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Oklahoma Chancellor for Higher Education Dr. Paul G. Risser will be the second presenter in the Julian J. Rothbaum Distinguished Lectureship in Public Policy series to be presented by Eastern Oklahoma State College 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 11, in Mitchell Hall Auditorium on the Wilburton campus.

Eastern President Dr. William Campion said everyone interested in hearing from the Chancellor was invited to the lecture.

“We would be honored for area residents to join us during the Julian J. Rothbaum lectureship. This will be the first time the new Chancellor will be in our area. It will be interesting to hear his views and the direction of Oklahoma higher education,” Campion said.

An informal luncheon will be available during a “mix and mingle” following the lecture in the Eastern Student Union Ballroom.

The lectureship series is made possible by a generous endowment by Julian J. Rothbaum through the Eastern Oklahoma State College Development Foundation. Rothbaum, a current resident of Tulsa, is a native of Pittsburg County and long time advocate for higher education having served as a member of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education as well as being involved in the oil industry and banking.

As an attorney and philanthropist, he has devoted his time and resources to help form public policy. Rothbaum wants to give college students and area residents the opportunity to hear from recognized authorities on subjects that relate to national, state, and local public policy.

The March 11 lecture, entitled “Notes from the Chancellor”, will feature Risser as the chief executive officer for the Oklahoma State system of higher education.

Risser became Chancellor in January after a national search. Before assuming the position, he was president of Oregon State University where he led the university to record enrollment and impressive growth over a seven-year span. His professional background also includes serving as president of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio; provost and vice president of academic affairs at the University of New Mexico and chief of the Illinois Natural History Survey.

His professional background also has roots in Oklahoma where he served as a faculty member from 1967-81 at the University of Oklahoma. He joined the OU faculty as assistant professor of botany and 10 years later was promoted to full professor and chair of OU’s Department of Botany and Microbiology.

He has also held teaching positions at the University of New Mexico; Miami University and Oregon State University. He has served as program director of ecosystem studies for the National Science Foundation and as president of the American Institute of Biological Sciences, the Ecological Society of America and the Association of Southwestern Naturalists.

Risser’s research success has led him to serve in various leadership positions on national boards and committees including the National Academy of Sciences, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Kellogg Commission, World Forestry Institute, the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of Natural History and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Risser has a Ph.D. in botany and soils and a master’s degree in botany from the University of Wisconsin and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Grinnell College.