Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) with locations in Weatherford, Sayre and Yukon has announced that Dr. Diana Lovell of Weatherford has been named to the university’s planned giving society, SWOSU Tomorrows.

Bryan N. Evans, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the SWOSU Foundation, Inc., recently made the announcement.

“SWOSU stands firmly on the Hilltop today because of visionary charitable contributors and partners like President Lovell,” said Evans. “We are honored that SWOSU’s sitting president chose to invest in SWOSU by including our institution in her estate planning. Her generosity will impact SWOSU positively for generations to come.”

Lovell has made provision for SWOSU in her estate planning. Her financial investment in SWOSU will be used to provide scholarships and departmental support.

Lovell was born and raised in Weatherford within the shadow of SWOSU. Both her parents taught at SWOSU with her father serving as chair of the Biology Department and mother teaching in the Home Economics Department. Additional family members have deep connections to SWOSU. Lovell’s late uncle, Lamar Crall, was one of the five founding incorporators of the SWOSU Foundation, Inc. in May 1977 and served on the SWOSU faculty for decades. Lovell’s cousin, Les Crall, is a SWOSU alumnus who served SWOSU as associate dean of the Everett Dobson School of Business & Technology.

Lovell’s grandparents, Ralph Crall and Lura (Shipley) Crall, met while completing their studies in education at SWOSU.

“It is a great honor to serve an institution that played a formative role in my upbringing and development and that has meant so much to my family,” Lovell said. “It is my hope that others who have included SWOSU in their estate planning will notify our university and let us celebrate their philanthropic spirit.”

Lovell has a B.A. in Education from Baylor University in 1989, a M.A. in History from the University of Houston in 1992 and a Ph.D. in History from the University of Houston in 2003. She previously served as vice chancellor for student services at Blinn College District. Additionally, Lovell also served as dean of the College of Arts & Humanities at Houston Baptist University.

Lovell has two children—Josh and Elizabeth. She became the 18^th president of SWOSU on July 1, 2021.

SWOSU is happy to assist alumni and friends of the institution who would like to discuss estate planning options or to notify the university that SWOSU has been included in a finalized estate plan. Donors to SWOSU who choose to record their planned gifts to SWOSU will be named as part of the SWOSU Tomorrows planned giving society and recognized according to their wishes and preferences, joining a special place of honor amongst the university’s many benefactors. Former SWOSU presidents Dr. Joe Anna Hibler and the late Dr. John Hays served as the founding honorary co-chairs of the SWOSU Tomorrows effort under the guidance of the SWOSU Foundation, Inc. Board of Trustees.

The SWOSU Tomorrows planned giving society is coordinated by the SWOSU Foundation, Inc. The Foundation was established in 1977 to promote philanthropy and distribute funds to support the activities and programs of SWOSU. Located on the Weatherford campus in the historic Burton House, the Foundation currently stewards over $36 million in assets for the benefit of SWOSU.

For information on how to make a planned gift to SWOSU or to let SWOSU know that a provision has been made for the university in your estate planning, please contact the SWOSU Foundation, Inc. by telephone at 580-774-3267; by e-mail to Executive Director Garrett King at [email protected]; or by visiting www.SWOSUTomorrows.com.