University of Oklahoma to award three honorary degrees at commencement

April 23, 2026

NORMAN, OKLAHOMA - DECEMBER 19: A general view of the Oklahoma Sooners logo is seen on the field prior to the game against the Alabama Crimson Tide during 2025 College Football Playoff First Round Game at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on December 19, 2025 in Norman, Oklahoma. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

By Fox23.com News Staff

NORMAN, Okla. — The University of Oklahoma will award honorary degrees to three individuals during their 2026 Commencement ceremony.

The three recipients will be former OU Women’s basketball head coach Sherri Coale, Hollywood filmmaker Ron Howard, and Secretary of State for the Chickasaw Nation Bill G. Lance Jr.

From the left: Sherri Coale, Ron Howard (photo credit: Dan Prakopcyk), and Bill G. Lance, Jr.

Coale was named head coach of the women’s team in 1996 and went on to win four Big XII Tournament championships, six Big XII regular season championships, qualified for 19 consecutive NCAA tournaments and led the team to three Final Four appearances. Coale is originally from Healdton, Oklahoma and attended Oklahoma Christian College where she graduated with a degree in education.

Howard has appeared in such shows as “The Andy Griffith Show” and “Happy Days” as well as the movie “American Graffiti”. He made a big splash behind the camera directing such films as “A Beautiful Mind”, “Apollo 13”, and “Hillbilly Elegy”. Howard was born in Duncan, Oklahoma.

Lance served as the Chickasaw Nation’s longest-serving Secretary of Commerce for 13 years before he served as its Secretary of State. He has a Master of Public Health from the University of Oklahoma and a Bachelor of Science from East Central University. Lance was born in Sulphur, Oklahoma.

OU will hold its commencement ceremony at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 15 at the Lloyd Noble Center.