University of the Ozarks will present two couples who have each supported the University for more than three decades with the Pay it Forward Champions Award during the 2024 Ozarks Awards Ceremony on Friday, Oct. 18.
Gilbert Parks and Susan Burden ’67 of Clarksville (pictured, left) and Dr. C. Gene and Lynda Adkins Stephenson of Austin, Texas., will each receive the award that is given annually to a “generous individual or a family who has made a difference in the lives of others through leadership, unselfish giving and direct financial support of the mission of University of the Ozarks.” The ceremony is part of Homecoming 2024.
Parks taught political science at Ozarks for 50 years — from 1964 to 2014. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in 1990 and was named the University’s Bagwell Outstanding Faculty member in both 1988 and 1992.
Burden, who graduated from Ozarks in 1967, is a retired teacher who taught in Texas, Missouri and Arkansas. The couple, who have been married since Nov. 1, 1999, have supported the Ozarks Annual Fund for more than three decades and have been avid supporters of the University’s wrestling program in recent years.
Gene Stephenson served as president of Ozarks from 1990 to 1997 and led efforts to improve academic standards as well as facilities. Prior to his arrival, 28 percent of the faculty had doctorates; when he resigned, 80 percent had their terminal degrees. In addition to changing the academic atmosphere, he dramatically changed the physical image of the campus. In November 1996, with the encouragement and financial support of Helen Walton, the University dedicated five new buildings on campus, including Robson Library and the Boreham Business. He retired from Ozarks in January 1997 and assumed the position as president of the Oklahoma Independent College Association. Before Joining Ozarks, he served 25 years at East Central University (ECU) in Oklahoma, where he was a mathematics professor, associate vice president of academic affairs, dean of arts & sciences, and vice president of academic affairs.
Lynda Stephenson was a former educator who taught English and general humanities for 25 years at ECU. As the Ozarks’ first lady, she supervised the decoration of five new buildings on campus. A published author, Lynda also served as head of church relations at Ozarks and helped write and edit various college publications.
The Stephensons, who have been married for 61 years, have supported the Ozarks Annual Fund for the past 33 years and established a pair of endowed student scholarships — the Lynda A. Stephenson Endowed Scholarship Fund and the C. Gene Stephenson Endowed Scholarship Fund.
For more information on the Ozarks Awards Ceremony or to purchase tickets, please visit HERE
Topics: Giving