Former energy executive and OU law school graduate James “Jim” Gallogly is the man picked to succeed David Boren as President of the University of Oklahoma.
The OU Board of Regents met early Monday morning and formally voted on proclaiming him to become the 14th president of the university this summer. He was chosen from a list of seven finalists for the job to succeed Boren who is retiring after 23 years at the helm of the university.
“I’m here because I love the University of Oklahoma,” he said during his introduction. “It’s a privilege to be part of the University, and I will work tirelessly with our outstanding students, faculty and administration as we achieve new standards of academic excellence.”
Gallogly is 65 and the university’s college of engineering is named after him because of his large financial donations to the university. The 70,000-square-foot Gallogly hall will open in the fall of 2019 and also carries his name.
Gallogly previously was an executive with ConocoPhillips, ChevronPhillips and Phillips Petroleum in a 30-year career. He later became chief executive officer of Houston-based LyonndellBasell, a refining company that also is known for its manufacture of polymers and petrochemicals.
Before joining Phillips Petroleum Company at its operations in Bartlesville in 1980, he had practiced law with a Denver, Colorado private firm.
When Gallogly joined LyondellBasell in 2009, he had the responsibility of leading it out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy which he did successfully. In 2015, he also was named to the board of Directors at DuPont.
A native of Canada, Gallogly received a psychology degree from the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs in 1974 and his law degree from OU in 1977. He also completed the Advanced Executive Program at the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University in Illinois in 1998.
Over the years, he received honorary degrees from OU and the University of Colorado. Two years ago, he was honored with the Order of the Owl Award which recognizes OU Law graduates who demonstrate leadership and service through outstanding accomplishments in their legal careers.