3 finalists named for OCU presidency
Oklahoma City University named three finalists on March 13 in its presidential search. The candidates are Martha Burger, Myron Pope and Thom Chesney.
The university’s search committee is recommending the finalists for consideration by OCU’s Board of Trustees Executive Committee, which in turn plans to recommend a final candidate for confirmation by the full board at the board’s next meeting, scheduled for April 25. Ronald Norick chairs the trustees.
OCU President Robert Henry will retire in June after eight years leading the United Methodist-affiliated liberal arts college.
Enrollment totals about 2,500 students from almost every U.S. state and more than 40 other nations, according to the school’s website.
Burger is a former executive in the energy industry. Most recently she was senior vice president of human and corporate resources at Chesapeake Energy Corp.
She has a long history with OCU, receiving her MBA in 1992 and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters in 2012. She currently serves as a trustee and chairs the audit and finance committee.
Burger is co-founder of Amethyst Investments LLC and on the board of directors of Tapstone Energy.
Pope has worked more than 25 years as a higher education administrator, supervisor, and educator.
For the past five years, he has served as vice president for student affairs at the University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond.
He holds a B.A. in history, an M.A. in higher education administration, and an Ed.D. in higher education administration, all from the University of Alabama.
Chesney has led Brookhaven College in Farmers Branch, Texas, since 2011.
His experience in leadership at higher education institutions includes positions as associate provost for student success and assessment for the University of Texas at Dallas, vice president of academic affairs and provost of Collin College; and additional administrative and faculty roles at the University of Texas at Dallas, Pennsylvania College of Technology, Texas Wesleyan University, and Whitman College.
He holds a B.A. in Spanish from Washington University, an M.A. in creative writing from Minnesota State University, and a Ph.D. in English Literature from Florida State University.
All the finalists are active in leadership for numerous nonprofit organizations, endeavors, and initiatives.
