The first university presidential candidate visited campus to address concerns of the campus community.
Martha Burger, former trustee and current presidential candidate, spoke to faculty, staff and students March 19. During her student session at 12:15 p.m., Burger said one of her top priorities as president would be to grow and nurture programs that are already present at OCU.
“What I want to do is to work on growing the university, and I don’t just mean in enrollment, but I mean by being able to invest and nurture programs that we have that are already excellent but need continued maintenance or additions to make them even better,” she said.
Burger said she would also use her background in business to benefit the university economically.
“I come from a finance background, so I talk about things in those kinds of terms, but they translate to the heart of things, not just the numbers around things,” she said. “The university has worked really hard to mind their expenses. We’ve gone through some tough processes and decisions, we are to a great stable place where we live within our means.”
Cate Kurtz, history sophomore, said she thinks Burger isn’t the right choice because of her financial approaches.
“Upon talking to her further and her answering our questions, I think she’s unqualified for the position,” Kurtz said. “She’s coming it at more as someone who’s worked in the business field as well as economics, which, granted, we do need in our university because we are in debt. However, during the meeting, she said that we were in a stable financial situation, which, being a student here, we all know is incorrect.”
Kurtz said her highest priority for an incoming president is that they are able to practically address the university’s situation and not become distracted.
“I feel like the past presidents we’ve had, they come in, it’s a liberal arts campus, and they get swept away in the pageantry of that itself, but they don’t actually take care of the situation that the university is in,” she said.
Burger said she wants to connect OCU to the greater community at large.
“At the end of the day, this is Oklahoma City’s university, working hand-in-hand with the businessmen. The rest of the community, for that matter, is important for us to really be true partners with the city,” she said.
Beatrize Martinez, second-year law student, said she thinks Burger is qualified because of her involvement on campus and her participation on the board of trustees. She said, out of the three candidates, she thinks Burger is the best fit for president because she has a stake in the university.
Martinez is a former Student Government Association president, and she served on the board of trustees, which is how she connected with Burger.
“I think she’s an excellent role model in terms of the fact that she’s a university trustee, a woman in business and just someone who’s been a part of the university for so long,” Martinez said.
Martinez said she feels like all the candidates are qualified for the job, and she said she’s excited to attend the sessions.
“Either way, I don’t think OCU can lose,” she said.
Contributing: Zoe Travers, editor-in-chief
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