Jewell joined the OSU Foundation a year ago as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer following a 20-year career with The Oklahoma Publishing Company in Oklahoma City where he served in senior financial and management positions.

“Kirk is a strong and capable leader who will move the OSU Foundation to new levels of success in the coming years. I am confident under his leadership the OSU Foundation will make meaningful strides in raising substantial funds to support the University’s academic, research and athletic endeavors. As an OSU graduate and supporter, I am excited about the future of this great University,” commented McKnight.

Malinda Berry Fischer, who has served as the Interim President and CEO since January, praised Jewell’s selection. “Kirk has played a pivotal role over the past year as COO and CFO in improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the Foundation’s operations. The OSU Foundation is in an excellent position to seize new opportunities to support OSU in the coming years under Kirk’s steady leadership. As a former national president of the OSU Alumni Association, Kirk has many friendships within our alumni. ”

In accepting the position Jewell stated, “I appreciate the confidence entrusted in me by the Board of Trustees of the OSU Foundation. It is a wonderful opportunity to be asked to lead the Foundation established to help support and advance the land-grant mission and programs of the University that I love so much. I look forward to working with the Trustees, our alumni and supporters as well as the administration, faculty, staff, and students. Significant private funding will be necessary for OSU to become one of the top 75 public universities and one of the flagship land-grant universities in the country as identified in the University’s strategic plan to be achieved over the next several years.”

The OSU Foundation Board of Trustees also announced the appointment of Fischer to succeed McKnight as Chairman of the Foundation. Prior to her accepting the Interim President and CEO role, she had served as the Vice Chairman of the Foundation for more than a year. An OSU graduate and longtime supporter of the University, Fischer is Chairman of Thomas N. Berry & Company and President of Marietta Royalty Company.

McKnight praised Fischer’s contribution to the Foundation, serving as the Interim President and CEO at a critical time. He stated that, “Her service has been invaluable. We owe her a debt of gratitude for the superb way in which she led the OSU Foundation through a time of transition. She made certain the Foundation continued to move forward and, in the process, made it an even better and more effective organization to serve OSU. We are pleased the Foundation and OSU will continue to benefit from Malinda’s exceptional skills as the new Chair.”

Both Jewell and Fischer commended McKnight for his leadership as Chair of the Foundation. “Nobody cares more for OSU than Ross. He brought bold and imaginative ideas to the Foundation and challenged us to think more broadly about the possibilities. We appreciate his dedication and the fine job he did as Chairman of the OSU Foundation,” Fischer said.

Fischer and Jewell accepted their new positions in September.

OSU President and System CEO, David Schmidly added, “You cannot underestimate the importance of a viable Foundation in assisting a university with meeting its goals and dreams. The OSU Foundation has the caliber of leadership in place to support our ambitious plan and raise funds to support the creation of more faculty chairs, student scholarships and operational endowment. I look forward with high anticipation to working with Malinda and Kirk, and I also want to thank Ross for his effective and successful service as Chairman.”

For more information on the OSU Foundation, call 405.385.5100.