OCPA column: A courageous leader in challenging times

 A courageous leader in challenging times

By Jonathan Small

In his remarkable tenure as president of the University of Oklahoma, James Gallogly focused the university on its core mission of providing a quality education to the average student, not catering to distractions, special interests and wasteful spending. His success in achieving that goal is why the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs recently presented Gallogly with our citizenship award.

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt noted Winston Churchill once said, “This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure,” and, “Courage is rightly considered the foremost of the virtues, for upon it all others depend.” Stitt noted of Gallogly, “When I think of courage, I think of my friend Jim Gallogly.”

Because of Gallogly’s success, it’s easy to forget how bad things were at OU when Gallogly took over. The university was a financial mess, on its way to not being able to make payroll, headed for default on obligations, and had a broken culture.

Stitt appoints Eric Stevenson to OU Board of Regents

Photo courtesy from John Woods (Exec. Dir. of Gov't Affairs for OU) on Twitter

GOVERNOR KEVIN STITT ANNOUNCES NEW APPOINTMENT TO OU BOARD OF REGENTS

Oklahoma City, Okla. (March 1, 2019) – Governor Kevin Stitt announced today the appointment of Eric Stevenson to the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents, a position that requires Senate confirmation.

“I am excited to appoint Eric Stevenson to the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents,” said Gov. Stitt. “Eric is a business-oriented and reform-minded leader who will be a dedicated representative for the students, employees, and staff.”

“I appreciate Gov. Stitt's thoughtful consideration of the needs of OU with his appointment of Eric Stevenson to our Board of Regents,” said James Gallogly, University of Oklahoma President. “Eric’s close ties to OU and our Price College of Business as well as his leadership role in a national business enterprise make him an excellent choice. OU has local, national and international reach with its students, alums and academic programs. I’m eager to tap into Eric’s expertise and to have him join us for the work ahead.”

“As Chairman of the OU, Cameron, and Rogers State Boards of Regents, congratulations to Governor Stitt on this nomination,” said Dr. Leslie Rainbolt-Forbes, Chair of the OU Board of Regents. “Eric brings a very unique complement of skills, including extensive strategic planning experience, large corporate management experience, and outstanding national level communication experience, that he has honed at some of the largest and most prestigious companies in the United States. His expertise will directly benefit the Board, the Universities we govern, all our students, and the State of Oklahoma.” 

“Governor Stitt has made an inspired choice for appointment to the OU Board of Regents,” said Bryan M. Burke, OU graduate, Sr. Vice President at Federated Investors and member of the Price College of Business Board of Visitors. “Eric Stevenson is an accomplished industry leader in financial services. I have seen firsthand his contributions on wide-ranging topics in the Price College of Business where he is a longtime trusted advisor and engaged listener.  Eric has a unique background and the fact he has been a successful small business owner in addition to rising to the highest levels of corporate America will inspire both fellow board members but, more importantly, our students.”

Eric Stevenson serves as the Senior Vice President of Retirement Plans Distribution at NationWide, across both the 401 (k) and 457 businesses. In this role, he leads one of the largest retirement plans sales forces in the United States with teams responsible for more than $127.5 billion in assets under management and the responsibility to help more than 2.5 million participants prepare for and live in retirement. Eric has built a culture of learning and development for his teams, recently launching a new sales process and coaching program that provides superior education and positions his team to deliver exceptional sales results. He honed his marketing skills at Quaker Oats and Warner Lambert managing marketing and sales strategies for consumer packaged goods and over-the-counter products before moving to Nationwide. In 2006, Eric started as a marketing leader for Nationwide Financial. As the vice president of retirement plans marketing, he led a team of marketers to develop and execute strategies for the Retirements Plans businesses. Eric translated his leadership skills from marketing to sales management in 2010 when he was named vice president for public sector retirement sales. Eric earned his Bachelors of Business Administration in Finance degree from the University of Oklahoma and his Master’s degree from Northwestern University Kellogg Graduate School of Management. He holds the NASD Series 6, 26, and 65 licenses. Eric is on the University of Oklahoma Price College of Business Finance Department Advisory Board, and he also serves as a Board Member for both the Salvation Army and the National Association of Securities Professionals (NASP), the premier organization in the United States advocating for the inclusion of women and people of color in financial services.

OCPA column: New OU president is a breath of fresh air

A breath of fresh air

By Jonathan Small, president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA)

Oklahoma higher education is a notorious devourer of cash. That’s why new University of Oklahoma President Jim Gallogly is such a breath of fresh air.

