NEWS
NORMAN, OKLA. – Four faculty members from the University of Oklahoma have been named 2025-26 Fellows of the Southeastern Conference Academic Leadership Development Program, an initiative aimed at preparing the next generation of academic leaders to meet the evolving challenges of higher education.
“Each of our 2025 SEC Academic Leadership Development Program Fellows has made a lasting impact through their leadership, innovation and commitment to the OU community,” said OU Senior Vice President and Provost André-Denis Wright. “We celebrate this tremendous accomplishment and look forward to their continued contributions to our university and beyond.”
This year’s OU fellows are:
John P. Masly, Ph.D., associate director in the School of Biological Sciences, Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences
Robin Minthorn (Kiowa), Ph.D., professor and department chair of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education
Anne E. Pate, Ph.D., associate professor in Public and Community Health Programs, Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences, and director of Undergraduate Public Health and Population and Community Health, Hudson College of Public Health
Kevin Sauer, Ph.D., professor and chair, College of Allied Health, OU Health Sciences
OU Vice Provost Sarah Ellis, Ph.D., oversees the selection process for OU. “Programs like the SEC Academic Leadership Development Program have elevated academic collaboration and leadership across the conference,” Ellis said. “This initiative truly exemplifies how joining the SEC has benefited OU well beyond the playing field.”
The SEC Academic Leadership Development Program features three components: university-level development initiatives tailored by each member institution; two three-day, SEC-wide workshops hosted by selected campuses; and a competitive fellowship program for former fellows seeking advanced leadership experience.
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.
Engineering Days at the University of Oklahoma give high school students direct exposure to engineering through hands-on, discipline-based experiences on campus. The program brings rising juniors and seniors to the Norman campus for one-day sessions led by OU faculty and supported by current engineering students.
The University of Oklahoma College of Medicine has been awarded a five-year, $10.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to create the Oklahoma Center for Biomedical Research Excellence in Sensory Biology. The center will serve as a hub for research into how cells sense and respond to their environment and the diseases that can occur when that process malfunctions.
Four University of Oklahoma faculty members have been selected to be a part of the 2026-27 cohort of Fellows of the Southeastern Conference’s Academic Leadership Development Program, an initiative designed to identify, prepare and promote the next generation of academic leaders in the SEC to meet current and future challenges in higher education.
