississippi to compete on Aug. 31. This will be their first time participating in the HBCU Labor Day Classic.
On Sept. 28, the Marching Pride will hit the road again for Wake Up Crank Up, a battle of the bands fundraiser in Dallas, where they will again face Grambling State University, Texas Southern University, University of Arkansas Pine Bluff and Alcorn State University. This fundraiser will feature both collegiate and high school bands.
“These are good experiences for the students,” Gordon said. “It gives them some publicity, and it also gives them a chance to travel and see the world.”
The Marching Pride Band has earned a reputation for excellence with performances on national stages such as the Pepsi National Battle of the Bands, the Honda Battle of the Bands, and multiple NBA halftime shows. The band has also shared the stage with popular performers like David Hollister and Lizzo, and it regularly participates in popular events like New Orleans Mardi Gras parades.
The Marching Pride has experienced exponential growth tied to its national success over the past few years. When Gordon took over as band director in 2019, the band only had 45 students. Now the band has over 300 students from a variety of backgrounds, including dozens of international students who come to Langston University just to participate in the band. The band members are dedicated to their studies, and many of them earn GPAs of 3.0 and above. The band also boasts the second highest retention rate for any student group at the university.
By Jet Turner, Assistant Director of Communications
Brianna Campbell had not felt well in weeks.
An apple here, a smoothie there; that was all she could muster to eat. Not feeling well has been common to Campbell since she was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at 13 years old, but something this time felt a little “off.”
Campbell, who was 19 years old at the time, was in the process of switching from her pediatric endocrinologist to an adult endocrinologist and was having difficulties getting the supplies she needed for her diabetes. Her blood sugar was high for several days and she had no idea.
With midterms coming up, she didn’t really have time to think about it.
Campbell had not attended class in-person for about two weeks, as professors were hosting remote classes due to the spread of COVID-19. Hardly leaving her dorm, how she felt wasn’t really a concern to her at the time.
She woke up on Sept. 20, 2023, less than ready to take her English midterm.
“I woke up not feeling good at all,” Campbell said. “I was out of breath, breathing very, very hard trying to get dressed and get down the stairs to get to my car.”
She parked in front of Jones Hall on Langston University’s campus. Just getting out of the vehicle and walking into the building was exhausting.
Campbell sat at a desk and, as soon as the professor passed the exams out, she hurried to the bathroom to throw up.
“That’s probably not a good sign, but I have to take this midterm,” Campbell said.
She found her way back to class, but not long after sweating over the exam she had to go back to the restroom. Stumbling down the hallway this time, she just made it to the bathroom door before passing out.
Not long afterward, a friend of Campbell’s found her. She was already waking up but didn’t have enough strength to stand. Campbell’s friend went to find her professor, and the professor called 911.
Paramedics arrived and took Campbell to the hospital. Her professor followed to ensure she was OK. They alerted her roommate, who called Campbell’s parents and let them know what was happening.
Campbell was admitted to the emergency room, and the tests began.
She was immediately tested for COVID-19, which came back positive. Her blood sugar level was also around 600 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), about six times higher than the norm. Most surprising, they found her hemoglobin levels to be at a 4, when the normal range is about 12-15 for adult women. A blood transfusion was needed.
“I signed my own consent form for a blood transfusion at 19 years old,” Campbell said. “I sign it, then turn to my professor and ask, ‘What is a blood transfusion?’”
About the same time as she was admitted into the hospital, Campbell’s parents arrived.
Brianna Campbell and her family.
The next several hours were a blur of CT scans and blood work as doctors worked to get to the root of what was making Campbell so sick. That night she stayed in the hospital for monitoring.
She awoke early the next morning, and soon a doctor was in to give the prognosis. Campbell called her parents on the phone so they could receive the news at the same time.
“They think it’s leukemia,” Campbell said.
She was transferred to Oklahoma Children’s Hospital in Oklahoma City that morning. The next day, Campbell had a bone marrow biopsy to determine if she had leukemia. After the procedure, she slept the rest of the day.
The next day the doctors came back and said leukemia was off the table. They now thought it was myelodysplastic syndrome.
According to Mayo Clinic, ” Myelodysplastic syndromes are a group of disorders caused by blood cells that are poorly formed or don’t work properly. Myelodysplastic syndromes result from something amiss in the spongy material inside your bones where blood cells are made (bone marrow).”
A bone marrow transplant is the only potential cure for myelodysplastic syndrome. During the transplant, a high dose of chemotherapy drugs is used to clean out defective red blood cells from the bone marrow.
After the transplant you have a brand-new immune system, and your body needs time to not only adjust to it, but to isolate so you don’t get sick.
This was what potentially awaited Campbell as she left the hospital six days later to head back to Keller, Texas. Campbell, with the help of her parents, decided to withdraw from Langston University because there was no telling how long this process would take.
On Oct. 20, 2023, one month after she passed out during her midterm, she got the results.
