Following a tumultuous first year at the university, James Gallogly has announced his intent to retire only eleven months into the OU presidency, setting up a need for a new presidential search.
To select the next OU President, the Board of Regents will appoint members to a search committee which is recommended to be made up of faculty, students and staff according to the Regents Policy Manual.
The appointees are chosen based on twice as many nominations from “official faculty, staff and student governance organizations on each campus,” the manual states, although faculty will make up the majority.
The Board of Regents may also “designate other members as deemed appropriate,” according to the manual.
The 2018 presidential search for Gallogly caused controversy with its lack of transparency, as none of the names of the over 70 applicants for the position were released at any time throughout the process. Former dean of the Price College of Business Daniel Pullin was the only candidate to voluntarily release that he was being considered, and has since taken a job at Texas Christian University.
Last year’s presidential search committee consisted of 17 members: 5 faculty members with 1 vote each, two staff members with 1/2 a vote each, three students with ⅓ a vote each, and 7 outside members with one vote each. The committee was confirmed a little over a month after former OU President David Boren announced his retirement.
Notable members of the committee included David Rainbolt, dean of OU's Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education Gregg Garn and former SGA vice president Cameron Burleson, among others.
The university also hired executive search firm Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates to help with the recruitment and vetting of candidates in last year’s presidential search, which was paid more than $250,000 throughout the process.
According to a statement from the university, the Regents and Gallogly are “working together on laying out a plan for a smooth transition,” and it is yet to be seen when a search committee will be put together.
