TULSA — The OU Board of Regents approved a merger between the graduate colleges in its Norman and Tulsa campuses, the naming of the Center of Russian Studies and personnel actions during its Thursday meeting.
The approved alignment of the two graduate colleges consolidates graduate education leadership under Randall Hewes, the Norman graduate college dean, according to the meeting agenda. Jim Sluss, the current dean of Tulsa’s graduate college, will serve as the interim president of OU-Tulsa.
OU President Joseph Harrroz said although the graduate college offices were separate, the Tulsa campus programs were often connected to those in Norman. He said the merger was led by Sluss, and he hopes it will allow students to progress more efficiently in their degrees.
Harroz also said the Center for Russian Studies’ new name and the story behind it will be announced Friday.
The board voted to transition Gary Raskob, the OU Health Sciences Center interim senior vice president and provost, into the role in a non-interim basis. As of Aug. 14, his annual salary changed from $470,586 to $615,000, according to the agenda.
Other personnel actions included Mark Morvant’s move to senior vice provost. The professor of chemistry and biochemistry and vice provost for instruction and student success came under fire in 2020 after a Medium article alleged he used Twitter to “bully and silence” critics of OU’s response to the pandemic.
As of July 1, Morvant’s annual salary increased from $185,000 to $225,000. The regents also approved a $22,000 stipend for serving as the interim dean of the University College in place of Nicole Campbell, who stepped down Aug. 15 to rejoin the Department of Psychology faculty, according to the agenda.
Raymond Orr, an associate professor and chair of the department of Native American studies, also left the university to take a new role at Dartmouth as an associate professor, according to the agenda. There is no one listed on the agenda to replace him.
Regent Natalie Shirley updated the board on deferred maintenance at OU, which she said has been challenging to address amid a decreased budgetary investment this year. Storms from the previous year caused damage to every building on campus, Shirley said, and OU is struggling with insurance reimbursements.
Shirley said the university’s facilities and property staff will continue to work with the state to address the issue.
The OU Board of Regents' next meeting will take place on Nov. 29-30 at the Norman campus.
