About Interim President

James D. Hess, ed.D.

 

A native of Henryetta, Oklahoma, Dr. James Hess earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah and his doctorate at Oklahoma State University. Hess was named interim president of Oklahoma State University by the Board of Regents in February 2025.

 

Hess has over 43 years of service within the Oklahoma Higher Education System. He began his higher education career at then Rogers State College in Claremore in 1981 and served in several senior leadership positions at Rogers over the next 15 years. In 1996, the University Center at Tulsa and Rogers were merged to form Rogers University where Hess served as vice president for administration. Two years later, the institutions were legislatively separated, and Hess was appointed transition CEO to spin off the four campuses to create OSU-Tulsa and Rogers State University. Hess continued with OSU, serving as vice president and chief operating officer for OSU-Tulsa from 1999 to 2003, doubling enrollment and creating BOB, the Big Orange Bus shuttle service between Tulsa and Stillwater.

 

In 2003, Hess was appointed COO and vice president of the OSU Center for Health Sciences and chief executive officer of the OSU Physicians Group. Under his leadership, the OSU Physicians Group grew tenfold. In 2006, Hess was instrumental in creating the OSU Medical Authority, a public trust supporting the OSU medical school and teaching hospital. While COO of OSU-CHS, Hess also served as the first CEO of the OSU Medical Authority from 2006-13. His efforts led to the acquisition of the teaching hospital, creating what is now OSU Medical Center, the only osteopathic teaching hospital in the United States. Most recently, Hess served as the vice provost for graduate programs at OSU-CHS, supervising all academic graduate programs. He also served as the CEO of the OSU Veterinary Medicine Authority. Additionally, he is designated a Riata Faculty Fellow in the School of Entrepreneurship. Hess was inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame in 2023.

 

On the academic front, Hess holds the rank of professor and continued teaching a full graduate coursework load each semester. Hess initiated a number of innovative online graduate programs, including the Master of Science in Health Care Administration, the Master of Science in Global Health, the Master of Science in Medical Sciences, the Doctor of Health Care Administration and the Doctor of Forensic Sciences. These innovations resulted in the recognition of OSU-CHS as the only institution in the state’s higher education system to achieve consecutive year-over-year enrollment growth over the last 10 years.

 

Hess resides in Owasso, Oklahoma, with his wife, Angela. They have a son, John; a daughter, Bonnie; one grandson, Johnny; and three granddaughters, Brooklyn, Billie and Bradley.