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 CHERYL (STEMEN) CARLEY (Outstanding Alumni
Award)
Cheryl Carley (’87) is the Nursing Administrator at The
Children’s Center in Bethany, OK. The Children’s Center is a unique,
specialized, non-profit hospital for multiple handicapped children – the only
one of its kind in Oklahoma. As Nursing Administrator, Cheryl oversees all
aspects of patient care for this 100-bed facility with a staff of nurses and
certified nursing assistants totaling 150.
Cheryl began her career at The
Children’s Center as a nursing assistant while attending Bethany Nazarene
College (BNC). Cheryl received her B.S. degree with a nursing major in 1987 and
worked at Deaconess Hospital in Oklahoma City for a year before returning to The
Children’s Center as an R.N. During the past 15 years, she has helped to develop
and implement many in-house patient care programs that have kept The Children’s
Center in the forefront. In 1999, The Children’s Center opened a beautiful,
state-of-the-art facility and has steadily received local, state, and national
acclaim. Cheryl was involved in selecting designs for the patient cubical areas
and evaluating equipment features that would insure comfortable living for the
children and an efficient working environment for the employees. The work at The
Children’s Center begins where all are equal, the heart. Those who know her say
Cheryl is a perfect fit.
Cheryl and her family are members of Bethany
First Church of the Nazarene where she is actively involved in her Sunday School
class ministries and activities as well as a sponsor at many youth group
activities. She often assists with school activities for her children, Seth, a
sophomore, and Emma, a 6th grader, both at Bethany Public Schools. Cheryl is
married to Donnie Carley (’86).
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 KENT
W. DOUGHARTY (Outstanding Alumni Award)
While a student at BNC, Kent
felt called to be a doctor with a keen sense of awareness that this call would
someday lead to service on the mission field. After earning a B.S. degree in
biology from Bethany Nazarene College in 1980, Kent continued his education,
graduating from the College of Medicine at the University of Oklahoma. He then
successfully completed a Family Practice Residency in Bartlesville, OK, through
the OU-Tulsa medical program.
Following his training, Kent practiced in
Bethany, OK, Gadsden, AL, and Tyler, TX. In 1992, the Church of the Nazarene
Missions Board appointed Kent to a seven-year specialized assignment to Cote
d’Ivoire, West Africa, fulfilling the call he had felt while in college. On the
field, Kent initially served as Director of the medical work in the Ivory Coast
and later as Medical Director for the West Africa Field, supervising medical
works in the Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria. At the completion of his seven-year
commitment, Kent returned to Bethany where he currently practices the art of
medicine in a compassionate manner as part of God’s healing process.
Kent
is an active member of Bethany First Church and presently serves on the Sunday
School Ministries Board. He is married to Mary (Johnson) (’82); they have two
teenage children, Karyn and Bryant.
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 RONALD
V. HODGES (Outstanding Alumni Award)
Ronald V. Hodges (’73) is a
chemist in the Materials and Structures Department at Lockheed Martin’s Advanced
Technology Center (ATC) in Palo Alto, CA. Most of his work supports the Navy’s
submarine-launched Fleet Ballistic Missile system. He also serves as the ATC’s
Webmaster.
After graduating from Bethany Nazarene College with a B.S. in
chemistry, Ronald entered graduate school at the California Institute of
Technology, where he earned a Ph.D. in chemistry. He spent a year at the Army
Research Laboratory in Maryland on a National Research Council Postdoctoral
Fellowship. He then held a position as Visiting Scientist in the Molecular
Physics Department at SRI International in Menlo Park, CA, before joining
Lockheed Martin in 1980. Ron has published 19 articles in scientific journals
and presented papers at government symposia.
Outside of work, Ron is
active in the musical life of his community. For 21 years, he has sung with the
Peninsula Cantare, a community choir in Redwood City, CA, and has enjoyed choir
tours to Europe and Australia. He has studied organ and composition with private
teachers. Two of his compositions were performed at Christmas services at
Stanford University’s Memorial Church.
Ron has served in the church at
various times as Sunday School teacher, pianist, organist, choir member, and
board member.
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 CHARLES W.
