Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Will Take His Place Within The Eastern Alumni Hall Of Fame November 5
(Press Release 10-27-05)
Hank Mooney, Office of Public Information

Eastern Oklahoma State College Homecoming will present a special day for 1970 graduate, athlete and now Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Tom Colbert who will be returning to the Wilburton campus Saturday, Nov. 5.

Colbert has been named by the Eastern Alumni Association Board of Directors to take his place in the Eastern Alumni Hall of Fame during induction ceremonies during annual Homecoming activities.

Saturday will be the day for alums to join the activities and reunite with their classmates for a full day of activities.

Alumni will honor Colbert as the twenty-second Eastern student to have distinguished himself throughout his life since attending Eastern and officially induct him into the Hall of Fame during the Saturday luncheon. In years past, the induction ceremony was held during an evening banquet. This year, the banquet has been moved to a noon banquet in an attempt to allow time for an evening reception honoring Glen Stone.

Alumni activities will begin early Saturday with an 8:30 a.m. Hilltopper breakfast for retired faculty and staff followed by an Alumni Coffee and Registration at 9:30 a.m. in the Student Union Coffee Shop and an 10 a.m. General Alumni meeting.

A free lunch will be available for everyone attending the activities from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. in the west cafeteria. The Hall of Fame Banquet will begin at noon in the Student Union Ballroom.

The Lady Mountaineers will begin their basketball game at 1:30 p.m. in the Field House followed by the mens’ game at 3:30 p.m. with Homecoming coronation as the mens’ game halftime activities. A reception will be held following the mens’ game to honor former coach Glen Stone in the Student Union east cafeteria.

The annual Homecoming dance will begin at 10 p.m. and last until 1 a.m. Sunday.

Justice Colbert has always been an athlete and looked toward a law profession after receiving degrees from Eastern and Kentucky State University.

Truth is, he has been hearlded as a “gifted track star” at Sapulpa High School even before attending Eastern and earning his associate degree in physical education in 1970. He then earned his bachelors from Kentucky (1972) where he excelled in track as a triple jumper, long jumper and high jumper and was named an NCAA All-American in 1972. He trained for the Olympics but an injury prevented him from attending.

Colbert taught within Chicago inner-city school system after earning his master’s degree in health education from Kentucky State University (1976) and a tour of duty in the Army where he served in the Criminal Investigation Division (1973-1975). Pondering his options after four years of inner-city education Colbert looked to Oklahoma and the University of Oklahoma College of Law. After earning his law degree (1982) he served as Assistant Dean at Marquett University Law School, Milwaukee from 1982-1984. He then served as Assistant District Attorney in Oklahoma County from 1984-1986 before going into private practice at Miles-LaGrange & Colbert from 1986-1989. He then worked in private practice with Colbert and Associates from 1989-2000. Colbert was appointed Judge on the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals in 1999. He served as Chief Judge of that Court in 2004. Governor Brad Henry appointed Colbert to be Justice of the Supreme Court of Oklahoma October 7, 2004.

Justice Colbert is the first African-American appointed to the Oklahoma Court of the Civil Appeals and also the first African-American to be appointed to the Supreme Court of Oklahoma. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Oklahoma Bar Association, the Tulsa County Bar Association and the National Bar Association. He participates in the Track & Field Masters Level, the mentoring program for young men and the summer reading program for children. His wife, Doretha Guion, is an educator also. She holds a doctorate in curriculum and instruction and works at Langston University.

Saturday (Nov. 5) Colbert will join McAlester native George Nigh who served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, as Lieutenant Governor, Governor and president of the University of Central Oklahoma. He will also join Dr. E.T. Dunlap, who was recognized nationally for his contribution to education and served as Eastern President and Chancellor of Oklahoma Higher Education; Scott Salmon, who was a nationally known choreographer; Rita Smith Kipp, class of 1966, who serves as professor of anthropology at Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio, a widely published author and Wilburton native.