It turned out Campbell didn’t have myelodysplastic syndrome, or anything nearly as serious. Campbell has pernicious anemia, a rare B12 vitamin deficiency where her body cannot absorb the vitamin through food, which can be easily treated with supplements, shots, a diet change and other simple measures depending on the severity.
Brianna Campbell received medical treatment.
Campbell and her parents were relieved.
“Looking back on it, I really don’t like that they told me all of these things I might have before the tests were official,” Campbell said.
Because of what she went through, Campbell decided to change her major and pursue a degree in nursing. Campbell began taking online classes at the University of Texas at Arlington to not fall behind, but she quickly became frustrated with the pace of her education. She was progressing slower than she wanted and missed the social aspect of college she had come to love at Langston University.
Campbell began considering her options. Should she go back to Langston University? Enroll in another college in-person? Or should she continue online? Her parents were hoping that, whatever decision she made, Campbell would remain close to home after all she went through.
Campbell was returning to Langston University often in the months following her pernicious anemia diagnosis to see her friends.
“I was just really missing Langston at this point,” Campbell said. “I would come (to Langston University) for days on end, and they would go to class, and I’d be like, ‘I wish I had classes to go to.’”
Langston University President Ruth Ray Jackson had been in contact with Campbell and her family during this whole process, even visiting Campbell in the hospital. Dr. Jackson and Campbell’s mother had remained in contact, and Campbell began emailing and texting Dr. Jackson about possibly returning to Dear Langston.
Dr. Jackson helped Campbell find the proper offices and people to begin the re-enrollment process.
Brianna Campbell and her family enjoy homecoming with Dr. Ruth Ray Jackson.
Campbell eventually told her parents she wanted to go back to Langston University as a student.
“When they asked why, I told them that I never believed Langston University was a steppingstone,” Campbell said. “I don’t believe it was ever a wrong choice. I think that it is the first decision that I made as an adult to go to this university. I decided to move out of state, I decided to come to this university. I decided to go to an HBCU, and it’s a decision that never felt wrong to me. I want to honor that decision from my younger self, that first decision I made as an adult.”
Campbell returned to Langston University in the Fall of 2024. Now a sophomore, she’s made it a point to get the most out of her experience the second time around.
She is excelling in her nursing classes and hopes to be helping people just like her as soon as possible. Additionally, Campbell competed in the Alpha Pi Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. 2024-2025 Miss Krimson and Kream pageant that returning semester, winning the title of Miss Alpha Pi.
“I think having to leave and come back, you are able to appreciate Langston more,” Campbell said. “I think I’ve done 10 times more things than I would have done if I had just gone through normally. When I came back, I wanted to get out there, meet people, join things.
“You don’t realize what you have until you lose it.”
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Legislative Black Caucus Chairwoman Barbara Gervin-Hawkins (D120) and the Texas Legislative Black Caucus announce Chelle Luper Wilson as Executive Director.
“We are thrilled to welcome Chelle Luper Wilson to the Texas Legislative Black Caucus (TLBC). As a leader focused on effective change, Ms. Wilson is dedicated to assisting the TLBC reach greater heights and fully supporting the TLBC’s top priorities moving forward,” said Texas Legislative Black Caucus Chairwoman Representative Barbara Gervin-Hawkins (D120).
Ms. Luper Wilson brings to the role a wealth of experience. In addition to her professional experience, she is an extraordinary communicator who brings great passion to this important work. Additionally, her professional background held in some of the nation’s largest advocacy organizations are a big asset to TLBC.
A third-generation HBCU graduate, Ms. Luper Wilson holds a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from HBCU Langston University, a M.A. in Multicultural Women’s and Gender Studies from Texas Woman’s University, where she is also a third-year doctoral student in the department of Language, Culture and Gender.
“I have been engaged in political advocacy my entire life and have seen up close and personal the tremendous leadership and impact TLBC has here at the state capitol and across the great state of Texas. As we write the next chapter of the TLBC story in this unique time in history, I am excited for the opportunity to lend my experience and passion for supporting the collective vision and important work of this storied Caucus.” – Chelle Luper Wilson
A dedicated community advocate and trailblazer, Chelle is a former member of the National Board of Directors of the NAACP, member of the National CROWN Act Collective Strategic Partnership Council, American Heart Association National Diversity Leadership Council, former South Central Regional Director and International Secretary of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc®. She is also an active member of The Links, Inc., Jack & Jill of America, Inc., and the National Association of Black Journalists. Ms. Luper Wilson is the daughter of the late civil rights activist, Clara Luper.
“I have no doubt that the Texas Black Caucus Foundation will be in capable hands under her leadership,” said Senator Royce West (D23), Chairman of the Texas Black Caucus Foundation Board of Directors. “I warmly welcome Chelle Luper Wilson, and I look forward to working with her. She has the full support of the TBCF Board to carry out this critical leadership role.”
