By: Amanda Purser
On March 10, the OU Board of Regents voted Dr. C. Shane Hunt as Cameron University’s 18th President.
After completing his MBA at the University of Oklahoma, where he met his wife Jenifer (of 25 years), Hunt began working for a Fortune 500 company in Tulsa before completing his Ph.D. at Oklahoma State University. Hunt has a strong marketing background and is deeply passionate about teaching students, with experience as a professor since 2007 at Arkansas State University.
Hunt is entering Cameron University at a time when fundraising and community outreach is especially necessary, so his expertise should be useful and beneficial to Aggies. His approach is hands-on and centered around engagement and attention.
“If you are in a Rotary Club, Lion’s Club, Chamber of Commerce, any organization in Southwest Oklahoma, I want to come out and see you,” Hunt said. “I want to speak to your group, and I want to listen to what things you’re passionate about, and that can help your community and your businesses. That’s what we’re committed to.”
Hunt has increased the endowed scholarships and professorships at his previous institutions and has a plan to make education more affordable and accessible for students at CU. Hunt remembers the scholarships he received as a student changed his life, and he is excited to give back and focus on ways to better support the next generation of college students. Hunt is focused on finding ways to get more resources for more people to be able to afford college.
“[There are] a lot of macro factors we can’t control, but if we dramatically increase the number of permanently endowed scholarships, we’re going to be able to help a lot more students achieve their dreams,” Hunt said.
Hunt is committed to helping students go beyond the classroom and understands the importance of graduates finding employment and putting their degrees to use.
“It’s our responsibility to make sure that you all are prepared to hit the ground running the first day,” Hunt said.
He places a strong importance on networking opportunities and understands how valuable connections and recommendations can be. Hunt mentioned his desire to implement discipline-specific advisory committees which he has seen be successful at other institutions. Valuable insight is gained when recent graduates are engaged about their education and employment experiences.
Despite being a published author of textbooks and a multi-award-winning educator, Hunt professes that his proudest moments and experiences are from teaching students. He also places high regard to being an authentic and honest person.
“It meant a lot to me when I won the National Inspired Integrity Award, from the National Society of Collegiate Scholars,” Hunt said. “Because I think one of the things I try to teach, beyond just marketing, is what it means to be a professional. What it means to show up, and to be ethical and to treat people the right way, every second of every day.”
Another meaningful award is the Honors Professor of the Year, which he won as Dean. Hunt keeps the plaque on his desk as a reminder of how symbolic the homage is to him. Not many deans choose to teach and it was a deal-breaker for Hunt to take the position, if he wasn’t permitted to still teach a course. For students to elect him as the Honors Professor of the Year for the entire university meant a lot to him.
He was honored by the United Way and PBS for his involvement within those organizations and the communities he was previously part of, but Hunt is excited to now be part of the Lawton and Cameron community.
“I think, as much as any of those things, we are so excited to see the great things that are happening here,” Hunt said, “and the opportunities that we have to be part of even better things going forward.”