The University of Tulsa says there’s no incentive being offered to hire U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern as its next president, addressing swirling campus rumors from students and faculty.
TU student Aristotle Orsini amplified weeks of widespread concerns and rumors amongst faculty members and donors about the search for a new university president in a video Thursday. Titled “Hurricane Against Hern,” Orsini alleges Board of Trustees member Mike Case offered to donate $100 million if Hern is named president.
TU and Case flatly denied that claim.
“The university is in the midst of a national search for the next president. We do not release the names of job candidates, and there is no incentive being offered to the university to hire a specific candidate for any position,” university spokesperson Mona Chamberlin said.
The Flyer reached out to Hern’s office several times for comment Friday but did not hear back.
Hern’s politics are driving his unpopularity with Orsini and others at TU. The Tulsa-area congressman is the House Republican Policy Committee chairman and two time candidate for Speaker of the House.
Hern is not an academic and has no experience managing an academic institution. He has a bachelor of science degree from Arkansas Tech and an MBA from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Having an academic background is not a requirement to lead an institution – former Navy admiral William B. McRaven was chancellor at the University of Texas, for example – but it is often a preference of faculty.
As of Friday evening, nearly 350 students, alumni and faculty have joined a chat dedicated to organizing against a possible Hern appointment. A protest has been set for Thursday, Oct. 23, coinciding with the university’s homecoming celebrations. In messages sent Friday, students say they will continue escalating such actions until Hern is no longer a candidate.
Case called the rumor a “blatant lie.”
TU’s former president, Brad Carson, stepped down in May to lead an AI organization, leaving the campus to select a new leader for the second time in five years. A public application period for his replacement is open through December.
Orsini posted his video without confirmation from TU, Case or Hern — but said the widespread “rumors were relevant enough to bring up to a larger audience,” after talking with faculty.
Chamberlin, the university’s spokesperson, said the school’s administration was committed to communicating about the presidential search. She pointed to a Sept. 16 State of the University forum hosted by the student government as an example that the administration “will continue to keep the lines of communication open.”
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