NEWS
OKLAHOMA CITY – At the University of Oklahoma’s Board of Regents meeting, OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. underscored the profound impact of state investment in its flagship university and outlined OU’s vision for continued partnership with the state. Harroz outlined a plan designed to accelerate Oklahoma’s path toward greater prosperity and health, seeking to build on OU’s achievements and set the stage for lasting economic and societal growth across the state.
Harroz reflected on the collaborative efforts between OU and state leaders, emphasizing the critical role of legislative support in advancing education, health care and economic prosperity. As the Oklahoma Legislature convenes next week for the 2025 regular session, OU is making a bold request for $75 million in state investment.
“When you look at those states we aspire to be, they’ve cracked the code: invest in high-performing public research universities,” Harroz said. “These investments drive health, research, new business and the prosperity of the population in the workforce that can help move you forward. Oklahoma is at a crossroads, but we know the path forward.”
OU’s $75 million request in additional state support would be used to recruit top-tier faculty, increase student scholarships and expand career and workforce-ready initiatives. This funding is essential to becoming the best value public research university in the country, Harroz said.
Thanking the legislature for their previous support, Harroz pointed to significant milestones achieved by the university in the past five years. Enrollment across OU’s three campuses has grown by nearly 6 percent, with a 20 percent increase in incoming freshmen on the Norman campus over the past two years. OU also has doubled its number of nursing graduates over the same time and expanded cancer care access to northeast Oklahoma, where a lack of access to NCI-designated cancer care was identified.
These efforts are bolstered by OU’s unprecedented research growth, including $411 million in annual research expenditures—a 12 percent increase that places OU among the top 8 percent of research universities nationwide and makes it the fourth-fastest-growing research institution in the country. Coupled with a 38 percent increase in need-based aid and a 28 percent reduction in net tuition and fees for Oklahoma students, OU is making higher education more accessible while driving innovation and economic impact across the state.
“Combining the highest-value public research university with excellence is the formula, and it works, but you have to do it, Harroz said. “Our request this year is to hit the gas pedal so that Oklahoma remains a land of opportunity, hope and promise for generations to come.”
Also during the meeting, the Regents took the following actions:
The Board is set to next meet in March.
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.
Three University of Oklahoma graduate students have been named winners of the 2025 Three Minute Thesis competition, which challenges participants to explain their research in three minutes to a non-specialist audience.
Sarah Sharif, a researcher with the University of Oklahoma, has been awarded funding from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to create innovative light detectors that pick up mid-wave and long-wave infrared signals at higher temperatures than previously considered achievable.
A team from OU and WVU recently earned a five-year, $3.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study how concept cigarillos influence the potential for addiction. The results will be used to inform the FDA’s impending flavor ban on cigar products and could have wider-reaching implications for other tobacco products that come in flavors, such as e-cigarettes and tobacco-free nicotine pouches.
