Southwestern Oklahoma State University

10/06/2026

Congratulations to SWOSU’s Phillip Fitzsimmons on this feature from Scene Savers! We’re proud to see him recognized for the care he puts into preserving history and making it available to others. 👏

Phillip has helped make SWOSU athletics recordings, Thomas P. Stafford’s space mission materials and literary collections available to the public. Thanks to those efforts, alumni can revisit games they remember, and students and researchers can use materials that might otherwise have remained inaccessible. He brings that same care to helping each person find the recording, photograph or document they’re looking for.

Some history is stored on tape. Some on film. Some on floppy disks.

For Phillip, preserving it all became a career.

What started in 2007 as a simple assignment to scan and photograph materials for an online archive grew into a mission to preserve everything from historic documents to obsolete audiovisual formats.

Today, his work includes:

🚀 The Thomas P. Stafford Collection — including original reel-to-reel recordings of Stafford communicating with Ground Control during the Gemini missions.

🏀🏈 The SWOSU Athletics Archive — preserving games from the 1970s and 1980s and helping alumni reconnect with their past.

📖 The Mythopoeic Society Archive — providing free online access to publications and documents related to Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and other mythopoeic writers. The archive has generated more than 1.6 million downloads since 2017.

But preservation isn't just about technology. It's about connecting people with the history they’re looking for.

With support from Oklahoma Historical Society grants and partnerships with Scene Savers, materials that might otherwise have remained inaccessible are now available to researchers, students, alumni, and the public.

Because history doesn't preserve itself.

https://www.scenesavers.com/the-rewind/phillip-fitzsimmons-southwestern-oklahoma-state-university?utm_source=the-rewind&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=rewind-2026-fall-issue-02&utm_content=article-04-button

10/06/2026

Fall 2026 graduates, the SWOSU Grad Event is today! The Alma Mater Merc campus bookstore will have everything available from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. to help you prepare for graduation:

- Cap, gown and tassel pickup, all included in your graduation fee
- Personalized graduation announcements
- Diploma frames and stoles
- Official SWOSU ring orders with in-person discounts

🔗 Commencement information: https://bulldog.swosu.edu/commencement/index.php

For questions, email Ashley Hancock, director of the Alma Mater Merc, at [email protected].

10/05/2026

SWOSU signed two new partnerships with MSU Texas to help students take their next steps in educational leadership and pharmacy!

Our educational administration master’s graduates will have a pathway to apply for MSU Texas’s doctoral program in educational leadership. Qualified MSU Texas students can complete three years of undergraduate coursework before entering SWOSU’s Doctor of Pharmacy program and working toward both degrees.

These agreements give future school leaders and pharmacists more options for continuing their education. We’re proud to help make those opportunities possible!

🔗 Full story: https://www.swosu.edu/news/?p=swosu-academic-partnerships-msu-texas

10/02/2026

There are going to be some really good days at SWOSU this semester. We hope today is one of them. 💙

10/01/2026

SWOSU has been ranked in U.S. News & World Report’s National Universities category for the first time! We’re one of only four Oklahoma public universities included in the 2027 rankings.

Our graduate programs and the addition of a second doctoral program helped make the move possible. Many of these programs are available online, so students can earn another degree while continuing to work and care for their families.

“We’re proud to see that strength recognized nationally and even prouder that our graduates put it to work strengthening Oklahoma’s workforce and communities,” said SWOSU President Dr. Joel Kendall.

🔗 Full story: https://www.swosu.edu/news/?p=swosu-enters-national-universities-category-in-2027-us-news-rankings

10/01/2026

We were glad to welcome this conversation about Oklahoma’s Rural Health Transformation Program to SWOSU! Preparing future health care professionals is an important part of our work, and we’re proud to have our students involved as Oklahoma invests in care for rural communities.

09/30/2026

SWOSU professor Dr. Daniel da Rocha led a team that placed 65 cameras throughout an Amazon forest, including cameras more than 82 feet above the ground! 🌳

They recorded mammals living in a forest where selected trees are harvested for timber. The goal is to understand whether this approach can preserve homes for wildlife while allowing people to continue using the forest. Research like this could help researchers understand how wildlife responds to the way forests are managed.

🔗 Full story: https://www.swosu.edu/news/?p=swosu-brazilian-amazon-study-sustainable-forestry-study

09/29/2026

A little bit of life lately at SWOSU. 🐾

09/28/2026

A SWOSU intramural flag football champion will be crowned this week! Quarterfinals begin today, Sept. 28, with games at 7 and 8 p.m. in both the north and south end zones. 🏈

The semifinals follow on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m. in both end zones. The championship is at 8 p.m. in the south end zone. The full playoff bracket and team matchups are available at the Wellness Center.

Come cheer for your favorite team!

09/28/2026

SWOSU is proud of the work of its graduates across so many of Oklahoma's critical occupations including our state's vital aerospace and defense sector! Recently, SWOSU President Dr. Joel Kendall joined SWOSU alumni Brian Busey and Philip Busey, Jr. at the dedication of Delaware Resource Group's (DRG) new military training device parts repair facility in Oklahoma City.

As part of DRG’s continued growth, the company has expanded into aerospace and military training device parts
repair operations, converting a portion of one of its Oklahoma City warehouses into a dedicated repair facility. From this facility, the DRG team will receive and service training device components from locations around the world.

Brian Busey, a 2005 SWOSU alumnus, is the Chief Executive Officer of DRG. Philip Busey, Jr., a 2004 SWOSU alumnus, is the President of DRG. The Busey brothers are longtime SWOSU benefactors. Brian serves on the SWOSU Football Legacy Fund Steering Committee and Philip is Past Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the SWOSU Foundation, Inc. and Past President of the SWOSU Alumni Association.

Pictured at the dedication of DRG's new repair facility are DRG's Multimedia Developer & Graphic Artist, Mr. Edgardo George, a 1999 SWOSU alumnus; Joel Kendall; Philip Busey; and Brian Busey.