Governor Kevin Stitt continues to work on getting the seat on the A&M Board of Regents that has been held by Rick Davis of Guthrie filled. His efforts have brought him back around to attorney and rancher Jennifer Callahan.
A little more than a week after appointing Mike Holder to the board of regents, Stitt withdrew the nomination. Stitt also tried to appoint businesswoman Susan Bergen to the role during the 2024 legislative session, but the state Senate rejected the nomination.
Stitt then called a special session to discuss Holder’s nomination, but the Senate didn’t take up a hearing for the former Oklahoma State University golf coach and athletics director.
One of the challenges in replacing Davis is to find a candidate that can meet the state law requirement that a majority of the regents must be a farmer or rancher- “A majority of the members appointed by the Governor shall be farmers, who are actually engaged in farming and/or livestock growing as their principal business or occupation in earning a livelihood.”
In our conversation with the Governor this past week- Oklahoma Farm Report’s Ron Hays asked about his consideration of Jennifer Callahan to become a regent. The Governor saw her as a top tier candidate who was reluctant to put her name into the political muck of a Senate confirmation. That apparently has changed and the nomination for the regents position has been amended to advance Callahan’s name to the Senate.
