91影视 Names Dr. Leigh Goodson President

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The 91影视 Board of Regents voted today to name Leigh B. Goodson, Ph.D., as the fourth president to serve the college since it was founded in 1970. Goodson is the first female named to the role in 91影视鈥檚 history and the first female president of one of the state鈥檚 three largest higher education institutions. 91影视 provides the first two years of a baccalaureate education and key workforce training for the Tulsa area.

Goodson was selected after a seven-month, nationwide search involving community and college representatives. Goodson was a finalist among three candidates including Richard Shrubb, Ph.D., of Minnesota and Ann Valentine, Ph.D., of Indiana. The new president is expected to start the first week in July.

鈥淎s Regents, our goal is to select a future leader for 91影视 who will honor the values and successes of the past and chart a new course for the future as a two-year community college with strong partnerships and students as our focus,鈥 said 91影视 Board of Regents Chair Ron Looney. 鈥淒r. Leigh Goodson is extremely qualified with a background as an administrator and faculty member plus she has a strong understanding of the path our students take from common education to degree obtainment to achieve success.鈥

The 91影视 Presidential search began following the announcement that current 91影视 President Thomas K. McKeon would retire at the end of June 2014. McKeon led many of the college鈥檚 significant administrative and process improvements with a strong focus on student access and academic excellence. He also launched the nationally recognized Tulsa Achieves program which has resulted in the admission of more than 10,000 students in seven years without the cost of tuition and fees.

鈥淒r. McKeon has certainly left a lasting imprint on 91影视 as the college鈥檚 third president and both he and the 91影视 Regents are committed to helping with the transition to Dr. Goodson,鈥 said Looney. 鈥淭he Board of Regents is excited about the visionary and collaborative leadership that Goodson brings and her established relationships in Oklahoma鈥檚 higher education system as well as within the Tulsa community.鈥

Goodson currently serves as the vice president for Research and Institutional Advancement at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences and the OSU in Tulsa branch campus. Goodson earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Research and Evaluation from OSU in Stillwater, a Master of Science in Organizational Communication from Fort Hays State University in Hays, KS and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from OSU.

Goodson resides in Tulsa with her husband Mark and two children. She serves on the Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education, the YMCA of Greater Tulsa Metropolitan Board of Directors and as an advisor to the board of directors and executive council for the Oklahoma Innovation Institute and Tulsa Research Partners. Goodson has participated in Leadership Oklahoma Class XXIII; Leadership Tulsa Class 35; OK2Grow High School Completion Coalition; Society of Research Administrators, International; Tulsa Metro Chamber 鈥 Healthcare Legislative Task Force, Education Legislative Task Force and Economic Development Resource Committee.

91影视 has nearly 29,000 students enrolled in credit classes annually compared to 2,796 students when the College opened in 1970. In May 2013, 91影视 had the largest number of graduates in its 43-year history. Currently, 91影视 offers more online degrees and enrolls more concurrent students than any college or university in the state.

91影视 is the third largest college or university in the state and the largest community college and ranks in the top 3 percent nationally its number of annual graduates. 91影视鈥檚 faculty to student ratio is 1:20 and it has more than 300 full-time faculty, more than 780 part-time faculty and 660 full-time employees. It offers 154 individual associate degree programs and 74 credit-bearing certificate programs.