List of presidents of the University of Tulsa

This is a list of the presidents of the University of Tulsa.

Presidents

edit
University of Tulsa Presidents
# Name Years served Comments
-- William Addison Caldwell 1894–1896 First President of Henry Kendall College (Muskogee).[1][2][3]
-- William Robert King 26 June 1896 – 28 February 1899 Founder, and second President of Henry Kendall College (Muskogee). Rev. King had previously served the area as an official of the synod.[1][2][3]
1 A. Grant Evans 1 March 1899 – 31 May 1908 Last President of Henry Kendall College (Muskogee), first President of Henry Kendall College (Tulsa) after the move from Muskogee to Tulsa in 1907.[1][2][3] Became the second president of the University of Oklahoma.
2 Levi Harrison Beeler 2 June 1908–December 1909 President of Henry Kendall College (Tulsa).[1][2][3]
3 Seth Reed Gordon December 1909–June 1911 President of Henry Kendall College (Tulsa), First President Emeritus.[1][2][3]
4 Frederick William Hawley June 1911–5 October 1915 President of Henry Kendall College (Tulsa).[1][2][3]
5 Ralph J. Lamb 23 November 1915 – 1916 President of Henry Kendall College (Tulsa).[1][2][3]
6 Charles Evans 1 August 1916 – 3 June 1917 President of Henry Kendall College (Tulsa).[1][2][3]
7 James Gilmer McMurtry 1917–1918 President of Henry Kendall College (Tulsa).[1][2][3]
8 Arthur Lee Odell 1 April 1918 – 3 June 1920 President of Henry Kendall College (Tulsa).[1][2][3]
9 James Marcus Gordon June 1920–1 June 1924 President of Henry Kendall College (Tulsa). First president after formation of the University of Tulsa from Henry Kendall College in 1921.[1][2][3]
10 Franklin Geselbracht Dill 1924–1927 Dean and Acting president (1924-1926), President (1926-1927)[2][3][4]
-- John Duncan Finlayson 1 July 1927 – 15 March 1934 Title was Chancellor.[2][5]
-- Ralph L. Langenheim 1934–1935 (Acting President) [6] Vice President 1934 - 1936.[2]
11 C. I. Pontius 28 June 1935 – 30 June 1959 Longest serving president (24 years).[2][5][6][7]
12 Ben Graf Henneke 1 July 1959 – 31 January 1967 Only University of Tulsa alumnus to serve as president.[2][5]
13 Eugene Laurrel Swearingen 1 February 1967 – 15 June 1968 Previously was vice president of Oklahoma State University. Resigned from University of Tulsa presidency to become president of Bank of Oklahoma. In 1982, he joined Oral Roberts University, where he remained until his death in 2002.[2][8]
14 Joseph Paschal Twyman 15 June 1968 – 21 May 1989 Second longest serving president (22 years); New funding by donors led to major building campaign 1968-72. No major projects begun 1972-1989. Twyman died in office.[2][5]
-- Michael W. Davis 1990 (Interim) Died in office
-- E. Joe Middlebrooks 1990 (Interim)
15 Robert Donaldson 1990–1996 [5][9]
16 Robert W. Lawless 1996–2004 [5][10][11]
17 Steadman Upham 2004–2012 Held concurrent positions as President and professor of archaeology. Raised $698 million. Strengthened quality of faculty and students and expanded facilities during his first term. Led outreach partnerships, including Gilcrease Museum, Helmerich Center, and Bob Dylan Archive management. Retirement effective in 2012 was announced during 2011.[5]
18 Geoffrey Orsak July 2012 – September 2012 Former dean of the Lyle School of Engineering at SMU, appointment effective July 1, 2012;[12] his termination was announced on September 12, 2012[13] Abruptly terminated by Board of Trustees, without public explanation, after 77 days. No significant accomplishments reported.
19 Steadman Upham October 2012 – November 2016 Recalled by Board of Trustees as president in 2012 after departure of President Orsak, thus becoming only two-term president. Retired again in 2016. Planned to return as professor emeritus, but instead died in 2017 from complications of surgery.
20 Gerard Clancy November 2016 - January 2020 Clancy joined TU as the Dean of College of Health Sciences in 2014 after six years as provost and eight years as president of University of Oklahoma-Tulsa (OU-T}.[14]
- Janet K. Levit Interim president January 2020 - June 2021 Dr. Levit was appointed as Interim President shortly after Dr. Clancy told the Board that he could no longer serve as president, because of unspecified health issues.[15] She had served as vice president for two years during the Clancy administration. Her husband, Ken Levit, is president of Oklahoma University - Tulsa.
21 Brad Carson July 2021 - Present After a lengthy search, former Congressman Carson was announced as the 21st President on April 5, 2021, effective July 1, 2021.[16]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Henry Kendall College Bulletin"
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Logsdon, Guy William. "The University of Tulsa: a history from 1882-1972." Norman, Okla.; 1975.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Delfraisse, Betty Dew. "The history of the University of Tulsa." Austin, Tex.: [S.l.], 1929.
  4. ^ "University of Tulsa Bulletin"
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Carlson, Marc. "Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture: University of Tulsa." Accessed July 20, 2011.[1] Archived 2010-07-29 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ a b Scott Cooper, "Pontius Pilot", Tulsa World, January 12, 1998. Retrieved July 20, 2011 [2]
  7. ^ TU Alumni 1930 - 1939
  8. ^ Oklahoma Higher Education Heritage Society
  9. ^ Krehbiel, Randy. "Breaking Century Mark: University of Tulsa to Turn 100 on Monday", Tulsa World, September 11, 1994.
  10. ^ Krehbiel, Randy."TU Names New President", Tulsa World, February 20, 1996.
  11. ^ Omer Gillham, "TU president to retire in 2004", Tulsa World, September 20, 2003.
  12. ^ "University Of Tulsa Names New President", KOTV-DT, May 2, 2012.
  13. ^ "University of Tulsa announces firing of months-old president Orsak" Archived 2013-01-27 at archive.today, KJRH-TV, September 12, 2012.
  14. ^ "Gerry Clancy to Become TU President Immediately", Tulsa World, November 1, 2016.
  15. ^ "Gerard Clancy steps down as president of TU", Tulsa World, January 30, 2020.
  16. ^ [3] Cannon, Amber. News 9. April 5, 2021.