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Undergraduate Research Symposia

Neil Aker, Zach Burlison, Lindsey McKay, Luana Muller, Teresa Sorrels, Jakob West, and Isabella Van Donselaar will give their Capstone ENTO 4800 final research presentations on May 2 at 10:30 a.m. in Room 216.

 

 

Presley Brandt, Lexis Cody, Emilee Craig, Connor Huffstetter, Walker Jones, Wyatt Ringer, and Jared Saufley will give their Capstone ENTO 4800 final research presentations on May 2 at 2:30 p.m. in Room 108.

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Congratulations!

The following students received scholarships at the Ferguson College of Agriculture Scholarships and Awards banquet on April 3.

 

• Trenton Briley – Cordell Sherrer Memorial Endowed Scholarship
• Avery Pennington – Miles Karner Memorial Endowed Scholarship
• Angelique Robinson – Georganna and Arden Dorney Student
• Ashle Zelada – Shawnee Milling Company Endowed Scholarship

 

Dr. Wyatt Hoback received the Personal Responsibility Award from Housing and Residential Life Academics Initiatives inaugural Favorite Faculty.

 

Dr. Justin Talley, along with Dr. Courtney Bir and JJ Jones, received the Project of Excellence 1^st Place for their project titled, “Risk Minimization for Beekeepers” from the University of Agriculture Research and Extension, University of Arkansas, as part of the Southern Extension Risk Management Education of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

 

The following students and faculty received Recognition Awards at a ceremony in the department on April 18.

 

• Tanner Dollar – Helping Hand Award, graduate student
• Walker Jones - Helping Hand Award, undergraduate student
• Drs. Maira Duffeck and Ashleigh Faris – Wayadande Excellence in Collaboration Award
• Dr. Meliss Reed – Undergraduate Student Organization Sanborn Outstanding Faculty Award
• Dr. Meriem Aoun - Graduate Student Organization Mentorship Faculty Award
• Drs. Wyatt Hoback and Nathan Walker – Jack Dillwith Excellence in Service Award
• Sharon Hillock – Outstanding Staff Award
• Sara Wallace – Land Grant Service Award
• Neil Aker, Presley Brandt, Rusty Cooper, Cameron Dunne, Connor Huffstetter, Walker Jones, Bethany Mitchell, Cade Morris, Zach Royko, and Nikolai Thielepape – Community Impact Award
• Lauren Coakley – Reaching for Success Award

 

The following students received scholarships at the ceremony on April 18.

 

• Abu Abir – Burton/Fargo Graduate Student Scholarship
• Gourav Beniwal and Faith England – Whitehead/Walton Graduate Student Scholarship
• Presley Brandt – Stiles Memorial Scholarship
• Neil Aker, Harley Barthel, Zane Bell, Lauren Coakley, Lexis Cody, Rusty Cooper, Cameron Dunne, Allison Fesler, Connor Huffstetter, Kaden Nickel, Emma Patterson, Avery Pennington, Anna Perry, Sophie Price, David Rosenberg, Mackinna Salisbury, Jamari Santana, Rachel Seay, Olivia Shuyler, and Teresa Sorrels – Bieberdorf Entomology Scholarship
• Briley Trenton, Brittney Ellis, Audrey Enright, Avanelle Hosey, Katelyn Wang, and Kain Wikked – D.E. Howell Scholarship
• Bronwyn Cooper, Ryan Dehart, Reece Glut, Aubrey Guest, Olivia Hollman, Walker Jones, Katelyn Keesee, Ali Lara, Seth Long, Ashton McIntosh, Wyatt Ringer, Angelique Robinson, Keeta Snell, Kylie Spradling, Gillian Struble, Jack Taylor, Nikolai Thielepape, Isabella Van Donselaar, Jakob West, Laurel Whaley, and Ashle Zelada – Entomology Undergraduate Scholarship.

 

Riley Flynn and Jared Saufley – Bill and Donna Lingren endowed Scholarship in Entomology

 

Dr. Miles Karner, a longtime Altus resident and former OSU Extension Entomologist, was posthumously (4 Jul 1953 – 1 Mar 2006) inducted into the Oklahoma Cotton Hall of Fame during the Denim Ball on April 4-5 in Oklahoma City.  Dr. Karner’s work shaped the future of Oklahoma agriculture – from playing a pivotal role in establishing boll weevil eradication in the state to leading research in cotton pest management and transgenic technology.  His commitment to science, education, and helping people, lives on through an endowed scholarship in his name.  Miles received his B.S. degree in Zoology in 1975 and his M.S. degree in Entomology in 1976, both from Oklahoma State University.  He worked for the Louisiana State University extension office in Monroe, Louisiana from 1977 until 1979. Miles received his Ph.D. degree in Entomology from the University of Nebraska in 1981.  He moved to Altus in 1982 and was employed by the OSU Extension Service as the Area Extension Entomologist for Southwest Oklahoma.  In 1986, he also began serving as the Cotton Entomologist in Altus.  He owned and operated Shortgrass Consulting.

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May Graduates

Neil Aker is completing his B.S. degree in Entomology.  In August, he will begin his M.S. degree program focusing on urban pesticides at Texas A&M University in College Station under the direction of Dr. Robert Puckett.

 

Presley Brandt is completing her B.S. degree in Entomology.  She is applying for a M.S. degree program in epidemiology or biostatics in Brazil.

 

Zach Burlison is completing his B.S. degree in Entomology.  He is applying for an M.S. degree program.

 

Lauren Coakley is completing her B.S. degree in Entomology.  She will be working on her Ph.D. program with Dr. Ary Hoffmann and Dr. Joshua Thia at the University of Melbourne in Australia where her research will focus on studying parasitoid wasps and aphids on canola plants across Australia as part of an IPM research program.

