Sheryl Tucker, PhD
Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate College

Dr. Tucker joined the Graduate College and Oklahoma State University in fall 2011. In her roles, she has direct responsibility and oversight for over 5,000 graduate students in 100 graduate programs across the three Oklahoma State University campuses in Stillwater and Tulsa. Dr. Tucker is also a professor in the Department of Chemistry. She has been nationally recognized for her scholarly endeavors focusing on access and opportunity for underrepresented groups in STEM and spectroscopic investigations of macro and supramolecular media. 

Jean Van Delinder, PhD
Senior Associate Dean

Dr. Van Delinder joined the Graduate College in summer 2010. Her responsibilities include matriculation through graduation oversight; disciplinary and interdisciplinary degree program development and monitoring; and student issues and concerns. Dr. Van Delinder is also a professor in the Department of Sociology. Her research develops systemic approaches to increase the representation and advancement of women and minorities in STEM. She is also recognized for her work on gender and social justice.

Brenda Smith, PhD
Associate Dean

Dr. Smith joined the Graduate College in fall 2017. Her responsibilities include graduate student professional development programming; the International Teaching Assistant Program, College communications; and recruiting and orientation oversight. Dr. Smith is also a Regents Professor and holds the John and Sue Taylor Professorship in the Department of Nutritional Sciences. Her research focuses on the effects of phytochemicals and exercise on bone health, inflammation, nutrition and aging, and the role of immune and antioxidant systems on bone biology.

Lory Ferguson
Executive Administrative Assistant

Ms. Ferguson joined OSU in 1998 and joined the Graduate College in Spring 2019. She provides primary administrative support for the College deans, including scheduling, and the Graduate Council. In addition, she coordinates special events and the graduate commencement ceremony. Ms. Ferguson earned a BA in Psychology  from Oklahoma State University.

Irene Bitah
Administrative Support Specialist

Ms. Bitah joined the Graduate College in spring 2012. She provides administrative support to the College, processes documents related to admissions and matriculation, and covers the front desk. She earned an AAS in Computer Science and AA in Business Administration from Haskell Indian Jr. College.

Alicia Lane
Admissions Officer

Ms. Lane joined the Graduate College in summer 2016. She is responsible for assisting domestic and international graduate students with the admission process. She also works directly with Oklahoma State University program faculty and staff on graduate admissions. She earned a BS in Sociology from Oklahoma State University.

May Hoheisel
Admissions Officer

Ms. Hoheisel joined the Graduate College in fall 2016. She is responsible for assisting domestic and international graduate students with the admission process. She also works directly with Oklahoma State University program faculty and staff on graduate admissions. Ms. Hoheisel earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Universidade Paulista de Ensino

Heather Cote
Admissions Officer

Ms. Cote joined the Graduate College in spring 2018. She is responsible for assisting domestic and international graduate students with the admission process. She also works directly with Oklahoma State University program faculty and staff on graduate admissions. She earned a BA in Sociology from Oklahoma State University.

Betsy Worrell
Admissions Officer

Ms. Worrell joined the Graduate College in Spring 2017. She is responsible for assisting domestic and international graduate students with the admission process. She also works directly with Oklahoma State University program faculty and staff on graduate admissions. She earned a BUS in University Studies from Oklahoma State University.

Carol Powers, PhD
Coordinator Graduate Professional Development

Dr.  Powers joined the Graduate College in summer 2018. She is responsible for coordinating the 360° Critical Skills for Career Success professional development program. She also coordinates logistics of the ITA exam, 3MT and 3MP events. She earned a BS in Crop Science and Applied Genetics from Washington State University, a MS in Crop Science from Oregon State University and a Ph.D. in Applied Plant Sciences from the University of Minnesota.

Charmaine Motte
Coordinator of Recruitment

Ms. Motte joined the Graduate College in spring 2017. She is responsible for coordinating recruiting activities to attract new graduate students. She works with graduate programs to refine their recruiting strategies, maximize their social media presence and develop campaign utilizing customer relationship management software. Ms. Motte earned a BA from the University of Central Oklahoma in Psychology and her MA from Oklahoma City University in Nonprofit Leadership.

