OCU honors Leichter with Bishop Milhouse Award

The Bishop Paul W. Milhouse Award recognizes "those who demonstrate outstanding leadership in the community, their local United Methodist church, and their annual conference, in addition to being an advocate for the partnership between Oklahoma City University and the church." At the University-Church Relations dinner on Dec. 11, this honor was presented to Cathy Leichter, a person who embodies the very definition of the award.

Spend only a little time on campus and you’ll see contributions Cathy has made to OCU. Enjoy a moment of reflection in the Naifeh Garden, a project Cathy chaired, at the Bass School of Music. Share a snack during the Oklahoma Annual Conference in the Leichter Reunion Center in the Freede Wellness Center.

You might even observe her teaching a philosophy class as an adjunct instructor.

Cathy serves on the Advisory Boards of the Schools of Arts and Sciences and of Music. She led the campaign that raised over $1 million for the Ann Hundley Hoover Endowed Chair in the School of Music. Cathy and her husband, Kurt, have provided money for scholarships that benefit many students.

She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from OCU.

Cathy shares her skills gained through years managing her own marketing company to assist numerous community organizations, including Lyric Theatre, The Tree Bank Foundation, and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic.

This same energy has been offered in service to The United Methodist Church. She helped host Area Night for the 2012 South Central Jurisdictional Conference, in Oklahoma City, and served as a trustee of the United Methodist Higher Education Foundation in Nashville.

She and Kurt also have been very involved in fundraising for youth ministries and missions at OKC-Church of the Servant.

Kurt and Cathy love to travel and use their talents in writing and photographing places they visit. Cathy writes travel articles and Kurt takes all of the pictures; their works have been featured in regional and local magazines.

Cathy recently released her first book, "On God’s Polishing Wheel," the story of her husband’s escape at age 14 from war-torn Europe to New York and eventually to Oklahoma and a successful career. She is working on two more books.

The University-Church Relations office welcomes nominations at any time for this annual award to a lay person. Contact Charles Neff, vice-president of University-Church Relations, at cneff@okcu.edu  or 405-208-5060.

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From left: OCU freshman Lauren Huntley, who is a Bishop Scholar; Bishop Robert Hayes Jr.; and Cathy Leichter, recipient of the Milhouse Award. A Religion major, Huntley is a student in Leichter’s philosophy class.