OSSM President

President - Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics (OSSM)
Location: Oklahoma City
Reports to: Board of Trustees
Budget and staff: 32 faculty members

Skills and Qualifications

Operating from the main Oklahoma City campus with travel across the state, the president’s primary responsibilities will focus on supporting and strengthening the academic community of OSSM. The ideal candidate is a dynamic leader, communicator, relationship builder and fundraiser with a background in academia, who demonstrates a strong vision for developmental learning in science and mathematics, coupled with political and financial acumen.

As chief executive officer and the public face of the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics, he/she will also maintain and uphold the school’s commitment to academic excellence. Recognizing that excellence is built from within, the president must have an ability to recruit and maintain the best faculty and staff that are as exceptional as the students he/she will also work to attract.

OSSM students have gone on to do great things, and they have come from each of the 77 counties in the state. Just one of the reasons why students choose OSSM is because it offers research internship opportunities working with top scientists that are unavailable anywhere else at the high school level. OSSM’s influence reaches educators across the state, as the campus hosts science and mathematics training for Oklahoma teachers during the summer.

We understand the significance of being a good citizen, and with the excitement around the Oklahoma City Innovation District and the school’s central location in the district, it is an opportunity for the president to be involved in conversations about how OSSM fits into the vision. At the same time, our school is for all Oklahomans, no matter where they live. There is still plenty of opportunity for increasing our exposure across the state, and with the increase of rural Internet access, our virtual programs are primed for growth.

An earned graduate degree coupled with substantial experience relevant to OSSM’s mission and needs is preferred. Budgetary responsibilities should have been at least $5M annually, and contract management and negotiation skills preferred. Candidates must be comfortable and competent interacting with people and organizations, including but not limited to the Governor, state legislators, Nobel Prize Winners, and prospective students in schools around the great state of Oklahoma.

Responsibilities of the position include, but are not limited to:

·       Serve as the chief executive officer of the school (independent state agency)

·       Assure the excellence of the academic program of the school

·       Serve as the executive officer for the Board of Trustees

·       Select, support, and retain well-prepared academic people to serve as professors

·       Ensure the efficient operation of the school academically and fiscally

·       Serve as an ex officio advisor to the OSSM Foundation Board of Trustees

·       Serve as liaison to the legislature

Base plus bonus cash compensation is $160-180K based on experience, plus relocation allowance, if necessary.

About Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics

Established by the Oklahoma state legislature in 1983, the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics (OSSM) is a two-year, public, residential high school program in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with non-residential regional centers throughout the state. Serving 140 junior and senior students, the 32-acre main campus is located just south of the state capitol in an innovation hub that hosts the OU Health Sciences Center, the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, and the OSU Discovery Center. Oklahoma residents attend OSSM free of charge, and out-of-state students may attend with tuition.