Your Impact

On game days, you may have seen him – cheering from the end zone, firing a shotgun after touchdowns, sporting long brunette locks and a Cherokee Nation patch on his “reds.”

Dakota Page, a University of Oklahoma RUF/NEK and an architecture junior, always saw himself being a part of the Sooner family one day.

“When I was young, I knew I wanted to eventually end up at OU,” Page said. “My dad played football here in the early ‘90s. He also was a mascot – Top Daug – and I saw the good time he had. [I made my college decisions independently,] but knew I eventually wanted to end up at OU.”

After graduating high school in the middle of 2020, Page initially enrolled at the University of Central Oklahoma before transferring to OU his sophomore year.

“I’m from a pretty small high school in a pretty small town,” Page said. “UCO was a big jump for me, and with online classes, I never found my niche. At OU, I went to a career fair and in the very back corner was a RUF/NEK booth. It was the most awkward experience, to just put myself out there, but everything worked out and it’s been a blast.”

In his time with OU Spirit, he’s experienced some unique OU moments, including two Heisman statue unveilings and the hiring of a new head football coach. His senior year is sure to be memorable as OU moves to the Southeastern Conference.

While heavily associated with football, Page and his fellow RUF/NEKs also support and appear at other OU athletic events like basketball, volleyball and soccer games. They also are active in volunteering and community work.

That part – community – is very important to Page. It is a thread stitched into his childhood, which he spent learning Cherokee and participating in Cherokee camp competitions with other tribal members, and it is a thread that he continues to weave into his OU experience through his campus involvement.

“People always ask, ‘What’s your favorite part of game day?’ and I could say the shotguns or the Schooner and ponies, but mine really is the Fan Fest, taking photos with the fans and talking with them,” Page said.

Community is a thread he intends to continue carrying through his future work in architecture.

“As a Cherokee, I have tried to better myself and live as my ancestors once did by upholding traditions and sustaining the culture,” Page said. “I would love to one day be able to write an architectural book in my native Cherokee language and have it published. This would help provide a pillar of education in the field for future generations of Cherokee architects.”

In summer 2023, Page interned with Tulsa firm CJC Architects working on commercial projects, and just recently, in October 2023, he was accepted into OU’s Master of Architecture program.

The University of Oklahoma has received a $3.5 million gift from OU alumnus Michael Turner to support the Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering in the Gallogly College of Engineering. Turner’s generous gift will fund the addition of cutting-edge equipment, positioning the school to recruit talented faculty and enhance its research impact.

“By every metric, research at OU is boldly advancing to new heights, and yet, we know this is only the beginning of our research trajectory,” said OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. “One of the goals of OU’s ‘Lead On’ fundraising campaign is to create real-world impact through research, and that is precisely what Michael Turner’s transformative gift will do. His investment in exceptionally sophisticated equipment will generate even more promising breakthroughs in medical research, and countless Oklahomans will benefit.”

The OU School of Biomedical Engineering focuses on generating groundbreaking discoveries in health care areas that include cancer, immunoengineering, medical imaging, brain injury and disease, regenerative medicine and biomaterials.

Turner’s gift will support several specific equipment items in the school. Of the total gift amount, $2 million of his gift will fund immunoengineering research equipment and an IVIS Spectrum CT imaging machine, positioning the Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering to recruit talented faculty with cutting-edge technology offerings. The remaining $1.5 million of Turner’s gift will fund other equipment needs that will help the school further fulfill faculty recruitment and retention goals.

“These gifts provide critical research equipment, enable faculty across the college to elevate their research impact and provide valuable experiences to graduate and undergraduate students alike,” said John Klier, dean of the Gallogly College of Engineering.

Turner, a 1961 graduate from the OU College of Engineering, has been a consistent supporter of the University of Oklahoma for more than 31 years. He provided significant seed funding to start and grow the Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, and his latest gift to the school is part of a history of support that totals more than $6.5 million.

Turner’s generosity also allowed the university to launch its first undergraduate biomedical engineering class in 2016. With an interest in filling biomedical engineering equipment and faculty needs, Turner has since established an endowed chair that will allow the school to attract exceptional educators and researchers.

“Michael Turner was an early supporter of biomedical engineering at OU who has seen the evolution of the Stephenson School from its beginnings to the success story we are today,” said Michael Detamore, director of the Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering. “His latest contributions truly empower our current world-class faculty and future faculty hires to elevate pioneering research toward improving technology for patient care in Oklahoma and around the world.”

Turner is also a dedicated supporter of the Price College of Business. Along with his gifts to areas within the college, he has offered experience and counsel to Price College’s Energy Executive Education Program.