College of

Engineering, Architecture and Technology

October 10, 1934 - April 14, 2021 

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of former Dean Karl Reid.

Dr. Karl N. Reid, Jr., the longest serving dean of the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology at Oklahoma State University, died at 86 at home in Stillwater, OK, on April 14, 2021. He was dean from 1986-2011, and head of the School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at OSU from 1976-1986.

Born in Fayetteville, AR in 1934, he grew up in Tulsa, and attended Will Rogers High School. He received his B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from OSU. He served in the Army Reserves briefly, and later received a Science Doctorate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology on a Ford Fellowship. He was an associate professor at MIT for four years before returning to Stillwater to work at OSU in 1964.

He founded several research institutions affiliated with OSU, was elected a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (1983) and the American Society for Engineering Education (1999). He was awarded the ASME Centennial Medallion, and selected as the Outstanding Engineer in Oklahoma (1988). Among his academic credentials are four U.S. patents, and 40 journal papers.

He was passionate about his students and his university. He liked to tell stories of his travels around the world and was active in the church and in the community.

In 1956 he married Verna Lou Westmoreland in Tulsa, OK, and remained married for 64 years. He is survived by his wife; his son Ryan, wife Patty, their daughter Zoe; and his son Darren, wife Carolina, their daughter Violet, their sons Truman and Cooper.

In lieu of flowers please consider donating to the Karl Reid Scholarship Fund. 26-86500. OSU Foundation attn. Ty Ropp.