Tyler Boydston
Managing Editor
Cameron University’s new president has already begun work on ensuring that the school keeps evolving along with its community.
President John McArthur, taking over after Dr. Cynthia Ross’s retirement this summer, began working at CU nine years ago in the summer of 2004.
“I was hired as the Dean of the School of Science and Technology,” McArthur said. “I had a wonderful opportunity to work with a great array of faculty and staff from agriculture to zoology, and that was a great adventure.”
McArthur went on to become the President for Academic Affairs two years later and held the position until he saw the application for CU President.
The process for his new position on campus included an interview panel and a written essay.
“The application process for president wasn’t very different from the application process from any other campus job, particularly a university faculty member job,” McArthur said. “An advertisement was put out in the Chronicle of Higher Education describing what the experiences and skills the university would like to see in its next president. I applied and tried to show in writing why I was a good fit. “
His writing did just that. After a long wait, a panel of dedicated Cameron University faculty members, students and interviewed him. McArthur said he has learned even more about the university through this process.
“After a wait, and a little while longer wait, I had the opportunity to interview with a broad panel, including students, faculty, community members and our regents to convince them further. The interview was an interesting process. I learned a lot about myself and a lot about Cameron University even though I had worked here for nine years.”
As McArthur stepped into his new position, he has also taken part in the Plan 2018 initiatives for Cameron University and has considered what initiatives he plans to reinforce on campus.
“The initiative I’m most excited about is called ‘We Want You Back,’” McArthur said. “We have so many students at Cameron who have gotten a good start on their education, but they stop for whatever reason. We have an initiative underway this year to reach out to those students and clearly identify for them what they need to do to finish their degrees. There’s a new piece of software we bought and implemented last year called Degree Works. It will be open to all students soon. It lets us run every student’s transcript against every Cameron degree program. So if you want to try English on for size or Journalism on for size, you can see how close you are to a degree in that area and choose your schedule correspondingly.”
Cameron has also seen an increase in tuition for the 2013 to 2014 school year.
According to McArthur, the reason for the tuition increase is based on employees’ benefits as well as resources to further students’ education.
“The mandatory cost for our employees for insurance benefits is a significant factor but also providing our students the educational resources in the library increased licensing costs and computer costs,” McArthur said. “We want you to have the best technology possible inside the classroom, and unfortunately, that costs money, and a portion of that costs is held by the students in the form of tuition and fees.”
McArthur also said he looks forward to the opportunity to hear from students on campus regarding their future.
“The most exciting thing for me is to be able to listen to our students. How can Cameron help them move forward in their success and their learning? At the same time we want to be listening to our community. What type of employees will they need in four or five years? Do we have the degree programs to meet those needs? For me, how I see Cameron evolving or changing, is that as Lawton, Fort Sill and Duncan begin change, Cameron’s going to be right next to them as a dedicated partner.”