By Bekah Warren
Feature Editor
As the academic year is coming to a close, graduates are looking forward to the next stage in their lives, but they aren’t the only ones.
A few faculty members have the same attitude, though instead of graduation, retirement is on their minds.
Five members of the RSU faculty have retired or are retiring this year: Richard Boyd, professor of communications; George Ann Daniels, associate professor of health sciences; Peggy Dugan, associate professor of psychology, sociology, and criminal justice; Pamela Fowler, assistant professor of health sciences; and Sheila Warwick, instructor of reading.
Boyd has been a professor at RSU since 2002. He also served as vice president for academic affairs at RSU from 2002 to 2005.
Boyd has presented a wide variety of papers, presentations and speeches on a variety of topics including critical thinking skills, creative problem solving and development of a two-year curriculum at four-year institutions.
He also has served on boards and committees for community organizations such as the American Red Cross, Boys and Girls Club, and United Way.
Daniels was an associate professor in the health sciences department and taught classes on the fundamentals of nursing, therapeutic interventions, and dosage calculation.
She has a wide range of clinical experience and worked at hospitals, nursing homes, doctor’s offices and in the field of home health during her nursing career. Daniels, a registered nurse, also has certifications in several areas including wound care, breast feeding, and oncology care.
Dugan has been an associate professor at RSU since 1977. This time also includes her work with Claremore Junior College and Rogers State College.
Her academic specialty areas include adult learning, distance education, and elementary and secondary education.
Pamela J. Fowler served as an assistant professor from 1993 to 2010, teaching classes in nursing fundamentals and critical care, dosage calculation, health assessment, and pathophysiology. She has also written instructor resource materials for Pearson Prentice Hall and Elsevier and works as a reviewer for the publishing houses.
Fowler volunteers as a nurse consultant and pharmacy technician for the Free Clinic of Mayes County in Pryor, Okla.
Warwick was an instructor at RSU from 1997 until her retirement this year. She taught reading at RSU, and served as an academic skills trainer.
Among other achievements, Warwick also developed a successful plan for mainstreaming learning disabled students into regular learning arts classrooms, resulting in improved grades and social interaction. She retired this fall.
These faculty members have each dedicated much time, effort, and talent to RSU over the years.