| February
7, 2007
Norman - Four University of Oklahoma College of Arts and Sciences alumni will be honored for their contributions at the local, national and international levels Friday, Feb. 23, during the college’s annual Kaleidoscope Evening. Recipients of the 2007 College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award are John W. Saunders Jr., representing the natural sciences; Elizabeth Garrett, representing the social sciences; Dick M. Lowry, representing the humanities; and Barbara Lynn “Lindy” Gans Ritz, representing the professional schools. GEICO will be recognized for exceptional service to the college by receiving the Distinguished Service Award.
Saunders graduated from OU in 1940 with a bachelor of science degree and in 1941 with a master of science degree in zoology. He also received the Phi Sigma Scholarship Medal, Omega Chapter, and was elected a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He then attended Johns Hopkins University until 1943, when he put his studies on hold to serve in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific Theater. Saunders returned to Johns Hopkins in 1946 and received a doctorate in 1948. He has made many notable contributions to the field of developmental biology and has written many textbooks on the subject.
Currently professor emeritus of biological sciences at the State University of New York at Albany, Saunders’ career has spanned several decades and made a lasting impression on the scientific community. In addition to teaching at SUNY Albany, Saunders has held positions at the University of Pennsylvania, Marquette University, University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University and Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass. He was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1983 and a Life Member in 1997. Saunders served on the board of directors for the American Cancer Society, Milwaukee Division and as chairman of the Advisory Committee for Biology and Medicine for the National Science Foundation. A Who’s Who Biographee, Saunders also has been named an Outstanding Educator of America and was awarded a Conklin Medal for Distinguished Contributions to Developmental Biology by the American Society for Developmental Biology. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Saunders and his wife, Lilyan, reside in Falmouth, Mass.
Garrett graduated Phi Beta Kappa from OU with special distintion in 1985 with a bachelor of arts in history. While at OU, she also was active in student government, PE-ET, Omicron Delta Kappa and Chi Omega Sorority. She attended the University of Virginia School of Law and clerked for the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, and for Judge Stephen Williams, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Garrett also worked as legislative director and tax and budget counsel for David L. Boren while he served as a U.S. senator.
She was appointed in 2005 by President George W. Bush to serve on the President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform. She co-authored Cases of Materials on Legislation: Statutes and the Creation of Public Policy, a leading casebook on legislation and statutory interpretation. Prior to joining the faculty at University of Southern California, Garrett was a professor of law at the University of Chicago and visiting professor at Harvard Law School, the University of Virginia Law School, Central European University in Budapest and the Interdisciplinary Center Law School in Israel. She is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a member of the editorial board of the Election Law Journal.
Garrett currently serves as vice president for academic planning and budget at USC. She also holds the Sydney M. Irmas Professor of Public Interest Law, Legal Ethics, Political Science, and Policy, Planning and Development there.
In addition to being recognized as a distinguished alumnae of the college, Garrett will present a free, public lecture “The Politics of Advice: Substance, Structure and Sunshine,” at 2 p.m. in the Heritage Room of Oklahoma Memorial Union, 900 Asp Ave.
Lowry is a 1967 graduate from OU with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish. Following his graduation, Lowry attended the American Film Institute and received a Master of Fine Arts in 1976. He began his career in Hollywood in the 1970s, producing and directing such projects as Barnaby Jones, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Jane Mansfield Story, NYPD Blue, Last Stand at Saber River and more recently Crossing Jordan and Category 7: The End of the World.
Lowry will lead a free, public screening and discussion of Category 7: The End of the World will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 21, at the Mary Eddy and Fred Jones Auditorium in the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave.
Ritz earned her bachelor of science degree in fashion merchandise from OU in 1971. She received a master’s degree in aviation and space science from Oklahoma State University in 1999. She began her career in government in 1971 with the U.S. Forestry Service and joined the Federal Aviation Administration in 1979. In 1997, Ritz became the first woman to serve as director of the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City.
Being selected for the Phi Kappa Phi Honorary Scholastic Fraternity while a graduate student was the beginning of many recognitions Ritz has received during her professional career. These include the Leadership Oklahoma Distinguished Graduate Award; President’s Award from the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees; Byliners Award from the Oklahoma City Professional Chapter of the Association for Women in Communications; Circle of Excellence by the Journal Record; Girl Scouts – Red Lands Woman of Distinction; and Order of the Delta Gamma Rose Award. She has served on the board of directors of the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, State Fair of Oklahoma, Arvest Bank and the Kirkpatrick Science and Air Space Museum at the Omniplex. She is the chairperson of OU’s Aviation Advisory Council and is a member of Oklahoma State University’s Aviation Advisory Council.
Ritz will present a free, public lecture, “Leadership – What It’s Really All About,” at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 23 in the Heritage Room of Oklahoma Memorial Union.
The insurance company GEICO is being recognized for its service to the College of Arts and Sciences. The company is one of the college’s first corporate partners and has provided much support for programs and students in the college. GEICO was established in 1936 as the Government Employees Insurance Company and has been a leader in online insurance coverage. The company has teamed with the college to provide students valuable information on career planning, founding scholarships for OU students and placing OU graduates in its employ.
All five honorees will be recognized at the college’s annual Kaleidoscope Evening at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23, in the Molly Shi Boren Ballroom, Oklahoma Memorial Union. Proceeds from the dinner go toward the college’s leadership program, Leadership Scholars. Tickets are available for $125 per person. For ticket reservations or additional information on any of the presentations or accommodations on the basis of disability, contact Darci Tucker at (405) 325-2347 or dtucker@ou.edu.
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