ADA, Okla. – Becky Isaacs is set to receive East Central University’s (ECU) inaugural Lifetime Service Award alongside Dr. Gerald Williamson and Dr. Shirley Mixon at ECU’s Lifetime Service Banquet on Saturday, March 28 at 6 p.m. in the ECU Foundation Hall, located inside the Chickasaw Business and Conference Center.
Isaacs earned a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Accounting and a Master of Science (M.S.) in Accounting, both from ECU.
She began her career with ECU in the summer of 1984 as secretary for the Financial Aid Office, a position she held for eight years and marked the beginning of a lifelong career of service to ECU and its community.
In 1992, Isaacs took on the role of bookkeeper for Auxiliary Enterprises and in 1995 she became supervisor of the same department. In this role, she supervised the bookkeeping of all accounts under the umbrella of Auxiliary Enterprises while working closely with budget administrators and overseeing financial processes within the department.
Isaacs’ commitment to ECU continued through her service as Business Office Manager and her years serving as Bursar for the university. As Business Office Manager, she oversaw both the Business Office and Finance Office operations, supervising staff and managing daily financial processes, deposits and account balancing. She also worked with university leadership to help restructure the office into two separately functioning divisions and assisted in developing policies and procedures.
She later served as ECU’s Bursar from 2000 to 2011, where she supervised the operations of the bursar office and managed student account services. In this role, she oversaw student account maintenance, scholarship balancing and financial reporting while maintaining regulatory compliance with state and federal entities.
In 2011, Isaacs became Director of Financial Aid, a position she held until her retirement on July 1, 2025. As director, she supervised the operations of the Financial Aid Office, handled escalated student aid issues and maintained regulatory compliance with federal and state entities. She also served as a key leader within the student development division and contributed to numerous campus committees including the Resource Allocation Committee, financial aid appeals, retention, scholarship, calendar and various hiring committees.
During her time as director, Isaacs led several major technology and service improvements within the Financial Aid Office. She worked closely with university information technology staff and external partners to successfully implement financial aid modules for both the Jenzabar CX and Ellucian Colleague information management systems. She also helped implement the Financial Aid Online student portal for document tracking and awards and reorganized the office structure to streamline services to students and improve staff efficiency.
Throughout her career, Isaacs also remained active in professional organizations. She was a member of the Oklahoma Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (OASFAA), where she served in multiple positions and committees, including as president from 2019 to 2020. In 2022, she received the OASFAA Distinguished Service Award in recognition of her service to the organization.
She also served on multiple committees throughout the years at ECU, including position search committees and accreditation committees.
Isaacs and her husband, Joe Keith Isaacs, have been married for 49 years. They have three children, Shari, Elisa and Derral, as well as eleven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
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