Distinguished Alumni Profiles in Excellence

Jake Basden burst onto the New York PR stage even before graduating in 2006 with a public relations degree. In 2006, Basden was named one of the top five PR students in the country by PR Week magazine. In 2008, after working in the industry for just two years, Basden received the Young PR Professional of the Year award also from PR Week. Basden is the director of publicity for the Big Machine Label Group in Nashville and works with country music stars like Reba McEntire, Rascal Flatts and Jewel. His got his first industry job interning for two summers with Ogilvy PR Worldwide in New York and was offered a full-time position following graduation. After just two years with Ogilvy, Basden moved on to Edelman PR where he first began promoting celebrities and athletes.

Kari Watkins is a third-generation journalist and a 1986 journalism graduate. Watkins was the first staff member hired by the Oklahoma City National Memorial in 1996 and became the executive director in 1999. Watkins was instrumental in the design and development process for the memorial and museum and now oversees all operations. She was the recipient of the Women in Communications Byliner Award in 2000, The Journal Record Woman of the Year in 2005 and Downtown Oklahoma City’s Stanley Draper Award for Community Excellence. She uses her journalism skills to produce and direct video productions for the museum and has received numerous national awards for her efforts.

Howard Price is a 1971 Radio/TV/Speech graduate and owner and president of Multi-Net Marketing, a national radio advertising firm for small to medium-sized networks and program syndicators. Price was a top radio-advertising salesman for the Clear Channel Communications network and eventually became their first million-dollar salesman. Prior to starting in sales, Price had a successful career behind the microphone beginning in high school as a disc jockey and later working as a reporter and traveling with ABC’s Wide World of Sports. Price is active in civic organizations and is a generous donor in the Colorado Springs area.

Paul Massad – Public Relations, 1960 Few alumni have done more or cared more for the University of Oklahoma than Paul D. Massad. Today, Paul is senior associate vice president for University Development and director of Major Gifts at OU and a valued friend to generations of OU alumni. A native of Lawton, Paul began his professional career at OU while still a student, working in the Extension Division (now OU Outreach). He went on to serve as a public information assistant and then business manager for OU’s radio station at the time, WNAD. He has held lead positions in recruiting, alumni affairs, and university development. After the successful conclusion of OU’s Reach for Excellence Campaign, which ultimately raised $514 million in private gifts, Paul was promoted once again to senior associate vice president for Development and director of major gifts, with a focus on planned giving. In June 2007, he was named acting vice president for University Development and in October 2007 was appointed vice president. He now holds the distinguished title of Vice President Emeritus.

Bob Burke – Class of 1970 Bob Burke is a practicing workers’ compensation attorney in Oklahoma City and prolific author of more than 74 historical, non-fiction books. His book topics range from baseball, aviation and Oklahoma history to art and religion. Burke was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2006 and has been nominated three times for the Pulitzer Prize by the Oklahoma Heritage Association. In 2004, Burke received the Governor’s Art Award for Excellence in the Arts in Oklahoma and was named to the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame.

Spencer Tillman – Class of 1986 Spencer Tillman graduated with a double major in journalism and communication in 1986. Tillman first gained recognition on the playing field as a Freshman All-American running back and as captain of OU’s winning team in the National Championships in 1985. He then went on to play for the Houston Oilers and San Francisco 49ers while also serving as anchor and reporter for several radio and television stations. Off the field, Tillman has achieved recognition and success as a sports reporter, anchor and now as sports analyst for CBS Sports College Football Today and is also CEO of Axiom Sports Productions, Inc., a full-service station imaging company in Sugar Land, Texas where he lives with his family.

N. Bird Runningwater – Journalism and Native American Studies, 1994 N. Bird Runningwater is the associate director of Native American and Indigenous Programs for the Sundance Institute. In this capacity he scouts worldwide and across the United States for Indigenous artists with projects that can be supported through the Institute’s Feature Film Program, Documentary Program, Theatre Program, the Independent Producers Conference, and Sundance Film Festival. He has identified for support numerous award-winning film projects. He also oversees the Sundance Institute-Ford Foundation Film Fellowship established for emerging Native American filmmakers. Prior to joining Sundance Runningwater held development positions with the Ford Foundation and the Fund of the Four Directions, a program funded by a member of the Rockefeller family. A recipient of the Woodrow Wilson Foundation’s National Fellowship in Public Policy and International Affairs, Runningwater is also an alumnus of Americans for Indian Opportunity’s Ambassadors Program and the Kellogg Fellows Program.

Paul Gadd – Class of 1988 Paul Gadd is a native of Oklahoma City and spent much of his childhood exploring KWTV Channel 9 where his mother, Lola Hall, worked as a reporter. After graduating in 1988 with a major in Film and Television Production, Gadd went to work on commercials and industrials before landing a job as production assistant on Oliver Stone’s “Born on the Fourth of July.” He continued working on films and commercials in the Southwest until the fall of 1989 when he took a job working as a post production assistant on the TV show “Northern Exposure.” Gadd has continued to work mostly on one-hour dramas, rising through the ranks to currently serve as co-producer of the Fox TV drama series “24”.

Roger Frizzell – Public Relations, 1983 Roger Frizzell is vice president of corporate communications and advertising for American Airlines, the largest airline in the world. He took on the post in 2003 when the airline was on the edge of bankruptcy and helped the airline through recovery even while oil prices continued to escalate beyond control. Frizzell is the recipient of numerous public relations and advertising awards and has held senior positions at HP, Compaq, Lucent Technologies, AT&T and the Bell system. He currently serves on the Board of Visitors for the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. While in school, he was also a four-time NCAA All-American in wrestling and represented the U.S. team around the world.

Bob Barry, Sr. – Journalism, 1949-1951 Bob Barry, Sr. is an Oklahoma City native and current resident of Norman. He attended the University of Oklahoma and studied journalism prior to leaving school and joining the Air Force in 1951. Barry was sports director at Oklahoma City’s KFOR NewsChannel 4 for more than 25 years but is best known as the voice of Sooner football and basketball on the Sooner Sports Radio Network. He is currently sports anchor at KFOR after turning over the reins of sports director to his son, Bob Barry, Jr. in 1997.

Lieutenant Governor Jari Askins – Class of 1975, 1980 Jari Askins graduated with a bachelor’s in Journalism in 1975 and a juris doctorate in 1980. Askins became Oklahoma’s 15th Lieutenant Governor in 2007 and has along history in public service having served in all three branches of the state government. Prior to becoming lieutenant governor, Askins served 12 years as the Democratic House Representative for District 50 Stephens County. During her time in the legislature she became the first woman to lead several committees and received numerous awards and recognitions. In her post as lieutenant governor, Askins chairs the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Commission and the Oklahoma Film and Music Advisory Commission. She is also the state’s Small Business Advocate. Since leaving office in 2010, Jari Askins was appointed associate provost for external relations at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center by OU President David L. Boren.