A Final Farewell

Dear Friends,

Here at UCO we label the academic term from January to early May as the “Spring Semester,” though there are days when doing so seems to defy both logic and experience. In mid-February, the campus basked in 69 degrees of sun on one day, then chilled to a high of 28 degrees the next. We all know the tales about the climate in our state.

I have often thought that we so named this period, Spring Semester, in our academic community calendar in anticipation, in the hope, for the spring that timelessly has followed bare landscape of winter. Spring is our reward for passing the winter, and with it the promise of renewal.

This spring of 2019 is particularly reflective of change, and hope, all around us. In Oklahoma and in the OKC Metro, we have fresh, vibrant leadership taking first steps in new administrations. New and young, with our governor, OKC mayor and much of the dramatically changed legislature, younger by a generation in some instances than those they are succeeding in these responsible public service roles.

The torch of leadership across the spectrum of our society is passing to a new generation. Mindful of the past, this emerging leadership posse now stands on the shoulders of their honored predecessors, equally dedicated to serving the people who have deputized them to lead and to act in the best interests of those people.

And so, too, here at Central. The promise of spring this year includes the passing of the mantle of leadership to the next president and to the team who will emerge to serve our faculty, staff and, importantly, our students.

By selecting Vice President of Finance Patti Neuhold as UCO’s 21st president, the Regional University System of Oklahoma (RUSO) Board of Regents has vested the presidential authority in a new generation, affirming that the pathway to such roles is open to all who are qualified and who are focused on the values and virtues that animate this unique, caring culture.

Twenty white men have held the president’s title over Central’s 129-year fabled history. A new, more inclusive tradition emerges this summer, when Patti assumes the responsibilities of the office.

This institution, which prides itself on fostering diversity and inclusion in serving all in the OKC Metro and the state, has publicly affirmed these priorities in this most distinctive manner. I am delighted to pass the mace of presidential authority to Patti, secure in the sense of her abilities and motivation, and in the proven quality and collaboration that animates the Central culture where character, civility and community have guided us for years.

Though I will continue as president until mid-summer, this is my last opportunity to connect with you via Old North.

There is no facile way to say thank you to all of you, to the thousands of people who have stepped up over the past 20 years to create the Central we have today. These past eight years have been the worst in the history of our state funding.

But we were not deterred. Encouraged by so many to maintain our focus on serving the people of this diverse Metro, we embraced our role as “Oklahoma’s Metropolitan University,” with imagination, creativity and innovation. Loyal friends and partners invested in our vision of engaging those who live here and who will constitute the foundation of productive, creative, ethical and engaged citizens and leaders.

Significantly, our faculty and staff never wavered. They create this culture every day, even when we were being intentionally under-resourced. They persisted and collected a cascade of accolades and recognitions, from local to global, along the way.

We knew why we were here, together, at this time and place. We embraced our stewardship role. It is to help students learn, communities to prosper and to take care of each other. I am deeply honored by the quality and spirit that thrives here at UCO.

Together, I believe we heard the call to serve, and we left the woodpile higher than we found it.

My gratitude is boundless. I have been deeply blessed to have passed this way with such exceptional women and men who live the power of learning, leading and serving.

Thank you, and may the brightest moments of UCO lie ahead, as it writes dynamic chapters in Oklahoma’s educational history for the next 129 years.

My sincere best wishes,