PRES. HARROZ: Hi, I'm Joe Harroz, President of the University of Oklahoma. I want to welcome you to our Conversations with the President. This platform gives me the chance to talk to some of the great people who make OU so special. Make sure you are subscribed to Conversations with the President, and you'll be the first to know when new episodes are released. Let's get started.
Alright, first things first, welcome to the show, the last episode was free speech week, which was an amazing episode, if you haven’t listened to it yet, Nadine Strossen did an absolutely terrific job. We talked about the fact that fall was on campus and things were absolutely buzzing. It was also homecoming week, and with homecoming week we had lots of celebrations and activities that all come with homecoming. For the second year in a row though, we celebrated the 2 billion‑dollar campaign that we have for fundraising with the vast majority of those dollars, once we raise them, going towards students, especially students that have financial need. We had the gala, if you didn't make it, it is recorded, you can watch it, it's usually popular.
And what you will hear is a big announcement that we are on track to raise the $2 billion. We are $900 million right now and making great progress. So a great evening, a great celebration and a great time to spend with those who are a huge part of this university with so many alumni and friends.
That brings us to this month, which as you know, November follows October, and here at the University of Oklahoma, like all of the nation, we celebrate the fact that this is Veterans Day, and we celebrate it during the month. We thought for this show we would bring in two individuals, one a student, one a member of our faculty who are both veterans who are really -- embody all that being in the military is. That spirit of service, selfless service to others.
I, if you are watching this, am not wearing a tie. I may have gotten the day wrong, and so this is meant as no disrespect. I have incredible respect for you two and the military and am grateful for you all being here. I will do brief introductions if that is okay of each of you, and each of you have resumes that would take up the entirety of this show. But let me just walk through a couple of them.
The first is a student of ours right now who is a junior here at OU, Harrison Anderson. He is pursuing a management information systems degree. Served 12 years in active duty in the U.S. Army, nine of those were spent as a Green Beret. During that time, he was deployed to Afghanistan twice, Iraq once and multiple other noncombat deployments worldwide. Finished his first active-duty time as the committee chair for Special Operations Command Cyber Training courses. Currently serves in the Oklahoma National Guard as a platoon sergeant, from one of the reconnaissance and sniper platoon and is president of the OU Student Veterans Association.
Welcome to the show and thank you for joining us.
HARRISON ANDERSON: Thank you for having us.
PRES. HARROZ: We have a lot of big questions for you.
HARRISON ANDERSON: Okay. Yes, sir.
PRES. HARROZ: But first we are going to introduce Shad. I have known Shad since I arrived here in 94, first as a student and then with all of these remarkable accomplishments. There are only three bullet points here, but there are so many more. You served in various roles at OU for 20 plus years, currently serve as the Director of the Executive Business Programs in Aerospace and Defense in the Price College of Business and doing an amazing job.
You are a retired colonel in the U.S. Army reserves and you served two tours in Afghanistan. I recall you departing for each one of those. And you are faculty advisor for the OU Student Veterans Association. A huge thank you for each of your service to this country. Couldn’t be more proud to have you all here and of all of our students that are veterans, I always say that of the two things I wish I had done in my life, one was would have loved to have tried being a prosecutor and the other one is to have served in the military.
My father, who is a first-generation student in 1947, he came to OU, and he was in the ROTC. Went and marched in the armory that we will talk about in a little bit, and then served as a captain after his residency in the military. So proud of that background. So let's start with these questions.
Why did you choose OU? Let's start with you, Harrison.
HARRISON ANDERSON: So Oklahoma has a pretty big spot in my heart. My family, both of my parents are from the State of Oklahoma. My dad went to OU, I think graduated in 77. And then my brother came here while I was still in the service, and he graduated about five years ago. So it kind of made sense that after I finished my time, that I would at least give it a shot. I tried college before, not so successful and was like I could probably do this again and do it at a better place than where I was previously. So really familial ties to the university, to the State of Oklahoma, and then also my family is here in Norman, just over kind of by Rudy's. And I have a 7‑year‑old, and so having that support and network was really, really important in making my choice on where I was going to go to school.
PRES. HARROZ: I'm guessing nine years in the Green Beret prepared you for having a 7‑year‑old.