RUDD (Outstanding Alumni Award)
Charles graduated from Bethany
Nazarene College (BNC) in 1964 with a B.S. degree in biology and chemistry.
Charles received his D.O. degree in 1969 from the University of Osteopathic
Medicine and Surgery in Des Moines, Iowa. He completed his internship in Tulsa,
OK, and then set up a solo family practice in San Antonio, TX.
After
seven years, the practice overwhelmed his time. He sold the practice and joined
the Occupational Medicine Service of the United States Air Force. He attended
Primary School of Aerospace Medicine and became a Flight Surgeon in the Texas
Air Guard. During his six years of service, he worked in an Emergency Room group
that covered several hospitals in Texas.
In 1984, Charles purchased a
large family practice in Houston, TX, where he now resides. The walk-in, acute
care family practice is dedicated to serving less fortunate citizens in the
community. Charles is now semi-retired, seeing patients two weeks of each
month.
Charles married Priscilla (West) (’64) of Rogers, AR, in September
of 1964. They have two children and three grandchildren. Charles enjoys
traveling with Priscilla when he is not at the practice. He is a member of the
church board at Lake Houston Church of the Nazarene and has a keen interest in
the continued excellence of SNU science.
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 KAREN M.
(BALLARD) SLIMAK (Oustanding Alumni Award)
Karen Slimak (’69) is
President, Applied Science and Technology International, Inc. (ASTi); Director,
ARV Labs; President, Custom Products LLC; and CEO, Timber Treatment
Technologies, LLC. ASTi and ARV Labs are research organizations whose focus is
to study the human effects of exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in
the environment. The other companies develop and market consumer and building
products that eliminate VOC exposures.
In the early ‘80’s, Karen
uncovered an apparent strong link between human exposure to volatile organic
compounds (smells from plastics, paint, perfumes, carpet, etc.) and symptoms of
clients suffering from a variety of chronic diseases. Since then, understanding
the mechanisms involved and verification of the causal relationships has been
her life’s work. Karen is currently able to measure immunological and enzymatic
responses over long periods of time through the use of special rooms she has
designed to reduce the VOC exposure levels. Much of her present research and
scientific publication involves studying the apparent strong link between
symptoms of autism and chronic environmental exposures to volatile organic
compounds in children.
As she began to understand the importance of
eliminating VOC-exposures, Karen invented and patented many products that have
no VOC signature, currently grouped into 27 U.S. and international patents, and
other pending applications. The year 2004 has been a breakout year for her wood
treatment products. TTT’s TimberSil™-treated wood products (infused with glass)
have captured a significant portion of the wood-treatment industry.
Karen
lives in Springfield, VA. She is married to Michael Slimak, Ph.D. (’69), a
Senior Executive with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She is mother to
three children now in their 20’s; Alan, Katherin, and Robert. In her spare time,
Karen studies with a vocal coach and occasionally performs.
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 SHARON YOUNG (Outstanding Alumni Award)
Sharon
grew up in western Oklahoma and when it came time to select a college, the
decision was easy. As a third generation Nazarene, she had been nurtured by
loving parents, Clair Young and the late Eva Mae (Hamman)Young, and the small,
yet faithful, local Church of the Nazarene. When Sharon left home, it was to
attend her mother’s alma mater, Bethany Nazarene College (BNC), where she
majored in biology and worked as a lab assistant under her mentor, Dr. Robert
Lawrence. Graduating with honors, Sharon attended Oklahoma State University
(OSU) with a National Science Foundation Fellowship and earned an M.S. degree
designed for biology teaching. From there, Sharon completed a Ph.D. in
entomology at OSU and began teaching at Bethany Nazarene College in
’68.
At BNC, Sharon joined two other young biology professors, Dr. Robert
Judd and Dr. Leo Finkenbinder, in the brand new science building and began
building upon the past tradition of a department strong in both biology and
pre-medicine. Sharon went on to teach with Judd and Finkenbinder for more than
30 years. And although these men have since retired, Sharon continues to enjoy
working with her current fellow colleagues.
