February 1, 2024 Vol. 24, No. 37
In This Issue FOUR SEASONS
Job about giving back New UCO president ‘relationship guy’
Four Seasons, by Kevin Box, in real life is located in front of the Center for Transformative Learning on the UCO campus, but this week is hidden somewhere in our paper. Email contest@edmondpaper.com with the correct location to be entered in the weekly drawing. For more information, see page 4.
Exhibit on the circus coming to History Museum See Page 9 PHOTO BY PATTY MILLER
Old North offices the University of Central Oklahoma’s President Todd Lamb, inset who recently completed his first semester as head of the university.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2 Partly Cloudy High 62° Low 50°
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 3 Rain High 57° Low 40°
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4 Showers High 48° Low 35°
By Patty Miller Old North offices the University of Central Oklahoma’s President Todd Lamb who recently completed his first semester as head of the university. Lamb had been encouraged by former presidents of other universities as well as friends and mentors who have a commitment to education to look at the job of president when it opened.. Among those mentors were Carl Reherman, a former Edmond mayor and George Nigh, former president of UCO as well as a former Oklahoma governor. “UCO is a fantastic university with positives about the institution and the people,” Lamb said. He added UCO is the only state metropolitan university. Morale low President Lamb believes in meeting problems head on and his first problem was wrapped around the morale found on campus among faculty and students. Lamb said one of his first jobs he had at UCO was to improve campus
morale among the staff and students. And with that Lamb set about getting to know the people who make up the campus. “I am a relationship guy,” Lamb added, “and I try to be visible.” Lamb tries to meet students where they are as well as inviting students to sign up to meet him every two weeks in an informal setting. He added that he may buy students a cup of coffee at the campus coffee shop, Starbucks. Lamb said he has encouraged faculty members to invite him to their classrooms so they as well as their students can get to know him. Lamb said he tries to find a common denominator with the students and faculty “very quietly.” One might see Lamb working out at the campus Wellness Center, just another way he can reach students. He said that one day he was working out and a young man caught his eye. He added he couldn’t figure out a connection. Finally the man walked up to him and asked if Lamb ever had coached flag football in
Enid. Lamb acknowledged he had. The young man, along with Lamb’s son, had played together on the same flag football team he had coached. “I was on your flag football team,” the young man said, “and I can tell you right now that was one of the highlights of my life.” Lamb added, “Serving, helping prepare students for the work force, helping them with life’s hurdles, helping someone make a difference in their world is satisfying for me.” UCO influences Lamb “UCO has directly influenced my life,” Lamb said. “I earned 10 credit hours here.” He said UCO is accessible as well as affordable, two of the reasons he wanted to be president of the university. The third was the record enrollment of freshmen students this semester. “Never have we had such an influx of enrollment as we have had with this freshman class,” Lamb added. continued on Page 3