Choosing a pair of leaders from financial investment firms, Gov. Kevin Stitt has announced his annual appointments for the boards of regents governing Oklahoma’s two largest university systems.
On Wednesday, Stitt nominated Rainey Williams, an Oklahoma City businessman and attorney, to the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents. Earlier this month, he choose Tracy Poole, a Tulsa-based venture capitalist and attorney, for the Board of Regents for the Oklahoma Agricultural & Mechanical Colleges. Both nominees must be confirmed by the State Senate, which rejected Stitt’s first OSU/A&M board nominee last year.
Williams is the president of Marco Capital Group, an investment company that invests in private equity and other securities. According to Stitt’s press release, Williams has a leadership role in numerous other community organizations and businesses. He is the lead independent director at BancFirst Corporation, and he has held board positions with companies like American Trailer Works, Benham Investment Holdings and Titan Spine.
Underscoring his close association with OU, Williams is the current chairman of three other notable boards:
- The University Hospitals Authority and Trust (which receives legislative appropriations for OU projects);
- OU Health, Inc.; and
- The Investment Committee for the Presbyterian Health Foundation.
It’s unclear whether Williams will be required to step down from the UHAT board or the OU Health board, although the OU Board of Regents does have designated appointments to the OU Health board.
“Rainey Williams is just an amazing Oklahoman, super smart, well-respected Oklahoma City person,” Stitt said in a press conference Wednesday. “Great acumen when it comes to looking at finances, looking at legal issues. He’s an attorney (and) has been a very, very successful business leader.”
Previously, Williams served on boards associated with the Stephenson Cancer Center, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma Medical Center, the Regional Food Bank Foundation and the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce.
“I’m honored by the opportunity to serve on the OU Board of Regents and support the university’s mission of academic excellence, innovation and public impact,” Williams said in a press release. “OU plays a vital role in shaping our state’s future, and I’m grateful to Gov. Stitt for the trust he’s placed in me.”
Stitt says OSU/A&M regent requirements need to change
Poole is the founder of 46VC, a Tulsa-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage companies. While some of its funds have nationwide focuses, 46VC also focuses on “specialized networks” in “Middle America,” in particular across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Prior to starting 46VC, he practiced law at McAfee & Taft, Oklahoma’s largest commercial law firm, specializing in mergers and acquisitions, corporate and securities transactions and startup representation, according to a press release from Stitt. Fellow OSU/A&M regent Jennifer Callahan is an attorney at McAfee & Taft.
“I am honored to be appointed by Gov. Stitt to serve on the OSU A&M Board of Regents,” said Poole. “Oklahoma State University played a crucial role in shaping my career, and I look forward to giving back and contributing to its continued success by helping foster innovation, entrepreneurship and academic excellence.”
Poole earned his undergraduate degree from Oklahoma State University. Both Poole and Williams received law degrees from the OU College of Law.
“Tracy is amazing,” Stitt said Wednesday. “He’s got a similar background to Rainey Williams. He’s an attorney, worked for McAfee & Taft, went to Chicago, ran some private equity folks. Great family, great leader in the Tulsa community, and I think he’ll bring a more business acumen on the board. They need some more fiscal discipline up there.”
Stitt’s statement referenced recent financial woes at OSU, whose board is set to meet Friday in Goodwell on the campus of Panhandle State University. Stitt noted how the governor has much more freedom when filling OU Board of Regents positions, while state law requires OSU regents to hail from various congressional districts. In addition, the board must feature a “majority” of “farmers” who are “actually engaged in farming and/or livestock growing as their principal business or occupation in earning a livelihood.”
Stitt said the farmer requirement is “good on paper, but it just keeps shrinking the pool you can pull from.”
“With Oklahoma State University, the problem that needs to be fixed, quite frankly, is the restrictions on how I pick (each) board of regents. OU has a much, much better system. The regents I pick at OU can be from anywhere in the United States. They can live anywhere. Whatever acumen we need for that specific purpose, we can go find the very best and brightest in the United States and put them on the board,” Stitt said. “These are billion dollar corporations, so to speak, that spend a lot of money and they hire a lot of people, and you need some strong, strong board members.”
