A law alumnus has joined the the board of trustees and will get a say in the selection of the new university president.
T.W. Shannon, newly-appointed trustee, said his history with OCU is one reason he accepted the position.
“I knew what OCU had provided me, which was a terrific education and an opportunity to pursue different vocations,” he said. “So any time I had the opportunity to give back to the university, I was excited about it.”
The board of trustees is the governing body of the university whose members make decisions regarding the university budget and officer selections. Trustees are selected, not hired, because they are not paid. There are 47 positions filled in the board out of 50 available positions.
President Robert Henry will be retiring in June, and trustees will be choosing his replacement. Shannon said he looks forward to being part of the decision to choose the next university president.
“I’m certainly a big fan of President Henry, and I hate to see him leaving,” he said. “I’m hoping I can add value on the trustee board.”
Shannon successfully fought to repeal affirmative action in Oklahoma, adjusted the state’s welfare system and passed legislation to produce a $5,000 tax reduction to parents of foster children. He also has been featured on programs like Fox & Friends and Hannity.
Shortly after the U.S. presidential election, Shannon met with then President-elect Donald Trump to discuss issues regarding poverty and the possibility of serving in his administration.
Shannon took office as the youngest speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives at 34. He also made history as the first Chickasaw and African-American to hold the position.
“It was obviously the privilege of a lifetime that my colleagues really trusted me to serve in that capacity at that age,” he said. “I think it speaks to the opportunity that lives here in Oklahoma.”
Shannon is the CEO of Bank2 in Oklahoma City, a bank owned by the Chickasaw Nation. He is a sixth generation Oklahoman and has a wife and two children.
He said he enjoys live music, R&B, Marvel comic books, and watching movies at the Warren Theatre in Moore, Oklahoma.
Shannon said he hopes the new university president is able to manage strong thinkers and help make OCU a bigger part of the Oklahoma City community.
“I believe leaders are born and not made, so you’re looking for someone who has an innate demonstrative ability to lead people and build consensus,” he said.
Shannon also said it’s important to him that the new president values liberal arts education.
“I’m a big believer in a liberal arts education,” he said. “I think it’s fundamentally what’s helped to make this country great and what’s helped separate us from a lot of other nations, this idea of building and creating thinkers, not just doers.”
Joanna Whipple, political science/philosophy senior, said she thinks the new trustee seems like a valuable addition to the board.
“I think he sounds like an asset to OCU’s board of trustees as someone who might be more diverse, especially politically, from the other members, therefore offering a broader perspective on matters facing our current board of trustees.”
Madelyn Parker, English junior, said she views the new trustee as competent and qualified, but she said his conservative background may be concerning for some students.
“I saw somewhere that Sarah Palin endorsed him, which could be a turnoff for a lot the of liberal students that make up OCU,” Parker said. “But he seems to have a good balance of interests and passions.”
President Robert Henry said he admires Shannon and met him when he was speaker of the House.
“He just had great life experiences,” Henry said. “He and I share a great interest in Indian law. He’s a member of the Chickasaw Nation and just outstanding in every way.”
Henry is an honorary member of the Kiowa Tribe and has spent much of his career making strides for the community. He said he’s happy to see Shannon on the board to help choose the new president and provide a new voice.
“He’s young. He has a lot of energy,” Henry said. “He and his wife are very interested in higher education, and I think he’s definitely interested in students. I think he wants to interact with students, having been a student here himself.”
The decision to select Shannon first went through the governance committee of the board of trustees before being approved by the whole board. His selection was unanimous on both levels.
Henry said there have been two other recent additions to the board of trustees:Donald H. Kim and Sally Nichols Starling.
“I think we’ve got one of the strongest boards in the history of the university,” Henry said.
Other trustees include Louise Bass, Dr. Jane Jayroe Gamble, Dr. Ann Lacy, and United Methodist Bishop Jimmy Nunn.
Henry said the board of trustees is important to the functioning of the student body.
“You’ve got to have a love for the university to spend all the time and effort and make the financial contributions that our trustees make,” he said.
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