OU Board of Regents approved 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 Friday meeting.
College of International Studies
The news: The College of International Studies will move 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 faculty or staff positions and all existing degrees and instructional offerings will continue.
OU president addresses plans, changes to College of International Studies
“A lot of time and energy has gone into this. In a lot of places you’ll see quick action that takes place … that is totally contrary to how this recommended change has been brought forward,” OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. said.
Harroz said the College of International Studies faculty and staff held an internal vote on changing the designation, with a significant majority in favor of the change.
The College of International Studies enrolled 315 students in fall 2025, compared to 322 in fall 2024.
Harroz told the Daily after the meeting that he felt this designation change would help the College of International Studies grow its student populations.
“It’s a little too isolated on the college level, and we think we can grow the student populations way better, …” Harroz said. “It still keeps the name, still keeps everything, but it just has more resources available through Arts and Sciences.”
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.
The proposal will be forwarded to the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education for their information in accordance with the state regents’ policy.
The vote: The board passed the motion unanimously.
Appointing a new athletic director
The news: The board approved 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.
Former athletic director addresses OU regents after Roger Denny hire
Harroz said the board should consider the attention that went into choosing Denny.
“I do hope that as you think about all the attention that was aptly placed on Roger Denny being hired,” Harroz said. “We were able to discuss in a public setting all of the thought and discipline and strategy around: how do you meet the current moment in athletics?”
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 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.
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 his retirement. The Sooners won 26 national championships during his tenure.
Harroz invited Castiglione to the front of the room to give remarks about his time with the university.
“I just want to thank all of you and my colleagues out there for everything you've done to support our athletic program and our athletes because they are our top priority, …” Castiglione said. “ (I) wouldn’t have missed a moment to express my deepest gratitude, not just for myself, but my entire family, you well know. Thank you very much.”
OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. and Vice Chair Rick Nagel watch OU Athletic Director Joe Castiglione speak on his time at OU during the OU Board of Regents meeting on Jan. 30.
Castiglione received a standing ovation from the whole room.
The vote: The board passed the motion unanimously.
Substantive program changes
The news: The board approved adjusting eight degree programs to become 90-credit hour speciality degrees.
The eight programs would cut down the traditional 120-credit hour bachelor’s degree requirement by 30 hours through significant reductions in major-specific and general education coursework.
Degrees that will make the change are the bachelor’s in social work, applied artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital manufacturing, health care information systems, software development and integration, integrative studies, and interdisciplinary studies.
During his opening remarks, Harroz said the 90-credit hour degrees had been championed by Provost Wright with the goal of meeting students and workforce needs more efficiently.
OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. during the OU Board of Regents meeting on Jan. 30, 2026.
“One of the things that André challenged us on was, why does it have to be four years, why does it have to be 120 hours when there are critical needs in the state and where there are individuals that you know may not access that otherwise, or that would like to take those and go on?” Harroz said.
The program changes were first considered by the OU Academic Programs Council in December. According to documents posted on the OU Academic Program Council website, while all eight recommendations present different hour distributions and program changes, they all list that changes are being recommended to further support the mission of the university, Oklahoma State Regents of Higher Education’s priorities and the state’s economic growth through a strong graduate workforce.
The vote: The board unanimously passed the motion
Renaming of MidFirst Bank Suites
The news: The board approved extending the renaming of the MidFirst Bank Stadium Club and MidFire Bank Stadium Suites at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium as well as the MidFire Bank Courtside Club at the Lloyd Noble Center.
The approval extends the naming of the stadium club and suites through December 2031 and the naming of Lloyd Noble Center’s courtside club through March 2032.
Harroz said MidFirst Bank had been a longtime supporter of the OU and the university appreciated its support.
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.
The vote: The board passed the motion unanimously.
Presidential order of succession
The news: The board approved 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.
The vote: The board passed the motion unanimously.
Research Misconduct Policy
The news: The board approved 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 vote: The board passed the motion unanimously.
Athletics policy revision
The news: The regents approved 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.
Harroz said the goal of the policy is to help recognize the efforts of student athletes to balance their extracurriculars and academics.
“Ensure that we're recognizing the extent to which students have to take time that are student athletes for their contests, while also ensuring we've got a policy to maintain the rigor they need,” Harroz said
The vote: The board passed the motion unanimously.
Sabbatical changes
The news: The board approved 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.
Harroz said the revision was a collaboration between faculty and the provost
“We have to hold ourselves to the standards that we demand,” Harroz said. “There's an incredible use for sabbaticals, when done properly, and we have to make sure they're rewarded in a way that is consistent with those high standards, and that when they are awarded, that those individuals that are on sabbatical come back.”
The vote: The board passed the motion unanimously.
Personnel changes
The news: The regents approved a number of personnel changes, including those to key university and 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 athletic director to special assistant to athletic director. Naifeh’s salary will drop from an annualized rate of $357,889 to $286,311.
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.
The vote: The board passed the motion unanimously.
Chelsea Low, Vanessa Essien, Mary Ann Livingood and Gretchen Schultz copy edited this story.
