ADA, Okla. - East Central University alumna and Chickasaw Citizen, Dr. JudyLee Oliva, is set to be honored at ECU’s Evening of Honors and Recognition May 10 at 6 p.m. in the ECU Foundation Hall, located inside the Chickasaw Business & Conference Center.
"I was initially surprised by the honor as I do not think of myself as 'distinguished,'” said Oliva. “I am goal oriented and have always been determined to achieve my goals.”
A 1975 graduate of ECU, Oliva received her bachelor’s degree in Speech and Theatre Education.
“From ECU, I not only learned about my craft, but I also learned about myself, my work ethic and my artistic point of view,” Oliva said. “I had professors who cared about me as a student, but also, who cared about me as a human being who had dreams, along with my goals. Especially Dr. Dorothy Summers who was head of the theatre program at ECU and Professor Margaret Nims, who taught Creative Writing."
Oliva would further her education by earning her MFA at the University of Oklahoma and her PhD at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. Her education in theatre, drama and directing would provide the foundation for the accomplishments that would come.
Professionally, Oliva has found success in a number of fields including contributions to scholarly publications, scholarship presentations, playwriting, directing and a wide range of awards and honors. She was also professor of theatre at Stony Brook University in NY, Northern Illinois University and the University of Tennessee, teaching courses in Playwriting, Acting and Theatre History.
Oliva has published a number of scholarly works in books, essays, articles and interviews including chapters and articles featured in “Performing Dreams into Being: Native American Women’s Theater,” “Journal to Dramatic Theory and Criticism,” “Contemporary Women Dramatists” and many more.
She was named the Dynamic Chickasaw Woman of 2006, received the First Book Award for Prose by Native Writers Circle of Americas, was named the winner of the Five Civilized Tribes Best American Indian Musical Play for “Te Ata,” the winner of the 1987 Agnes Nixon Playwriting Competition for “See Jane Run”. Additionally, she was the winner of the Women Playwrights Initiative Competition in 2004 for “99¢ Dreams,” among many other honors and accomplishments.
Oliva continues to make significant professional contributions. In 2021, she served as a guest lecturer for Native American Theatre at Stanford University. The following year she was a judge for the Miss Oklahoma Pageant. Currently, she is working on the children’s book “I Can Hear the Corn Grow,” an upcoming anthology of Native American plays and her most recent play, “Porcelain Apostles.”
To purchase tickets for ECU Evening of Honors and Recognition, visit ecok.edu/2024EOH or contact the Office of Alumni Relations at alumni@ecok.edu or at 580-559-5724. Advanced tickets are recommended.