People of Vision

By Connie Cronley

KEVIN GROSS

Kevin Gross is chair of Tulsa Regional Chamber at one of the toughest times in the community’s history — a city emerging from the staggering effects of pandemic. He very well could be just the right person for the job.

Gross has had plenty of experience dealing with COVID-19 in his day job as president and CEO of Hillcrest HealthCare System. It has been the hardest 22 months of his 36-year career in health care, he said.

What is your immediate goal as Chamber chair?

Focusing on economic development by attracting and retaining businesses, he said. Although Tulsa faces a very competitive marketplace nationally and internationally, he is optimistic. Things are reopening, companies are back at expanding and looking at relocating. “We’re in the appropriate position to capitalize on that.”

What are Tulsa’s strengths for economic

growth? The Chamber has a great economic development team and great success and Tulsa is a great place to live, raise a family and work. We have the tools that we need, including resources, places for companies to relocate and economic incentives.

What other factors contribute to growth? Tourism and the economic impact of more than 7 million people who visited Tulsa last year, staying in hotels, eating in restaurants and shopping, contributed to Tulsa’s growth by spending more than $800 million. “One of the highlights of 2022 is the PGA Championship in May which will bring tens of thousands of individuals here for tourism. Thanks to our partners at Southern Hills Country Club, this will be a great opportunity showcase Tulsa.”

TERESA KNOX

Entrepreneur Teresa Knox is focusing on two of her latest projects: The Church Studio (once the home of music icon Leon Russell’s Shelter Records, home of the Tulsa Sound) and the historic Harwelden Mansion she has renovated into a luxurious bed and breakfast and event center.

Knox is the epitome of “self-made.” In her early 20s she was a single mother working as a certified dental assistant. She developed a skill of training others and leveraged that to help others become self-sufficient, so she launched a business from her apartment.

She founded a dental assisting school, now known as Community Care College with programs in health care, legal and business; then Clary Sage College, for cosmetology and design; and Oklahoma Technical College, with programs in the skilled trades such as automotive, diesel, electrical, HVAC and welding. She grew the three-college campus system into one of the largest vocational schools in the region. She acquired an MBA from Oral Roberts University and also founded Knox Laboratory Services, a drug, and alcohol testing facility.

Why a focus on career and technical education?

“I believe in the power of career and technical education and how quickly it can impact someone’s life, lifting them out of poverty, addiction or other circumstance (with) extraordinary benefits to families, the economy and society.”

What’s next for you? Developing a nonprofit/forprofit hybrid business model for the Church Studio to become — in addition to a recording studio — a self-sustaining landmark that includes education and tourism components. She is committed to developing the neighborhood around The Church Studio with crime reduction, an increased tax base and visible enhancements of planting and infrastructure.

BRAD CARSON

Brad Carson, new president of the University of Tulsa, comes with an impressive background.

Carson’s credentials include: a Rhodes Scholar (master’s degrees from Oxford in politics, philosophy and economics); U.S. House of Representatives; CEO of Cherokee Nation Business; U.S. Navy officer deployed to Iraq; general counsel of the U.S. Army; undersecretary of defense at the U.S. Department of Defense; University of Virginia faculty.

His vision for TU: To be the best school between the Rockies and the Mississippi, “transformative not only in the lives of students but in the broader community around them.” In the 1960s, Carnegie Mellon transformed the city of Pittsburgh and became a world-renowned school. He said the University of Tulsa can do that here, helping the city achieve goals of economic development, cultural enrichment and retention of young people.

How will you achieve this? His plan is to add new programs like cybersecurity while doubling down on TU’s renowned energy programs and emphasizing liberal arts, fine arts, humanities and social sciences. TU’s strong Native American emphasis will continue, especially the Native American Law Center in the College of Law. “Higher education is changing but we’ll be on top of that and we will exploit those changes to our benefit.”

His vision of Tulsa: “A vital, vibrant city with a strong economic base and vast cultural activities that allows families to raise their children safely while offering them all the amenities that a world class community can be.”