HARRISON ANDERSON: Only so much. There is a little bit of controlled chaos that comes with having a boy that old, but it is a whole new learning experience, and I love every minute of it.
PRES. HARROZ: I wish I’d have had the training for raising three kids, that would have helped a lot. I want this next question for both of you, but let's start with -- I should say Dr. Satterthwaite, but I know you as Shad. Shad, you have ‑‑ I have had a chance -- we kind of walked together on our career journeys, but you have done the military piece, which I haven’t. When you think about your military career, how has it impacted your career trajectory and where you are today?
SHAD SATTERTHWAITE: Yeah, here at the University of Oklahoma, one of the things I would -- like Harrison said, it is very patriotic and veteran friendly, and that has been a nice thing throughout my career. OU has been very supportive on deployments. As you know we’ve had students, I remember our first deployment was about this time of year, leaves were coming down and I was gone. A group just knocked on our door, my wife opened it up and said can we rake your leaves, you know. So they raked all of the leaves up and she was just touched by that. That’s just how it is.
You remember Jerry Jensen who thought a lot of you when you were general counsel, you mentored him a lot, he was a Vietnam veteran, you know. And my second deployment, he came out of retirement to cover down for me during that time, and that’s just how OU has been the whole time I have been in the military. Very supportive and I have been very appreciative of that.
PRES. HARROZ: Yes, it's amazing, Jerry Jensen, you think of those names of the individuals that we have had a chance to get to know in our careers, and I love that combination, and I know whenever he came back to do that, he did talk about the fact that you were going to go serve our country, and he had done it before and wanted to backstop you.
Harrison, you are now a junior and you obviously had a remarkable career already in the military. How has that impacted your choice of degrees that you are pursuing, and what you think your future might look like.
HARRISON ANDERSON: So those last two years that I spent running those two kind of cyber training courses, is really what they were, really kind of pushed me into that realm. It opened up a whole bunch of new doors of something that I could do that was not as physical in nature as what I had previously done, but also translated into the civilian world. So speaking with my brother who went through the MIS program, now works for Paycom, he really enjoyed it. We had a lot of similarities in our background and training, and I looked at it and I said that is a great opportunity for me to kind of parlay my tech skills, and then also to help develop some of my leadership skills that I have in the military really move them over into the civilian side. So that is kind of what I was looking for when determining what degree program to go through.
And I think what the future looks like, I have no idea, but what I am hoping to get into is really cybersecurity or business information technology, and possibly also continuing to support veterans and working with veteran’s organizations just based on my experience so far working in the SVA has been incredibly rewarding so far.
PRES. HARROZ: Yeah, that is fantastic. I had to look towards a less physical role for myself careerwise after seventh grade tryouts for every sport, so sort of a little different time for you and me.
HARRISON ANDERSON: It's all right.
PRES. HARROZ: That’s fantastic. What a great way to think through strategically how to plan your career and how they work off of one another. So Shad, you know, you are the advisor, so you have seen a good number of student veterans come through. Tell us why you do this and tell us about the unique challenges that our students, that our veterans face.
SHAD SATTERTHWAITE: Yeah, the first time, Matt Hamilton and I are advisors for the Student Veterans Association. He is a staff advisor and I'm the faculty advisor. There was a student a number of years ago, before we really had a Student Veterans Association, he just came back from Iraq, and he was transitioning out of the service and came to the University of Oklahoma. And he was really struggling. He had a hard time with his classes and everything, and somehow, somebody gave him my name. I can't remember how I ended up talking to him exactly, but as I started visiting with him and he was explaining the situation, the biggest problem was that he didn't know how to use his time. He goes from a situation where he's running 24/7 operations and now all of a sudden, he’s just got classes. He might have two on Monday and then one or two on Tuesday, and throughout the week and what does he do with his time? It was really hard on him. That was the stressful part.
But in talking with him, we just kind of rephrased it a little bit. Let's think about this as a military problem and an operations order. If you have an objective, how would you accomplish that? And so through that, we just kind of looked at it taking his classes and assignments and so forth in a way that he understood, you know, in operational terms. And that seemed to work for him. He went on to become, if not the first one, the first president of the Student Veterans Association there and from there it started to grow because at that time, we were getting a lot of students that were coming out of combat zones in Afghanistan and Iraq too. And so Student Veterans Association just served a nice niche for them.
