The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK

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August 3, 2008

Decade gone, Phillips University’s memories live

By Cass Rains, Staff Writer

Speaking with alumni of Phillips University — in Enid this weekend for a reunion — you’d never think the university had closed its doors a decade earlier.

During a reception Saturday, former Phillips students Tom Walker, Winnie Oliver, Ann Herndon, Pat Hough and Nancy (Krauss) Bowling gathered to share and relive memories from their cherished times at PU.

Walker, now a judge living in Ardmore, said he was the first member of his family to graduate from college.

Walker said his plan was to attend Phillips for a year to “learn how to study” before transferring to the University of Oklahoma.

“I like it so much I stayed,” he said. “I really enjoyed it.”

Herndon and Oliver, who roomed together in Clay Hall for several years before getting a house off campus together, said they hadn’t seen one another in decades, but it was as if no time had passed between them.

“I’m sorry my kids won’t know what we’ve had,” said Oliver, who is now living in San Antonio. “When we walk into a room together it’s like no time has passed.”

Each said he or she shared special ties to Phillips, something they believe others may not get from other universities or colleges.

“We all came away with different lessons and very different experiences,” Walker said. “All of us came away with a spirit of brotherhood. It was just a spirit of togetherness.”

Herndon added, “We were all in different social circles, but we were all friends.”

The small class sizes and quality of administrators and professors contribute to what makes Phillips University students’ experiences so special, they said.

“They (professors) were so into teaching,” Walker said. “It was a calling.”

Hough, now living in Florida, said her education at Phillips helped further her academic career and she credited the people at Phillips for her experiences.

“You had so much help and support,” she said.

Oliver said those she met at Phillips are the ones with whom she’s maintained relationships.

“These are my lifelong friendships,” she said.

The university closed in 1998 due to a lack of funding but reconciled its debt before closing. The university exists today as a corporate entity, with its Board of Trustees overseeing its remaining assets.

Phillips University Alumni and Friends Association board will meet at 12:15 p.m. today at Central Christian Church.

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