Dr. Anita Cowan graduated from TWU in 1962 with a BA/BS degree in Sociology and from Columbia University in 1964 with an MSW degree in Social Work. From Southern Methodist University, she received the MA in 1980 in Anthropology and the PhD in 1987 in Cultural Anthropology.

After graduating from Columbia University, Anita was employed as a psychiatric social worker with the Jewish Children and Family Services agency, the largest social services agency in the U. S., in a residential treatment facility for emotionally disturbed adolescents. A former Columbia faculty member recruited Anita back to Texas as a social worker with the Hope Cottage Girls’ Foundation. In 1970 she was invited to a position as a social work educator in the Department of Sociology and Social Work at TWU from which she retired after 33 years as associate professor emerita. During her tenure on the faculty, in addition to her other administrative duties as director of the Social Work program and teaching responsibilities, she taught summer international courses in Mexico and led more than seventy class-related field trips to sites in Texas, Oklahoma, and Mexico. Her research conducted in Mexico led to the creation of a team-taught course on societies in development and a weekend course on the anthropology of immigration.

Her study of and interaction with Native Americans provided experiential support for the course on Native Americans in Contemporary Society which Anita developed and taught for 30 years. Volunteer activities with the Dallas Inter-tribal Clinic added further depth to her expertise in this academic area. In 1995, accompanying TWU graduate nurses, Anita spent a week with the Havasupai tribe at the bottom of the Grand Canyon which resulted in a detailed report on that community.

Anita was a leader in the development of undergraduate social work education and served as a consultant to other social work programs and as a site visitor for reaccreditation. She served twice as president of the Texas Association of Social Work Educators and 12 years as an officer in the national Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors. She has been recognized by the Denton chapter of the National Association of Social Workers with the Social Worker of the Year Award and with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

A perennial volunteer and contributor to the FSA and the University, Anita’s love for and support of the University were nurtured by her mother and aunts who were also alumnae.

Dr. Darlene Kluka received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Illinois State University in health and physical education and athletic administration and her Ph.D. in physical education-motor learning in 1985 from Texas Woman’s University. She is completing work on a second doctorate, in sport management, at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Dr. Kluka is currently teaching and completing research at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, where she was the first woman to be named “Extraordinary Professor.” She has been professor and director of the Global Center for Social Change through Women’s Leadership and Sport at Kennesaw State University; and, among others, she has held teaching appointments at Louisiana Tech, Grambling State University, and the University of Central Oklahoma. She is active in many professional associations at state, regional, national, and international levels and is currently the president of the International Association of Sport and Physical Education for Girls and Women, the editorial board chair of the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education, and the editor of WOMEN, SPORT, AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY JOURNAL.

A prolific writer, Dr. Kluka has written two textbooks, edited or coedited five books, and written chapters in eight textbooks. In addition she has published over 100 articles in refereed journals and has presented more than 300 professional papers on five continents. Her many accomplishments have been recognized by numerous awards nationally and internationally including being named the first recipient of the Distinguished Scholar in Sport and Olympic Movement Award given by the International Council for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport and Dance. She has also received the Outstanding Achievement Award from Illinois State University. Darlene is recognized as an international scholar who has devoted her life to advancing the role of women in sport and promoting women’s empowerment through sport.

Currently Dr. Kluka, working in partnership with a colleague at the University of Pretoria, is developing the concept, curriculum, and delivery system for a certificate program in sport business management for the Malawi National Sports Council as well as a proposal for leadership development education through sport for girls and women for the South African National Government.

Dr. Sally A. Roden

Dr. Sally Roden graduated from Texas Woman’s University in 1960 with a BS degree in Speech and Drama/History. She received an MS degree in 1969 and an EdD degree in 1978 from the University of North Texas.

Since 1960, with the exception of a one-year association with the Young Women’s Christian Association in Dallas, Dr. Roden has been involved in teaching and administration at the junior high and university levels. Since 1969, she has been at the University of Central Arkansas where she has taught speech and theatre arts and where she currently serves as associate provost and dean of Undergradute Studies and Director of the Living and Learning Communities Program.

In her university community, Dr. Roden has been honored with the Diversity Award by the African American Alumni Association, with the Outstanding and Devoted Professor Award by the Alpha Sigma Alpha Sorority, and as the Faculty Favorite of UCA Students. Under her leadership as director of forensics, her students captured 160 trophies.

Dr. Roden has been a leader in her professional associations and has been the recipient of many honors, among which are the Arkansas Speech Teacher of the Year, the Outstanding Institutional Advising Program Award, the Noel-Levitz Excellence Retention Award, and the Outstanding First-Year Advocate Award. The latter is a national award conferred on the ten American higher educators who have done the most outstanding work in improving the success of new students on their respective campuses.

Dr. Roden’s vision and hard work have resulted in the participation of the University of Central Arkansas in the national reform movement known as the Freshman Year Experience, whose purpose is to reduce first-year student failure and attrition. She is credited with being the guiding force at her institution for three decades for all major institution-wide initiatives to improve student success. As an expert in the area of retention, she serves on the Task Force on Higher Education Remediation, Retention and Graduation Rates for the State of Arkansas.

As a teacher, role model, mentor, and leader, Dr. Roden has been and continues to be an inspiration to former students and colleagues alike.