PRES. HARROZ: Yeah. Harrison, did I see you on social media earlier this week doing a piece on the Student Veterans Association?
HARRISON ANDERSON: Quite possibly. I don't know if I have seen it yet. I have been so busy this week that I haven't had a chance to take a look at it, but it is probably myself or some of the other student veterans that were a part of that.
PRES. HARROZ: I've seen some of the social media this week, and I think it's really great that people know about it. As the president, what were your goals coming into this role? And how do you feel it is going in terms of those goals that you have set.
HARRISON ANDERSON: So one of the big things I noticed when I stepped foot on campus last fall was while there are veteran supports at kind of the academic and administration level, I didn't really have like a big sense of community amongst veteran students. So I was kind of searching for it, and then speaking with Shad, I believe like February last year is when we did the pizza thing up in the union. Really just helped me understand, hey there is an organization on campus, however, COVID has really done a number on it and a lot of folks left, it was tough to kind of hold those social organizations together when you don't have a major space or a building, you know like some of the fraternities or sororities or other organizations might have. So I immediately was like this is perfect, this is right up my alley.
As a Green Beret, one of our jobs is to work with and build up partner forces and host nations and things like that. So I took that and was like, you know what, I need to build a community here. I came from a very tightknit element, and we have 12 guys on our team, and that was who you deployed with all around the world for six months at a time. And I wanted to take some of the elements of that, bring it to our veteran population here and really help it kind of grow and flourish because I recognized that, wow, it is really tough going from that tightknit of an element and an organization to a totally different culture, totally different environment where, you know, I am 34 going to class with 18 and 19 years old who speak almost an entirely different language is a massive culture shift, so how do I get folks to be able to speak a little bit of the same language and then also deal with that transition into kind of a more civilian realm from the previous culture that they had in the military? So far, I would say it's going pretty well.
A major portion of that is due to the veteran zone that was built and finished this last spring. We have a space where we can all go and hang out, just relax and talk about whatever or if we need to, there is another smaller space within there that I will go in there and I’ll see guys who used to be mortar men hanging mortar rounds in Afghanistan five years ago and now they are working on engineering formulas for chemical engineering or civil engineering, whatever it might be.
So having that space helped, and then we are doing a lot more events. Really pushing forward with it, and I'm sure Shad can speak a little bit better because he has been here longer and seen more change over time, but I think we're doing pretty good, I hope so at least.
PRES. HARROZ: What do you think Shad?
SHAD SATTERTHWAITE: Yeah, Harrison is doing a great job, and the University has been very supportive. That veteran zone is very nice, prime real estate right in the union, and I know those spaces don’t come easily, along easily, so we are very grateful.
PRES. HARROZ: Yeah, it's fascinating whether you come from the highly regimented space of the military or whether you are a brand‑new student coming in who is an 18‑year‑old, from either rural or urban Oklahoma or different state, it's interesting how this idea of feeling like you belong is so critical to success. I mean, it's one thing to have an opportunity and to have access to something, but this idea that you feel like you belong and you’re with people who support you, it's everything. We talk about the OU family, and I think that means that you are able to find people that you can really connect with in a way to make it like you are part of it. And I'm glad to hear the veteran zone is working and that it’s growing.
What is something that those of us who have not served in the military could do to make the campus more welcoming for veterans?
HARRISON ANDERSON: I would probably say, just as a student, just kind of get to know your students, particularly your veteran students. Generally, they are going to be older, they will probably have a few more leadership qualities than some of your 18 and 19‑year‑old kids. I know I also challenged my fellow veterans, student veterans, to like go and meet with the professor at the beginning of the semester, introduce themselves and be at the forefront. But just the understanding of hey, this is where they are coming from, they speak of a little bit of a different language. I had a really good conversation with my business communications professor this semester, kind of about hey this is how we ‑‑ this is the due dates versus suspense date. But really just getting to know their students as far as faculty and staff goes. And then fellow students don't be afraid to ask questions, if you find out somebody is a veteran, don't be afraid to ask questions. I think most folks are willing to share a little bit about their experience and things like that.
