Celebrated USAO alumna throws first pitch at Women’s History Month softball game

In celebration of Women’s History Month, Dr. Kathy Black, a celebrated alumna of the Oklahoma College for Women—as the University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma was first known— threw out the first pitch during a recent Drover softball game.

A Pawhuska native and 1958 graduate with a degree in physical education, Black later earned a master’s in physical education and doctorate degree in higher education administration both from the University of Oklahoma. She took a teaching position at the University of Central Oklahoma and remained on the faculty for 35 years before retiring in 2001.

Black has remained steadfastly dedicated to the university through the years, and its many name changes, through both volunteer work and charitable donations. A registered member of the Osage nation, Black helped endow a new scholarship at USAO specifically for Native American women, with preference to first-time freshmen.

She was inducted into the university’s Alumni Hall of Fame in 2016.