Southeastern dedicates Liz Cobb McCraw Auditorium inside Glen D. Johnson Student Union

Southeastern Oklahoma State University dedicated the Liz Cobb McCraw Auditorium on the second floor of the Glen D. Johnson Student Union in a ceremony on September 22, honoring of one of the most tenured employees in the history of the Student Affairs division.

"This space is so special to me," McCraw said. "When Sharon [Robinson] and I started to design this building on notebook paper in the early 2000s, we knew we needed an auditorium space because we needed a place where students could come and learn and share and lead."

As detailed in a presentation by Mike Davis, McCraw served over 35 years in the Student Affairs division with 10 job titles, beginning as a student worker in the late 1980s until her recent retirement from the position of Vice President of Student Affairs.

"A lot of us claim to be mentors and advisors, but I was her official enroller and advisor, and she's done her alma mater proud and turned out to be a marvelous leader," noted Southeastern Interim President Dr. David Whitlock. "One of the nice things about leadership, whether it's in an organization or at an institution, in a company, or at a university - when you invest more than just a few years, you really make a significant change. You really make a difference. And investing more than 30 years in an institution, you can't help but leave your thumbprints all over the place and fingerprints all over the place.

"So, it's only fitting that we not only have her thumbprints and fingerprints all over the campus and particularly in this building, but that we have her name permanently recorded as we unveil the plaque signifying this is the Liz Cobb McCraw Auditorium."

In her time at Southeastern, McCraw rose through the ranks of the Student Affairs division, and her service and impact puts her amongst SE legends including Hallie McKinney, Katie Frank Slack, Sharon Robinson, and John Krattiger.

"During her distinguished career at Southeastern, Liz has made an impact on countless students and staff members," said former Southeastern President Dr. Thomas W. Newsom, who authorized the naming of the auditorium just prior to his departure from SE. "Her contributions to her beloved alma mater will now be celebrated by future generations of our Savage Storm family."

"If these walls could talk, they would say this is where thousands and thousands of new students who were recruited to this institution would come and make a decision that this is where they wanted to be," McCraw said during her remarks at the dedication ceremony. "So many students sat here and created their own experience through student organizations, they started their leadership journey here, held meetings, faced their challenges, had their interventions, and had their wild successes.

"While I'm not here every day as a part of that anymore, with this naming, it's like I get to be here and be a part of that continuing legacy of leadership, and I'm so thankful and honored and proud."