OSU Provost Named Interim President

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The Oklahoma A&M Board of Regents name Oklahoma State University Provost Marlene Strathe as the school's interim president, effective March 1st.<br/><br/>The regents met in a

Thursday, February 22nd 2007, 5:47 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The Oklahoma A&M Board of Regents name Oklahoma State University Provost Marlene Strathe as the school's interim president, effective March 1st.

The regents met in a special session Wednesday on OSU's Stillwater campus to discuss how the school will transition after current President David Schmidly's departure.

Schmidly said Saturday he is leaving to become the president of the University of New Mexico by June 1st, if not sooner.

OSU spokesman Gary Shutt says Schmidly will relinquish his OSU presidential duties on March 1st but will continue to teach a leadership class on campus and finish his work with graduate students before leaving for New Mexico.

OSU hired Strathe as provost and senior vice president in July 2003. As provost, she oversees the day-to-day operations of the Stillwater campus and has served as the chief academic officer of the OSU system.

Shutt says it is premature to discuss whether or not Strathe will be a candidate to replace Schmidly.