Late last night while you were probably sleeping or drunk texting, the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents announced that law school dean – and former David Boren staffer – Joseph Harroz, Jr. drew the short stick and will be the school's new interim president.
In his new role, Harroz will more than likely...
A) Help the university rebuild and regroup after Jim Gallogly's 10-month reign of terror.
B) Work to rebuild trust with students, faculty and alumni.
C) Try to figure out a way to halt, cover up or brush under the rug the university's investigation into David Boren's sexual misconduct allegations.
Here are more details via Tulsa World:
The University of Oklahoma named Joseph Harroz, Jr., its interim president early Friday. Harroz is the dean of the OU College of Law and a former congressional staffer of retired President David Boren.
In a statement issued at 2:30 a.m. — more than six hours after a special meeting began in Oklahoma City — regents chair Leslie J. Rainbolt-Forbes made the announcement.
“The regents were well aware of Harroz’s capabilities from the thorough vetting done by the presidential search committee last year,” Rainbolt-Forbes said in the statement. “It was through that process we were reminded how contagious his passion and enthusiasm are and how seriously he takes accountability and responsibility.”
Wow. That's some strong praise! In fact, it's almost as strong as what the OU regents said about Gallogly, back when he was hired!
“Jim Gallogly is a world-class, in-demand transformative leader, and we’re honored to have him as our new president,” said Clayton I. Bennett, chairman of OU’s Board of Regents. “Throughout his career, he’s been incredibly successful. He is a builder known for having strategic vision, for managing large and complex organizations, and for mentoring and inspiring great teams to achieve results – leadership qualities we value for the future. Jim’s skill-set is a perfect match for this unique time in our history."...
Thank goodness we have such a wise, affluent group of people like the OU Board of Regents to make such important hires for the state. Considering how right they were on Gallogly, you have to feel pretty confident that Harroz is the correct hire!
Here's more about Harroz from the OU website:
Joseph Harroz, Jr. became the 12th Dean of the University of Oklahoma College of Law and 7th Director of the OU Law Center on July 1, 2010. He teaches in the area of employment law and healthcare law.
He is a native Oklahoman and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a B.A. in Economics and a minor in Zoology. He received his Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center and was an associate editor of the Journal of Law and Policy in International Business. While in Washington D.C., Harroz served as Legislative Director and Legal Counsel to then-U.S. Senator David L. Boren.
Although he's a self-serving, conservative, political opportunist who has long been accused of sexually harassing male aides like Harroz, you have to give David Boren credit for making it through the Gallogly-era relatively unscathed. Sure, he's bumped and bruised, but his network of spiders helped insure that Gallogly would never succeed, and now he gets one of his loyal cronies to serve as president. That's impressive!
Anyway, Harroz is definitely accomplished and deserving of the position. Look at what the OU law school has done under his leadership:
OU College of Law accomplishments of the last seven years include: achieving the highest U.S. News & World Report ranking ever earned by an Oklahoma law school; being named a Best Value Law School each year; consistently leading the state in Bar Exam passage rates; being a Top 20 moot court program school for its fifth consecutive years, and in 2017 rising to No. 2 in the nation; setting new pro bono service hour records each year, with more than 23,000 in 2017; doubling the size of its scholarship endowment; increasing its annual giving by more than five times; increasing the annual amount of scholarship money given to students to more than $1.5 million; creating joint degree and certificate programs to enhance the J.D.; and launching the nation’s first-ever law school Digital Initiative preparing students for success in the legal profession in the 21st century.
Yeah, he may want to delete the U.S. News and World Report bit. That accomplishment hasn't aged well.
