Stitt's nominees for OU, OSU, regional university boards are unopposed in Senate committee

Gov. Kevin Stitt’s nominations to fill open positions on three regents’ boards that govern a combined 14 Oklahoma colleges and universities sailed through the state Senate Education Committee on Tuesday.

Without dissent, senators approved the nominations of Kenneth Waits to the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents, Susan Bergen and Chris Franklin to the OSU/A&M Board of Regents and Thomas Kupiec to the Regional University System of Oklahoma Board of Regents.

Their nominations now will move to the full Senate for final confirmation. Once confirmed, OU regents typically serve seven-year terms while OSU regents serve eight-year terms.

Waits, an oilman and OU alumnus who lives in Tyler, Texas, was named to replace former Gov. Frank Keating on the seven-person OU board, which also governs Rogers State University in Claremore and Cameron University in Lawton. Keating had served on the board since 2017, when he was appointed by then-Gov. Mary Fallin.

Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, presented Waits to the committee, saying, “I am more confident in this executive nomination than I have been for any other executive nomination on the OU Board of Regents.”

Waits joined Mewbourne Oil Company as an operations engineer in Woodward after his graduation from OU and has spent his entire working career with that company. He spent time as its Oklahoma City district manager, its vice president of exploration and its chief operations officer before his current role as president and chief executive officer.

“My wife and I have a passion for education,” Waits said. “We believe education is the great equalizer, the gateway to success. That’s why we invest our time and resources there. That is why I’m honored to be considered as a regent today.”

OSU/A&M board has two openings to be filled

Bergen, from Norman, will replace Rick Davis of Guthrie, who had served since May 2011 on the nine-person OSU/A&M board, which governs Oklahoma State University, Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma Panhandle State University in Goodwell, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College in Miami and Connors State College in Warner.

Bergen is a Boston native, but has lived in Oklahoma for four decades. She serves as the chief executive officer of Bergen Enterprises, a multi-generational, family owned company. Among its businesses are Prairie Dirt Solutions and Eco Wood Solutions, Oklahoma City companies that offer services to create sustainable preservation opportunities.

The other nominee for the OSU/A&M board, Franklin, would fill the unexpired term of the late Jarold Callahan of Edmond. The position’s current term expires on April 4, 2026.

Franklin, from Arcadia, helped start Tall Grass Capital and Onyx Holdings, which are real estate investment, development, construction and property management companies that focus on small-to-medium-sized towns in Oklahoma. He also manages Coffee Creek Cattle Company, a farming and ranching business in Logan and Oklahoma counties.

Franklin said OSU regents need to “understand what a land-grant school is and what it’s going to be.” He said what land-grant universities “are supposed to do is give kids that are smart and work hard the opportunity to do whatever they want to do.”

“I want my kids and my grandkids to want to live in Oklahoma, to raise a family in Oklahoma and be productive citizens,” he said. “I don’t want the default from graduating from higher ed (in Oklahoma) to go to Dallas or go to Houston. If we don’t stop the brain drain in the state, we will not have a state that people recognize 20, 30, 40 years from now.”

Among those who attended the meeting to support Franklin and Bergen was OSU President Kayse Shrum.

Senator questions appointee to RUSO board before eventually approving

Kupiec, an Edmond scientist and entrepreneur, is seeking to fill an unexpired term that will last through June 10, 2028, on the RUSO board. That board governs the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, East Central University in Ada, Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant, Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva and Northeastern State University in Tahlequah.

Kupiec, a UCO graduate, founded ARL Bio Pharma, a contract laboratory that provides analytical and microbiological testing for the pharmaceutical industry and also owns two other businesses in Oklahoma City. Kupiec’s connections to the pharmaceutical world brought a handful of questions Tuesday from Sen. Dusty Deevers, R-Elgin, but Deevers voted to advance Kupiec’s nomination.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Senate committee clears way for OSU, OU regents nominees