OSU/A&M Board of Regents Announces Selection of Dr. Kayse Shrum as 19th President of Oklahoma State University
05 April 2021 - 04:00PM
Business Wire
Dr. Shrum's selection makes history as the
first woman to lead Oklahoma State University
The Oklahoma State University A&M Board of Regents has
selected Dr. Kayse Shrum as the 19th president of Oklahoma State
University. The announcement follows an extensive national search
involving an inclusive process composed of representatives from
across the OSU system, including faculty, students, staff and
alumni.
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The Oklahoma State University A&M
Board of Regents has selected Dr. Kayse Shrum as the 19th president
of Oklahoma State University. (Photo: Business Wire)
The current president of the OSU Center for Health Sciences in
Tulsa, Oklahoma, Dr. Shrum will be recommended for approval as the
next president of OSU at the regularly scheduled Board of Regents
meeting in Stillwater on April 23.
"The OSU/A&M Board of Regents recognized from the start of
this process the importance of conducting a thorough search to make
sure we selected the most qualified candidate to lead OSU and the
system into the future following the successful Burns Hargis
presidency," commented Rick Davis, chair of the Regents. "I
appreciate the deliberative approach taken by our Regents, and we
are grateful to Regent Joe Hall, who impressively led the process
over the past five months."
Davis continued, "Dr. Shrum is well known and respected by the
Regents and our university community. Her leadership has
transformed our medical school in Tulsa, and her efforts have taken
us to new heights we could only imagine a few years ago. The
establishment of the National Center for Wellness and Recovery is
one of several milestone achievements. The center, which has
brought national acclaim to OSU, has become the national focal
point for breakthrough research to address the opioid crisis. What
is most impressive to me for all the notable achievements is her
commitment to students and their success. Students matter to her.
Dr. Shrum is an effective leader, innovative thinker and her
collaborative style, in addition to her great love for OSU, means
the momentum we have achieved with President Hargis will continue
unabated. I am excited about the future of OSU, the system and the
state of Oklahoma."
As the first woman to lead Oklahoma State University, Dr. Shrum
has overcome barriers throughout her professional career. She has
served as president of OSU's Center for Health Sciences (OSU-CHS)
since 2013, and her selection at the time made her the youngest and
first female president and dean of a medical school in the state of
Oklahoma. Dr. Shrum trained and served rural Oklahoma as a
pediatrician before beginning her academic work at OSU-CHS after
current OSU President Burns Hargis appointed her to lead the
medical school.
According to Regent and Selection Committee Chair Joe Hall, Dr.
Shrum was chosen from a national pool of highly qualified
candidates in large part because she brings a remarkable track
record of professional success leading OSU’s medical school.
"I have watched Dr. Shrum transform our medical school in Tulsa,
and I am convinced that success will translate to OSU and our
system," Hall said. "She understands and appreciates our
distinctive land-grant mission of service to the advancement and
betterment of our state. As a proud product of Coweta, Oklahoma,
Dr. Shrum has a firsthand perspective of our state's challenges and
the role OSU can play in meeting those challenges. Based on what
she has achieved thus far, Dr. Shrum will promote student success,
academic programs, productive research and an inclusive and diverse
community built on mutual respect. As president of OSU, she will be
a great leader for our university and state."
"I am humbled and honored by this announcement," said Dr. Shrum.
"I am also thrilled because outside of my dear family, OSU has a
special place in my heart. Leading the OSU Center for Health
Sciences and helping students, faculty and staff come together to
create something truly impactful to our state has been immensely
rewarding for me. To lead our vibrant university and the system,
which is so vital to our state on many levels, will be the greatest
challenge and honor of my professional career. I am looking forward
to this opportunity with high anticipation. I want to thank Chair
Davis, Regent Hall and our entire Board of Regents. I do not take
the trust you have imparted to me lightly. I look forward to
working with our board, faculty, students and staff on our shared
vision of excellence and success. Let me also thank President
Hargis, who had the confidence to appoint me to lead the medical
school. I am forever grateful for our friendship and your
mentorship."
Under Dr. Shrum's leadership, OSU Center for Health Sciences has
experienced unprecedented growth. Student enrollment doubled as the
center established new academic programs designed to meet the
health care workforce needs of Oklahoma. She also led the
construction of the A.R. and Marylouise Tandy Medical Academic
Building. This state-of-the-art learning facility houses Oklahoma's
largest and most technologically advanced hospital simulation
center.
Her fundraising accomplishments also include securing a landmark
investment in 2019 from Purdue Pharma for $197.5 million to create
the National Center for Wellness and Recovery for addiction
treatment and research to address the national opioid addiction
epidemic. A strong supporter of collaborative partnerships, Shrum
worked with Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker and his
administration to establish the nation's first tribally affiliated
medical school, the OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine at the
Cherokee Nation, which opened fall 2020.
In March 2019, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt appointed Dr. Shrum
to his cabinet as Oklahoma's first Secretary of Science and
Innovation. In that role, she played a critical part in the state’s
response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her innovative leadership
approach and medical expertise helped secure much-needed PPE
supplies and led to the formation of Oklahoma's largest COVID
diagnostics lab on OSU's Stillwater campus.
A native of Coweta, Oklahoma, Dr. Shrum is a fervent champion of
rural health and primary care medicine and has made the creation of
a sustainable, rural primary care physician pipeline a top
priority. She launched innovative high school recruiting programs
like Operation Orange and Blue Coat to White Coat, created the
Rural Medical Track curriculum and expanded the number of residency
training programs in rural Oklahoma by securing support from the
Oklahoma Legislature, Oklahoma Health Care Authority and Oklahoma
Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust. Her long list of awards and
accolades includes being named The Journal Record's Woman of the
Year in 2019.
Dr. Shrum and her husband Darren still actively farm near
Coweta. They have six adult children.
Dr. Shrum will officially take over the role of president at the
beginning of OSU's next fiscal year beginning July 1.
PHOTO: https://www.flickr.com/gp/ostatenews/Z871m9
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhgTE_HLJKA
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Monica Roberts | Director of Media Relations | 405.744.4800 |
monica.roberts@okstate.edu