Southeastern to honor two former faculty members at Homecoming on Oct. 25

by SOUTHEASTERN PUBLIC INFORMATION
September 26, 2008

DURANT, Okla. -- Southeastern Oklahoma State University will honor Dr. Mary Hitchcock and Rade Radasinovich as Distinguished Former Faculty members at the Alumni Homecoming Awards Luncheon on Saturday, Oct. 25, in the old Student Union Ballroom. The event begins at 11:30 a.m.

Dr. Hitchcock is a Wapanucka native and a graduate of Wapanucka High School. She attended Murray State College and earned her B.S. in Elementary Education at Southeastern in 1974. She received her Master's in Special Education from Southeastern in 1977 and her Ed.D. in Elementary Education from the University of Oklahoma in 1989.

At age 25, she was named principal at Wapanucka Elementary School and served five years before wanting to return to the classroom. She taught in the Durant Public Schools for two years and began her career at Southeastern in 1985. She retired in 2003 after 18 years of service.

At Southeastern, Hitchcock was a faculty member, Department Chair of Educational Instruction and Leadership, and for three years, served as Director of Teacher Education. She also served on various committees and co-chaired the 2002 National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) site visit. She served on a state committee for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in Oklahoma and helped for 10 years with initial training for teachers to work through the process.

Hitchcock published numerous articles and presented across the United States with Learned Societies for Education. She also served as a volunteer on the registration team at the Southeastern alumni golf tournament.

Hitchcock still resides in Wapanucka. She is an adjunct professor for Southeastern and Southern Nazarene University, and an educational consultant for Calera Public Schools, working with the No Child Left Behind program.

While her hobbies include reading and golf, her first love remains teaching. Hitchcock said, "I tell my students if they find just half the happiness I discovered in teaching, then they will be oh, so blessed. I have fond memories of my time at Southeastern. The administration, faculty and staff really made the experience wonderful."

Rade Radasinovich graduated from Hopewill High School in Aliquippa, Penn., in 1950.

Of Serbian descent, his grandparents were from Yugoslavia, but didn't meet until they were in the United States. He served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War, and earned a Purple Heart and three Battle Stars.

He attended Kilgore Junior College on a football scholarship in 1955-56 and earned his B.A. in social sciences from Northwestern Louisiana State University in 1958.

Radasinovich received his Master's in geography in 1960 and his doctorate is completed except for the dissertation.

He taught at NW Louisiana for four years and saw a Southeastern ad in a magazine for JIG ("Jobs in Geography"). Radasinovich taught geography at Southeastern from 1965 to 1995, and led tours to Europe, Canada and eastern and western United States. The 3-week tours for credit became too expensive for the students and were cut back to Friday-Sunday in Oklahoma, also for credit.

Also at Southeastern, he served as faculty sponsor for Phi Alpha Theta, honorary history society and was involved with TTT (Teaching Teachers to Teach).

Radasinovich was always involved in sports at some level. He helped (former SOSU basketball coach) Pudge Bowers coach Kiwanis Club Little League baseball. He coached Durant American Legion baseball three years.

Rade said, "I'm extremely satisfied with my Southeastern career. I enjoyed myself probably more than most teachers did. I thoroughly enjoyed teaching and all other experiences at Southeastern. We had a great faculty who really cared for students. I would gladly do it all again exactly the same way."

Tickets for the Luncheon are priced at $20. Please make checks payable and return to the Southeastern Foundation, Inc., 1405 N. 4th Avenue, PMB 4187, Durant, OK, 74701-0609. For further information, contact Ardeth Ludrick at 580-745-2875.