And then I also asked my fellow student veterans, don't be afraid to take pride in your service. Don't be afraid to say yes, I did this, and now I'm going on to my next objective, if you want to call it that. I think a little bit more knowledge on the faculty and staff side, I think would be great, and that is something that we need to provide and say hey these are some of the important things. And then a little bit more engagement on our end and taking pride in who we are and what we have done even though that's not what we do anymore, it's still kind of a big portion of your life.
PRES. HARROZ: Yeah, I can imagine that it is. Shad, you and I have been around for a while. You know, how have you seen the growth hopefully in how we make it a welcoming place for veterans, and what is your advice to those of us that want to show our gratitude, respect and support for those veterans.
SHAD SATTERTHWAITE: I think the University home does a good job with that. I don't know if I have anything to add to improve on that. When I was gone, my wife would go do something fun with the kids and say we feel bad we are having this fun time when you are over there. And I said no, I want you to have a good time. That's why we serve, not just for us, but for others. Even if you don't serve in uniform, I think everybody can be a good citizen. You don't have to have military service to serve in a community. And I think that is something we do very well here at the University of Oklahoma, and it makes the service that we have that much more worthwhile.
PRES. HARROZ: Are there any other support services that you think of that we can provide? I know that the zone is important, and that's great, but what else can we do. Is there anything that you can think of, Shad that we can do to make sure we are providing that level of support.
SHAD SATTERTHWAITE: You know, Goddard has been helpful is one example. I haven't heard of any needs there that they can’t accommodate. They have been very good in providing counseling and mental health services for those that need it. The Disability Resources Center has also been good to work with. I know there might be some students that may have some different experiences, but I think for the most part, we have been able to accommodate and provide services and a nice atmosphere very well.
PRES. HARROZ: Yeah. So what about the relationship with ROTC? I mean how does that relationship, when you come back as a veteran, are you engaged? I know we have a remarkable ROTC here at the University of Oklahoma, and I get to ‑‑ I love when the naval side runs the ball to OU/Texas successfully, I would add this year.
SHAD SATTERTHWAITE: You ran a leg I think, didn’t you?
PRES. HARROZ: I think I ran almost the entire way. I ran some 170 miles. I ran long enough for a picture and then I go as long as I can and then I fake a phone call and divert to the side. But how ‑‑ do you interact with the ROTC, Harrison?
HARRISON ANDERSON: We are starting to. The relationship wasn't really there kind of when I took over. We are starting to get there as far as our organizations go. It is also interesting as a veteran, as a senior noncommissioned officer, one of the things that we are charged with, and Shad can attest to this, is order and discipline, uniform and all those things. Every once in a while, the senior NCO in me comes out in me and I’ll see one of the cadets and say hey, come here man, your hat is on the wrong way or you didn't do this with your boots. So there is that kind of aspect to it, and I think a lot of veterans -- because we take pride in the uniform.
PRES. HARROZ: Absolutely.
HARRISON ANDERSON: We take pride in what we have done, and making sure that we put on our best because they are also representing the military community as a whole. But I think there is a lot of opportunity there for us to work together long term, it's just really now it’s building those relationships. We are in a big rebuilding phase of the Student Veterans Association. We are increasing membership, increasing events, things like that. So it's on the to do list. We are working on it, and I've got a really great team. An unbelievable team that is with me helping me achieve all these goals, but I think in the future, us and SVA and ROTC will have a lot of positive things here to come.
PRES. HARROZ: That is fantastic. Shad, when we think about just in the last year, we had a landmark gift given in 2018.
SHAD SATTERTHWAITE: The Mulvas?
PRES. HARROZ: Absolutely. You might talk a bit about that gift, and how it has impacted the atmosphere.
SHAD SATTERTHWAITE: That was really a neat gift. You know a lot of the buildings around on campus had been renovated and the armory had been a historic building that needed a lot of work, and they did a couple of things. They came in and provided financing for a renovation of the armory, and it looks fantastic because it has retained a lot of its traditional looks, the drill floor is the same, and it has that same special feel, but yet a lot nicer. Modern office space and classroom space, it makes it really nice. Then they also provided scholarships, and the ROTC cadets or midshipmen, it is different, but they are on a different path, they are just starting, but they still have that desire to serve, and anything we can do to help that, it's great. We have some great cadre in the ROTC programs, but the Mulvas also provided some funding for scholarships to help attract some just terrific ROTC students who are going to be future officers and leaders. So yeah, that was a neat, really a neat gift.
