What: 2017 Distinguished Service Award Presentation
When: 9 a.m., March 29, 2018
Where: Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, Regents Conference Room, 655 Research Parkway, Suite 200, Oklahoma City, OK 73104
Who: Former Rep. Scott Martin, Rep. Katie Henke, State Regents for Higher Education, Chancellor Glen D. Johnson, the Council of College and University Presidents and representatives from Oklahoma public higher education
Why: Chancellor Johnson will present the 2017 Distinguished Service Award to former Rep. Scott Martin and Rep. Katie Henke. Martin will be recognized for his support of higher education in his role as a member of the Oklahoma House and for his leadership as chair of the Appropriations and Budget Education Subcommittee, where he played a key role in securing funding for the Endowed Chairs backlog; for his efforts to increase funding to higher education and most recently, to minimize budget cuts to higher education; and for his efforts in sponsoring a 2013 bill that allowed the State Regents to switch to a prudent man investment policy, allowing an enhancement on returns for the Endowed Chairs Trust Fund.
Rep. Henke will be honored for her support of higher education in her role as a member of the Oklahoma House and for her efforts to restore funding to higher education and minimize budget cuts to higher education during the 2017 regular session; for her ongoing support of the Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship program, including sponsoring and supporting SB 529, historic reform legislation passed during the 2017 regular session; and for her commitment to public safety through her efforts to maintain the current law with regard to weapons on campus.