As professor in SNU’s
Division of Science and Mathematics, Sharon has taught more than 12 different
courses as well as written lab manuals and study notebooks for two classes. She
has led a number of research projects, providing hands-on instruction for her
students. She has also taken numerous trips around the world to conduct field
studies, including Costa Rica where she developed a substantial insect
collection at SNU’s QERC field station funded by Catalyst Science Alumni. During
two different rotations, she also served as Chair of the Biology
Department.
Committed to a strong Christian faith, Sharon participates in
the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), attending
conferences focused on the integration of faith. She has also participated in
three Consultations of Nazarene Professors of Religion and Sciences. Knowing
that many of her former students are not only successful in graduate programs in
medicine, biology and a variety of other professions, but that are Christians
serving across the nation and around the world gives Sharon her greatest sense
of accomplishment.
Sharon has been active in the life of the SNU campus,
sponsoring the class of ’79, participating in the SNU Centennial bicycle ride
from Greenville, TX, to Bethany, serving on numerous committees, representing
the faculty to the SNU Board of Trustees on three different occasions, and
serving as Faculty Marshal for graduation exercises for 20 years. She is also a
member of
Oklahoma City First Church of the Nazarene.
Summers are no
time for extended vacations for Sharon. In between field studies, she has also
been a science instructor at the SNU Excel Camps and has served as visiting
Research Professor at the Oklahoma Health Science Center.
Sharon is
currently serving as President of the Oklahoma Academy of Science, an
organization where she has enjoyed active participation and leadership for the
past 20 years.
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 VAL J. CHRISTENSEN (Heritage Award)
Val J.
Christensen (’48) earned an A.B. degree in chemistry at Bethany Peniel College
(BPC) and a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas in 1952, at which time he was
elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi. He worked in industrial research for
eight years for Dow Chemical Co. and was granted one patent before joining the
faculty of Pasadena/Point Loma Nazarene College in 1960. As the only Ph.D. in
Science and Mathematics at the time at Pasadena/Point Loma, he was charged with
building up the science division, which now has more than 20 full-time Ph.D.
faculty in Science and Mathematics.
In 1978, Val became Associate Dean of
Point Loma, and ten years later, after Loren Gresham returned to SNU as
President, Val became Dean of the Faculty and Academic Vice President. During
this time the curriculum was completely restructured, the college moved to the
semester calendar, the Center for Wesleyan Studies and Point Loma Press were
established, academic administration organized on the university model, and
accreditation was renewed.
Val co-authored, with the Heasley brothers,
the successful text, Chemistry and Life in the Laboratory, published by
Prentice-Hall and currently in its 5th edition. Active in his local church, he
has served as building committee chairman for three congregations, and for 10
years as Sunday School Superintendent at Pasasdena First Church of the Nazarene.
In retirement, Val and his wife, Mildrene (Hale) (’49), live in San Diego and
attend First Church of the Nazarene. Their three sons, Michael, Jeffrey, and
Steven are educators. They enjoy eight grandchildren.
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 JAMES L. HERRICK (Heritage Award)
James Herrick
(’52) earned a B.S. degree in biology from BPC. He received the D.O. degree from
the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kirksville, MO, in 1957 and
went on to receive an M.D. degree from the University of California, Irvine, in
1962. He had internship and surgical residencies in Oklahoma and California
prior to establishing a general surgery practice in Chico, CA. One of his
particular interests was hernia surgery using local anesthesia. He was Chairman
of the Department of Surgery at Chico Community Hospital and Chaplain of the
Butte-Glenn County Medical Society.
After practicing in Chico for 12
years, James moved his family to Orange County where he practiced general
surgery for 14 years before serving as Lt. Col. in the United States Air Force
during the Persian Gulf War. Since that time, he has worked in Correctional
Medical Services in California.
James is certified by the International
College of Surgeons and is a Diplomat of the American Board of Abdominal
Surgery. He has served in mission hospitals in the Dominican Republic, Cote
d’Ivoire, West Africa, Ecuador and Baja California, Mexico.
He and his
wife, Charlotte (McLain) (’55), have been members of the Church of the Nazarene
the majority of their lives. James has served as a board member and teacher in
their local churches. James, Charlotte and the families of their five children
all live in Southern California.
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