PRES. HARROZ: That was amazing. Jim and Mary Mulva gave $20 million, and it was 11 million to fix up the armory, 9 million for the scholarships for the ROTC. And it's interesting you know, I give a lot of speeches, and it's really rare that I will get shaken during a presentation, but it was -- whenever we were cutting the ribbon on the armory, and I was sitting there, and that cadets were all around and there were a lots of folks in the military, active and veterans that were in the audience, and I realized that my dad had been marching on that same floor. And then you think about the service that they provided and all of the conflicts they have gone into where they started their training on that floor in that armory, and I think it's beautiful that it has been redone and it will serve another 100 years, hopefully or more for that purpose, but it is to me fascinating and humbling to think about all that begins there. It is exciting.
SHAD SATTERTHWAITE: Special.
PRES. HARROZ: Now your journey, you have done almost everything at this university from student to faculty to staff.
SHAD SATTERTHWAITE: Seems like I bounce around a lot. That’s true.
PRES. HARROZ: Tell us about your current assignment at the University and how that’s going.
SHAD SATTERTHWAITE: Yeah. This is a really cool assignment. So about three years ago, the Price College of Business started an executive MBA in aerospace and defense. And so it’s for working professionals in our aerospace and defense. We get a lot of veterans in there where some people are active duty that may want to transition out or just want to be able to get an MBA. It's mostly online, but there are three residency weeks. And so we have a lot of people from the services, major contractors like Boeing, Raytheon, Pratt and Whitney, but Oklahoma, this was a great spot for aerospace and defense.
I know you talk about the strategic plan a lot and that is, I know, a key component of it there, but here in Oklahoma, that is where there’s just to me, a lot of excitement right now. We have five military bases and with that, that’s attracted a lot of these defense companies. And so there’s a need to do two things. One is to provide people to fill jobs in these industries, engineers in particular. They can take all of our engineers every year and still not have enough.
But at some point, those engineers may want to go into management or look for career opportunities promotions and things, and so that is where we come in where they can get an MBA focused on aerospace and defense, and it is really cool. We are starting in January a new graduate certificate in commercial space applications as part of that. And we have had students from space force and NAS in our programs already, so that is just one more thing we can do. We are very excited about that. A lot of veterans in that program too and for me I had to retire. The Army gave me the boot a few years ago, so this way I could still feel like I’m in the game even though I can't put my uniform on anymore. It’s just been a blessing to us.
PRES. HARROZ: We have some great graduates already. Adam Puey, he’s one of the leaders in the state legislature and is one of our grads. And it’s making a big difference. You talked about the strategic plan, which is one of my favorite topics.
SHAD SATTERTHWAITE: I know.
PRES. HARROZ: And you know, part of that is we had to decide who we are, what is our identity and where do we as a university want to go? You can't be great at everything. So what do you choose? One of our four strategic research areas under that strategic plan is aerospace, defense and national security. It is a space that we are very proud of, we are really good at, and getting better and are committed to. So how does your program that you run in the Price College of Business fit into the broader Oklahoma Aerospace and Defense Initiative that we as a university are university wide investing in?
SHAD SATTERTHWAITE: Yeah, so yesterday, I was at the Oklahoma Aerospace forum, and they had a panel on workforce development and that is really important right now. There are some neat things going on and OU is partnering with Norman Public Schools, for example, with the Aviation Academy. I know aviation is part of it, but it feeds into the bigger picture because we need so many jobs that we can't provide enough of them in state. Sometimes we have to go out of state, and I don't like when we have to do that. So the more training we can provide and the more opportunities for career progression and professional development, the better. And that's one of the things where Price College I think is stepping into that game and it's a contribution we can make to help there.
PRES. HARROZ: You know, one of the hopes with this strategic plan and being very clear about what our identity is, and saying with absolute pride, aerospace defense and national security is one of our four key strategic areas for this university. You know, part of our hope is that it does drive more individuals that are in the military and then want to pursue an education afterwards, that they realize this is a place where they are not just welcome, but they belong. That they are part of this university family and that we couldn’t have more pride in them. So I think, hopefully, Harrison, as you continue in this leadership role and over the next two years as you get your degree, any thoughts or ideas you have on how we can really communicate that we are beyond proud of those who are serving and we want them here. We love that, and hopefully that we show it not just by words, we don't just celebrate it one day out of the year on Veterans Day, but we say this is our commitment. I always think that one of the great lines about strategic plans is, you know, take a look at where someone is spending their money and that will tell you what their strategic plan is. Our investment in aerospace, defense and national security, hopefully provides a clear message to veterans that this is the place for you.
