Emporia State University has announced a major coming change in terms of leadership.
In a news release from the university Friday, ESU announced that President Allison Garrett is resigning to take a new position as the ninth Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer for the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education. Garrett will be charged with leading the Oklahoma state system comprised of 25 state colleges and universities, 11 constituent agencies, one university center and independent colleges and universities coordinated with the state system.
Garrett calls this opportunity a chance to lead education at the system level. As she does that, she’s proud of the trajectory Emporia State is on.
Garrett followed Michael Shonrock as ESU’s 17th president in 2016. Since coming to ESU, the university has noted several all-time records as part of a list of significant achievements, including:
*Highest retention rates on record
*Highest percentage of four- and six-year graduation rates on record
*Largest graduating classes on record
*Highest enrollment for Graduate School in university history
*Top fundraising year on record and four of the top five in ESU history
*Higher U.S. New rankings, including being the only public university in Kansas to make the top 100 in social mobility, a measure of success in graduating Pell-eligible students
*Lowest student debt of all public Regents institutions in Kansas for five years in a row
*96% (four-year average) career outcomes for ESU graduates
Her proudest moment? Seeing the graduation numbers increase.
ESU also had several significant campus improvements, including the construction of Schallenkamp Hall, renovations to Abigail Morse Hall, the construction of the Prophet Aquatic Research and Outreach Center and the construction of the Kossover Tennis Complex.
Hours after Friday’s announcement, Emporia Mayor Rob Gilligan spoke to KVOE News and says Garrett made the absolute most of her five years at the institution.
Before her time at Emporia State, Garrett was an executive vice president for admissions, student life, financial services and other operations at Abilene Christian University. She also was a senior vice president at Oklahoma Christian University, an associate law professor at Faulkner University in Montgomery, Alabama, vice president and general counsel for Walmart and a staff attorney for the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Garrett and her husband, Chip, have been heavily involved in the community. Allison Garrett is serving on the United Way of the Flint Hills Board of Directors and is the vice chair of the NCAA’s Board of Governors and chair of the Division II Presidents’ Council. She resigns both of those positions on Oct. 15, her last day at ESU. Chip Garrett is serving on the Emporia-Lyon County Metropolitan Area Planning Commission and the SOS Board of Directors.
The Kansas Board of Regents will announce an interim president for ESU as well as next steps in the coming weeks. Regents Chair Cheryl Harrison-Lee thanked Garrett for her service to ESU, saying the university’s recent trend of record-setting success “is a testament to her strategic and visionary leadership.” The Board of Regents picked Jackie Vietti as Emporia State’s interim president bridging the Shonrock and Garrett administrations. It chose Ed Flentje to lead the university between Shonrock and his predecessor, Michael Lane.
Click below for the full news conference.
KVOE News Director Chuck Samples contributed to this report.
