OBU Honors Three with Top University Awards

Oklahoma Baptist University's top three awards for faculty and staff were presented during spring Commencement ceremonies May 20.

Dr. William Hagen, OBU professor of English, was presented the Distinguished Teacher Award. Dr. Lana Bolhouse, dean of OBU's School of Nursing, received the Meritorious Service Award. The Promising Teacher Award was presented to Dr. Joyce Aldridge, OBU assistant professor of theatre.

The Distinguished Teaching Award given annually to a faculty member who has maintained his or her teaching career in an exemplary fashion, as acknowledged by colleagues and current and former students.



Hagen joined the OBU faculty in 1974 as an assistant professor of English and coordinator of the western civilization program. He served as associate professor for six years before being promoted to professor of English in 1987.

Prior to his OBU career, Hagen taught for two years at Wake Forest University and two years at East Carolina University. He completed his bachelor's degree from Davidson College, his master's degree in English from the University of North Carolina, and his doctorate in English at the University of Iowa.

Hagen has been the recipient of eight grants, including several National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship awards and the Mellon Fellowship. He has more than a dozen published articles and has written reviews for publications such as World Literature Today and Studies in the Novel.

Hagen helped design a new library discussion series featuring several Oklahoma authors for the "Let's Talk About It, Oklahoma" program. He served as a moderator and participated in sessions during the 2003 and 2005 Red Dirt Book Festivals. He is on the steering and program committees for the 2007 Red Dirt Book Festival. He is an active member of the Friends of the Shawnee Library, and has served as the Shawnee representative for the Pioneer Multi-County Library Board.

Hagen also has served as a lecturer/discussion leader in the Humanities Foundation "Let's Talk About It" book series across the state. He is an elder at United Presbyterian Church in Shawnee. He and his wife, Goldie, have one son, Ross.

The Meritorious Service Award is given to a faculty or staff member who has made a substantial commitment of talent and service to OBU.

Bolhouse has served at OBU, her alma mater, for 33 years. Prior to joining the faculty at OBU, the Lawton native was a staff nurse at Presbyterian Hospital in Oklahoma City. In 1996, she received the Outstanding Psychiatric Nurse of the Year award from the Oklahoma Nurses Association.

She is the author of several articles in The Oklahoma Nurse and Christian Single Magazine. She also has received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the Sears Foundation.

Bolhouse has served as president of the Oklahoma Baptist Nursing Fellowship and as vice president of Sigma Theta Tau. She is a member of the Oklahoma Nurses' Association.

Along with her bachelor's degree in nursing from OBU, she earned her master's degree in psychiatric-mental health at Texas Woman's University and her doctorate at Oklahoma State University. She has two children, Troy and Audra.

The Promising Teacher Award is given to a junior faculty member who demonstrates outstanding potential as a teacher.

Aldridge recently completed her fifth year at OBU. She is instrumental in many OBU Theatre productions. The university has featured more than 20 plays, musicals and dramas during her time on Bison Hill.

Last fall, Aldridge performed in OBU Theatre's opening production of the school year, playing Truvy Jones in the Broadway play and acclaimed film Steel Magnolias.

Aldridge earned a bachelor's degree from Southeastern Oklahoma State University, a master's degree from Oklahoma State University, and a doctorate from the University of Colorado.