Interim President Dr.. Ruth Ray Jackson discussed her progress from the previous semester and her goals for Langston University for the rest of her time as president.
On April 4, 2023, former university president Kent Smith announced his retirement via email to students. A few months later on July 6, 2023, Dr.. Ruth Ray Jackson became the university’s interim president. The Oklahoma Board of Regents chose Dr.. Jackson to fill the position after she served her previous job as Vice President of Academic Affairs at Langston University.
During her convocation in August, she shared many ideas and hopes for the university. “It’s been an honor to represent the University in the role of interim president. One of the things I have enjoyed the most is getting to share with people outside of our campus community about the outstanding students and talented faculty and staff that we have here,” Dr.. Jackson said. The progression of the university was a huge part of her convocation. She then addressed her “5 P Plan” (People, Processes, Programs, Public Relations, and Purpose) and discussed her progress with all of them.
While addressing the first part of her “5 P Plan”, People, she said, “I think we’ve done a really good job of hiring in terms of faculty, staff, and administration. We have a number of new people; I’m sure you’ve seen the press release about the new faces that we have in certain roles.” She highlighted Daryl D. Green, the new Dean of Business, Shauntae Sourie, the new director of human resources, and Ayana Spriggs Talley, the new director of IT services, as prominent new hires.
After, Dr.. Jackson spoke of Processes, the second part of her plan, and said, “We continue to and streamline our processes and make sure that we are working as effectively as possible. And a big part of that has been listening to students and employees alike to understand where some pressure points are and what we can do to improve them.”
Next was Programs. “With our RN to BSN and our master’s degree program, they are fully approved now, and we are recruiting for those students in those programs. Extracurricular activity and athletics teams continue to be excellent at all that they do,” Dr.. Jackson said.
Moving on to Public Relations, she said, “We’ve continued to be intentional about the messaging we put out. We continue to engage with local outlets and news such as print journalism, news, and broadcasts so everything that we can do to promote the university.”
Lastly, she spoke of Purpose. “Everything that we do is focused on making sure that students who are with us leave with a professional competence as well as personal confidence to excel in whatever that they choose to do,” Dr. Jackson said.
Dr. Jackson said her goal was to keep moving forward and improving the university before a new president is hired. “My primary role is to continue the forward and positive movement that the university has been on, certainly not interested in treading water. I don’t think that our institution deserves that. My big role is to try to add resources and remove barriers so that our faculty and staff can continue the work that they’re doing, because it’s actually the research and teaching services that move our university forward,” Dr. Jackson said.
Since hiring Dr. Jackson as interim president, the quest for a new president of Langston University is ongoing. “The only thing I know is that there is a search committee in place. The search committee is working with Witt Keifer to collect information from people who are interested in applying for the position. The goal is to have someone by the end of the spring semester,” Dr.. Jackson said.
Dr.. Jackson expressed that she was proud of her work at Langston University, including the transition from academic affairs to interim president, her role in adding resources to the college, and the relationship she has built with administration, faculty, and staff of Langston. She said, “The short of it is that I am so fortunate and very proud that I get to work with a group of people who are innovative, creative, and committed to what we do.”
Ciera Agee is a sophomore
broadcast journalism major.
