He will replace Tom J. McDaniel who will retire as president in July and become chancellor of the private Methodist-affiliated university with 3,700 undergraduate and graduate students. McDaniel announced plans to retire as president in September.

McDaniel joined OCU as president in June 2001 after serving as president of Northwestern State University in Alva. Earlier was vice chairman of Oklahoma City-based Kerr-McGee Corp.

“Judge Henry has a full appreciation of the remarkable achievements made under President McDaniel’s nine-year tenure,” said William F. Shdeed, president of OCU’s board of trustees. “We believe he can lead OCU to the next level of national and international prominence in private higher education.”

Henry, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit, is stepping away from a lifetime appointment. He was appointed to the federal bench 15 years ago by President William J. Clinton.

“Stepping away from a lifetime appointment on the federal bench underscores his commitment to Oklahoma City University and his belief in its future,” McDaniel said.

Henry’s selection was approved Thursday by OCU’s board of trustees from a field of 43 applicants and 10 additional nominations.

Robert Henry was the top choice at each stage of the search process, which began in August, and our board was enthusiastic in selecting him to be our next president and CEO,” Shdeed said.

Candidates were reviewed by a 15-member search committee including trustees, faculty, staff and the president of the OCU Student Government Association.

“Judge Henry brings national and international visibility to the university,” said Ron Norick, trustee, chair of the search committee and a former Oklahoma City mayor. “In addition to Judge Henry’s exceptional legal and public service career, he is an acclaimed foreign relations scholar and international humanitarian.”

Henry has a long history with OCU. He was dean of the OCU Law School and a tenured professor of law from 1991 to 1994. he has taught graduate and undergraduate courses at OCU and has been a guest lecturer.

Josh Henry, his son, is an actor and theater major at OCU and is currently appearing in the school’s production of A Christmas Carol. He also has a daughter, Rachel, who attends Tisch school of the Arts at New York University.

His wife, Jan Ralls Henry, is an Oklahoma City dentist who will serve as OCU’s first lady. They will live in Wilson House on the OCU campus.

Before his appointment to the federal courts, Henry served in state government and is the cousin of Gov. Brad Henry. He was state attorney general and served 10 years as a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. As a state representative, Henry was co-author of legislation creating the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics.

In addition to teaching at OCU, Henry taught at the University of Oklahoma Honors College, Oxford Program; University of Oklahoma College of Law, served as Distinguished Judge in Residence, University of Tulsa College of Law, and taught business law at Oklahoma Baptist University. He is a former chairman of the board of trustees of St. Gregory’s College in Shawnee.

He also practiced law in Shawnee for 10 years. In 2008, he was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.

The opportunity to return to Oklahoma City University as its president and CEO is an exciting challenge that my wife,  Jan,  and I wholeheartedly embrace,” Henry said. “The future of Oklahoma City is bright and OCU is an important part of that future.”

Posted by David Page

But these days, journalists watching the Big Boys fold up shop and fade into the horizon. Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Rocky Mountain News - those are just a couple of recent examples.

When I worked for New York Times Company in Florida, I watched their regional media group almost bleed out - and I finally jumped at the chance for a buy-out when they combined my old paper with our sister paper just 50 miles north.

Now, Editor & Publisher has announced they are shuttering as well after a failed attempt at a sale.

This is from AP:

Editor & Publisher closing after 108 years

NEW YORK — The journalism trade journal Editor & Publisher is shutting down after 108 years of publication.

Editor & Publisher is being closed as its parent company, the Nielsen Co., sells several of its other business publications such as The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard.

So long old friend!

Posted by Social Media Editor Dave Rhea

From www.oklahomarock.com: Last night, Danny Cahill, a 39-year-old land surveyor and musician from Broken Arrow, won season eight of “The Biggest Loser”.

Check out the details and video posted at the Oklahoma Rock link above.

But they are not alone - also represented in the later bracket of shame is Oklahoma. As to why we are such an unhealthy state I will leave to the politicians to articulate at this point - seeing how they are doing such a great job.

