NSU Alumni Association announces 2024 homecoming honorees

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — The Northeastern State University Alumni Association Board of Directors has selected the 2024 alumni honorees and the President’s Award for Community Service recipient. The honorees will be recognized during NSU’s 100^th annual homecoming celebration from Oct. 21-26.

This year’s honorees are Distinguished Alumna Dr. Barbara Abercrombie, Distinguished Alumnus Reggie Ivey, Distinguished Alumna Christina Justice, Outstanding Young Alumnus Dillin Springwater and the Community Service recipient Michael Spurgeon.

Abercrombie graduated from NSU with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice in 1993. She has been a dedicated volunteer on numerous nonprofit boards and has also volunteered in additional roles within the NSU and Tahlequah communities.

Abercrombie served on the NSU Board of the Alumni Association for 10 years and was board president in 2015. She has received honors as the Distinguished Service Award from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, has received accolades as an NSU Centurion and has served as past president of numerous boards and organizations.

She has spoken at various graduation services and NSU fundraising events and established the Abercrombie Family Endowed Scholarship benefiting single-parent, first-generation students in the region. She currently serves on the NSU Foundation Board.

Ivey graduated from NSU in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. His career in public health has spanned over 30 years, working with the Oklahoma State Department of Health and the Tulsa Health Department.

The community space within the North Regional Health and Wellness Center was named in Ivey’s honor due to his dedication to the Tulsa Health Department and collaboration with the Board of Health to raise $10 million in funding. His accolades include the Outstanding Public Service Award, Manager of the Year and North Tulsa Health Equity Visionary of the Year by the North Tulsa Community Coalition, along with several other honors and awards.

Ivey currently serves as the Associate Executive Director at the Tulsa Health Department and is the Founder and Board President of Be Well Development Corporation.

Ivey continues his dedicated service at NSU as a member of the NSU Black Alumni Association.

Justice graduated from NSU in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in Legal Studies. Justice has had a career of dedicated service in the Cherokee Nation’s Office of the Attorney General, where she updated the nation’s legal code and managed the ONE FIRE Victim Services unit, enhancing services for domestic violence victims. After transitioning to the Grant Services Department in 2015, Justice has secured over $600 million in funding for the Cherokee Nation.

Her accolades include being selected as one of eight Tribal co-authors of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bison Shared Stewardship Strategy, being appointed as Cherokee Nation’s delegate on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Indian Country Energy and Infrastructure, appointed as the Cherokee Nation’s Secretary of Natural Resources and served as Chair of the Cherokee Nation Clean Energy Task Force, along with several other recognitions.

Justice is an avid supporter of NSU and a regular contributor to the Emerald Ball. She regularly promotes partnerships between the departments within her office and NSU.

Springwater graduated from NSU in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. He is active in the Tahlequah community, where he leads three companies. He actively serves in Leadership Tahlequah, the Chamber of Commerce and Mainstreet Tahlequah initiatives.

Springwater helped raise $15,000 for Habitat for Humanity and has received the Tahlequah Daily Press Everyday Hero award for his dedication to business growth, youth support and community revitalization.

He is a founding member of the NSU Quarterback Club, NSU Alumni Association member, sponsor of NSU Athletics and serves on the NSU College of Business & Technology Advisory Board.

With over 36 years of experience in the field of local government, Spurgeon is currently the Broken Arrow City Manager where he has served for the last eight years.

Spurgeon holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Rutgers University and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Edison State College. He also graduated from the Army’s Officer Candidate School where he was selected as the Class Distinguished Honor Graduate and earned the rank of U.S. Army Commissioned Officer.

His accolades include the 2020 Gerald Wilkins Award, past recipient of Oklahoma’s Don Rider Award for Oklahoma’s Outstanding Municipal Official of the Year and has been recognized as the State’s Emergency Management Public Official of the Year.

Spurgeon has worked alongside city and NSU officials and the RUSO Board of Regents to collaborate on current and future innovation projects to increase the number of students attending the NSU-BA campus. He was influential in establishing the partnership between the City of Broken Arrow and NSU, which will allow Sunset at BA, a 12,500-seat amphitheater located east of the campus, to use a portion of campus parking for its patrons.

The 2024 alumni honorees will be honored during this year’s homecoming celebrations from Oct. 21-26, including their formal recognition on Oct. 25 at the Alumni Association Honors Reception.

For a full list of NSU Homecoming events, visit www.nsualumni.com/homecoming. For more information regarding the NSU Alumni Association and a full list of event schedules, visit nsualumni.com.

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