DURANT, Okla. – The Southeastern women’s basketball team has claimed a share of the Great American Conference regular season championship – a first in program history.

The Savage Storm defeated Ouachita Baptist 76-55 Saturday afternoon, to finish the season 19-7 overall and 16-6 in GAC play. The sixteen wins in conference play are a program best since joining the GAC in 2011.

Southeastern will enter the GAC tournament as the number one seed and will play eight seed Southern Arkansas at 8 p.m. on Thursday in Bartlesville in the quarterfinals. The winner will advance to play on Saturday at 5:45 p.m. in the semi-finals.

Southeastern enters this week with a number six ranking in the NCAA Division II central region with two more sets of rankings still to be released. The top eight teams in each region will advance to the NCAA tournament.

Dr. Rolando J. Díaz, chair and associate professor in the department of English, Humanities, and Languages at Southeastern Oklahoma State University has been recognized as an Award-Winning Author by the 2025 International Latino Book Awards (ILBA).

The second edition of Díaz’ Tales from the Tortilla Curtain and Other Stories has been named a Finalist in the category of Best Collection of Short Stories – English, and will be recognized as either a Gold, Silver, or Bronze Medal winner at the 27th Annual International Latino Book Awards on October 25 at MiraCosta College in Oceanside, Calif.

The ILBA is the largest awards ceremony in the USA which celebrates achievements in Latino literature. This year’s ILBA feature over 5,000 books submitted across 87 categories, requiring 222 judges to process.

Tales from the Tortilla Curtain and Other Stories is speculative fiction/science fiction book with social commentary imagining what would happen if the Great Wall of the Americas – otherwise known as the Tortilla Curtain – were ever completed along the border between the United States and Mexico. It speaks of the human tragedy on both sides of the border.

Included in this book is the section “A Través del Tiempo”, a collection of short stories about two young Latinos who get their hands on a time machine and travel to significant points in their lives along the border. The third section of this book, “¡Hazte el behave o te espanquéo!” takes a more humorous look at the cultural and linguistic hybridity of the Hispanic experience. It also includes a list of Spanglish vocabulary words that could be incorporated in either English or Spanish.

Dr. Díaz hopes to continue writing and translating books which accurately reflect the Latino/Chicano/Hispanic experience, including the history, language, culture, and identity of this diverse community.

Tales from the Tortilla Curtain and Other Stories has been published by Proisle Publishing and is available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online retailers.

To learn more about the awards and the ceremony, go to www.LatinoBooks.org.

The faculty of the John Massey School of Business at Southeastern Oklahoma State University kicked off a series of “Member Masterclasses” for the Durant Area Chamber of Commerce on Monday.

The masterclasses are designed to give Durant-area businesspeople a hands-on approach to effective business strategies. They are open to members of the Durant Area Chamber of Commerce and the Durant Main Street Association as a professional development opportunity in conjunction with the John Massey School of Business and its embedded Texoma Region Economic Empowerment (TREE) Center.

Monday’s masterclass was presented by Dr. Eric Kennedy, department chair of Management and Marketing and interim chair of Accounting and Finance in the John Massey School of Business, and covered branding, including brand identity, messaging, brand recognition and more.

Upcoming Member Masterclasses in the 2025-26 academic year include:

• Monday, October 6: Social Media, presented by Dr. Courtney Kernek, associate dean of the John Massey School of Business and Chickasaw Nation Endowed Professor of Business Management
• Monday, November 3: Quickbooks, presented by Dr. Rhonda Richards, interim chair of the John Massey School of Business
• Monday, February 2: Business Strategy, presented by Dr. Lawrence Silver, John Massey chair in Marketing
• Monday, March 2: AI for Business, presented by Alisha Ridenour, assistant director of the Center for Instructional Development and Technology, and Dr. Eric Kennedy

Reservations are required for all masterclasses, which are available to current members of the Durant Area Chamber of Commerce and the Durant Main Street District.

Information on joining the Durant Area Chamber of Commerce and reservations for the masterclasses is available at www.DurantChamber.org.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Former Southeastern Oklahoma State University president and current Chancellor of the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education Sean Burrage is one of 10 inductees into the 2025 class of the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame, as announced by the Oklahoma Higher Education Heritage Society.

The 31st annual induction ceremony and banquet will be held on Monday, November 3, 2025, at the University of Central Oklahoma’s Nigh University Center Grand Ballroom.

Burrage served as Southeastern’s 20th President from 2014-19 and has been the Chancellor of the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education since December 2024. Under Burrage’s leadership at Southeastern, the university streamlined operations, including establishing a shared vice president position with Murray State College, and significantly increased both undergraduate and graduate enrollment.

