Kate's notes: Ruth Gilliland Hardman was the daughter of John Wesley and Vera Chapman Gilliland, the former for whom a biographical sketch may also be found in the Gilliland biographies for Oklahoma, along with genealogical notes on the family.
   This remarkably dedicated citizen and philanthropist passed away on Sun-
day, January 11, 2004 at the age 89 but her legacy lives on.

NEWS FOR ALUMNI, STUDENTS AND FRIENDS 
OF THE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
The UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
"BRIDGES"
APRIL 2002

Center to Aid Children with Learning Differences

   Like many parents, Ruth Gilliland Hardman has known the frustration of trying to find the best educational opportunities for her children. Decades ago, she searched for a school for her middle son, Philip Kistler, who had a severe reading problem.Today Kistler is considered one of Massachusetts’ top neurologists, teaching at Harvard University and directing the stroke unit at Massachusetts General Hospital.
   Now Hardman has made a gift to help other children with learning differences by pledging $1 million to create the Oklahoma Center for Children with Learning Differences in the University of Oklahoma College of Education. “The center will be a statewide resource to serve children and schools in Oklahoma,” Education Dean Joan K. Smith said. “Parents, teachers and schools can turn to the center for guidance in helping children who have difficulty succeeding in the classroom because of learning differences.”
   The gift will also endow a faculty position, the  Ruth G. Hardman Endowed Chair in Education, to direct the center. A search committee is being formed
to select the chair.
   The center and its staff will work hand in hand with the College’s Zarrow Center for Learning Enrichment and its director, James Martin, who holds the Zarrow Chair.The Zarrow center and endowed chair were established with gifts from the Anne and Henry Zarrow and Maxine and Jack Zarrow foundations.
   Like the Zarrows, Hardman is a long-time Tulsa resident known for her philanthropy and interest in literacy and education. Hardman has been inducted into the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame, the Tulsa Historical Society Hall of
Fame and OU’s Seed Sower Society, which honors donors at the million-dollar level.
   The Historical Society tribute described Hardman this way: “An active mind matched with boundless energy are the hallmarks of Ruth G. Hardman. As a ‘hands-on’volunteer, board member or patron, these qualities have allowed Mrs. Hardman to have a dynamic influence on the development of Tulsa.”
   The daughter of John W. and Vera Chapman Gilliland, Mrs. Hardman was born in Holdenville and later moved with her family to Tulsa. As a young woman, she attended Sweet Briar College and the University of Wisconsin before settling in Tulsa.
   The diversity of Mrs. Hardman’s activities reflects her broad interests. She has served on the boards of Planned Parenthood, Children’s Medical Center, Tulsa Psychiatric Center and the Children’s Day Nursery. At Holland Hall School, she founded the Kistler-Gilliland Center for the Advancement of Learning and serves as an Emeritus Board Member. She established the Ruth G. Hardman Literacy Service at the Tulsa City/County Library and was a founder of Tulsa Town Hall. Board memberships have included the Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa Philharmonic, Tulsa Ballet Theatre and the Performing Arts Center Endowment Fund. Hardman also endowed the curatorial chair in European and American Art at Philbrook Museum and the Hardman/Nimrod Award and Workshops at the University
of Tulsa.

-- Transcribed by Kate Maynard, 2009.