NOC to honor distinguished alums April 9

Award-winning journalist M. Scott Carter, Class of 1983, and eminent surgeon Dr. Gordon P. Laird, Class of 1962, will be inducted into the Northern Oklahoma College Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame April 9. Ceremonies will take place during the NOC Alumni and Friends Reunion Dinner at NOC Tonkawa.

The public is invited to the induction ceremony and all NOC Alumni and Friends of the college are encouraged to attend. Deadline for registration and payment of $20 is Friday, April 1. For reservations or more information, contact Jill Green, director of alumni relations, [email protected] or 580-628-6473.

Carter received his Associate of Arts degree in Journalism from NOC where he served as editor of the NOC Maverick newspaper from 1981 until 1983 and worked as a staff reporter-photographer for the Blackwell Journal-Tribune . He earned Bachelor of Arts (2010) and Master of Professional Writing (2014) degrees in Journalism/Professional Writing from the University of Oklahoma.

Among the positions he has held are media specialist for the Oklahoma State Senate and senior media specialist for the House of Representatives; political and general assignment reporter for the Norman Transcript ; and capitol bureau chief for the Oklahoma City Journal Record . As Director of Marketing and Communications for the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Library System, he developed the state’s first unified literacy marketing campaign, Read Y’all.

Currently he serves as Director of Investigative Communications for the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma.

Throughout his career, Carter has garnered more than 60 awards and honors, including Best Reporting Portfolio for 2015 from the Oklahoma Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, four Sweepstakes Awards from the Associated Press for his investigative and public service stories and Best Young Adult Novel for 2012 from Foreword The Magazine .

His stories and essays have appeared in dozens of newspapers throughout the country, including The Dallas Times Herald , Boston Globe and The Kansas City Star , as well as in United Press International and Associated Press . He has authored two novels with a third scheduled for release in the fall.

Carter and his wife, Karen, have six children and live in Oklahoma City.

Laird earned his Associate of Science degree in Pre-Medicine at Northern where he served as Biology Club president, captained the football team and was an O Club member. He was instrumental in initiating the annual NOC Maverick Alumni Luncheon in Tulsa, attended by former Northern athletes from the football and baseball era of the 1950s and 60s.

He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Central Oklahoma (1964) and his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from the Kansas City Health Science Center.

With more than 40 years of medical experience, Laird has performed 21,000 surgical procedures. He has practiced surgery at Alliance Blackwell Hospital since 2006 and surgery and family medicine at Pawnee since 1978. From 1969-1974 he practiced family medicine at Tuttle. He has participated in Medical Ministries International with surgery rotations at clinics in Mexico, Haiti, Ghana, Malawi and Rwanda.

He is board certified by the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons (ACOS) in general surgery and a Fellow with ACOS, in addition to the American College of Osteopathic Family Practitioners in family practice.

Laird is the past president of the Oklahoma Osteopathic Association and the past chairman of the Oklahoma Foundation of Medical Quality. He serves as an adjunct professor at the Oklahoma State University College of Medicine and is a member of the Oklahoma Osteopathic Board of Medical Examiners.

He is a member of the First Baptist Church in Pawnee, a 32nd degree Mason and an Adkar Shriner. He and his wife, Sherri, have six children, 14 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Registration will take place from 4:30 to 5 p.m. April 9 in the Renfro Center lobby with dinner at 5 p.m. in the Renfro Center at NOC Tonkawa. After the dinner, guests are invited to attend the Roustabouts Benefit Show at 7:30 p.m. in the Kinzer Performing Arts Center. Performance tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students.