News 9 Flashback: Remembering David Boren's 1st Day As OU President

As the University of Oklahoma celebrates the end of David Boren's storied tenure as university president, we look back at its beginning in 1994.

In a special News 9 Flashback, reporter Gan Matthews introduced the 13th OU president, who was admittedly a few minutes late to his first breakfast meeting but filled with positive energy and enthusiasm for both the university's staff and students.

Boren also recognized the gravity of his new position.

"All the things I've done in my life, working in international affairs, working on financial policy in Congress, I don't think there's anything more important than educating and nurturing the next generation," he told Matthews.

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Boren's arrival was not without some controversy, as some questioned the salaries of the new president's personal staff. He told Matthews that those costs were offset by savings in other places.

As this 1994 report documented, Boren's dreams for the university were big, but so were the challenges he faced.

"Oh, my. There are so many challenges piled up on my desk, and I have so many dreams of things I'd like to see happen that I have enough to keep me busy for the next ten years," he said.