Tuesday, March 17, 2009
OSU-Tulsa President Trennepohl to Return to Faculty
TULSA – Oklahoma State University-Tulsa President Gary Trennepohl announced today that he will be leaving his position of 10 years as president and returning to a full-time OSU faculty position.
Trennepohl, who became president of the newly designated OSU-Tulsa campus on Aug. 1, 1999, made the announcement this afternoon following a joint meeting of the OSU-Tulsa Board of Trustees and the University Center at Tulsa Authority.
“When I took the position in 1999, I told then OSU President Jim Halligan that I didn’t see myself serving longer than 10 years,” Trennepohl said. “After a decade in a leadership role, it’s usually a good time to bring in new leadership with fresh ideas and perspectives. We’ve completed the start-up of OSU-Tulsa and we’re moving into the next phase of development.
“Serving as president has been a rewarding experience and I appreciate all the support I have received from the OSU-Tulsa team and the Tulsa community,” he said. “I know even greater days are ahead for OSU-Tulsa.”
Trennepohl is a professor of finance at OSU who holds the President’s Council endowed chair. He teaches courses in Investment Management or Derivatives each year at OSU-Tulsa. He also conducts seminars for the Chicago Board Options Exchange to professional investment managers and the Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University for practicing business journalists.
“We commend Gary Trennepohl for his leadership and service,” said OSU President Burns Hargis. “We appreciate the progress OSU-Tulsa has made toward providing comprehensive, public university degree programs to northeastern Oklahoma residents. We are pleased he will remain a valuable member of the OSU faculty.”
Serving as the first president of OSU-Tulsa, Trennepohl has guided OSU-Tulsa’s transition from the four-school University Center at Tulsa (UCT) consortium, to a stand-alone entity providing undergraduate and graduate OSU degree programs for Tulsa. During his tenure, enrollment has increased from 870 students to almost 2,700 students and the number of resident Tulsa faculty has grown from 12 to 70. Student records and services now are integrated with the Stillwater campus to create “one university” for students, whether they live in Tulsa or Stillwater. Students can take courses in either Tulsa or Stillwater to earn their OSU degree.
Based on public comments, Trennepohl said the most popular decision he made was starting the Big Orange Bus (BOB) service in 2001. The buses make nine trips daily between the Stillwater and Tulsa campuses.
In 2003, Trennepohl secured $45 million in funding from Vision 2025, as well as state and private sources, to construct the Helmerich Advanced Technology Research Center. In addition, he has garnered more than $37 million in private gifts, endowed chair funds and state matching dollars.
Ed Keller, chair of the OSU-Tulsa Trustees and former OSU/A&M Regent, said the board will immediately initiate the process to form a search committee. Keller hopes the committee will have someone in place no later than December. According to S.B. 1426 that created OSU-Tulsa, the OSU/A&M Board of Regents will form the committee that will be comprised of two OSU Regents and two OSU-Tulsa Trustees. Hargis may also appoint student, faculty and staff representatives. Hargis, in consultation with the search committee, will make a recommendation to the OSU-Tulsa Board of Trustees and the OSU/A&M Board for final approval.
“Gary Trennepohl has been an excellent representative for OSU in the community and in the State of Oklahoma,” Keller said. “Under his leadership, OSU-Tulsa has made significant progress toward providing comprehensive university degrees in Tulsa, despite limited funding and restricted degree options.”
Trennepohl will continue his active role in the Tulsa community, serving as the Chair of the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Affiliate Board in Oklahoma and as the Chair of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum Board. He is a member of Leadership Oklahoma and the Economic Development Commission for the City of Tulsa and serves on the OSU Foundation Investment Committee.
Before serving as president of OSU-Tulsa, Trennepohl was the dean of the Spears School of Business, on the OSU-Stillwater campus. Previously, he held faculty and administrative positions at Texas A&M, the University of Missouri-Columbia and Arizona State University.
Trennepohl said he and his wife, Sandra, plan to continue to live in Tulsa and he will office on the OSU-Tulsa campus, while teaching classes in Stillwater and Tulsa.
