The OU Board of Regents approved a search committee for a new Honors College dean, additional and ongoing renovations to Jacobson Hall and a project budget for renovations to Max Westheimer Airport’s hangar and infrastructure during its meeting Friday afternoon.
The search committee for the Honors College dean, which would be chaired by Graduate College Dean Randall Hewes, would fill the role that has been left open since 2017, when Doug Gaffin replaced David Ray to serve as interim dean. Gaffin served as interim dean until July 2020, and Rich Hamerla succeeded him as interim dean.
OU announced in October that Kelvin White, associate professor of information studies and senior associate dean for faculty and community in the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences, will succeed Hamerla as the next interim dean of the college, making White the third interim dean since Ray left in 2017.
OU President Joseph Harroz commended White’s work as interim dean and said the committee will help fill the position in the future.
Also on the search committee is Honors College faculty member Ben Alpers, associate professor of American intellectual and cultural history. Valerie Watts, OU professor of flute and faculty-at-large representative; John P. Masly, associate director of the OU School of Biological Sciences and faculty senate representative; Lori Kemmet, coordinator for Honors College and National Merit recruitment and Honors College representative; and Jonathan Still, associate director of assessment, research and special projects in the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and staff senate representative, will also serve on the committee. OU’s Student Government Association representative would be Corbin Walls, an Honors College and Arts and Sciences senior.
During his opening remarks, Harroz discussed the rising cost of tuition. He said while the price of tuition has increased, the university has provided scholarships and waivers that have reduced the net cost for students.
College Board’s Trends in College Pricing and Student Aid 2023 report found total undergraduate enrollment at public four-year institutions in the U.S. declined by 3% between fall 2019 and fall 2021. In the same time period, the report found that Oklahoma’s total undergraduate enrollment declined by over 5%.
“We’ve made sure that there is a place for those that have the talent and the ability even if the money isn’t there,” Harroz said.
The Board of Regents also approved a Phase 1 project budget of $3,500,000 for the College of Nursing Success Center & Classrooms project.
Harroz said the university has an obligation to lift up the workforce of the state of Oklahoma.
According to the Oklahoma Nurses Association, there are 712 nurses per 100,000 Oklahoma residents, ranking the state 46th in the nation in terms of nurses per capita.
Harroz said this project would allow nursing students and faculty to be successful.
The Board of Regents approved upgrades and renovations to the Bizzell Memorial Library’s HVAC equipment with a total project budget of $11 million. The original equipment will be replaced with new equipment and the systems will be updated with modern direct digital controls. In an effort to improve the energy performance, the windows on the north face will be replaced with high efficiency type windows. The project will also address the deterioration of the windowsills and masonry and renovate the public bathrooms.
The Board of Regents also approved additional renovations and changes to Jacobson Hall. The regents authorized university administrators to contract and make payments not to exceed $11.9 million. They also approved the design development phase plans for the project and authorized the preparation of construction documents.
In May 2022, the regents approved the Jacobson Hall project as part of Harroz’s Campus Master Plan of Capital Improvement Projects for the Norman Campus to renovate and modernize the building. The estimated total cost of the project is $15 million with funding from the Federal Aviation Administration and Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission grants, donors and other university funds.
The regents approved a project budget for renovations and upgrades to the Max Westheimer Airport hangar and infrastructure. The estimated project budget is $5 million, with funds coming from a combination of Federal Aviation Administration and Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission grants, donors and university funds.
André-Denis Wright, senior vice president and provost, announced OU’s School of Aviation is ranked as the #1 collegiate aviation school in the country by FLYING Magazine in 2022.
“We provide the best value for our students to get their pilot’s license compared to any other school across the country,” Wright said.
Wright announced a new helicopter degree program in the aviation school. The plan is to have 35 new professional pilot/helicopter freshmen in the fall.
The regents also approved the salaries for various coaches such as Todd Bates, Bill Bedenbaugh, Seth Littrell and Joe Jon Finley, among many others.
Read more:
This story was edited by Peggy Dodd and Karoline Leonard.
