Jon and Cathryn Withrow pose with Heather Rice, right, a Withrow Scholarship recipient who graduated from OU in 2007 with a bachelor’s in zoology-biomedical sciences and now is working toward a Ph.D. in neuroscience at Harvard University. The Withrows have given more than $1 million in support of programs and scholarships to a variety of OU programs and colleges.

Jon Withrow has made his living in the oil and gas industry, but when it comes to investing his money in tomorrow’s leaders, he sees the world in a much broader light.

Withrow, BS petroleum engineering ’54 and MS geological engineering ’63, is owner and president of Sundance Oil of Oklahoma City and among OU’s most generous and involved donors. He and his wife, Cathryn, have given in excess of $1 million to support a wide range of OU programs.

The Withrows have established more than a half-dozen scholarships and fellowships in engineering, geology and geosciences, business, computer science, film and video studies, and arts and sciences.

OU’s College of Arts and Sciences is the University’s largest college and includes students majoring in areas as diverse as zoology and film. That might not seem like a natural fit for an engineer, but Withrow said he was the one to approach College of Arts and Sciences Dean Paul Bell with a scholarship proposal.

“It appealed to me because the college educates a broad spectrum of students from little towns all over the state,” said Withrow, who grew up in oilfield camps across Oklahoma’s Seminole and Pontotoc counties.

“These students aren’t necessarily in the pipeline to get scholarships,” he said of students from rural communities. “It’s a small help, compared to their overall needs.”

“Mr. Withrow strongly believes in liberal education and the foundations of what we do in this college,” Bell said, adding that Withrow has served on the college’s board of visitors since 2006. “He’s been a marvelous friend.”

Dean Bell said the Withrows’ involvement in his college goes far beyond offering monetary support. The Withrows have taken a personal interest in the students they fund and have made lasting, meaningful friendships with scholarship recipients, even attending OU events with them and following their progress in post-graduate years.

“I always felt that the Withrows were my biggest fans,” said Heather Rice, a Withrow Scholarship recipient who graduated from OU in 2007 with a bachelor’s in zoology-biomedical sciences and now is working toward a Ph.D. in neuroscience at Harvard University.

“They were genuinely interested in my progression as a student at OU and always offered words of advice and encouragement.  As graduation approached, they shared my excitement and were with me every step of the way as I went through the process of selecting graduate schools,” Rice remembered. “He is my role model for the type of success an OU alumnus can have and for the tremendous impact an alumnus’ generosity can have on future OU students.”

Most recently, the Withrows have taken a very personal interest in a new endowed scholarship they established in the College of Arts and Sciences for students pursuing research, treatment or social services for children and families dealing with autism.

The drive behind this new scholarship endowment came from Cathryn Withrow, who has served as an educational aide for Norman Public Schools students with autism.

“I just fell in love with them,” she said of her students, adding that work conversations with her husband led to joint reading and research about autism. “We both learned so much about the needs of the autism community. We want to encourage people to explore autism; there’s such a need.”

The first student to receive the Withrow scholarship, OU social work senior Becky Skariah of Dallas, is fulfilling an internship at Norman’s J.D. McCarty Center for Handicapped Children. The Withrows have kept in touch with Skariah and paid for her to attend an Oklahoma City seminar on autism – in fact, they went along to further their own understanding of the disorder.

“We’re always reading and trying to educate ourselves in this area,” Cathryn Withrow said.

Ellen Wisdom, coordinator of field practicum programs for the OU School of Social Work, said the Withrows’ involvement will make a huge difference in nurturing Skariah’s professional interests and skills.

“We are extremely grateful to the Withrows for their commitment and vision,” she said.

That commitment and vision have been recognized by OU with three of the University’s most prestigious honors – the OU College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award, the OU Distinguished Service Award and the OU Regents’ Alumni Award.

But awards aside, Withrow believes his connection to OU is simple – he can relate to students and their needs. And he is in a position to help.

“I just kind of remember how I was when I was going to college,” he said, explaining that his father died young, leaving behind four children. Withrow became president of OU’s Student Senate and made his way through college with a combination of scholarship funds and sweat equity. He recalls what it was like to be a student, balancing academics with working in his fraternity’s kitchen to earn room and board.

“I know that every little bit helps,” he said.