Colbert also joins J.D. Williams who was inducted while an attorney in Washington, D.C., and, among other things, served as Editor of the George Washington Law Review and Federal Bar Journal.

Billy West became the sixth Eastern alumni to be elected to the Hall of Fame. West served as a laboratory research scientist at the Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta. Sidney Carney, among other achievements, served as Bureau of Indian Affairs Area Director in Anadarko where he developed and supervised programs benefiting more than 40,000 Indians within a four-state area.

Ross Harlan, Oklahoma City, was added to the Hall of Fame in 1992. He served as Senior Vice President of Administration and Public Affairs before his retirement from OG&E.

“Pat” Murphy, Tulsa, followed Harlan in 1993. He established the Frank W. Murphy MFR, an international company holding 15 United States and foreign patents in the area of instruments and control systems.

Sports journalist “Spec” Gammon was inducted in 1994. He served as sports information director at Texas A&M and became known as the radio voice of Texas A&M football. Don Parham became the eleventh member added to the Hall of Fame and began his academic career as an educator in southeast Oklahoma more than 40 years ago. He is recognized not only as one who has experienced success in athletics but also as one whose life’s work has stressed high academic standards.

Dr. Robert H. Purcell became the twelfth member. He is a research scientist and serves as the head of hepatitis viruses section, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

Dr. Charles Montgomery serves as the Director of the Center for Comparative Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He is recognized as an expert in comparative medicine throughout the world.

Dr. Henry Migliore, Jenks, was added as the fourteenth member of the Hall of Fame. He is a university professor and consultant in strategic management. He has lectured in universities and consulted with organizations around the world.

James F. Howell became the fifteenth member of the Hall of Fame in 1999. He was admitted to practice law in Oklahoma in 1963 and since that time has been admitted to practice in the United States District Court of Oklahoma for the Western District; The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma; The United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit and The Supreme Court of the United States of America. He was elected to the State Senate in 1970 and served until 1986.

Guy L. Curry, class of 1961, became the sixteenth member of the Hall of Fame. Curry is a professor of industrial engineering at Texas A&M University. He has served as a consultant for a number of national and international firms. During his tenure at Texas A&M he has garnered funded research grants of more than $4 million, authored or coauthored three books and has 50 papers published in 31 refereed journals.

Ken Brasfield became the seventeenth member. He has compiled an outstanding record of corporate and community leadership in Jackson, Mississippi. He served as president of United Way, Chamber of Commerce, YMCA, Boy Scouts Council, American Cancer Society, Rotary and the Jackson Arts Council.

Dr. Sue Ellen Read was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002. She was named the 2001 Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. She received her Associate Degree from Eastern in 1962, Bachelors Degree from NSU in 1964, Masters from University of Central Oklahoma in 1971 and PhD. from the University of Oklahoma in 1987. She is currently a member of the NSU faculty.

Charles W. Davidson and John H. Hendrix became the nineteenth and twentieth members of the Hall of Fame in 2003. Although Davidson has lived in San Jose, CA, since May of 1952, he was born and raised in Pittsburg County near Bache and has never forgotten his roots that go as deep in Oklahoma as Indian Territory. He attended East Central, Eastern (1950-51), and later received a degree in civil engineering from San Jose State University. Davidson has been a homebuilder and developer and currently owns several construction and property management companies.

Hendrix has a myriad of life experiences beginning as a high school student cutting pulpwood and logs with hay cutting and bailing tossed in for good measure to Chairman and President of numerous educational and financial boards including his own company, the John H. Hendrix Corporation. He graduated from high school at Gillham, AR, and attended Eastern where he received his Associate in Science Degree in 1956. He then attended Oklahoma State University earning his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (Petroleum Option) in 1958 and his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1960.

Ray Henson was named to the Hall of Fame last year. He has served on a number of national, state and local civic and educational positions during his professional career. He was appointed to the White House Indian Committee-Conference, an organizer and chairperson of the Tri-County Superintendents Association, President of the National Board of North Central Association, NCA Vice President, President of the State North Central Association and many others.