Gallogly is a shock to the system because he’s putting students and taxpayers first. He’s proposing that an academic institution with a $2.12 billion annual budget should be efficient, accountable, and focused on education.

Gallogly’s emphasis on education is clear from remarks delivered during a recent Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce event. “There are so many window-dressing things that people do,” he said. “I'm interested in graduation rates. Frankly, we're going to do a lot better job than we've done in the past on that.” Only 40 percent of OU students graduate in four years.

Gallogly isn’t afraid to go over the budget line by line. “I’ve asked about our study-abroad programs just like I have every other part of our institution,” he said. “If you’re a petroleum engineer, maybe it doesn’t make sense to send you to Brazil.”

“I’m trying to make sure that OU stays affordable,” he said, “and so I’m going to ask some of those hard questions.”

In business, serving customers is the path to success. So, it’s no surprise that Gallogly, a successful businessman, is focused on students and their success. One result of his work so far is that tuition stayed flat this fall.

Gallogly also respects taxpayers by focusing on inefficiencies. He rightly questioned OU’s two new luxury dorms that have just 63 percent occupancy. That brings a net annual loss of $2.3 million, but even if full, they would still lose a million dollars annually.

Gallogly’s approach is refreshing: look for savings instead of accusing lawmakers and taxpayers of being stingy and then demanding more money. “I’ve been very open to say that strategy of constantly complaining is not working, that we have to be a partner for the state and bring them opportunities for investment,” Gallogly told the Tulsa World.

To date, Gallogly has identified some $20.6 million in savings, with more ahead. He is fulfilling his promises, and he is offering an example worthy of emulation.

He is also striking fear in the failed status quo by proposing common-sense budgeting solutions that don’t rely on demanding more from taxpayers or more tuition dollars and debt from families, students, and the federal government.

Oklahoma families and taxpayers should be thankful for and supportive of Gallogly’s efforts to rein in out-of-control spending in higher education.

Jonathan Small serves as president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs.

OCPA column: OU hire should respect Oklahomans

OU hire should respect Oklahomans

by Jonathan Small
President of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA)

The University of Oklahoma is kicking off a national search for an associate vice president of university community.

“We can and must do more to ensure a diverse and inclusive community,” says OU president James Gallogly.

At a time when the cultural left believes it holds title to the phrases “university community” and “diversity,” here’s hoping this new hire will be different.

You’ll recall that Gallogly—obviously aware that Oklahoma taxpayers don’t place a high priority on government subsidies to higher education—went on the record early “to say to our legislature and our governor, we will be excellent stewards.” That’s smart.

After all, this is a state in which political-correctness foe Donald Trump got 65 percent of the vote. He won 77 of 77 counties. And yet last year, OU thought it was a good idea to bring to campus a radical leftist, Harry Belafonte, who had described the Trump presidency as “the Fourth Reich” and who has suggested that black Republicans such as Condoleezza Rice are race traitors or house slaves.

Indeed, many citizens aren’t aware how far left OU has drifted. Former president David Boren actually announced that “hate speech” (whatever that is) should be reported to the OU police department.

At a campus protest of Donald Trump, OU’s former diversity czar praised “the ability of people to overcome hate,” thereby impugning the motives of the vast majority of Oklahomans who voted for the current President.

OU now requires “diversity training” for new students. Political scientist Greg Forster called OU’s training “a horrifying recital of coercive tactics, clearly designed not to educate students about diversity (which would be valuable) so much as to manipulate, threaten, and control them so they don’t think the wrong things.”

Orwell would also be pleased with OU’s “bias response” hotline, which allows members of the university community to anonymously inform on their neighbors.

All this in addition to the tax-funded social-justice warriors marbled through the bureaucracy and the various grievance-studies departments.

Is it any wonder the Pew Research Center found last year that an astounding 65 percent of conservative Republicans believe “colleges and universities are having a negative effect on the way things are going in the country”?

OU’s new hire must cherish and defend students’ First Amendment rights to think and speak freely on campus.

He or she must never forget that the “university community” includes fraternities and the Baptist Student Union and ROTC and Turning Point USA and any number of other organizations.

He or she must celebrate diversity.

Jonathan Small serves as president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs

OCPA column: Refreshing Leadership at OU

Refreshing leadership

by Jonathan Small, president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA)

Nearly three months ago, I said incoming University of Oklahoma President Jim Gallogly was a terrific hire. Since then, Gallogly has focused on the core work of a university, showing a relentless dedication to what’s best for students and their families.

