A lifetime of service to higher education – a significant portion of which involved leading Cameron University in Lawton – was rewarded Monday with the induction of John M. McArthur into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame.
McArthur, who retired from Cameron last July after 11 years as its president, was one of 11 inductees into the Hall of Fame, which is sponsored by the Oklahoma Higher Education Heritage Society. McArthur and his wife, former Cameron professor Karla Oty, traveled from their new home in Pueblo, Colo., to attend the ceremony, which was held on the campus of the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond.
In his acceptance speech, McArthur was quick to identify and express appreciation to a number of individuals who helped him as he navigated his career through higher education leadership.
“These people were mentors for me,” McArthur said. “They identified opportunities or nudged me through a door,” sometimes gently and sometimes more directly. And he urged those in the audience to use their ability and experience to become mentors to others.
“I encourage you to keep it up,” he said. “Get off the fence; support higher education and its leaders. Our students are worth it.”
McArthur came to Cameron in 2004 as dean of its School of Science and Technology. He was then appointed vice president for academic affairs and provost before he assumed the mantle of president in 2013. Before coming to Cameron, he held faculty appointments in physics, computer science and mathematics at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and Colorado State University-Pueblo.
McArthur has long been an advocate for accessible and affordable opportunities for students. At CU, he worked to maintain low and affordable tuition and fees while increasing scholarship opportunities. Student participation in distance and learning and concurrent enrollment dramatically increased during his tenure as president. He was a strong supporter of undergraduate research, along with professional development opportunities for Cameron faculty.
Dozens of physical improvements were made to Cameron’s Lawton and Duncan campuses during his time as president, including new science labs, a pair of greenhouses, a teaching art gallery and a major renovation of the university’s library.
McArthur is one of at least 10 individuals with ties to Cameron University who have been inducted into the Higher Education Hall of Fame, joining former presidents Don Davis and Cynthia Ross. Others are alumni Bill W. Burgess Jr., Ned Hockman and Joe Kinzer Jr.; faculty Tony Allison, E. Ann Nalley and Valree F. Wynn; and administrator B. Don Sullivan. Davis, Ross, Nalley and Sullivan were present at the induction ceremony to welcome McArthur.
Inducted Monday along with McArthur were John Barthell of the University of Central Oklahoma; Joe Harroz Jr., president of the University of Oklahoma; former Oklahoma State Regents Ann Holloway and Russell Vaught; Clyde Montgomery Jr. of Langston University; Marion Paden from Oklahoma City Community College; Larry D. Rice from Rogers State University; and James Halligan, Ann Halligan and Robert Spurrier Jr., all from Oklahoma State University.
The Oklahoma Higher Education Heritage Society dates back to 1991. Its mission is to not only preserve the state’s higher education history, but to recognize the life achievements of outstanding faculty, administrators and supporters of higher education, and to promote its vital role in today’s society.
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