Meredith Pratt | Staff Writer, Video by Igor Stepczynski | Broadcast Reporter
Before serving in her current position as president of Baylor University, Dr. Linda Livingstone spent several memorable years as a student athlete at Oklahoma State University.
On Feb. 7, Livingstone will be inducted into the OSU Hall of Fame along with three other alumni. Hosted by the OSU Alumni Association, this induction ceremony recognizes alumni for their significant professional successes and societal contributions.
Livingstone was also recognized in 2013 when she was inducted into OSU’s Spears School of Business Hall of Fame. Graduating from the school of business in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and management, she went on to complete a master’s degree in business administration in 1983, and later, a doctorate in Management and Organizational Behavior in 1992.
Despite OSU and Baylor being competitors in the Big 12 Conference, Livingstone said that she has maintained a “great relationship” with her alma mater.
“They’ve been unbelievably supportive of me,” Livingstone said.
An Oklahoma native, she said she has always been a “cowboy through and through.”
Livingstone said she remembers growing up attending OSU basketball games with her dad, Doyle Parrack, an alumni basketball player from their 1945 championship team.
“I applied to one place for college,” Livingstone said. “I never even thought about going anywhere else.”
Following in his footsteps, Livingstone played basketball for the OSU women’s team and still holds the record for the highest field goal percentage by an Oklahoma State freshman.
“It was special being a part of that common legacy,” Livingstone said.
She said that the relationships she built on the court were the most important takeaway from her athletic career.
Another relationship that began on the OSU courts was with her husband Brad Livingstone, a member of the men’s basketball team. The two met freshman year during basketball practice. Livingstone said she recalls playing the shooting game H-O-R-S-E with him between practices.
“I beat him every single time,” Livingstone said.
Livingstone said that she and Brad got closer as they regularly attended Fellowship of Christian Athlete meetings. The fast friends married shortly after graduation.
In a Baylor Magazine article, Brad Livingstone said that he feels he truly married his best friend. He explained the flexibility that came with his career of teaching allowed the couple to move wherever President Livingstone was needed.
“I know I’m biased, but Linda is the smartest, wisest, most humble, most godly person that I’ve ever known,” Brad Livingstone said.
These qualities, along with her accomplishments in athletics, business and administration are all part of the legacy President Livingstone has created for herself — one that spans several states and campuses.