Burrage is the fourth Oklahoma Chancellor with ties to Southeastern. The first Chancellor – M.A. Nash – taught at Southeastern, the second Chancellor – E.T. Dunlap – graduated from Southeastern, and the eighth Chancellor – Glen D. Johnson – served as president at Southeastern from 1997-2006.

“On behalf of the Southeastern community, I extend heartfelt congratulations to Chancellor Sean Burrage on his upcoming induction into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame,” said Southeastern Interim President Dr. David Whitlock. “During his tenure as President of Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Chancellor Burrage provided visionary leadership and laid the groundwork for many of the successes we enjoy today. We remain beneficiaries of his foresight and dedication to advancing higher education. On a personal note, I am grateful for his longtime friendship and the support he has consistently shown throughout the years.”

Burrage becomes the 17th person associated with Southeastern and fifth former Southeastern President to be inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame including those who were students, instructors or administrators at SE:

• Henry G. Bennett, 1994 (SE president from 1919-28)
• Sean Burrage, 2025 (SE president from 2014-19)
• Leonard Campbell, 2001
• Bill H. Darnell, 1995
• E.T. Dunlap, 1994
• Anthony A. Echelle, 2009
• Gordon Eggleton, 2019
• C. Henry Gold, 2015
• Ann Holloway, 2024
• Glen D. Johnson, 2016 (SE president from 1997-2006)
• Bill Lillard, 1994
• Adolph Linscheid, 2023
• John Massey, 2004
• Buddy Spencer, 2022
• Roy Troutt, 1994
• Larry Williams, 2005 (SE president from 1987-97)
• Kate Galt Zaneis, 2022 (SE president from 1935-37)

This is the fourth consecutive year Southeastern has been represented in the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame’s induction class. Burrage and 2016 Hall of Fame inductee Glen D. Johnson notably served as both Southeastern President and state higher education Chancellor.

Born in Durant and raised in Antlers, Burrage is a member of the Choctaw Nation and holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a juris doctorate from OU. He and his wife, Julie, a Tulsa native and nonprofit consultant, have four sons.

In addition to his past presidency of Southeastern, Burrage was managing partner with the Taylor Burrage Law Firm in Claremore. He served two terms in the Oklahoma State Senate, representing Rogers and Mayes counties, during which he served as minority floor leader from 2011-14. He was vice president for executive affairs and chief of Staff at the University of Oklahoma after he departed from SE in 2019 until his appointment as Chancellor in 2024.

During his tenure as a state senator, Burrage represented approximately 80,000 constituents, authored or co-authored over 50 bills that were enacted into law, and served on several legislative committees and task forces, including the 2008 legislative task force on Oklahoma’s Promise.

Burrage has been a member of numerous boards and committees, including the State Regents’ Blueprint 2030 Strategic Planning Committee and the 2017 Task Force on the Future of Higher Education; Gov. Mary Fallin’s Education Advisory Committee; the Rogers State University Foundation; the University Hospitals Authority and Trust; and the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence. He served as associate bar examiner for the Oklahoma Bar Association and was named among the Best Lawyers in America and as a Super Lawyer, both designations conferred by his peers. He was a Litigation Counsel of America Fellow and an Aspen-Rodel Fellow in Public Leadership. In 2007, he was voted the Higher Education Alumni Council’s “Best Newcomer Legislator of the Year.”

The 2025-26 performance calendar for the Musical Arts Series at Southeastern Oklahoma State University has been set, with five concerts slated.

The 53rd Season of the Musical Arts Series is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, Oklahoma Arts Council, Steger Piano Institute, and the Clark and Wanda Bass Foundation. All performances will be held in the Fine Arts Recital Hall.

2025-26 Musical Arts Series Calendar (all performances at 7:30 p.m.)

• Tuesday, September 23: Min Hee Kim and Hamin Kim
• Thursday, October 2: Christopher Besch and Michael Leavitt
• Thursday, January 29: Malaimare, Lee, and Dikener Trio
• Thursday, March 5: Duo Cantabile
• Saturday, April 11: The Brian Piper Quintet (in conjunction with Southeastern JazzFest)

The calendar opens on September 23 with the duo of Min Hee Kim on flute and Hamin Kim on cello.

Dr. Min Hee Kim, a Carnegie Hall soloist and faculty member at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, UT Dallas, and Dallas College, is a leading advocate for flute performance and education. With three performance degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, she is known for her innovative research on jazz language in flute repertoire and has been featured at major flute festivals and conventions nationwide. A prizewinner of the Yamaha Young Performing Artist Competition, Dr. Kim is also a respected clinician and educator, regularly working with top organizations like the National Flute Association and the Dallas Symphony.

