OU Student Media has received, timed to the University of Oklahoma’s upcoming annual Giving Day, a $100,000 pledge to the OU Daily from an anonymous donor to honor a longtime Muskogee, Norman and Edmond resident.
The Becky Willis Memorial Fund for News Leadership pays forward the values embodied by the late spouse of former Daily adviser Jack Willis. Born and raised in Muskogee, Becky rose through several financial institutions to become a vice president. Jack, a Tahlequah native, worked at the Muskogee Daily Phoenix and Times Democrat for 19 years rising to the role of editor.
In 1993, they moved to Norman where Becky became the top salesperson at Dillard’s and then Talbots before finishing her career at Monte R. Lee & Company in Oklahoma City, where she retired as head of human resources and office manager. Jack served as adviser to the OU Daily through his retirement in 2007, after which they moved to Edmond. He was inducted in the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 2001.
Becky died March 18, 2024, at age 71.
OU Giving Day raised $26.6 million in 2024
OU will hold its annual Giving Day on April 8. Last year’s event raised $26.6 million via nearly 7,100 gifts from all 50 states and 16 countries for all three OU campuses. OU Student Media raised $11,400 via 59 gifts, ranging from $10 to $2,000. Such community support supplements the about $14 in annual fees students pay that support the Daily.
OU Student Media’s endowed fund honoring Becky Willis’ legacy, launched last year, now will generate a $1,250 scholarship awarded each fall and spring to the Daily’s news managing editor with the further annual interest it generates helping to underwrite Daily travel, equipment and other student needs.
Anusha Fathepure, the inaugural Willis fund scholarship recipient, has served as the Daily’s news managing editor throughout the 2024-25 academic year. The Stillwater native was elected this month to serve as the Daily’s 2025-26 editor-in-chief.
“This fund ensures that future generations of the top student journalists at OU have the support they need to lead, innovate and grow,” said Seth Prince, director of OU Student Media. “Becky Willis embodied leadership, resilience and an unwavering belief in the power of journalism. This gift extends her legacy in a way that directly impacts student leaders.”
OU Daily continues legacy of innovation
As the city’s largest reporting staff, the Daily has provided OU and Norman with free, independent local news since 1916. Thirty years ago this spring, as its student journalists covered the Oklahoma City bombing, the Daily launched its website on April 19, 1995 — nine months before The New York Times.
The Daily’s work reached in excess of 4.3 million visitors in 2024, a year in which it was named one of the nation’s top nine college media business operations and top three college media news organizations.
Contributions to the Becky Willis Memorial Fund for News Leadership may be made at oudaily.com/beckywillis.
Every gift — starting at just $10 — invests in the future of journalism and student leadership at OU.
