Retreat Speakers
Robert Henry, formerly chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, is now president and CEO of Oklahoma City University. He served as a state representative and attorney general of Oklahoma. As chair of the International Judicial Relations Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States, he traveled extensively in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, consulting and lecturing on the rule of law and the American judicial system. He is a lifetime member of the Uniform Law Commission and a member of the American Law Institute and the Council on Foreign Relations. He serves on the board of directors of Devon Energy; the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce; the Vera Institute of Justice in New York City; the Foundation for the Future in Amman, Jordan; the Amar Foundation (United States) in Washington, D.C.; and the National Advisory Council of the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Ariz.
Vicki Miles-LaGrange, chief U.S. district judge for the Western District of Oklahoma, has accomplished a number of "firsts" in her career. She was the first African-American appointed to the federal bench in Oklahoma, and her appointment by President Bill Clinton in 1994 also made her the first African-American federal judge in the six states of the 10th Circuit. She was the first female U.S. attorney in Oklahoma when she was appointed in 1993, and in 1986 she became the first African-American female elected to the Oklahoma Senate. While there, she chaired the Judiciary Committee and the Oklahoma Legislative Black Caucus. Early in her career, she worked as both a state and federal prosecutor. Miles-LaGrange has significant human-rights experience, having prosecuted Nazi war criminals for the U.S. Department of Justice and working in Rwanda to restore justice under the rule of law after the genocide of 1 million people in 1994. She continues to work with courts in Africa, South America and Asia to combat pedophilia and child pornography. Miles-LaGrange graduated cum laude from Vassar College and received her law degree from Howard University School of Law, where she was an editor of The Howard Law Journal. Her civic and professional honors are numerous and include induction into the Oklahoma African-American Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma Child Advocates Hall of Fame, among many others.
Chancellor Glen D. Johnson, the chief executive officer for the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education, will participate with Regent Mike Turpen in an open dialog with students immediately following Regent Turpen’s remarks during Friday’s lunch. The dialog with students in which Chancellor Johnson and Regent Turpen participated last year received one of the best student ratings in the retreat’s 10-year history.
Johnson was appointed to his current position in January 2007 after a national search. Before assuming this role, he served as president of Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant for 10 years. During that time, he instituted strategic goals and plans for the university that have positioned Southeastern as the "university of choice" for students in southeastern Oklahoma and northern Texas. Enrollment increased to maximum capacity under his leadership, and renovations and expansion in an aggressive five-year plan of campus infrastructure and student-centered learning and living environments took place.
Prior to assuming the presidency of Southeastern, Johnson served as director of public policy and professor of law at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. He also served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1982 to 1996 and was speaker of the House from 1990 to 1996. At the time of his election as speaker, he was the youngest-sitting speaker in the United States.
Recognized both statewide and nationally as a strong and tireless advocate for funding for secondary and postsecondary education, Johnson’s political career was a model of success in leadership that benefited his district (24) and resulted in major initiatives, funding and improvements for all of Oklahoma. Among these are his work toward passage of HB 1017, Oklahoma’s landmark education reform legislation and authoring SB 180 that created the Endowed Chairs Program.
Numerous professional, state and national organizations count, Johnson as an active member. He was a founding member of the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence and chairs the Oklahoma Heritage Association’s board of directors. In 2006 he was named to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. His awards and honors have been numerous, including naming of the new Student Union at Southeastern in his honor in 2010.
A native Oklahoman, Johnson earned his undergraduate degree in political science at the University of Oklahoma and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. While there, he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and was awarded the Letzeiser Award as one of OU’s outstanding seniors.
Mike Turpen, a partner in the law firm of Riggs, Abney, Neal, Turpen, Orbison & Lewis in Oklahoma City, was appointed a state regent in 2009. Turpen has been active in Oklahoma politics, having served as Muskogee County district attorney and as attorney general for the state of Oklahoma. He is a nationally sought-after public speaker; a member of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame; a recipient of the Oklahoma Arts Council Governor’s Award for Community Service; and a member of such civic boards as Lyric Theatre, Oklahoma City Memorial and Museum and the Oklahoma Academy of State Goals. A native Oklahoman, Turpen earned his Bachelor of Science degree and his Juris Doctor degree from The University of Tulsa. He and Kirk Humphreys will reprise their award-winning "Flashpoint" dialogue during Friday’s lunch.
Kirk Humphreys is chairman of The Humphreys Company, a development firm that specializes in creating mixed-use communities. Humphreys served as mayor of Oklahoma City from 1998 through 2003 and currently serves as a director of OGE Energy Corp., a trustee of the Urban Land Institute and a member of the Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma. Additionally, he serves on the boards of the Oklahoma State Fair, the Oklahoma City Airport Trust and the Oklahoma Industries Authority and as chairman of the John W. Rex Charter School in downtown Oklahoma City. He previously served on the Putnam City school board. He is co-host of "Flashpoint," a weekly televised commentary and debate on issues of local and national interest.
Humphreys earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance from the University of Oklahoma.