 

Lexis Cody is completing her B.S. degree in Entomology.  She is applying for an M.S. degree program.

 

Emilee Craig is completing her B.S. degree in Entomology.  She is looking for employment.

 

Alex Harman titled his Ph.D. dissertation, “Insect Species Assessment in the Ozark Ecoregion and the Effect of Fire on Grassland Acrididae.”  Dr. Wyatt Hoback has been his advisor.  He began his position as Associate Curator of Entomology at Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History on January 6.  Alex received his B.S. degree in Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in 2019 and his M.S. degree in Entomology from OSU in May 2021 under the direction of Dr. Hoback.

 

Samantha Hittson titled her M.S. thesis, “The American Burying Beetle Genome and the Response of Burying Beetles to Pesticides.”  Her advisor has been Dr. Wyatt Hoback.  Samantha will begin her Ph.D. program in Science Education with Dr. Jacob Pleasants at the University of Oklahoma in August. She received her B.S. degree in Insect Biology from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana in 2019 and her M.S. degree in Biology from Ball State University Muncie, Indiana in 2022.

 

Connor Huffstetter is completing his B.S. degree in Entomology.  He is applying for an M.S. degree program.

 

Amelea Jones titled her M.S. thesis, “Potential Impacts of Climate Variation on the America Burying Beetle, Nicrophorus americanus Oliver:  Overwintering, Voltinism, and Phoretic Mites.”  Dr. Wyatt Hoback has been her advisor.  Amelea is applying for jobs related to Extension focusing on horticulture and entomology.  She received her B.S. degree in Horticulture with two minors in Sustainable Local Foods and Pest Management from South Dakota State University in 2023.

 

Walker Jones is completing his B.S. degree in Entomology.  He will continue to work at Insect Adventure this summer, take some time off, and then apply for an M.S. degree program.

 

Seth Long is completing his B.S. degree in Entomology.  He will be starting employment with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry in Chickasha.

 

Lindsey McKay is completing her B.S. degree in Entomology.  She is getting married this summer, taking one year off, and then applying for an M.S. degree program in soil fertility.

 

Teresa Sorrels is completing her B.S. degree in Entomology.  She will continue to work at Daddy O’s Music Company in Stillwater.

 

Isabella Van Donselaar is completing her B.S. degree in Entomology.

 

Jakob West is completing his B.S. degree in Entomology.  He is re-enlisting in the U.S. Navy and will begin his M.S. degree with Dr. Wyatt Hoback.  He also plans to be commissioned as a Naval Entomologist.

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Alumnus News

Dr. Haley Butler received her Ph.D. under Dr. Kris Giles in December 2024 with a dissertation titled, “Exploitative Competition Mechanisms Drive Coexistence of Aphelinus nigritus and Lysiphlebus testaceipes on shared Aphid Hosts in Cereal Agroecosystems of the Southern Plains.”  She began her career as a Research Entomologist at the USDA-ARS in Stillwater in October 2024. She was fired under the Trump administration, hired back, and “voluntarily” resigned on April 15.  Haley received a B.S. degree in Natural Resource Ecology and Management with an option in Wildlife Ecology and Management from OSU in 2015 and her M.S. degree in Entomology from OSU in August 2017 under the direction of Dr. Eric Rebek.

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Necrology

William “Billy” Kalvin Whittington, age 43, passed away on April 22 in Stillwater.  He was born on September 5, 1981 in Hampton, Virginia, the son of Tom and Gladys Whittington. 

 

Will (as we knew him in our department) received his B.S. degree in Business Administration and Accounting from OSU in 2011.  He worked as an Accounting Specialist for the Noble Research Center Finance Team since March 18, 2024.  He had previously worked as a Senior Financial Assistant in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at OSU, and before that, he worked at a brewery and in OSU University Accounting. 

 

Billy’s true passions were his family and the songs he carried inside him.  He loved spending time with his daughter, Sydney, watching movies and dreaming about the future. With his wife, Amber, he shared weekends under the stars, attended Rocklahoma and comic conventions, enjoyed camping trips, and took peaceful walks with their dog, Hershey.  Billy found joy in the simple things – playing guitar, writing poems and lyrics, practicing with his nunchucks, and following the adventures of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

 

Billy was also a master of Excel, able to design and implement complex formulas and platforms that left colleagues and friends in awe.  To know him was to know a man of many gifts, who lived with authenticity, kindness, and a servant’s heart – both at home and in the community.

 

Other notable accomplishments included a 1st place trophy and medal for Humorous Duet in Drama class, two Gold Medals in Taekwondo, and multiple academic honors.  Billy received Certificates of Achievement for the President’s Honor Roll at OSU in Fall 2007, Spring 2008, and Spring 2011, and a Dean’s Scholar Certificate from Northern Oklahoma College in Fall 2006.  In April 2008, he was honored by The National Society of Collegiate Scholars for his commitment to scholarship, leadership, and service.  He earned a Certificate of Completion for the Fundamentals of Title IV Administration from the Federal Student Aid Training and Information Services Division in October 2012.

 

Billy is survived by his beloved wife of 22 years, Amber D. Shuckakosee; his daughter, Sydney L. Whittington; his mother, Gladys Ann Whittington; his sisters, Sandra Christian/Whittington and Sholanda Whittington; his brother, Tom (T.J.) A. Whittington Jr. (Marlys); and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father, Tom A. Whittington Sr.

 

Billy leaves behind a legacy of creativity, humor, quiet strength, and unconditional love.  His story, his laughter, and his songs will continue to echo in every heart he touched.  In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations to assist with memorial expenses.

 

Visitation will be held from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. on May 1 at Dighton Marler Funeral Home, 5106 North Washington Street, Stillwater, and the funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on May 2.

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May Birthdays