Alvin Alcorn

The regular inductees in this year's Hall of Fame Class are: Alvin Alcorn, former Vice President of Finance for the University of Central Oklahoma; James P. Brill, Professor Emeritus of Petroleum Engineering at the University of Tulsa; Billy Crynes, Dean and Professor Emeritus of Engineering at the University of Oklahoma, and formerly serving Oklahoma State University; B. Curtis Hamm, Professor Emeritus of Business, Oklahoma State University; Jacob F. Larson, Professor Emeritus of Music, University of Oklahoma; Charles J. Mankin, Director, Oklahoma Geological Survey and Professor at the University of Oklahoma; Jean Bell Manning, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Langston University; Lloyd K. Musselman, Professor of History, Oklahoma City University; Jeanine Rhea, Professor of Business, Oklahoma State University; and Gary L. Smith, Executive Vice Chancellor (retired) Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

This year's honorees are: Alvin Alcorn, former Vice President of Finance for the University of Central Oklahoma and Rose State College Regent; James P. Brill, Professor Emeritus of Petroleum Engineering at the University of Tulsa; Billy Crynes, Dean and Professor Emeritus of Engineering at the University of Oklahoma after service at Oklahoma State University; B. Curtis Hamm, Professor Emeritus of Business, Oklahoma State University; Jacob F. Larson, Professor Emeritus of Music, University of Oklahoma; Charles J. Mankin, Director, Oklahoma Geological Survey and Professor at the University of Oklahoma; Jean Bell Manning, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Langston University; Lloyd K. Musselman, Professor of History, Oklahoma City University; Jeanine Rhea, Professor of Business, OSU; and Gary L. Smith, Executive Vice Chancellor (retired) Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

This year's honorees are: Alvin Alcorn, former Vice President of Finance for the University of Central Oklahoma and Rose State College Regent; James P. Brill, Professor Emeritus of Petroleum Engineering at the University of Tulsa; Billy Crynes, Dean and Professor Emeritus of Engineering at the University of Oklahoma after service at Oklahoma State University; B. Curtis Hamm, Professor Emeritus of Business, Oklahoma State University; Jacob F. Larson, Professor Emeritus of Music, University of Oklahoma; Charles J. Mankin, Director, Oklahoma Geological Survey and Professor at the University of Oklahoma; Jean Bell Manning, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Langston University; Lloyd K. Musselman, Professor of History, Oklahoma City University; Jeanine Rhea, Professor of Business, OSU; and Gary L. Smith, Executive Vice Chancellor (retired) Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

The regular inductees in this year's Hall of Fame Class are: Alvin Alcorn, former Vice President of Finance for the University of Central Oklahoma; James P. Brill, Professor Emeritus of Petroleum Engineering at the University of Tulsa; Billy Crynes, Dean and Professor Emeritus of Engineering at the University of Oklahoma, and formerly serving Oklahoma State University; B. Curtis Hamm, Professor Emeritus of Business, Oklahoma State University; Jacob F. Larson, Professor Emeritus of Music, University of Oklahoma; Charles J. Mankin, Director, Oklahoma Geological Survey and Professor at the University of Oklahoma; Jean Bell Manning, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Langston University; Lloyd K. Musselman, Professor of History, Oklahoma City University; Jeanine Rhea, Professor of Business, Oklahoma State University; and Gary L. Smith, Executive Vice Chancellor (retired) Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

This year's additional honorees are: Alvin Alcorn, former vice president of finance for the University of Central Oklahoma and Rose State College regent; James P. Brill, professor emeritus of petroleum engineering at the University of Tulsa; B. Curtis Hamm, professor emeritus of business, Oklahoma State University; Jean Bell Manning, vice president of academic affairs, Langston University; Lloyd K. Musselman, professor of history, Oklahoma City University; Jeanine Rhea, professor of pusiness, OSU; and Gary L. Smith, executive vice chancellor (retired), Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

Alvin Alcorn - An Edmond LegendEdmond Life & Leisure | November 14, 2002 | Volume 3 Issue 23,,
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Alvin Alcorn - An Edmond Legend
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Among them is Alvin Alcorn.
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Without Alcorn, we would probably have dust coming out of our water taps.

Alcorn and a loose knit group of civic leaders worked during the sixties and seventies to build a coalition of support to build Arcadia Lake.
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"It was essential that we do so because the aquifer we drill into for our wells is going dry," said Alcorn.

There was a great deal of opposition in the beginning, he said.Water quality was a major issue since the water collected in the lake came from Oklahoma City runoff.Heavy metals including lead were a major concern.

"The engineers finally developed a plan to have the sediment settle out in an area in the southwest part of the lake before it flows into the main lake basin," said Alcorn.That and the banning of lead in gasoline vastly improved the quality of the runoff.

"The lake was part of a bigger plan first developed by (U.S. Senator) Bob Kerr," said Alcorn.Kerr proposed making Oklahoma City a port by building a seaway up the Arkansas and the either the Cimarron or Canadian rivers.

He was successful in getting the waterway constructed eventually all the way to Catoosa.

"A group of us made many trips from here to Sapulpa to build support," said Alcorn.
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Although there was never a formal organization, the group included Alcorn, Edmond publisher Ed Livermore, former Mayor Carl Reherman and the late Charlie Johnson, also a former mayor, as well as many others.
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Alcorn believes that Edmond needs another even bigger lake to meet the future needs for water.
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"Water will soon be the gold of America," said Alcorn.
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Alcorn has seen both Edmond and the University of Central Oklahoma more than quadruple in size since he moved here in the summer of 1959.At that time he was hired to be the comptroller of then Central State College where the enrollment was 3,500.

While at UCO, Alcorn oversaw the Urban Renewal project that increased the size of the campus from 3,500 to 13,000.The only problem was coming up with $800,000 to match the federal grant.

Known for his thrifty ways, even Alcorn was stunned with the amount.

"Dr. (Garland) Godfrey came to me and said I needed to come up with $800,000," said Alcorn."I told him I didn't have it and I didn't know where I would get it."

However, Alcorn came through and the project cleared the area around the campus and made room for the new buildings.Without the project, growth would have been piecemeal, house by house.

I remember when I was a student at then Central State that the yearbook office was in a tiny little frame house near where the College of Business Administration now sits.

Alcorn also was a major force in the Edmond Chamber of Commerce.Prior to the 1960s, the Chamber was known for being "conservative."
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When Alcorn took over as Chamber president, he and another board member signed a personal note at the First National Bank in order to keep the Chamber solvent.He has been named Edmond's Citizen of the Year and inducted into the Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame.

"I'm was most appreciative of the fact that I was named Educator of the Year by my peers at the University," said Alcorn."I was honored because I felt I was just doing my job."

He retired from UCO in 1964 as both Vice President for Administration and Executive Vice President.

"I'm proud to say that while I was vice president, the employees received a raise every year," he said."Some years it wasn't much, but everyone got a raise."

Alcorn continued his work in higher education by serving on the Board of Regents for Rose State College 16 years and one year as chairman.

He and his wife, Naomi, a former vocational home economics teacher, have two daughters and four grandchildren who now keep them occupied.
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, Alvin Alcorn - An Edmond Legend

, City Lights: How wheat, grain were harvested in the old days