It is also the first endowed scholarship specifically for graduate students in School Counseling.

Recipients of the Tom and Dr. Reba Criswell Endowed Scholarship shall be full-time or part-time School Counseling students and must be unconditionally accepted into the Master of Education Program in School Counseling with a minimum 3.50 GPA.

Recipients must also have completed 15 graduate credit hours and be in good standing at Southeastern Oklahoma State University.

Tom was born in Kansas and graduated from Durant High School. He is a 1961 graduate of Southeastern with a Bachelor of Arts in Latin and minors in economics and history. He earned his law degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1964 and has been in the active practice of law in Durant since that date. He also serves on the Southeastern Foundation Board of Directors.

Reba was born in Oklahoma and graduated from Bokchito High School. She is a 1995 Southeastern graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology with a minor in sociology, and in 1998 earned a Master of Behavioral Studies degree in counseling psychology. She received her Doctorate in Counseling from Texas A&M University-Commerce in 2004. She is an Assistant Professor and the Coordinator of the School Counseling Program in the Department of Behavioral Sciences at SOSU.

Reba said, "Being graduates of this University, we have always felt that when the time came and we were financially able, we would contribute to the advancement of Southeasternšs educational programs."

"That time has now arrived," Tom said, "and we are pleased to have the opportunity to make this gift. Scholarships for school counseling students are lacking. This is our opportunity to begin filling the void."

Left to right are Southeastern President Michael Turner, Dr. Reba Criswell, Tom Criswell, and standing, Interim Director of Advancement Dr. Henry Gold, Dean of the School of Education & Behavioral Sciences Dr. Ed Mauzey, and Chair of the Department of Behavioral Sciences, Dr. Charla Hall.