NEWS
Dear OU Community,
I write to announce that Dr. Gary Raskob will serve as our Senior Vice President and Provost for the OU Health Sciences Center, pending approval by the OU Board of Regents. Serving in this position in an interim capacity since January, Dr. Raskob has helped usher the campus into a new chapter during a transformational period for our university and for the future of our state. A fixture at our university now for over 30 years, Dr. Raskob has earned deep respect across OU and beyond for his trustworthy and visionary leadership, and he is highly esteemed globally in the field of public health.
We are grateful to the members of our search committee for their participation in the national search process, which attracted 21 qualified applicants. The search committee – made up of 11 members, included representatives from the Colleges of Allied Health, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health, and Dentistry; OU-Tulsa; Administration and Finance; the Health Sciences Center Provost’s Office; Student Government Association; and the OU Foundation – interviewed six semifinalists, ultimately selecting four finalists.
Prior to Dr. Raskob’s appointment as Interim Provost at the beginning of this year, he served as Dean of the Hudson College of Public Health for 20 years – making him the longest-serving dean at OU when he was named to his interim role. With more than three decades of experience in public health research and education, Dr. Raskob is considered one of the world’s foremost experts on thrombosis and antithrombotic therapy. During his career, he has held several national leadership roles in the field of public health, including serving as an advisor to the CDC and the National Institutes of Health. His career at OU began in 1991 and through the years has seen progressive leadership responsibilities, providing invaluable expertise that has enhanced the academic and research mission of our university.
As dean, Dr. Raskob has championed the growth and stature of Hudson College, with extramural grant and contract funding seeing an increase by more than fourfold, and the college earning national recognition as a top 10 program in academic public health by College Magazine. The Hudson College of Public Health also saw incredible fundraising success, including the creation of 30 endowed scholarships, a leadership gift securing the college’s naming, and substantial increases in student financial support, with more than $1 million in financial assistance given to students during last academic year.
Over the past seven months, Dr. Raskob has devoted a significant amount of focus toward the completion of the OU Health Sciences Center Strategic Plan, which will be presented to the OU Board of Regents this fall. He understands the vital importance of growing our state’s health care workforce pipeline, and he played a pivotal role in shepherding our plan to dramatically increase enrollment in our Nursing program.
One of the most critical aspects of how we best position our university and our academic health system for long-term success is by building a solid academic and research partnership with our hospital partner, OU Health. Dr. Raskob’s collaborative nature and scholarly expertise have strengthened this relationship as we progress forward. His track record in research, particularly in collaborative clinical trial research, will further enhance the advancements we are making together with OU Health to markedly strengthen our national recognition as a top-tier, research driven academic health system.
Dr. Raskob earned a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from OU in 1999, and in 1985 he earned his Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Research Methodology from McMaster University. He is also a graduate of the University of Toronto, having earned a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacology with Honors.
His extensive knowledge and significant leadership experience in medical research, as well as his demonstrated ability to effectively build strategic collaborations to achieve institutional goals, make him an outstanding choice to lead our Health Sciences Center as its next Senior Vice President and Provost.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Raskob and wishing him success in his role.
Live On, University,
Joseph Harroz, Jr.
President
