Longtime plastics and chemicals executive Jim Gallogly soon will be a super-Sooner.
On June 30, Gallogly will become the 14th president of the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla. The university's Board of Regents announced the appointment on March 26. Gallogly, 65, will succeed David Boren, who served in that role for 23 years.
(For our international readers or for those who don't follow college sports: OU's athletic teams are known as the Sooners. The school has almost 22,000 undergraduate students.)
(And for sports fans who don't follow iconic musicals, the headline refers to "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'," one of the best-known songs from the classic musical "Oklahoma!")
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In a news release, OU Board Chairman Clayton Bennett described Gallogly as "a world-class, in-demand transformative leader" and as "a builder known for having strategic vision, for managing large and complex organizations, and for mentoring and inspiring great teams to achieve results."
Gallogly retired in 2015 as CEO of global polyolefins leader LyondellBasell Industries of Houston. He worked in the plastics and chemicals field for 35 years, starting with Phillips Petroleum and continuing with ChevronPhillips Chemical Co. and ConocoPhillips.
Gallogly joined LyondellBasell in 2009 and is credited with steering the firm out of bankruptcy to its current position as an industry leader, one that's involved in multiple expansion projects on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
In 1977, Gallogly earned a law degree from OU. The school's Gallogly College of Engineering also is named for his family, which made a major donation to the program.
In the release, he said "I'm here because I love the University of Oklahoma," adding that "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."
The Oklahoman newspaper said in a March 27 editorial that in selecting Gallogly as the school's president, the board "chose someone who isn't an academic, but fully understands and appreciates the value of a college education. … We think it has the potential to be an excellent choice."