OU Board of Regents will discuss changing the designation of the David L. Boren College of International Studies to a school under the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences during its meeting Friday.
The meeting will be held at 8:30 a.m. at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art on OU’s Norman campus.
College of International Studies
The board will consider changing the designation of the College of International Studies from a stand-alone college to a school within the College of Arts and Sciences.
According to the meeting agenda, the change would not eliminate any facility or staff positions and all existing degrees and instructional offerings will continue.
“The proposed change streamlines the University’s academic structure by reducing administrative duplication and consolidating leadership, business operations, and support services within a single college,” the agenda reads.
The College of International Studies enrolled 315 students in fall 2025, compared to 322 in fall 2024.
The College of International Studies in Farzaneh Hall on Norman campus Nov. 19, 2019.
The university has been considering this change for roughly three years, and College of International Studies faculty and staff, interim dean Jonathan Stalling and Provost André-Denis Wright have been involved in discussions about the change, according to the agenda.
Following regents approval, the proposal will be forwarded to the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education for their information in accordance with the state regents’ policy.
Appointing a new athletic director
The board will consider the appointment, compensation and contract of Roger Denny as OU’s next athletic director following the July announcement of athletic director Joe Castiglione’s intent to retire.
Denny has served as Illinois’ deputy athletic director and chief operating officer since July 2021. Prior to his position at Illinois, Denny was an attorney at the St. Louis office of law firm Spencer Fane LLP where he had worked as a partner since 2015 with an industry focus on sports businesses. Denny advised clients on transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, executive compensation and taxation, private equity and corporate finance.
If approved, Denny will begin his role as athletic director on Feb. 15.
Castiglione has served 28 years as OU's athletic director and will step into an emeritus role following the hiring of his successor. The Sooners won 26 national championships during his tenure.
OU Vice President and Director of Athletics Joe Castiglione during ESPN's "College GameDay" on Sept. 6.
Renaming of MidFirst Bank Suites
The board will consider extending the naming of the MidFirst Bank Stadium Club and MidFirst Bank Stadium Suites at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium as well as the MidFirst Bank Courtside Club at the Lloyd Noble Center.
The suites debuted in 2017 in honor of MidFirst Bank’s financial contributions to OU. In 2024, MidFirst Bank made additional cash donations to OU athletics through the Inspiring Champions Fund across fiscal years 2025 through 2027, according to the agenda.
If approved, the proposal would extend naming of the stadium’s club and suites through December 2031 and the naming of Lloyd Noble Center’s courtside club through March 2032.
President order of succession
The board will consider a policy clarifying the order of succession if the president is absent, unable to act or if there is a vacancy in the office. The order of succession is intended to be temporary and would not exceed 15 days unless extended by the OU Board of Regents chair.
The order of succession for a temporary absence is listed as the following:
1) Senior vice president and provost of the Norman campus
2) Senior vice president and provost of the Health campus
3) Vice president and general counsel
4) Vice president of executive affairs
5) Senior vice president for strategy and finance
In the event the president resigns, is incapacitated, takes an extended leave of absence or is otherwise unable to perform the duties of president for a long period, the board will appoint an interim president. Until that interim role is filled, the order of succession is applicable.
Max Westheimer Airport project
The board will consider approving a bid for construction at Max Westheimer Airport from Moore-based Silver Star Construction Company Inc. The contract would be for $25,453,139.12 and the total estimated project budget would be $29,200,000.
The bid is part of the Max Westheimer Airport Airfield Optimization project, approved as part of the 2025 Campus Master Plan of Capital Improvements Projects for the Norman campus.
The project includes upgrades to runways and the runway and airfield lighting system as well as a new parallel taxiway and construction on existing taxiways.
Research Misconduct Policy
The board will consider approving a new Research Misconduct Policy for OU’s Norman campus to adhere to changes in federal regulations governing research misconduct.
Research misconduct on the Norman campus previously fell within the scope of the Ethics in Research Policy, according to the agenda. The new Research Misconduct Policy will govern all externally funded research on the Norman campus. The Ethics in Research Policy will continue to govern all university-funded research.
Updates to the policy include redefinitions of terms, clearer designation of roles and establishment of new procedures.
The Ethics in Research Policy will also be revised to align with the new Research Misconduct Policy.
Athletics policy revision
The regents will consider revising the Regents’ Purpose of Intercollegiate Athletics Policy. The proposed revisions would make exceptions for days missed for conference and NCAA post-season competition when considering approval of a team or individual schedule. The rule states that a schedule cannot be approved if it results in more than 10 class days missed in a semester.
Sabbatical changes
The board will consider revisions to the Sabbatical Leave Policy. The revisions would expand and clarify the policy’s statement of purpose by more explicitly connecting sabbatical leave’s purpose to the university’s mission.
According to the agenda, revisions also include updated terminology and revised procedures, including documentation, review criteria and the role of chairs, deans and senior administrators in evaluating applications for sabbatical.
Personnel changes
The regents will consider a number of personnel changes, including those to key university and OU Athletics leadership.
Kalenda Eaton, professor of African and African American Studies, will be given the additional titles of associate dean of the Honors College and Reach for Excellence chair in Honors. Eaton will receive a salary raise to $164,227 from $115,670.
Larry Naifeh will have his title changed from executive deputy athletics director to special assistant to athletic director. Naifeh’s salary will drop from an annualized rate of $357,889 to $286,311.
OU executive deputy athletic director Larry Naifeh during the Walk of Champions on Dec. 19.
The agenda lists the resignation of Woody Glass from his role as football operations administrator. In 2023, the regents approved Glass’ promotion to football operations administrator from special assistant to the head coach. Glass has been with OU since 2022.
The agenda also lists the retirement of Bob Stoops, former OU football head coach, from his role as athletics senior administrative manager.
OU gifts, statements of revenue
Across 19 donors, OU athletics received a total of $91,958,000. OU athletics also received an undefined portion from a $5,150,000 donation from Valero Services Inc. that also supports the Gallogly College of Engineering and the Michael F. Price College of Business.
Private gifts to the university have decreased by roughly $2 million over the past year, dropping from $5,778,000 to $3,557,000.
According to the agenda, between September 2025 and September 2024, student tuition and fees have increased by roughly $28 million, rising from $200,318,000 to $228,224,000. Federal grants have also increased from $44,474,000 to $46,658,000.
In line with promises from university leadership, scholarships have drastically increased, jumping from $3,943,000 to $8,138,000 in the course of a year.
Overall, OU has risen in net position from last year by roughly $45 million.
Audrey McClour contributed to the reporting of this story. Mary Ann Livingood and Tori Pham copy edited this story.
