Serving the University of Oklahoma for over 30 years in various leadership roles, Joseph Harroz Jr. was named the 15th president of OU on May 9, 2020. Harroz’s previous service to the university includes a one-year term as interim president, nine years as dean of the College of Law, 12 years as general counsel, and two years as vice president for executive affairs.
Under Harroz’s leadership, OU has ambitiously pursued the fulfillment of its “Lead On, University” Strategic Plan, driving an era of remarkable progress that has elevated OU’s position as a top-tier public research university and strengthened its commitment to the highest levels of academic excellence, research innovation, student success, patient care, and service to our state and beyond. Learn more at ou.edu/leadon.
OU continues to lead the state by attracting students in record numbers. The Class of 2030 marks the university’s sixth consecutive record freshman class and includes a record number of Oklahoma students for the fourth straight year. A remarkable 37% of Oklahoma students in the freshman class are the first in their families to attend college. In six years, OU’s incoming class sizes have grown by more than 45%, enrollment on the OU Harold Hamm Health Campus has surpassed 4,000 students for the first time, and enrollment across the university is growing at its fastest pace in five decades. This unprecedented growth reflects what students and families see in OU: a place where excellence, opportunity, and affordability converge.
As the state’s leading research enterprise and largest engine of discovery, OU is advancing an impact-focused vision for research that strengthens Oklahoma and changes lives. Research at OU has grown more than 70% in six years, making OU one of the fastest-growing research universities in the nation. Through Project 200, the university is making an unprecedented investment in the people and ideas with the potential to solve some of society’s greatest challenges, strengthen Oklahoma’s economy, and change the trajectory of the state for generations to come.
Confidence in OU’s direction and ambitions is also reflected in record support from donors and alumni, with the university achieving three consecutive record fundraising years and launching a historic $2 billion fundraising campaign.
OU Health, Oklahoma’s leading academic health system, has emerged as a national model for transformation, delivering world-class health care, training tomorrow’s health professionals, and driving discoveries that redefine medicine. OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center – Oklahoma’s only NCI-designated cancer center – continues to expand its reach and life-saving impact. A newly opened location in Norman, along with a state-of-the-art facility in Tulsa opening in 2028, reflect OU’s mission to ensure every Oklahoman has access to the very best cancer care, no matter where they live.
An abundance of other successes have come to life since the Strategic Plan’s introduction – an unwavering commitment to making an excellent OU education more affordable and accessible, unprecedented levels of state and federal support for the university, the addition of premier freshman housing, entering the SEC, and more.
A native Oklahoman, Harroz graduated Phi Beta Kappa from OU in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and a minor in zoology. He earned his J.D. in 1992 from Georgetown University Law Center. A grandson of Lebanese immigrants to Oklahoma, Harroz is father to Joseph, Zara, and Jude, and is married to Ashley Harroz.
