For decades, Dr. Jacob W. “Jake” Jorishie, Jr. (BS ’71, BA ’08) had strong ties to The University of Tulsa. The Tulsa dentist recalled marching on Skelly Field with the Will Rogers High School band in the mid-1960s and taking saxophone and clarinet lessons from TU professor Dwight Dailey. When it was time for college, he decided to apply to only one school – TU.
Although Jorishie was a biology major working toward a dentistry career, his membership in various university bands enabled him to earn tuition credits, which alongside academic scholarships, made his TU education possible. In 2008, almost 40 years after earning his first TU degree, Jorishie completed a B.A. degree in music, making him an official alumnus of a program he continued to treasure and support for the rest of his life.
Over the years, Jorishie returned the help he received as a student many times over, establishing music scholarships, funding music equipment, teaching jazz piano as an adjunct instructor, and even serving as a TU team dentist. Jorishie also supported the Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge (TURC), the TU Alumni Association, the Golden Hurricane Champions Fund, the TU Letterwinner’s Association, and several other athletics initiatives.
Dr. Jorishie’s gifts to TU’s Lorton Performance Center funded the Dr. Jacob W. Jorishie Music Technology Lab and the Dr. Jake W. Jorishie Practice Suites – facilities that are critical to daily learning. Jorishie also established two important endowed scholarships: the Dr. Jake Jorishie Endowment Fund for Music Scholars at The University of Tulsa and the Dr. Jake Jorishie Endowed Scholarship Fund in Music.
The University of Tulsa recognized Dr. Jorishie for his enduring loyalty and outstanding accomplishments, bestowing upon him the 2002 Henry Kendall College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Service Award, the 2008 J. Paschal Twyman Award, the 2012 Distinguished Alumnus Award, and inclusion in the Circle Society, President’s Council, and the Chapman Legacy Society.
“There truly is no greater gift in life than the gift of giving,” Jorishie said. “To me, the greatest reward at the end of one’s life journey is to be able to say, ‘I’m glad I did,’ rather than ‘I wish I had.’”
Dr. Jorishie passed away in 2023, but his commitment to strategic giving has left a tremendous legacy of support for generations of students who will follow in his footsteps at his beloved alma mater.
