Southeastern to honor three former faculty members at Homecoming

Press Release Date: 09-24-2010

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern Oklahoma State University will honor Dr. Merle McElroy-Dunlap, Dr. C.W. Mangrum, and Dr. James C. Milligan (posthumously) as Distinguished Former Faculty as part of the Homecoming 2010 celebration.

The trio will be recognized at the Homecoming awards banquet at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 8, in the Visual and Performing Arts Center (VPAC).

McElroy-Dunlap joined the Southeastern faculty in 1975 as an assistant professor of Education and Psychology, was promoted to associate professor in 1980, and was named Professor of Elementary Education and Director of University Services in 1985. She became Director of Public Relations in 1986, moved to the Psychology Department in 1988 , and retired as Professor of Psychology and Counseling in 1996.

SE professor Dr. Elizabeth Walters and McElroy-Dunlap wrote many proposals and ran pre-schools for handicapped children, which included a parent component. They spent a lot of time preparing for presentations across the United States, including New York, San Francisco, Dallas and San Antonio, Texas, to name a few. The person with whom she had the most fun and who most influenced her life was Jeanette Engles.

She was President of the Red River Arts Council and served as a member of the first Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Shakespearean Festival, along with fellow honoree Dr. C.W. Mangrum.

McElroy-Dunlap earned her doctorate at East Texas State, now Texas A&M University-Commerce, in 1975. She received her bachelor's degree in Elementary Education at New Mexico State in 1969, and her master's degree as a Reading Specialist at Southeastern in 1971.

She married Joe K. Dunlap in 2001 and they reside in New Mexico. She has two daughters, April Harrod and Pamela Ashcraft-Fiddler. Her grandchildren are Jeremy, Natalie, Peter and William Harrod. All of her children and grandchildren reside in Ruidoso, New Mexico. A stepson, Bill Dunlap, lives in Ruidoso Downs.

Mangrum retired as Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Southeastern in 2008 after a career that spanned 45 years as student, debate coach, faculty member and administrator.

Southeastern highlights include serving as the first chair of the Oklahoma Shakespearean Festival, hosting the Tom Houston Debate Reception and having former debaters in his home every year, organizing the Arts Gala, especially the years that featured the Five Americans and Gail Farrell of the Lawrence Welk show, and helping to establish the Parsons Scholarship Program and hosting guest speakers such as former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson.

He graduated from Southeastern in 1966 and started his SE career as an instructor in the speech department in 1970. He was named assistant professor in the Speech Communication Department in 1979, associate professor in 1993, and was promoted to Professor, Communication and Theatre Department, in 1998. He was named dean in 2000.

Mangrum earned his doctorate at the University of North Texas and master's at the University of Central Oklahoma, and went on to become an outstanding debate coach and teacher. From 1970-78, he took his debate teams from small, rural towns in Oklahoma to Harvard University National Debate Tournaments. His career produced four teams that reached the National Tournament.

He married Faye Gothard, a current SE faculty member, in 1976. Their three children are Aprill Raines, Durant; Leslie Mangrum, Salina, Kan.; and Paul Mangrum, Norman, Okla. Grandchildren are Braden Raines, Lydia Raines, and Sophie Raines.

Milligan joined the SE faculty as in instructor in social sciences in 1967 and taught history 28 years until his retirement in 1995. He was named assistant professor in 1970, associate professor in 1976, and Professor, Social Sciences in 1980. An acclaimed historian, teacher and author, he served as Chair of the Department of Social Sciences, Faculty Advisor to Phi Alpha Theta, national history fraternity, and on numerous University committees. He was a past president of the Oklahoma Association of Professional Historians and a life member of the Oklahoma Historical Association.

A gifted author and acknowledged expert on Oklahoma, Latin America and Native American history, his books include Oklahoma: A Regional History; Iron Mike: The Life of General Earnest L. Massad; Oklahoma Farmers Union; and The Choctaw of Oklahoma. His co-authored and edited books include, among others, A History of Durant, 1872-1990 and A Social History of the Choctaw Nation.

Milligan completed his bachelor's degree at Southeastern in 1965, his master's at Arkansas State University, and earned his doctorate from Texas Tech University in 1975.

He was married for 29 years to Sally Ann Sheffield until her death in 1994. He later married Debora Graham of Atoka.

Milligan's family includes son Keith L. Milligan of Durant; stepdaughter Heather Floyd, Bonham, Texas; stepson Joseph Crawford, Durant; grandsons Kory and Kody Milligan, Durant; and granddaughter Kylie Walker, Bonham.

Milligan passed away on April 5, 2005. Family, friends and SE colleagues established the Dr. James C. Milligan Endowed Scholarship in his honor on Sept. 14, 2005. The scholarship is for students majoring in the social sciences.