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OSU Pride Works
 With an attitude of service and the heart of a tinkerer, campus favorite Don Pressnall keeps OSU–CHS well maintained.
Not much of a fixable nature escapes his notice. On a typical morning, a broken outlet plate, a burned-out bulb and a pool cue all catch his eye and make his “to do” list. There’s a problem with an ice machine; a coil, he thinks. And the loading dock needs to be checked to make sure it is ready for the next delivery.
Pressnall’s maintenance efforts make a world of difference for students, faculty and staff.
“We have a service attitude so that professors can teach, students can learn and employees can work. They don’t have to worry about lights, trash or something broken,” Pressnall, a maintenance technician, says.
That attitude was recognized last summer with an Award of Excellence from the Staff Advisory Council. “I was surprised to get it,” he says, emphasizing that he feels he is part of an overall team. But the warm applause of his co-workers was just for him.
After running his auto salvage business for three decades, then working in building supplies, Pressnall is well qualified to run the lock and key shop, oversee custodial needs, handle assorted problems and do whatever comes up.
Making the CHS campus look good has been his calling for more than a dozen years. His philosophy is based on a belief that “whatever thy hand finds to do, do it with all thy might,” he says.
Early each morning, Pressnall checks the student lounge. He wants it ship-shape before students arrive. “The lounge is a place where they relieve stress and unwind,” he says. “I remember a few years ago the students played a lot of foosball. They just about wore me out replacing the balls.” This year, ping pong rules and the paddles are taking a beating. Pressnall makes sure fresh ones are ready. “I believe that when you show them someone cares about their lounge, they take better care of it,” Pressnall says.
He is delighted when interns call out “Hey, Don” as he makes his clinic maintenance rounds. “To see them go from students to doctors is really exciting. It’s why we are here,” he says.
At home in Sperry, he putters in his own workshop. “I have fun salvaging and saving things. I keep them for a year or two, then throw them out and start again,” he says. “When my wife, Donna, throws away things, I get them and fix them. Then she wants them back!”
Pressnall teaches Sunday school and is active in his church. “It is a challenge and I love it,” he says. His eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild also fill his time. “They keep me going,” he says.
And he keeps us going.
My OSU Valentine
 Shopping and listening to country music are not Terry Drenner’s favorites things, but some days he happily does both.
That is because he and wife Holly both work for OSU and share a daily commute from Inola. Holly works at OSU-Tulsa and Terry is the photographer at OSU-CHS.
Whoever drives gets to choose the music, Terry says. He likes big band and easy listening fare but Holly prefers country music. Holly likes to stop at Wal-Mart on the way home and Terry does not. He takes it in stride because, he says, spending time together and saving on gasoline costs are big benefits of sharing a workplace and commute. But the driver does not get all the advantages. “If you aren’t driving,” says Holly, “you can sleep.”
Another OSU couple, professors Craig and Vivian Stevens, joined OSU in 1990. After 16 years of working together, Craig says they have learned some dos and don’ts. “We don’t commute together,” he says. They tried it but found that driving separately is best. “It is good when we have to change plans to pick up children or something,” he says. They also know that sparks can fly if they serve on the same committees. “We both are passionate about our point of view,” Craig says.
Vivian says working for the same institution is positive. “I think we have a deeper understanding of each other’s work lives,” she says. They seldom lunch together because both are busy during the day, but she says having her spouse nearby has its perks. “I can run upstairs and get twenty dollars if my wallet is empty.”
Gary and Kathy Windle, who were married last fall, do not share the commute because they work different hours, but they have lunch together almost every day. He works in computing services and she works in clinic financial services. “I had been told that working in the same place as your spouse is not good,” Gary says. “But it has been great. I really enjoy it.” Kathy says the couple does not talk about work very much, but she agrees with Gary. “It’s all good!” she says.
AT&T Foundation grant expands network
Dr. Fullingim named AT&T Endowed Professor of Telemedicine
The AT&T Foundation has awarded an $8,000 AT&T Excelerator grant to OSU-CHS to further extend the school’s growing network of telemedicine sites in eastern Oklahoma. We used the grant to purchase and set up video and computer equipment at the OSU Physicians Clinic at Country Club Gardens, a low-income housing community in north Tulsa. The clinic is the 27 th telemedicine site in the OSU telemedicine network, moving us even closer to our goal of 55 sites.
In addition to the grant announcement, AT&T also named Dr. Dean Fullingim as the AT&T Endowed Professor of Telemedicine. Fullingim, a Tulsa radiologist and 2004 physician of the year, will oversee OSU’s telemedicine programs in 24 Oklahoma communities, including Poteau, Henryetta and the Choctaw Indian Hospital in Idabel.
Rep. Lucky Lamons, D-Tulsa; Don Cain, president AT&T Oklahoma, and
John Fernandes, D.O., M.B.A.,
president and dean congratulate
Dr. Dean Fullingam
on being named the AT&T Endowed Professor of Telemedicine.
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February 2006 
