Tom Love Awarded Posthumous Degree from OU
NORMAN, OKLA. – The University of Oklahoma will award honorary degrees to outstanding individuals in recognition of their extraordinary achievements and generous service to others.
Tom E. Love, a native of Oklahoma City and founder of Love’s Travel Stops, which had grown to more than 610 Love’s locations and 22 EZ GO locations nationwide prior to his death in March. He will be honored posthumously.
The university will confer the honorary degrees during its 2023 Commencement ceremony, scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, May 12, at The Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
“Each of this year’s honorary degree recipients has attained success in their own right, but what truly distinguishes them is their unwavering commitment to championing the next generation of leaders. We are incredibly proud to recognize their achievements and generous goodwill with our university’s highest honor,” said OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. “We’re also thrilled to welcome global telecommunications leader and OU graduate Randall Stephenson as our Commencement speaker who, like our honorary degree recipients, has remained steadfast in his dedication to OU and our students. As our graduates prepare for their next chapter, they will be inspired by how all of these individuals have directed their talents and energies to change the lives of others.”
Tom E. Love, the founder of Love’s Travel Stops, started the company in 1964 with his wife, Judy, beginning with one small location in Watonga. Today, Love’s has more than 610 Love’s locations and 22 EZ GO locations in 42 states and employs more than 39,000 team members.
Tom and Judy Love and Love’s Travel Stops are longstanding partners of the University of Oklahoma. In 2018, the university announced a leadership gift from the Tom and Judy Love Foundation in support of the entrepreneurship initiatives in the Price College of Business. In recognition of his visionary leadership and generosity, OU named the Division of Entrepreneurship, Innovation Hub, Center for Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurs in Residence Program in his honor. The Love contribution also supports a scholarship endowment and funds at least 20 annual student scholarships or “proof-of-concept” grants, which provide critical resources by providing non-equity capital resources to student start-ups.
In October 2021, OU announced a lead naming gift from Love’s Travel Stops, which put in motion the construction of OU’s new softball stadium, Love’s Field, slated to open for the 2024 season. Additionally, the Love family provides philanthropic support to multiple areas across the university, including the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center, College of Medicine, College of Allied Health, Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education and Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts.
Love was past chairman of the Oklahoma Transportation Commission, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation Highway Commission and the Oklahoma Business Roundtable, and Oklahoma’s TRUST Coalition. His honors include induction into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, being named Oklahoma’s Most Admired CEO in his field and receiving the TRUST Coalition’s Guardian of Transportation Award. In 2019, he was inducted into the Chickasaw Hall of Fame, the highest honor for citizens of the Chickasaw Nation.
He attended Saint John’s University in Minnesota and the University of Oklahoma. He also served in the U.S. Marine Corps and received an honorary doctorate from Oklahoma City University.
Love died in March 2023 in Oklahoma City, and his award is being granted posthumously.