Burrage is the former president of Southeastern Oklahoma State University, vice president for executive affairs and chief of staff at the University of Oklahoma. He also served as a state senator and minority floor leader.
He previously served on former Gov. Mary Fallin’s Education Advisory Committee, the Regent’s Task Force on the Future of Higher Education and the Blueprint 2030 strategic planning committee. Burrage replaces former chancellor Allison Garrett, who served for three years.
He is a member of the Choctaw Nation.
Burrage said after his swearing-in he wants to focus on getting more people to high-need workforces.
“This is about putting people to work, right?” Burrage said. “We’ve got to have more engineers and nurses. We’ve got to get people back into teacher prep. We’ve got to have more people that want to be teachers. I believe by working with our institutions, we can recruit and retain more students in these areas, and that’s what I want to do.”
The chancellor reports to the State Regents, which are the coordinating board for 25 public colleges and universities across the state, overseeing academic standards, budgets and scholarship programs. The regents are appointed to nine-year terms by the governor and confirmed by the state senate.
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This article was updated to reflect a correction of Burrage's credentials.