In a study called “A Call to Action for Individuals and their Communities:”

America’s Health Rankings — 2009 Edition is a joint effort of United Health Foundation, the American Public Health Association and Partnership for Prevention. It is funded entirely by United Health Foundation, a recognized 501(c)(3) organization.

Interestingly, the bottom 15 states were from the South (except Oklahoma, where opposition to health reform is strongest.

From the report:

Mississippi is 50th and the least healthy state, while Oklahoma is 49th. Alabama, Louisiana and South Carolina complete the bottom five states.

Incidentally, we also rank second to last in the Brain Health Index - just behind Louisiana. See bottom 10 results HERE.

The report uses four criteria to make its determination of which state is best (Vermont) and worst.

Components of Health

The World Health Organization defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

.In addition to the contributions of our individual genetic predispositions to disease, health is the result of:

• Our behaviors
• The environment and the community in which we live
• The public and health policies and practices of our government
• The clinical care we receive

View the entire report here… 

posted by Dave Rhea

Nomination deadline is Nov. 20

The Journal Record is seeking nominations of business and nonprofit leaders for its newest event, Oklahoma’s Most Admired CEOs.

CEOs will be recognized from seven categories. Finalists will be selected from each category and one winner will be presented in each.

• Public Companies with more than $500 million in annual revenue
• Public Companies with less than $500 million in annual revenue
• Private Companies with more than 500 employees
• Private Companies with fewer than 500 employees
• Small businesses with 50 or fewer employees
• Nonprofits with more than $10 million in annual revenue
• Nonprofits with less than $10 million in annual revenue

To nominate a CEO who is making a difference, please contact Clarissa Crawford at 405.278.2824 or clarissa.crawford@journalrecord.com.

You may also go to www.journalrecord.com, click on events, and download the Oklahoma’s Most Admired CEOs nomination form. Self nominations are also accepted.Finalists will be announced in December. Overall winners from each category will be announced at the event on Feb. 18 at The Skirvin Hilton Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City. Reservations for the banquet can be made by calling Clarissa Crawford at (405) 278-2824. Individual tickets are $100 and tables for 10 are $1,000. Corporate table sponsorships are available for $2,000.

“This is a special recognition program for the remarkable business and nonprofit leaders throughout our state. We will honor those who consistently demonstrate strong leadership, integrity, values, vision, commitment to excellence, financial performance, community and diversity,” said Mary Mélon, president and publisher of The Journal Record.

Brought to you by presenting sponsor UMB Bank, the event is also sponsored by Hogan Taylor and GableGotwals.

The Journal Record Publishing Co. is a multifaceted media company that specializes in business, legislative and legal-related information sources. In addition, the company produces many specialty industry-related publications and host several statewide events, including the Woman of the Year, Innovator of the Year and the newest Oklahoma’s Most Admired CEO’s awards programs. Its flagship newspaper, The Journal Record, is an award-winning daily general business and legal newspaper focusing on local business trends and in-depth stories that portray the voice of the Oklahoma City and Tulsa business communities.

Contact: Clarissa Crawford
The Journal Record
101 N. Robinson Ave., Ste. 101
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
405.278.2824
Fax 405.278.6907
clarissa.crawford@journalrecord.com
www.journalrecord.com

OSU study shows state unkind to women, despite their ballot box control

Friday, 06 November 2009 15:20

(Stillwater, OK  November 6, 2009) — A new study shows a solid majority of Oklahoma voters are women, but that fact has not led to positive changes for women politically, socially or economically, according to Oklahoma State University Regents Professor Bob Darcy.

The clincher:

The study compares the students’ findings to several available statistics on women in Oklahoma, including figures that show Oklahoma has the second lowest proportion of women in its legislature (11.4 percent); it is ranked 42nd in appointing women to policy positions; it incarcerates its female population at a rate that is 143 percent higher than the national average; ranks 47th in overall women’s health; 41st in proportion of women living above the poverty level (85.6 percent); 49th in uninsured women of childbearing age (15-44) and 45th in uninsured children (under age 19).

