SE alumna Jane Semple Umsted to be inducted into Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame

OKLAHOMA CITY - Southeastern Oklahoma State University alumna Jane Semple Umsted has been announced by the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women as one of six inductees in the 2024 class of the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame.

Semple Umsted and the 2024 class will be honored at an induction ceremony on Friday, September 27, at the Omni Hotel and Resort in downtown Oklahoma City. Event tickets and sponsorship levels for the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame induction ceremony can be found at the OCSW website or by calling the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women at (405) 401-6970.

Semple Umsted received a B.F.A. from the University of Oklahoma in 1969 and an M.Ed. from Southeastern Oklahoma State University in 1989. She retired from the Durant Public Schools where she was the art teacher for the Durant Middle School until 2007. She is a proud member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and has been a professional artist for over 50 years.

Semple Umsted is the curator of the Semple Family Museum of Native American Art on the Southeastern campus, owner of the Indian Territory Art Gallery in Durant, and was in 2023 was appointed by President Joe Biden to the Board of Trustees of the Institute of American Indian Arts.

Semple Umsted is the creator of the "Two Brothers" statute which will be unveiled in the Legacy Plaza on the Southeastern campus as part of the Homecoming weekend on Friday, October 3. This larger-than-life sculpture celebrates the legacy, history, and contributions of sovereign tribal nations to Southeastern.