Presiding over his first meeting of the OU Board of Regents, Gallogly sent a clear message that he is serious about imposing fiscal discipline, prioritizing spending, slowing the debt-fueled building spree that coincides with a Standard and Poor’s downgrade, and protecting students from tuition hikes.

“We will get our house in order,” Gallogly said.

“Gallogly said OU is in nearly $1 billion worth of debt and that expenses have grown at a rate of nearly $36 million faster than revenues over the last five years,” OU Daily editor-in-chief Nick Hazelrigg reported.

“I consider myself a financial expert, and it’s taken me days and weeks and months to sort it all,” the OU Daily quoted Gallogly as saying. “But I do feel that we have a very good grasp of where we’re at today, and frankly, I’m not pleased with what I found. In the last five years, our operating revenues are up 18.8 percent. Unfortunately, our operating expenses are up more: 23.3 percent.”

To his great credit, Gallogly will not punish students for the mismanagement of the grown-ups. “Frankly,” the OU Daily quotes Gallogly as saying, “our inefficiencies on the Norman campus and our overspending on the Norman campus should not fall on our students.”

This perspective is refreshing. Given the fast-changing world, OU will benefit from this excellent private-sector hire. It is no wonder that University of Oklahoma Board of Regents chairman Clay Bennett says he is “thrilled” to have Gallogly at the helm. Certainly, Gallogly’s fiscal prudence and awareness will come in handy as he navigates the choppy budgetary waters of Oklahoma’s largest higher-learning institution.

According to OU’s financial statements, total annual tuition and fee revenue increased by more than $151 million to a total of $292 million from fiscal year 2007 to fiscal year 2016.

Dr. Richard Vedder, who helps compile the college rankings for Forbes, estimated in 2014 that the top 20 percent of OU professors by teaching load taught 60 percent of the total. If the rest of the faculty could match this productivity, it would save more than $99 million annually.

The opportunities exist at OU to pay performing professors better, empower students, and not increase costs. Gallogly deserves our praise for his outstanding leadership.

Jonathan Small serves as president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (www.ocpathink.org).

OCPA's Small on New OU President: "Terrific Hire"

Terrific Hire

by OCPA President Jonathan Small

The University of Oklahoma regents have selected James Gallogly as the next OU president. It’s a terrific hire.

“Jim Gallogly is a world-class, in-demand, transformative leader,” said Regents Chairman Clay Bennett.

Bennett notes Gallogly “is a builder known for having strategic vision, for managing large and complex organizations, and for mentoring and inspiring great teams to achieve results.”

Given that OU’s entire operation encompasses crucial assets, activities, and investments necessary to assist in empowering students for the future, serving Oklahomans, and realizing opportunities for innovation, one couldn’t agree more with what Bennett noted to Newsok.com: “He has the right skill set for this point in time.”

The Tulsa World said Gallogly has “an atypical resume for a university president. He is neither an academic nor a politician. We find that intriguing and refreshing.”

Gallogly aims for OU to be elite. For example, one of his goals “is to have the College of Engineering be on a par with the Purdues of the world, the MITs.”

That makes sense for Oklahoma, which will continue to need STEM graduates. Gallogly has spent a career working with (and hiring) them.

The OU regents and the selection committee should be commended for their work and innovation in pursuing a candidate who has all the tools to focus, implement, and guide efforts that position Oklahoma to address workforce needs, especially the need for more STEM-skilled employees.

Not only has Gallogly demonstrated the resume necessary for a proper academic focus, he has also demonstrated a personal financial commitment to significant private philanthropic efforts to advance education. Gallogly is so dedicated to helping OU succeed that he announced his resignation from the board of directors of Continental Resources so he can focus his time and energy on OU. This is a testament to how serious he takes his new role. Often, university presidents like to leverage their positions for lucrative positions on boards.

Gallogly will also bring his success helping complex organizations excellently manage resources. “I want to say to our legislature and our governor, we will be excellent stewards,” Gallogly says. “We will not have waste on campus.”

Reflecting on his emphasis on performance and results, Newsok.com reported Gallogly encouraged: “We aspire to greatness, nothing less. I will push very hard. I will ask a great deal. … We know what that looks like on the football field, don’t we? … We expect perfection, and we’re going to have that same standard in every single thing we do at this university.”

The regents have hired a forward-thinking chief executive who aims for academic excellence. “We should be one of the greatest institutions in the world,” he says.

Gallogly is a terrific hire indeed.

Jonathan Small serves as president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (www.ocpathink.org).