The Adelson-Gussman family is prominent among Tulsa families that have generously supported the community for generations. Through their philanthropy and civic engagement, its members have uplifted the arts, religion, health care and education in Tulsa and beyond. The University of Tulsa is honored to be a beneficiary of the family’s vision.
TU’s connection to the family began with Herbert “Herb” and Roseline Nadel Gussman. A Cornell graduate, Herb worked at Lehman Brothers before entering the oil business in the 1930s. With his father-in-law, Isadore Nadel, he founded Nadel and Gussman, which at one time was the largest independent oil producer in Kansas and Osage County, Oklahoma. Gussman was among the first to perfect oil well acidizing, which is an industry standard today. Along with developing his own business, he chaired the executive committee of the Missouri Pacific Railroad and was instrumental in its merger with the Union Pacific Railroad.
The Gussmans also devoted many hours to community life and were particular champions of the arts and humanities, the Jewish community and education. Roseline was a tireless civic volunteer who served many years as a local and regional leader in the Hadassah organization. Herb was an enthusiastic patron of the arts who founded the Tulsa Philharmonic, studied jazz piano with Teddy Wilson, and welcomed into his home many of the 20th century’s great musical artists, including Isaac Stern, Leonard Bernstein, Eugene Istomin and Jan Pierce. He also amassed one of the nation’s finest private collections of French Impressionist paintings and collected African art with his brother, Lawrence. With Roseline, Herb established the Gussman Collection at the Philbrook Museum of Art, which includes more than 300 original prints from Rembrandt, Pierre Monnard and other prominent artists.
TU was a fortunate beneficiary of the Gussmans’ generosity through the years, establishing the Herbert Gussman Endowed Presidential Scholarship Fund and the Gussman Juried Student Art Exhibition. Their financial contributions also supported the McFarlin Fellows, Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge (TURC), Nimrod International Journal of Prose and Poetry, the Golden Hurricane Club and other programs.
The Gussmans were married a remarkable 60 years before Roseline’s death in 1996. Herb passed away in 2005, but the couple’s values continue to strengthen the community and are reflected through the ideals and actions displayed by their children and grandchildren. (“I was raised in a home where, if you have $3, you are fortunate to have that, so you need to give something back,” their daughter Ellen Adelson once explained.)
Ellen and her husband, Stephen J. “Steve” Adelson, (now retired from a career as one of Tulsa’s most respected pediatricians) continue to give back in abundance and have established a long record of TU service and support. Ellen Adelson served as a trustee for 25 years (1994-2019) and initiated the establishment of key university programs such as the TURC Fellows Advisory Board and the McFarlin Fellows. She also is a longtime member of the Henry Kendall College of Arts and Sciences Board of Visitors, and she serves on the advisory board of the Nimrod International Journal. She and Steve have funded or helped fund several important programs and endowments, including the Ellen and Stephen Adelson Endowed Scholarship Fund for the Henry Kendall College of Arts and Sciences, the Adelson Family Arts and Sciences Presidential Scholarship Endowment Fund, the Adelson Family Endowment for Arts and Sciences, the Adelson Family Endowment for Engineering and Natural Sciences, the Gussman Juried Student Exhibition Endowment Fund for the School of Art, Design and Art History (established by Ellen and her sister, Barbara Heyman, in honor of their father, Herb Gussman, who first funded these awards for outstanding art students more than 50 years ago), the Buck Colbert Franklin Memorial Civil Rights Lecture Series, the Bob and Marcy Lawless Presidential Scholarship Fund, and the Herbert Gussman Presidential Scholarship Fund, among many other initiatives.
The Adelsons also played a leading role when The Roxana Rózsa and Robert Eugene Lorton Performance Center was built by funding the Herbert and Roseline Gussman Concert Hall, creating a lasting tribute to Ellen’s parents.
In recognition of their exceptional loyalty and devotion to TU, Steve and Ellen Adelson have been acknowledged as members of the Circle Society, the Chapman Legacy Society and the President’s Council, and Ellen Adelson received the J. Paschal Twyman Award in 2006, was inducted into the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences Hall of Fame in 2004-05, and was an honorary inductee into The University of Tulsa Beta Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa in 2003.
Carrying the family’s philanthropy forward yet another generation, the Adelsons’ sons continue to partner with TU – David Adelson and his wife, Carol, through support of Gilcrease Museum; Tom Adelson, through support of McFarlin Fellows and the Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge; and James F. “Jim” Adelson and his wife, Susannah Hocutt Adelson, in many ways personal and financial.
In 2021, Tom Adelson was named TU’s Chief Innovation Officer by President Brad Carson. In this role, Mr. Adelson provides advice about rapidly emerging ed-tech trends, bringing his expertise in this area to the TU community.
Jim Adelson, who now heads the family company Nadel and Gussman, is a member of the TU Board of Trustees (since 2006), and he has served on the Nimrod International Journal board. He and Susannah have extended the philanthropic legacy of Jim’s parents and grandparents, creating two endowed funds – the Herb and Roseline Gussman Endowed Presidential Scholarship Fund and the Steve and Ellen Adelson Endowed Presidential Scholarship Fund, both established in November 2010. The couple has also supported the McFarlin Fellows, TURC, the Nimrod International Journal, the tennis program, the Energy Law Journal, KWGS, the Coaching Enhancement Fund for TU Football, and the President’s Discretionary Fund.
In recognition of their generosity and service, Jim and Susannah Adelson have been named to the Circle Society, the President’s Council and the Chapman Legacy Society.
In addition to his TU service, Jim is active in many community endeavors, such as the Tulsa Area United Way Trust Board, the Tulsa Community Foundation Board, the Tulsa City-County Library Trust, and the grassroots initiative Step Up Tulsa! He enjoys marathon running and has participated in several local events including the Tulsa Run.
Susannah also is a devoted civic partner; her contributions to Tulsa include chairing a 2012 MDA (Muscular Dystrophy Association) fundraiser, helping with Iron Gate and Tulsa Zoo fundraisers and serving as a trustee of her alma mater, Holland Hall. She and Jim have three children — Caroline, Elizabeth and Eve. TU is profoundly grateful for Jim and Susannah’s thoughtfully selected and generously bestowed gifts and their continued work in securing a bright future for the university and Tulsa.
