The Board of Regents approved OU President David Boren’s appointment of the next vice president for governmental relations at the Dec. 1 meeting.
Jonathan Nichols, an OU College of Law alumnus and former Oklahoma state senator, will replace Scott Mason as vice president for governmental relations.
Boren announced Nichols’ appointment at what he said was a pivotal time for OU and the state of Oklahoma, due to budget cuts to higher education.
“We all realize we’re about to go through a very, very difficult period of time financially,” Boren said. “Unfortunately, last year, we received a 16 percent cut to higher education. Higher education was singled out to get the greatest financial sacrifice.”
Especially because of cuts to higher education, Boren said it’s vital that OU has a good relationship with state government.
“It’s imperative that we put a great emphasis on our relationship with the state government,” Boren said. “We’ve had record-breaking support from our own alumni and friends at the university. We could not do what we’re doing without really, really significant private contributions.”
Nichols was in attendance at the Dec. 1 meeting. He has served since 2012 as the chief of staff and legal counsel for the Office of the President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate.
In light of the jawboning about his budget cuts, how much is Boren paying Nichols for his expertise?