Hamin Kim is a dynamic and expressive cellist whose career has taken him to world stages such as London’s Royal Albert Hall, Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center, and other historic concert venues across the world. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London, he brings a global perspective and emotional depth to his performances. In addition to his solo work, he performs with the Kim Quartet alongside his siblings, sharing their familial musical bond with audiences across the globe. Hamin also serves on the music faculty at Dallas College, where he mentors the next generation of musicians.

DENVER, Colo. – Southeastern Oklahoma State University associate professor of curriculum and instruction Dr. Mila Zhu’s new book series Ludic Scholarship debuted at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association.

International academic publisher Peter Lang’s booth spotlighted the textbook Freedom to Play: A Ludic Language Pedagogy Primer and drew strong interest from scholars working in gaming, play, and innovative inquiry—many saying they had “finally found a home” for this work.

Dr. Zhu’s authored monograph, StrataPlay Methodology, is now in typesetting and will anchor the series’ methodological foundation. A third textbook is in production, and an edited volume, Parent-Scholars in Practice, currently has an active call for chapters.

Learn more or propose a project: Series page: https://www.peterlang.com/series/lsc

Completing a degree in higher education is an incredible accomplishment that, in most cases, is not met without challenges – academically, socially and emotionally. While every student’s collegiate journey is different, Southeastern Oklahoma State University is committed to providing a wide breadth of services meeting the needs of each and every Southeastern student.

As part of that commitment, Southeastern has partnered with TimelyCare – higher education’s most trusted virtual health and well-being provider – to offer students free and equitable access to mental health support, medical care and basic needs assistance. The partnership is an extension of campus health and counseling center resources, with a goal of improving student well-being, engagement and retention.

The need for 24/7 access to high-quality care has never been more important. According to a report by Gallup and the Lumina Foundation, 69% of students in bachelor’s degree programs who considered dropping out cited emotional stress as their reason.

The partnership with TimelyCare allows Southeastern to deliver a hybrid model of care in collaboration with on-campus resources.

Through TimelyCare on their phone or other device, Southeastern students can now select from a wide-ranging menu of virtual care options from licensed physicians and counselors in all 50 states – at no cost and without the barrier of traditional insurance – including on-demand and appointment-based medical care, on-demand mental health and emotional support (TalkNow), appointment-based mental health counseling (up to 6 sessions each academic year), health coaching, basic needs assistance, care navigation, peer support community, and digital self-care content.

Additionally, faculty and staff have access to support that empowers them to guide students to TimelyCare resources to help students achieve a sense of well-being, live healthier lifestyles, and improve their mental health. 

“At the forefront of our commitment to student well-being is the priority of health and safety. TimelyCare’s user-friendly platform, convenience, and immediacy make it easier than ever for our students to access on-demand support,” said April Lehrling, interim vice president for student affairs and director of student wellness at Southeastern. “TimelyCare enhances our campus resources by making care more readily available to students when they need it, limiting the spread of illness, reducing the stigma of mental health issues, and granting peace of mind to students and their families.”

Mental health directly impacts student retention and academic performance. TimelyCare is proven to support better outcomes, including:

• Clinically significant change by students’ third scheduled counseling or psychiatry visit for those who entered care with severe depression or anxiety symptoms.
• Swift and significant impact for those students with clinical symptoms, dropping a severity ranking (e.g. moderate to mild) by their third scheduled counseling visit.
• Nine out of 10 students say they would recommend TimelyCare’s services.

“With more than seven out of 10 students reporting that they experience mental health challenges  such as stress, anxiety or depression, expanded access to virtual health and well-being interventions like TimelyCare has never been more important,” said Luke Hejl, CEO and co-founder of TimelyCare. “Ultimately, supporting students, educators, and staff means providing access to care whenever and wherever they need it.”

About TimelyCare

TimelyCare is the most trusted virtual health and well-being solution for learning communities, offering personalized, clinically proven care that fosters student success and delivers life-changing outcomes. Through a seamless, easy-to-access platform, TimelyCare provides a comprehensive range of services—including a crisis line, mental health counseling, on-demand emotional support, medical care, psychiatric care, health coaching, success coaching, basic needs assistance, faculty and staff guidance, peer support, and self-guided wellness tools. In partnership with more than 400 campus wellness teams, TimelyCare ensures that millions of students have direct, anytime access to high-quality care. Recognized as a Princeton Review Top 5 Need to Know Organization for Mental Health Awareness, TimelyCare drives measurable improvements in depression and anxiety, empowering students on their wellness journey and supporting healthier learning environments.