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Dr. Joe Anna Hibler: One of the Fellows, by Dr. Jill Jones Tourian
2021 [ISBN: 978-1581073706; 460 pages, 7 x 0.17 x 10, soft cover], $10.00
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Joe Anna Hibler is the quintessential Oklahoman. One set of grandparents came into the Panhandle as children in covered wagons and lived in a house with a dirt floor. The other grandparents were wheat farmers in the 1940s who, as many did, gave up the farm and moved into town to run a business. From humble beginnings in a small town, the daughter of teachers, she would take advantage of educational opportunities that led to her becoming a major educator and leader in the state.
Starting with a job as a student secretary in the Art Department she rose to become the first woman president of Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Oklahoma, and only the second woman university president in the state of Oklahoma. The building in which she had her first college class is now named after her, the Dr. Joe Anna Hibler Education Center.
While serving as the fifteenth president of Southwestern Oklahoma State University and occupying positions on many boards, she made significant contributions to her community and her state. During her eleven years as the chief administrator at SWOSU, she was instrumental in many historic changes.Her influence went beyond her own campus. She served as Chair of the Regional University System of Oklahoma (RUSO) and has served on numerous boards and foundations in the state. She was the first former president to serve as a Regent for RUSO. She has been active in reforms benefiting women, specifically through the Women’s Foundation of Oklahoma.
This detailed account of her experiences over the years provides valuable historical information about the State of Oklahoma and the rising role of women in our society.