See the whole story here.

In their Small Business section, under the headline: Three Best Ways To Win Community Support, writer Maureen Scarpelli touts the pizza chain’s Volkswagen Beetles and its help with local (read that, Oklahoma) fundraisers.

Scarpelli does a great job on the piece, and other that putting the Hideaway’s origins in Stillwell — it should have been Stillwater — she does Oklahoma proud.

It’s always nice to see someone write about the Sooner State and not mention Sally Kern or meth labs.

The president on Wednesday introduced Republican Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Democrat David Boren of Oklahoma as co-chairmen of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board. The job of the board is to provide Obama with an independent source of advice about the effectiveness of the intelligence community.

At a Cabinet Room event, Obama said the two will report to him and have his full support.

Obama said he will announce other board members soon.

He says the quality of the intelligence system is improving, but progress is needed in collecting and sharing information.

For the three months ended Sept. 30, the Tulsa parent of Bank of Oklahoma recorded a net income of $50.7 million, or 75 cents per diluted share, down from $52.1 million, or 77 cents, the prior year.

That proved 7 cents higher than the consensus analyst estimates from both Thomson Financial/First Call and Zacks Investment Research.

“BOK Financial is pleased with solid performance this quarter, especially considering the continued challenges we see in the economy,” said President and Chief Executive Stan Lybarger in a press release Wednesday.

He attributed the results to continued net interest revenue growth, fee revenues and controlled operating expenses. BOKF’s securities portfolio also rose $159 million for the quarter.

BOK Financial also added $19 million to its reserves for non-performing assets.

“We recognize the banking industry is far from the end of this depressed credit cycle,” he said.

He is getting responses like:

EvanBlake #OklahomaIsCool because Toby Keith is from here… Wait, that’s not cool. Hmmm… Good thing we also have @theflaminglips!

vtrammell #oklahomaiscool because we have Eischen’s, Jim Thorpe, Mickey Mantle & Maria Tallchief, the 1st American prima ballerina.

mattgalloway By request: #OklahomaIsCool bc we produce more astronauts than any other state & it’s the birth place of wrapped single peanut butter slices

Here are two other reasons that Oklahoma is cool - from BusinessWeek. Oklahoma and Tulsa are both ranked in the top 10 of their 40 strongest U.S. metro economies list.

Click on the city names to go to the original documents at businessweek.com.

Oklahoma City, OK

Overall rank: 3

The Oklahoma City metro area, which includes the state capital, is an oil and natural gas center that is home to Devon Energy and Chesapeake Energy. Employment in the Oklahoma City metro peaked in the fourth quarter of last year. Gross metropolitan product in the second quarter was down just 0.8% from the peak in the last quarter of 2008. Home prices grew 2.1% in the second quarter compared with the same period a year earlier. And the unemployment rate in June was 6.6%, up 2.1 points from a year earlier. (Please see below for the various criteria used by the Brookings Institution to determine the overall ranking.)

Job growth (since peak) rank: 7
Gross Metro Product (since peak) rank: 4
Unemployment change (year over year) rank: 4
Home price change (year over year) rank: 23

Tulsa, OK

Overall rank: 7

Tulsa, the second-largest city in the state, has remained relatively stable, in large part because of the oil and gas industry. Companies in the area include Arena Resources, an oil and gas producer, and AAON, a rooftop heating and air-conditioning unit maker. Employment in the Tulsa metro peaked in the fourth quarter of last year. Gross metropolitan product in the second quarter was down just 2.3% from the peak in the third quarter of last year. Home prices grew 2.5% in the second quarter compared with the same period a year earlier. And the unemployment rate in June was 6.8%, up 2.8 points from a year earlier. (Please see below for the various criteria used by the Brookings Institution to determine the overall ranking.)

Job growth (since peak) rank: 8
Gross Metro Product (since peak) rank: 16
Unemployment change (year over year) rank: 21
Home price change (year over year) rank: 17