Law Dean Joseph Harroz Jr. Appointed OU Interim President

The OU Board of Regents is announcing College of Law Dean Joseph Harroz Jr. as interim president.

That follows President James Gallogly's announcement Sunday that he would retire.

The Board of Regents made the announcement Friday morning after spending nearly six hours in executive session. They say the decision stems from the vetting done by the presidential search committee last year.

In a statement, they say his "nationally recognized leadership of the OU College of Law and many years of service as vice president of executive affairs and general counsel give him unequaled understanding of OU."

An OU graduate, Harroz's OU biography states his tenure as General Counsel is the longest in the history of the university.

Harroz will serve as president for at least 15 months as the search for a permenant president gets underway. That'll be longer than Gallogly's time as president -- which was only about 10 months.

A new committee made up of faculty, students and staff will be selected to choose OU's next president.

Related Story: OU President Jim Gallogly Announces Plans To Retire 

When Gallogly was selected in 2018, they brought in an outside firm to help. That firm could be on the hook for a replacement search; since Gallogly's retirement falls inside the 12-month window defined in their contract with the board.

The selection process last year was pretty controversial though, there were hundreds of people who signed an open letter demanding transparency. Students and alumni say they hope this next selection is not like the last one.

Regents say they knew this had been a tough year, but point to Gallogly's progress turning around the universities finances; over 47 point five million dollars in cost-savings.

The Board of Regents says they thank Gallogly for his support during the transition and look forward to working with Harroz as interim president.