Business & People Notes
Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences President Kayse Shrum, D.O., has announced several changes to her executive leadership team:
William Pettit, D.O., will be promoted to provost of Center for Health Sciences and senior associate dean of academic affairs for College of Osteopathic Medicine; Johnny Stephens, Pharm.D., will be promoted to chief operating officer; Robin Dyer, D.O., will serve as associate dean for academic affairs; Kent Smith, Ph.D., will be associate dean for the Office for the Advancement of American Indians in Medicine and Science.
Pettit, a graduate of the University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences in Des Moines, Iowa, has previously served as interim senior associate dean and associate dean of rural health. He oversaw the Center for Rural Health and was a leader in developing -COM’s rural medical track. He has worked closely with hospital and clinic leaders across the state to develop medical residency programs in rural communities.
A licensed family medicine physician and professor of family medicine, Pettit joined the faculty at Center for Health Sciences in 2002 as medical director of academic services. He served as staff physician in the U.S. Army at the Reynolds Army Community Hospital in Fort Sill, Okla., before entering private practice in Lawton.
Stephens has served as interim chief operating officer and interim vice president for research since July and will continue to serve as interim vice president. Prior to stepping into his executive role, Stephens was the assistant dean of sponsored programs at -, supervising clinical trials and the Center for Aerospace and Hyperbaric Medicine. He also served as associate professor of internal medicine and ran the Physicians Internal Medicine – Specialty Services clinic.
A graduate of College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dyer joined the faculty as a part-time adjunct instructor in 1994, the same year she was honored as Rookie Physician of the Year by the Oklahoma Osteopathic Association. She accepted a full-time faculty position with – in 2006 and became head of the osteopathic manipulative medicine department in 2009.
Smith, a member of the Comanche, Chickasaw and Cherokee Nations, established the Office for the Advancement of American Indians in Medicine and Science and became interim associate dean in 2014 as part of an effort to recruit more American Indians into medical and careers.
Cindy Hess, Ed. D., has been named by the Tulsa Community College Board of Regents as senior vice president and chief academic officer. Hess returns to after spending the past 10 years in higher education leadership roles in North Carolina and St. Louis where she led initiatives in workforce development and spearheaded efforts to improve and streamline student services.
As senior vice president and chief academic officer, Hess will serve as an academic leader for the college, impact the direction of and support the implementation of the new strategic plan expected to be presented to the Board of Regents in April 2015.
Hess started her community college career in Tulsa, becoming Northeast Campus Provost before moving to Craven Community College in New Bern, N.C., as executive vice president and chief academic officer. Then she served as president of St. Louis Community College before returning to where she most recently served as associate dean for communication services at Southeast Campus.
Hess has a Doctorate of Education in Higher Education Administration, a Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction and a Bachelor of Arts in English, each from Oklahoma State University.
She begins work April 1.
Dewberry, a privately-held and nationally-ranked professional services firm, has promoted Craig Swengle, PE, to business unit manager of the Tulsa engineering group. In his new role, he will provide leadership for Tulsa’s transportation, water and civil engineering practice. This includes managing the day-to-day operations, as well as design and consulting oversight and ensuring projects meet deadlines and are on budget.
Swengle has more than 30 years of industry experience in management, civil engineering design, and construction administration on a variety of infrastructure projects for both private- and public-sector clients. His portfolio includes highways, bridges, rail, ports and waterways, aviation, transit, water and wastewater, and site/civil projects, both large and small.
“We have an experienced and qualified team at Dewberry that is ready to take on greater responsibilities,” says Swengle. “I look forward to the challenges ahead and am grateful for this opportunity.”
“We are very fortunate to have strong leadership in place in engineering and architecture in our Tulsa office,” says Dan Pleasant, Dewberry’s chief operating officer. “This planned transition of the Tulsa engineering management to Craig ensures our clients’ best interests will be served as we continue to expand both geographically and in our practice areas.”
Swengle has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Pennsylvania State University and is a licensed professional engineer in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada and Texas.
To learn more about Dewberry, visit www.dewberry.com.
Stinnett & Associates, a professional advisory firm, has named a new principal and announces promotions.
Jennifer Brandt has been promoted to principal. Brandt plays a key role in leading client engagement teams, training and mentoring staff, pursuing practice development opportunities, cultivating client relationships, and developing firm strategy in addition to participating in internal firm initiatives.
Brandt has nearly 20 years of experience in IT Audit, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, IT strategic development, business continuity planning and disaster recovery, SCADA security, and IT compliance. A graduate of the University of Tulsa, she is a certified information systems auditor.
Jennifer Roberson has been promoted to senior manager of talent and leadership development. Roberson has been instrumental in leading the firm’s training program and expanding it to encompass several initiatives. She has also assumed responsibility for on-boarding, campus outreach and the Strengths Finders program. In addition, Roberson has managed internal audit and Sarbanes-Oxley services for many of the firm’s clients. Roberson is a certified internal auditor and holds a in Finance from Northeastern State University and an from Oklahoma State University.
Stephanie Garrett has been promoted to senior associate. Garrett has IT audit and Sarbanes-Oxley experience in various industries and has been involved in several complex engagements while at Stinnett. Garrett holds a Bachelor of Technology in information assurance and forensics from the Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology.
Sarah Peterson has joined -Tulsa as the library director. She replaces longtime -Tulsa Library Director Beth Freeman, who retired in December.
Peterson is a 20-year veteran of the Tulsa City-County Library.
She was most recently the technical services manager for the Tulsa City-County Library and also served as backup system administrator for the library’s catalog software. She worked on a variety of projects for including joining a resource-sharing consortium, implementing a new and new discovery platform, and working on sustainability issues.
Peterson holds a Master of Arts from the University of Tulsa and a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Oklahoma. She is a member of several state and national library associations, including two American Library Association committees.
Updated 03-23-2015
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