NSU's Hearts Night Out is Feb. 12 at the NSU Broken Arrow Campus

The Northeastern State University Alumni Association invites alumni and friends to celebrate Valentine's Day early during Hearts Night Out held Feb. 12 at the NSU Broken Arrow campus.

Deadline to RSVP is Feb. 9.

"This is an alumni event intended for those looking for something different than the traditional Valentine's Day," said Danny Johnson, director of Alumni Services. "It is an alternative to spending $100 on a dinner and it's a great way for alumni to reconnect."

Hearts Night Out will be held in the NSU-BA Building A Ballroom, 6-11 p.m. The Broken Arrow campus is at 3100 E. New Orleans St., or just east of the Creek Turnpike on the north side of 101st Street.

"We are hosting it on the Broken Arrow campus because we want to showcase its facilities," Johnson said. "We also want to attract people from the greater Tulsa area that perhaps haven't attended events in Tahlequah."

Hearts Night Out is not restricted to alumni couples, noted Johnson. Singles and alumni married to or dating non-alumni are welcome to attend.

"It's really an alumni gathering centered on Valentine's Day," he said. "People only need to bring themselves and be ready to have a good time. We will have dinner, a DJ, music and dancing."

Tickets are $30 per person and $25 for members of the Alumni Association. Price includes hors d'oeuvres, dinner, dessert, wine and entertainment.

For more information or to RSVP, call the Office of Alumni and Development at (918) 458-2143. Intimate or social seating options are available. 

Underwood to Sing National Anthem at Superbowl XVIV 

The National Football League and CBS announced Jan. 28 that Northeastern State University alumnus Carrie Underwood will sing the national anthem during the pregame festivities for Super Bowl XLIV.

Underwood achieved national fame when she won the fourth American Idol singing competition in 2005. Today she is a four-time Grammy Award winner, the 2009 Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year and a three-time Country Music Association and ACM Female Vocalist of the Year.

She is the first country artist to ever record 11 consecutive No. 1 singles and her 11 million U.S. album sales are the most for any winner of American Idol.

Underwood returned to NSU after her American Idol victory and graduated magna cum laude in Mass Communication in 2006. She was also named Outstanding Senior for 2006 and inducted into the NSU Hall of Fame. 

NSU Extreme Housing Makeover Unveiled

The benefits of winning the Northeastern State University Extreme Housing Makeover competition were evident when improvements to Ross Hall were revealed Jan. 20.

The improvements allow the residence hall’s lounge to serve as a small, informal classroom incorporating teaching and learning technology.

Sponsors who helped make Extreme Housing Makeover possible include Spaces Design & Architecture, KI Furnishings, Shaw Contract Group, Nabholz Construction, Sodexo, Sherwin-Williams, Cherokee Building Materials, Copy Zone, KB Signs and Northeastern Glass.

Spaces Design and Architecture and KB Signs are business ventures of NSU alumni, and alumni are indispensable in the competition’s success. During the Fall 2009 semester, residence halls hosted programs and students attended campus events to accumulate points for Extreme Housing Makeover. It was the competition’s second year. Wyly Hall won the 2008 contest.

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NSU Alumnus Dr. Sullivan Beckers to Lecture

Students at Northeastern State University will have an opportunity to attend a lecture anchored by a returning alumnus.

“Dr. Laura Sullivan Beckers had indicated to Dr. Mia Revels that she would be willing to make the trip back to Northeastern," said Dr. John de Banzie, NSU professor of Biology. "Her research is current and interesting, so this was too good an opportunity to pass up.”

Beckers graduated from Northeastern in 2002 with a bachelor of science degree and went on to pursue her Ph.D. at the University of Missouri where she studied treehopper bird song under Dr. Reginald Cocroft. Today she is a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

“The year before I started the bachelor of science at NSU, I spent many hours listening to and watching birds in the parks and reserves around Tulsa," Beckers said. "This pastime developed into a full-blown career thanks in part to the encouragement of Dr. Mia Revels at NSU."

Becker's research focuses on the evolution of animal communication and behaviors.

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