Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt calling for higher education chancellor to be replaced

Gov. Kevin Stitt is pushing for Glen Johnson, Oklahoma's longtime higher education chancellor, to be replaced.

"Oklahomans hired me to put a fresh set of eyes on everything in state government," the governor said Tuesday. "And the fact of the matter is, the chancellor has been there for 12 years — he's been in government for over 37 years — and I just don't think we're performing like we should. We need a fresh set of eyes. We need fresh blood in higher ed.

"We've got some fantastic universities that have just been underperforming."

The chancellor's bosses, the state regents for higher education, however, are sticking by Johnson, who turned 65 in April. Their chair, Jody Parker, said there is no timetable for finding a successor.

"The state regents are very pleased with the chancellor’s leadership," Parker said Tuesday after being told of the governor's criticism.

The governor met personally with Johnson in July to ask him to retire by the end of the year, sources said. He then met personally with the regents' four-member executive board this month. He also is having his education secretary, Secretary of State Michael Rogers, personally call each of the nine regents.

Stitt, a former mortgage company CEO, was given the power this year under a new law to hire and fire the leaders of five state agencies but he does not have that authority over the higher education chancellor. The state constitution gives state regents the final say over that position.

Stitt on Tuesday compared Johnson to the former football coach at the University of Oklahoma who was fired in 1998 after three losing seasons.

"The guy makes over $400,000 a year, and we're just underperforming. It's like we've got John Blake as a head coach and we're going 3-8 and I want to go hire Bob Stoops," said Stitt, a Republican. "When I see something that's broken, I want to go fix it. And it's just so frustrating when you can't make the change as quick as we want. I believe Oklahomans are with me on this issue."

House Minority Leader Emily Virgin, D-Norman, said she was disappointed by Stitt's effort but not surprised.

She praised Johnson, saying he has done a masterful job of keeping tuition low despite a decade of funding cuts by the "Republican-controlled Legislature." She also said she was glad that the state regents still have control over who serves as chancellor of higher education.

"Frankly, I wouldn't trust that Governor Stitt would put someone in that position who would have the best interests of our higher education system and the students of Oklahoma ... at heart. What we've seen is that Governor Stitt has taken this opportunity (at other agencies) to appoint his friends from the business community, people ... who don't have the necessary experience," Virgin said.

As chancellor, Johnson is involved in deciding how much each of the state's public universities and colleges get in state funding and what courses and degrees they can offer to reduce overlap. Johnson — the son of a former U.S. congressman — was the speaker of the state House from 1990 to 1996. He was president at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant for 10 years before becoming chancellor in January 2007.

In a written statement Tuesday, Johnson did not directly address Stitt's request to retire. Instead, he said, "I join the state regents in a willingness to work with Governor Stitt. We appreciate the governor and Legislature for increasing state support for higher education last session. ... We are ready to work with state leaders and our colleagues in CareerTech and common education to identify and implement educational priorities to move our state forward."

The regents' chair, Parker, of Tulsa, confirmed in a written statement he and three other regents met with Stitt about Johnson. He said, "We informed the governor we are focusing on hiring a new vice chancellor for budget and finance."

He said they also informed the governor the regents would be developing with the chancellor "a comprehensive leadership succession plan to guide us through any future transition."

"While there is no timeline, we welcome the governor's thoughts, and we reiterated our desire to work with him," Parker said.

He also noted that regents with the help of a task force last year already have laid out a "transformative pathway to bolster increased productivity, efficiency and innovation in Oklahoma's higher education system."