Julie Cunningham
Manager, Graduate Admissions Process

Ms. Cunningham joined the Graduate College in Fall 2018. She is responsible for assisting domestic and international graduate students with the admission process. She also works directly with Oklahoma State University program faculty and staff on graduate admissions. She earned a BA in History from Oklahoma State University.

Richard Shepard
Matriculation and Program Specialist

Mr. Shepard joined the Graduate College in summer 2006. He is responsible for coordinating all aspects of graduate student academic progress (e.g., Plans of Study and Graduation Clearance) with students, faculty and staff. He also manages the Graduate Faculty Database and serves as the academic advisor for non-degree seeking students. Mr. Shepard earned a B.S. in Economics and Philosophy from Oklahoma State University.

Chelsie Taylor
Matriculation and Program Specialist

Ms. Taylor joined the Graduate College in fall 2017. She is responsible for all aspects of graduate student academic progress (e.g., Plans of Study, Graduation Clearance, Thesis/Dissertation Review, etc.) with students, faculty, and staff. Ms. Taylor earned a Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management (with a minor in Spanish) at East Central University.

Frances Smith
Matriculation and Program Specialist

Ms. Smith joined the Graduate College in the summer 2015. She is responsible for assisting graduate students with their admission progress. The process entails reviewing Plans of Study and Graduation Clearance forms, along with thesis and dissertation formatting.  She also works assists Oklahoma State University program faculty and staff with questions pertaining to academic progress. Ms. Smith earned a BA in Sociology with a minor in Psychology from Wake Forest University and her MS in Sociology from North Carolina State University. 

Patricia Rich
Administrative Support Specialist

Ms. Rich joined the Graduate College in Spring 2018. She serves as an administrative support assistance and the receptionist for the college. Ms. Rich earned a BS in Family Relations and Child Development from Oklahoma State University.

Jodie Kennedy
Senior Manager of Business Operations

Ms. Kennedy joined the Graduate College in fall 2000. She oversees all College fiscal and human resources operations. In addition to her primary budget responsibilities, she also oversees all graduate student tuition waiver programs, graduate student fellowship and award programs. She earned a BS in Family Relations and Child Development from Oklahoma State University.

Clara Orr
Financial Assistant 

Ms. Orr joined the Graduate College in fall 2016. Her primary responsibilities include assistance with the certification of graduate tuition waiver eligibility  for graduate teaching and research assistantships,  and various other financial operations. She earned a BS in Business Management from the University of Phoenix, and  her M.S. in Teaching, Learning and Leadership from Oklahoma State University.

Laurie Woodford
International Teaching Assistant Program Director

In partnership with the Department of English, Ms. Woodford serves the International Teaching Assistant (ITA) Program director.

Stephanie Link, PhD
Graduate Faculty Fellow

Dr. Link is an Assistant Professor in applied linguistics and teaching English as a second language in the Department of English. Her research interests include the development and evaluation of emerging technologies for computer-assisted language learning with a special focus on second language writing and corpus-based genre analysis. She contributes significantly to College’s writing and communication professional development opportunities for graduate students.

 Mary Jo Self, EdD
Graduate Faculty Fellow

Dr. Self is an associate professor in workforce and adult education in the School of Teaching, Learning and Educational Sciences. She is the College representative for the Late Withdraw Committee and Tuition Appeals Committee.

Ken Ede, PhD

Professional Science Master’sin Environmental Management Director

Scott Stoodley, PhD
Environmental Science Graduate Program Director

Bruce Benjamin

Vice Provost for Graduate Programs,
Center for Health Sciences

Dr. Benjamin has administrative responsibility for the daily operations of graduate education programs at the Center for Health Sciences (CHS) in Tulsa. In addition to its graduate programs, CHS is home to the College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Benjamin is also Associate Dean for Biomedical Sciences at CHS. His research interests include cardiovascular and renal physiology.