A 1992 graduate of East Central University, Anita Holloway has been named a Distinguished Alumna at ECU. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, graduating with honors and high academic achievement.
Currently a partner with Ernst & Young LLP (EY) in Tulsa, Holloway has come a long way since humble beginnings in Stuart, Oklahoma. EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services, operating in more than 150 countries. Holloway is responsible for helping clients meet reporting requirements by providing an objective and independent examination of financial statements provided to investors and other stakeholders.
As an ECU student, Holloway was not only an outstanding student and a reliable student worker, but she was also a leader outside the classroom. She was recognized as Student of the Month, Who’s Who and selected to serve on the Honor Court. She was a member of several organizations and served as president for the Honors Student Association and the Accounting Club.
“Anita’s first job was as a student worker in the ECU Foundation where people who care, give,” said Gerald Williamson, advancement officer with the ECU Foundation. “She learned well and has continued to be a giver of her time, expertise and resources.”
After graduating from ECU, she has also completed strategic leadership and business strategy programs through Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Harvard Business School and the international business school INSEAD. She has been a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the State of Oklahoma since May 1993 and in the State of Texas since February 2005.
Holloway and her brother Alan (1992) established the Alan and Anita Holloway Accounting Scholarship through the ECU Foundation, further cementing her belief in the impact education can have on a person’s life. Her legacy and generosity to ECU and the Stonecipher School of Business will impact the future of ECU students for generations to come.
“Anita has been a global difference maker in her chosen profession and definitely to the students of ECU,” Williamson said.
Holloway is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants as well as the Oklahoma, Texas and Tennessee Societies of CPAs. She is past chairman of the accounting careers and ballot committees for the Oklahoma Society of CPAs. Holloway was appointed to the OU Board of Regents by Governor Kevin Stitt in 2020. She also serves as a member of the University of Oklahoma Energy Institute board, OU Price College board of advisers; and the Tulsa Area United Way board. She is a board member and 2019 treasurer for the Tulsa Regional Chamber and a member of the American Diabetes Association Tulsa Community Leadership Board.
In 2005, Holloway was honored by the Fort Worth YWCA at their annual Tribute to Women in Business. She was a 2015 inductee into OU’s Arthur B. Adams Society, a member of Leadership Tulsa’s Class 48; a Women in Business honoree for the Fort Worth, Texas YWCA; and a Distinguished Graduate Award recipient for ECU’s School of Business. In 2019, Holloway was recognized as an Oklahoma Woman of the Year – 50 Making a Difference honoree.
Holloway’s career has taken her around the world, teaching an oil and gas accounting course in Abu Dhabi, observing a pigment plant in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and visiting the North Slope in Alaska, witnessing an offshore drilling rig in action.
Holloway will be formally recognized at ECU’s Evening of Honors and Recognition, May 6 at the Chickasaw Business and Conference Center.
Sponsorships are available at various levels for the event including a Gold Sponsorship for $3,000; a Silver Sponsorship for $1,500; and a Bronze Sponsorship for $250.
Individual tickets are also available for $75 each. Advance tickets are recommended.
To register, contact Ashia Todd at atodd@ecok.edu or at 580-559-5724 or visit ecok.edu/2022EOH.