Katherine G. Coyle

Whether it’s being in the right place at the right time or welcoming opportunities that might be difficult to fathom, Katherine G. “Kathie” Coyle (JD ’72) embraces serendipity. This approach to life has taken her from the East Coast to the Rocky Mountains and back to Tulsa, climbing professionally and growing personally along the way.

Coyle earned her bachelor’s degree from Hollins College, a small women’s liberal arts school in Virginia. During her junior year, she studied abroad in France. “I found that it was a big world out there, and I wanted to be a valuable contributor,” she said. Coyle weighed her options and began seriously considering law school. “It seemed to offer the most options, the most avenues, the most choices,” she said. “But at the time, there were very few women in law school.”

Undaunted, she returned to her hometown and enrolled in TU, where she excelled. Immediately after law school, she served as the first female clerk for William J. Holloway Jr., a federal appeals court judge in Oklahoma City. After her clerkship, Coyle headed to New York University, where she received a Master of Laws in Taxation. She then worked at Pepper, Hamilton & Scheetz in Philadelphia, where she developed an expertise in the law of tax-exempt organizations. She subsequently moved to Salt Lake City to practice while her husband completed a cardiology fellowship. More than three decades later, she’s a top Oklahoma attorney specializing in nonprofit institutions and estate planning at Conner & Winters LLP, where she proudly says both men and women are represented and appreciated.

Coyle credits her law school experience for giving her the knowledge and fortitude to succeed in what was then a man’s world. “TU empowered me. I was so fortunate to have wonderful professors. It was a convivial group,” she said. “The education and foundation I received at TU was superb.”

A TU trustee for 10 years now, Coyle has seen many changes since she first set foot on campus. “I love serving on the board. As a trustee, you feel like you’re contributing in a meaningful way,” she said. “The transformation to the campus over the past 10 to 20 years has been phenomenal.” She said strong leaders such as President Steadman Upham, (former) Chairman Fulton Collins and Law Dean Janet Levit have taken TU to a new level of prominence. “They have set us on a trajectory to become a Top 50 national university,” Coyle said. “They have ensured that TU does not remain stagnant, that we are aspiring to be better.”

Coyle has been involved in many activities at TU, including the Golden Hurricane Club, Nimrod Advisory Board, Law Alumni Advisory Committee and McFarlin Fellows. She and her husband, Dr. John F. Coyle, attend events throughout the academic year. They have three sons and six grandchildren – all of whom live along the East Coast.