We are pleased to acknowledge the thousands of Oklahomans who have participated in the EDGE project over the past six months.
We especially applaud the university and college presidents who hosted and presided over the November 4 statewide summits, assisted by the generous participation of Leadership Oklahoma. Kyle Dahlem, State Regents for Higher Education, also deserves recognition for her insight in collaborating and co-sponsoring the summits with OASIS.
Special thanks are extended to the outstanding leaders of the 23 Expert Teams, the team members, the OSRHE staff who assisted each team and served on the Summit Planning Committee, and the members of the Steering Committee who devoted countless hours reviewing, analyzing, evaluating and prioritizing.
Amy Polonchek, Oklahoma Department of Commerce, provided invaluable research assistance throughout the project. Sid Hudson, State Regents for Higher Education, provided input and insight concerning legislative issues.
Ben Hardcastle, State Regents for Higher Education; Meloyde Blancett-Scott, Oklahoma Department of Commerce; and Kym Koch, Governor's Office, developed and implemented the public communication activities.
State Regents' staff members Dayna Rowe and Rebecca Stokes coordinated the production of EDGE publications and managed the Web site. Adam Cohen and Debra Levy-Martinelli provided editorial assistance. State Regents' staff members Janet Jackson, Payton Hamlin, Ellen Jenkins, Dwayne Webb, Patsy Alexander, Roy Sanderson and Mark Bryan provided constant support, assistance and expertise throughout the project, and Les Risser served as Volunteer Project Coordinator.
We are especially indebted to Governor Brad Henry, Secretary of Commerce Kathy Taylor and Chancellor Paul Risser for their guidance, leadership and commitment throughout the EDGE project.