Dear Colleagues,
I write today to share an update about the structure of OU-Tulsa leadership. Next month will be the two-year mark since our Tulsa campus has been led by an Interim President. This stretch of time has afforded us the opportunity to assess with clarity how we can most effectively achieve OU’s ambitions in Tulsa while driving the city, our university, and the state forward.
Over the past two years, we’ve poured a considerable amount of energy into our Tulsa strategy. Much of this work has been led by OU-Tulsa Interim President Jim Sluss, who has provided exceptional leadership through a number of critical moments for the campus, including the development of the “Lead On, Tulsa” Strategic Vision and the launch of the OU Polytechnic Institute, all while shepherding more opportunities for interdisciplinary education, research, and collaborations, both internally and externally. Dr. Sluss is a pillar in the OU-Tulsa community, and we continue to be enormously grateful for his steady and outstanding leadership.
The momentum we’ve seen at OU-Tulsa is only the beginning of what we believe is possible for the University of Oklahoma in this part of the state. It has also revealed that in order to best position OU-Tulsa for continued success within the framework of our university-wide Strategic Plan, the appropriate organizational structure needs to be in place. Developing the blueprint for OU’s future has required us to be bold, honest, and clear-eyed. As we contemplated our dreams for OU in Tulsa through this lens, we faced several core truths: We know that higher education in Tulsa has been historically complex – something that has regrettably held Tulsa back. We also know that Tulsa deserves better.
As we looked at the role OU must play in driving the city and our state forward, we found that in many ways, OU-Tulsa’s current leadership structure is not optimized to achieve our goals and has unintentionally placed limitations on our Tulsa programs. OU-Tulsa’s President has had a broad title but a limited and, at times, unclear authority. Our academic programs in Tulsa all report up through a Dean on either the Norman or Health Sciences Center campus. The director of the OU Polytechnic Institute reports to our Norman Provost. While the creation of a president on the Tulsa campus was well-intentioned and worked historically, the existence of two presidents has not only been a point of confusion, for reasons beyond OU’s control, it makes OU-Tulsa a separate institution by definition, meaning that its research impacts do not count toward the university.
To remedy these challenges, and to support the Tulsa campus’ promising trajectory, the position of OU-Tulsa President is transitioning to a Vice President role. The Vice President for OU-Tulsa will function like other executive officers at OU, reporting up through the Office of the President. We are launching a nationwide search to fill the role of Vice President for OU-Tulsa. Dr. Sluss will continue in his interim role throughout the search process.
This change in organizational structure does not downplay OU-Tulsa’s impact on the larger university; in fact, this redesign will unlock an even greater degree of harmony between the two, giving OU-Tulsa the necessary resources, accountability, and operating autonomy to best achieve its goals. We have big, broad ambitions for Tulsa, but we have to have the right structure in place to support these exciting goals.
Our commitment to Tulsa is greater than ever, and OU-Tulsa’s impact on northeastern Oklahoma is an incredible source of pride for our entire university. It’s our belief that this change will only make these efforts stronger.
Live On, University,
Joseph Harroz, Jr.
President
