Hall of Fame 2010

Donald D. Humphreys earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and management in 1971. While at OSU, he joined the Sigma Nu fraternity. After graduation, Humphreys served in the U.S. Army before obtaining an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. In 1976, he joined Exxon Chemical Company and began a long and distinguished career. Humphreys has held a variety of management positions in domestic and foreign operations since joining the Exxon organization. In 2006, Humphreys was elected to the management committee of Exxon Mobil Corporation as senior vice president and treasurer. Humphreys serves as a director on the boards of Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, Junior Achievement Worldwide and Council of the Americas. He is a member of Financial Executives International, the American Petroleum Institute and the Conference Board’s Council of Financial Executives. In 2007, he was inducted into the Spears School of Business Hall of Fame and selected as an OSU Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient. In 2008, he was inducted into the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology Hall of Fame. He serves on the Board of Trustees for the OSU Foundation and is a life member of the OSU Alumni Association.

Gary W. Sparks earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture in 1966. He is the founder of Sparks Sports, an architectural firm in Tulsa, Okla. It was his creativity and vision that led to the “Raise the Roof” campaign for Gallagher-Iba Arena and the renovation/expansion of Boone Pickens Stadium. While at OSU, he participated in many architectural design competitions. The emphasis the OSU School of Architecture placed on design was a major factor in Spark’s successful architectural career. After graduation, Sparks served in the U.S. Army until 1968, when he began his career in architecture. In addition to working with several outstanding firms in Oklahoma, he was on the staff of the Oklahoma State University Campus Architects. In addition to the Gallagher-Iba Arena and Boone Pickens Stadium projects, Sparks has had major involvement in other projects on campus including the master plan for the Athletic Village, Allie P. Reynolds Baseball Stadium, Bennett Hall renovation and the Remember the Ten memorials in Gallagher-Iba Arena and Strasburg, Colo. Sparks has remained connected to OSU, serving as an original member of the OSU Iba-Fennimore Society and on the advisory board for the College of Human Environmental Sciences. He is a POSSE member and a life member of the OSU Alumni Association.

Carl Thoma earned his bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics in 1970. He received an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business in 1973. Thoma is a managing partner of Thoma Bravo, LLC, which manages private equity funds. Thoma Bravo currently is managing $2.5 billion and was one of the early partnerships in private equity launching their first fund in 1980. While at OSU, Thoma was involved in the Student Senate, Blue Key honor society and Sigma Nu fraternity. Thoma began his career in private equity with the First National Bank of Chicago in the early 1970s. Thoma has served as chairman of the National Venture Capital Association, on the boards of the Copia, the American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts, Northwestern Evanston Hospital and the Illinois Institution of Technology. Thoma is actively involved with the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Illinois and National Venture Capital Associations. He was inducted into the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame in 1998 and received the Illinois Venture Capital Association’s first Stanley C. Golder Award. He remains involved at OSU, serving on the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship advisory board and was on the Oklahoma Higher Education Regents Committee for the evaluation of state colleges in the late 1990s. He was inducted into the Spears School of Business Hall of Fame in 1996 and received the OSU Distinguished Alumni Award in 2002. Thoma is a life member of the OSU Alumni Association.

Marilynn Benbrook Thoma earned a bachelor’s degree in home economics education in 1970. She received an MBA from Stanford's Graduate School of Business in 1974. She serves as proprietor of Van Duzer Vineyards in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. While at OSU, she served as the College of Human Environmental Sciences Student Council President and was a member of the Mortar Board honor society, President's Leadership Council and Chi Omega sorority. After graduating from Stanford, she moved to Chicago with her husband, Carl, where she pursued her talent for consumer marketing at Quaker Oats. Thoma then shifted her focus to marketing with Cellular Network and Proxy Communications. Thoma is active with numerous nonprofit organizations. Notably, she chaired the campaign to build the Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier and holds leadership positions with the boards of the Chicago Humanities Festival, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Terra Foundation of American Art. In 2002, she and Carl endowed the Thoma Chair in Operations, Information and Technology at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In 2006, they endowed the Marilynn Thoma Chair in the College of Human Environmental Sciences at OSU. In 2004, Thoma received the Human Environmental Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award and in 2009, was named Philanthropist of the Year by the Women for OSU Leadership and Philanthropy Council. She is a life member of the OSU Alumni Association.
Oklahoma State University Alumni Association | 201 ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center | Stillwater, OK 74078 | 405.744.5368
info@orangeconnection.org | orangeconnection.org