Who is James Gollogy and why is he President

[DenverSooner]

I have never heard of this guy. Anyone know anything about this guy?

 

[dahldennsull]

http://newsok.com/article/5588643

 

[Crimson King]

Seems like a caretaker type and a sellout to the Oily faction on the BOR.

 

[skyvue]

He's doing an event with the OU Club of NYC next week; I might attend.

He might do a good job -- I hope so -- but the search and selection process was, by many accounts, very secretive, which I'm not crazy about. And it'd be nice if he had some background in academia. There's a big difference between running a for-profit company and stewarding a university. And those promotional buttons are a little creepy.

 

[152219]

He's doing an event with the OU Club of NYC next week; I might attend.

He might do a good job -- I hope so -- but the search and selection process was, by many accounts, very secretive, which I'm not crazy about. And it'd be nice if he had some background in academia. There's a big difference between running a for-profit company and stewarding a university. And those promotional buttons are a little creepy.

What was Boren's background in academia before becoming OU's president?

 

[SoonerTraveler]

He is 65 years old. This is from a 2009 article ...

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lyondellbasell-names-jim-gallogly-as-ceo-61863562.html

He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado in 1974 and a law degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1977. He completed the Advanced Executive Program at the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University in 1998.

The following is from a 2015 article (DuPont press release) ...

http://www.dupont.com/corporate-fun...and-james-gallogly-to-board-of-directors.html

About James L. Gallogly

Mr. Gallogly (age 62) previously served as the chairman of the management board and chief executive officer of LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (LyondellBasell). In 2009, he was appointed CEO of LyondellBasell, four months after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and over the course of his tenure not only guided the company through the bankruptcy process, but also built the third largest independent chemical manufacturer in the United States. Under Mr. Gallogly’s leadership, the company exited bankruptcy in under a year following a comprehensive restructuring and focused cost cutting effort. Over the next four years, Mr. Gallogly helped significantly expand LyondellBasell’s market value and position the company for tremendous growth.

Mr. Gallogly is a member of the University of Oklahoma College of Engineering Board of Visitors, the University of Colorado Engineering Advisory Council and the University Cancer Foundation Board of Visitors at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

He won the 2014 ICIS Kavaler Award ...
https://www.icis.com/press-releases/icis-kavaler-award-2014/


I presume that David Boren had a say in the selection process. It would be interesting to know about the other top candidates for the job, but I doubt that we ever will learn that information.

Boren announced his retirement sometime back, yet I never saw any discussion on message boards (or anywhere else) about the question: Who do we want to be the next university president?

Did any of you have someone specific in mind for the job? It is my understanding that RAISING MONEY is the primary function of the job.

 

[152219]

He appears to be forward thinking in regards to what is needed at OU, including raising the level of STEM, while saying that having liberal arts is important for rounding out each student. To go along with the ever improving business and journalism schools.

OU needs to help the state of Oklahoma diversify its economy.

 

[TheGimper]

What was Boren's background in academia before becoming OU's president?

He was a professor at OBU and chaired their social sciences department.

 

[152219]

He was a professor at OBU and chaired their social sciences department.

I had to look at that up....yep, when he was a state Rep in the late '60s/early '70s. Learn something new every day.

 

[SoonerSpock]

I had to look at that up....yep, when he was a state Rep in the late '60s/early '70s. Learn something new every day.

Was also a Rhodes Scholar earning his graduate degree from Oxford University and served on the Rhodes Scholarship selection committee.

 

[tycat947]

He is 65 years old. This is from a 2009 article ...

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lyondellbasell-names-jim-gallogly-as-ceo-61863562.html



The following is from a 2015 article (DuPont press release) ...

http://www.dupont.com/corporate-fun...and-james-gallogly-to-board-of-directors.html



He won the 2014 ICIS Kavaler Award ...
https://www.icis.com/press-releases/icis-kavaler-award-2014/


I presume that David Boren had a say in the selection process. It would be interesting to know about the other top candidates for the job, but I doubt that we ever will learn that information.

Boren announced his retirement sometime back, yet I never saw any discussion on message boards (or anywhere else) about the question: Who do we want to be the next university president?

Did any of you have someone specific in mind for the job? It is my understanding that RAISING MONEY is the primary function of the job.

It was announced early on, either by Boren or Bennett or both, that Boren would have no input on the presidential search.

 

[tycat947]

He's doing an event with the OU Club of NYC next week; I might attend.

He might do a good job -- I hope so -- but the search and selection process was, by many accounts, very secretive, which I'm not crazy about. And it'd be nice if he had some background in academia. There's a big difference between running a for-profit company and stewarding a university. And those promotional buttons are a little creepy.

I agree with you. Was told by a close friend of a search committee member that some of the candidates were in negotiations with donors to secure substantial donations and if word got out of looking for another job it would jeopardize the donations. Also, I believe most presidential searches are conducted in secrecy these days. Doesn’t mean I have to like it though.

 

[MsProudSooner]

I can see why secrecy would be a good thing. Some fans don't want coach searches to be secretive but it's better for all concerned than unsubstantiated rumors.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

I can see why secrecy would be a good thing. Some fans don't want coach searches to be secretive but it's better for all concerned than unsubstantiated rumors.

In this day and age, it is amazing that there were no unsubstantiated rumors making headlines during this particular hiring process. I did not even see or hear much speculation.

 

[sooner8693]

Great. This is he latest thing everybody can ***** about.

 

[sperry]

I'm guessing this guy was brought in for one reason, and one reason alone: rally super wealthy energy alums to give more to the university.

 

[Top Dog]

He is in for one reason and that is to restructure the debt and handle the financial issues that are present.

 

[Zimwillett]

He is in for one reason and that is to restructure the debt and handle the financial issues that are present.

Exactly. Everyone focuses on his oil and gas background, but probably his biggest accomplishment has been stewarding LynodellBassell out of Chapter 11 and into one of the most successful petrochemical producers in the world.

It seems pretty obvious that the Regents were in search of of a shorter term person to fix some of the "business" issues with the University. I suspect, though I have no inside knowledge, that Gallogly will serve out a short-ish term, hopefully fix some of the financial issues, and then give way to a more traditional academic type.

 

[WTSooner]

What kind of financial issues? I thought OU was in pretty good shape financially. That said, I know we have some debt related to various projects, the football stadium included, but simply having debt, even a large amount of it, doesn't necessarily mean we aren't on solid financial footing.

 

[Zimwillett]

What kind of financial issues? I thought OU was in pretty good shape financially. That said, I know we have some debt related to various projects, the football stadium included, but simply having debt, even a large amount of it, doesn't necessarily mean we aren't on solid financial footing.

I guess I should clarify that I don't exactly have inside knowledge. Pure hearsay. Also, "financial issues" was perhaps not the best way to couch that statement.

That said, from what I'm told, there is some appetite to "cut the fat" (the example I heard was on landscaping). I'm also told that they want to look at restructuring some debt given some of the uncertainty with state governance. But I didn't mean to suggest that the University was in some kind of financial distress.