‘Give Me a Chance,’ Says U. of Oklahoma President, Under Fire for Response to Racist Videos

Facing a major backlash from students and faculty members, the University of Oklahoma’s president, James L. Gallogly, told The Chronicle on Friday that he is still growing into the job and that “all I ask is people give me a chance.”

“I’ve been a CEO in the past and haven’t been in the academy,” Gallogly said. “And so I have much to learn. I’ll be the first to say that.”

Gallogly, a former oil-industry executive who became president in July, also said he is committed to improving the campus culture after a tumultuous week in which two racist blackface videos went viral. At least one of them included university students.

“This isn’t a one-week event,” Gallogly said. “It’s a call to action.”

The Chronicle this week reported that Gallogly’s emphasis on cutting costs and what critics call his antagonistic tone have complicated his efforts to unite the campus following the disclosure of the videos, which made national headlines.

The offensive videos also reignited an intense debate over whether the university is a welcoming place for students of color. Oklahoma had spent the past few years trying to improve itself in that regard, following a 2015 racist incident that also turned into a viral video.

Gallogly’s leadership is now under a microscope. A student-led rally against racism on Tuesday revealed that some students are deeply skeptical of their new president. When speakers at the rally addressed him, their tone ranged from lukewarm to downright hostile.

“I haven’t been here very long,” Gallogly told The Chronicle on Friday. “I don’t think people know me very well yet.”

A follow-up rally on Thursday left some students disappointed when they arrived at the president’s office and were told he was unavailable. In Friday’s interview, Gallogly said he had been attending previously scheduled meetings, and hadn’t been told that the students expected to meet him.

“I’m not trying to avoid anyone,” he said. “I listen very carefully, and I take action on the basis of what I hear.”

An Underwater Budget

Gallogly also said he had always been committed to promoting campus diversity, and was making efforts to achieve that goal long before the events of the past week. He cited the creation, in November, of the university’s “Crimson Commitment” program, which helps high-performing students from families with annual incomes under $55,000. Those students were already eligible for a state scholarship, Gallogly said, but the program makes sure that their university fees are paid as well.

“We have very high fees, and so this took care of that part,” Gallogly said. “So that we’d have the ability to recruit some of our poorer students, which, generally, are sometimes more diverse students.”

Gallogly said his efforts to engage with students had even included living in dormitories, on a volunteer basis, before becoming president.

The new president has made reducing expenses a priority, and has laid off dozens of employees since taking the helm. He acknowledged on Friday that more layoffs are planned, though the exact number is yet to be determined.

Some have questioned whether the university’s finances are as dire as Gallogly describes. In June the university’s then chief financial officer told Gallogly in an email he was “cautiously optimistic that we will be close to breakeven this year on a cash basis.”

Gallogly on Friday dismissed the importance of that email.

“He’s the former CFO because he didn’t get the numbers right very often,” Gallogly said, citing the email as one example.

Although Gallogly said he was still learning about the world of higher education, he insisted that the university’s budget was structurally underwater when he arrived. He rejected any suggestion that he had exaggerated the financial challenge facing Oklahoma — or misled the public about it.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “If you look at my record, you’ll see I’m a financial expert.”

Gallogly has harshly criticized how the university budgeted itself under the previous president, David L. Boren, but he was softer on Friday in his assessment of the Board of Regents, whose job is to monitor the president’s performance.

“The regents,” he said, “weren’t always given very good information.”

Michael Vasquez is a senior investigative reporter. Follow him on Twitter @MrMikeVasquez, or email him at michael.vasquez@chronicle.com.