HARRISON ANDERSON: Absolutely.
PRES. HARROZ: And you told us what you are pursuing in your degree. What does success look like for you and a career 10 years from now?
HARRISON ANDERSON: I can't even begin to think about that. I’m really focused on making sure that I get through here, and get my undergraduate degree with a high GPA, but also leave this university, particularly the Student Veterans Association and that population much better off than the way that I found it. That will be my first level of success. The next will be making sure that I get a solid job, hopefully still here in the State of Oklahoma. I love it here. I was in North Carolina for 12 years, it is a great state, I like Oklahoma heck of a lot better, and I really want to plan to stay here.
There are so many opportunities between the aerospace and defense industry, you’ve got Paycom, Loves, Sonic, all of those.
PRES. HARROZ: Your brother works at Paycom?
HARRISON ANDERSON: He does. Yes, sir, and he loves it. Absolutely loves it up there, so really anything I can do in that space or even if it is starting my own small business. You know, I had a great entrepreneurship class as part of my mandatory schooling, and I absolutely loved it. And kind of gave me a little bit of inspiration to say hey, you know, that's something I can do. Really, the 5‑meter, 25‑meter goal or target is colloquially as we have said in my previous life is get through graduation, make sure I get great grades, and leave the SVA better off than how I found it. And then just get a decent job and a decent industry and be able to put my degree and my experience to use to better that company and that kind of industry overall.
PRES. HARROZ: Well, I may not be an expert on the military, but I’ve got some background in academic preparation and those who will succeed in careers, and Harrison, you shouldn’t be looking for good. I mean your remarkable talent and what you have done and achieved so far is stunning, and there is no limit to what you can accomplish. I love that you are coming out, you know, with the cybersecurity emphasis. There is unlimited opportunity there, civilian and military side, and you know, just -- there is no cap on what you can accomplish.
HARRISON ANDERSON: I appreciate that.
PRES. HARROZ: Shad, before we wrap this up, tell me what have I missed, what should we be talking about that I haven't covered yet.
SHAD SATTERTHWAITE: Yeah, I think it’s neat having a student in on this conversation here, and Harrison is a good one for that. I think he, like you said he encapsulates a lot of what we hope for with our students, and I agree with you, President Harroz, he’s got a great future ahead too.
PRES. HARROZ: Yeah, it's so exciting and so inspiring, and I'm really proud that we are now three years into the strategic plan, and I love ‑‑ it's amazing to see the team that we have assembled. It's also so exciting to see the results that we are seeing. We are up 11% this year in our record freshman class. I shouldn't be saying this, but right now for next year, we are already up potentially double digits for next year's class. Our research is growing in exciting ways in these areas that we have chosen, and aerospace, defense and national security are such a huge part of that. We know that aerospace and defense is the second biggest part of the Oklahoma economy, and so critical to our nation and world order as a whole.
I just can't say thank you enough, Harrison, to you for your service to this country and your participation and your giving back once again by being not just a student, but leading the Student Veterans Association. Shad, on the way over here, they knew I was coming, the folks in my office knew I was coming here with you and they said tell Shad hi. I said I won't do it. He’s always been more popular than me. You are a role model, you are the kind of leader that doesn’t shout it but lives it every day. And when I think about what constitutes a heartbeat of this University, it’s those unique individuals like you who have given it away that is quiet and selfless service that has a huge impact. And as a friend and as a colleague as an example to so many folks, thank you. We could not be more proud of both of your military service, and we are going to continue to do all we can to make sure that those students that are going to be in the military and are going through ROTC or have served before know that this is their home. This is a place where they are fundamental to who we are and where we are going. So beyond grateful to you two. For those who are watching and listening right now, please continue to like us and follow us. Thank you for joining us for this episode and look forward to you joining us for our next episode of Conversations with the President.
Thank you.
