Wednesday, February 1, 2023
Media Contact:
Mack Burke | Affiliate Director of Media Relations | 405-744-5540 | mack.burke_iv@okstate.edu
The Oklahoma State College Analysis Basis (OSURF) has a brand new CEO.
Jerome Loughridge, senior vice chairman of system operations for OSU, will now head
the nonprofit, which is targeted on collaborative purposes of recent discovery and
partnerships to convey OSU innovation to bear on the state’s economic system.
The inspiration connects college innovation with {industry} wants to assist energy the
state’s economic system. OSU President Kayse Shrum mentioned the place will capitalize on and
amplify the affect OSURF can have, significantly with the college technique in place.
“To develop into the nation’s preeminent land-grant establishment, we should bolster and improve
our connection to Oklahoma’s economic system — together with contributing new information and cutting-edge
innovation in shut collaboration with corporations and organizations in our state and our
area,” she mentioned. “A few of that can take the type of elevated sponsored analysis,
for which we now have a possibility to considerably improve our attain via aggressive
grants, together with federal packages.
“I’m grateful that Dr. Kenneth Sewell will proceed to drive these efforts in his
function as vice chairman for analysis. And a few of that can take different kinds — maybe
even new partnerships with {industry}. By dividing the capabilities of sponsored analysis
and different types of innovation, we consider we are able to multiply OSU’s affect throughout the
state of Oklahoma and past. We’re enthusiastic about welcoming Jerome to this new function
and the way he’ll proceed to raise OSU analysis.”
OSURF will now present a house for Cowboy Applied sciences and different essential industry-facing
capabilities in addition to create a construction to deal with the college’s institutes, such
because the Oklahoma Aerospace Institute for Analysis and Innovation, the Hamm Institute
for American Vitality at Oklahoma State College, and the brand new Human Efficiency and
Diet Analysis Institute. In addition to establishing a framework for the institutes,
Loughridge will play a key function in connecting college innovation with {industry}.
“Now we have a possibility, given what our new technique has to say about how we’re dedicated
to changing into the nation’s preeminent land-grant college, to extend our optimistic
affect,” Loughridge mentioned. “OSURF gives a nimble, inventive and highly effective organizational
mechanism to immediately affect Oklahoma.”
The brand new function frees Sewell, OSU vice chairman for analysis, to concentrate on rising sponsored
analysis alternatives, equivalent to these secured via federal sources just like the Division
of Protection and Nationwide Science Basis.
“OSU school researchers have elevated their expenditure of federal analysis {dollars}
by 40% since 2015, development that moved OSU into Carnegie’s high tier of analysis universities
in 2018,” Sewell mentioned. “With the elevated federal investments contained within the CHIPS+Science
Act not too long ago signed into regulation, we’re poised to win but extra federal grants to drive
innovation and scientific breakthroughs. And it’s essential we guarantee this analysis
excellence interprets into financial affect through the non-public partnerships Jerome will
lead at OSURF.”
“As a college with this caliber of analysis, we should enable the VPR to foster and
aggressively discover funding sources for initiatives,” Shrum mentioned. “With Jerome and Dr.
Sewell main the 2 very important capabilities in live performance, we are able to multiply what the college
will accomplish.”
Loughridge, a enterprise sector veteran with public coverage experience, was accountable
for creating the method that led to the creation of the college technique unveiled
final fall. Loughridge’s profession spans greater than twenty years and consists of key positions
in greater training and govt positions inside the power sector and Wall Avenue
non-public fairness. He additionally served because the Oklahoma Secretary of Well being and Psychological Well being.
He holds a grasp’s diploma in public coverage from Harvard College.
