OBU’s 2019 Interim President and Presidential Search
During their February 2019 meeting, the OBU Board of Trustees voted to employ recently retired Southwest Baptist University President Dr. C. Pat Taylor as OBU’s interim president. Taylor spent nearly 22 years as the SBU president and served 10 years prior to that as OBU’s chief academic officer.
The trustees also approved the 12-member OBU presidential search committee to lead the charge in searching for OBU’s next president.
- Ben Stewart, chair
- Bryan Gilbert, vice chair
- Scott Neighbors, secretary
- Steve Allen
- LaVerne Dowding
- Danna Humphreys
- Jeff Moore
- Owen Nease
Ex officio, non-voting members of the search committee include:
- Dr. Bret Roark, faculty representative, chair of the OBU faculty council and professor of psychology/chair of Behavioral and Social Sciences
- Jami Smith, alumni representative
- Clayton Myers, student body representative, president of the Student Government Association
- Dr. Hance Dilbeck, BGCO Executive Director-Treasurer
Dilbeck expressed gratitude for Stewart’s willingness to serve, saying, “Ben Stewart’s investment in this process will bear good fruit for our University. I have full confidence in him. We ask all Oklahoma Baptists to join us in asking our Father to give clear guidance as He prepares our next president.”
Based on the recommendation of the search committee, OBU retained the national executive search firm Carter Baldwin to assist in the nationwide search. Representatives from Carter Baldwin visited the OBU campus in May to meet with the presidential search committee, the Board of Trustees, and groups of faculty and staff to develop a list of essential qualities the person selected as OBU’s next president should possess.
