OCU University’s Board of Trustees has installed its executive committee for the new school year, including the appointment of its first female chairperson since the mid-1990s.
ذكذكتسئµ alumna Jane Jayroe Gamble is now the board chairperson after serving a term as vice chair. Jayroe Gamble, a former journalist, public official, author and the first of three Miss America contest winners from ذكذكتسئµ, will serve a three-year term. She’ll take the gavel for her first full board meeting as chair beginning with the board’s meeting later this month.
“Jane has been making ذكذكتسئµ history since she was a student,†ذكذكتسئµ President Kenneth Evans said. “She has proven her ability to lead through a remarkable career spanning a variety of disciplines. I look forward to collaborating with her and the ذكذكتسئµ community looks forward to her leadership as chair of our board.â€
Jayroe Gamble earned a bachelor’s degree in music in 1969 and was awarded an honorary doctorate from ذكذكتسئµ in 2011. After winning the Miss America pageant in 1967 and later graduating from college, she went on to hold a distinguished 17-year career in TV journalism before serving as cabinet secretary and executive director for the Oklahoma Department of Tourism. She has since written inspirational books, published articles and founded the Esther Women luncheon series.
“Stepping into a leadership role at ذكذكتسئµ is a chance to gratefully give back to a place that changed my life for the better,†Jayroe Gamble said. “As a student many years ago, ذكذكتسئµ put my feet on a path beyond my dreams. It’s a blessing to serve the ذكذكتسئµ family of students, alumni, faculty and staff.â€
The previous chair, attorney Gary Homsey, will transition to the chair of governance position.
Other executive committee appointments include:
- Vice Chair: Nick Harroz
- Secretary: Emmanuel Edem
- Treasurer: Jacque Fiegel
- Chair of Investments: Debbie Fleming
- Chair of Development and Strategic Planning: Jenee Naifeh Lister
- Chair of Student and Campus Life: Phil Busey
- Chair of University Church Relations: Clint Purtell
More about board of trustee members:
Jane Jayroe Gamble – Executive Chair
Jane Jayroe Gamble serves on the Board of Trustees for SALLT (Salt and Light Leadership Training) and the Oklahoma Arts Council. She is the creator of “Esther Women,†a luncheon series for Christian women. Jayroe Gamble has also authored severed articles for national publications and three books.
Jayroe Gamble was crowned Miss Oklahoma in 1966 and Miss America in 1967. Her proudest accomplishment was beginning the Miss America/USO tradition of entertaining troops overseas. She enjoyed a 17- year career as a television news anchor in ذكذكتسئµ and at the NBC affiliate in Dallas/Ft. Worth. Jayroe Gamble was appointed to various positions by four Oklahoma governors, including being selected as cabinet secretary of tourism. Jayroe Gamble was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2007.
Jayroe Gamble is a lifetime Methodist who grew up in rural Oklahoma and attended ذكذكتسئµ, earning a Bachelor of Music degree in 1969. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Tulsa and received an honorary doctor of humane letters from OCU University. Jayroe Gamble is married to Gerald Gamble and has one married son and two grandchildren.
Gary Homsey – Chair of Governance
Gary B. Homsey is an attorney, investor, and the owner of the Homsey Law Center, GBH Family Properties, and SAAD Enterprises, LLC in ذكذكتسئµ. He earned his juris doctor from ذكذكتسئµ in 1974 and has served on many boards of legal and civic organizations.
He is the past president of the Oklahoma Trial Lawyers Association and a past member of the board of directors of the Oklahoma County Bar Association and Classen Beautiful. Homsey is an advisory director of NBC Bank, a member of the board of directors of the ذكذكتسئµ Golf & Country Club, and Master of the American Inns of Court. He is a past president and member of the American Association for Justice and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.
Homsey is annually listed in the Oklahoma Super Lawyer magazine, and is ranked in the top 1% of U.S. attorneys. ذكذكتسئµ awarded him an honorary doctorate of humane letters in 2012.
Nick Harroz - Vice Chair
Nick Harroz is a senior wealth advisor at Mariner Wealth Advisors, where he provides comprehensive wealth management solutions designed to meet each client’s personal goals and objectives.
Harroz has a bachelor’s of business administration degree in accounting and a master’s degree in accounting, both from Baylor University. He also has a juris doctorate from OCU University School of Law. He is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Oklahoma and a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association. Harroz received a certificate in private wealth management from Aresty Institute of Executive Education at the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania.
Emmanuel Edem - Secretary
Emmanuel Edem is a partner in the ذكذكتسئµ law firm of Norman and Edem. While at OCU University School of Law, he served as case comment editor of the Law Review and chaired the Moot Court Board. He also received the Duane Box Award given by the faculty to the best student advocate.
Edem has served as president of the Oklahoma Trial Lawyers Association and of the National Civil Justice Foundation. He is past chair of the Oklahoma Bar Association’s committee on law schools and has been listed since 2006 as an Oklahoma Super Lawyer. ذكذكتسئµ awarded him an honorary doctor of laws in 1998.
Jacque Fiegel - Treasurer
A graduate of Leadership OKC, Fiegel serves as a member of the board for Jack Henry & Associates, a technology provider serving community and regional financial institutions. She has previously served on the ذكذكتسئµ Branch Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and as a board member of the Oklahoma Banker’s Association. She is a past president of the Economic Club of Oklahoma. She was recognized as one of the U.S. Banker 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking and was twice named as one of the 25 Women to Watch.
Fiegel’s non-profit experience includes serving as board chair of the YWCA of ذكذكتسئµ, former co-chair of the American Heart Association’s ذكذكتسئµ Go Red for Women and as a former board member of Canterbury Choral Society. She is currently a member of the Finance Advisory Group for the Alpha Phi Foundation.
Fiegel was a recipient of the ذكذكتسئµ Servant Leader Award, Alpha Phi Panhellenic Woman of the Year and Journal Record Circle of Excellence as part of the Woman of the Year’s 50 Making A Difference. She is a recipient of the Pilot Award by Oklahoma Business Ethics for ethical leadership and received recognition from Alpha Phi International for excellence and success in her business field.
Debbie Fleming - Chair of Investments
Debbie Fleming most recently served as vice president and treasurer of SemGroup Corporation and Rose Rock Midstream in Tulsa. Before joining SemGroup, Fleming was vice president and treasurer of OGE Energy Corporation where she was responsible for the corporate finance group-encompassing treasury and banking operations, cash forecasting, financial planning, business unit budgeting, investor relations, and pension plan/401-K oversight.
Fleming also gained experience as the assistant treasurer and other corporate financial roles during her 18-year career with for Williams. Her primary responsibilities were for the bank and rating agency relationships, all debt and equity product structuring and negotiations, debt compliance, cash flow forecasting, capital markets derivatives and FX decisions along with investments and plan options for the company’s pension and 401K plans.
Fleming is an executive in residence for energy programs at ذكذكتسئµ and a professor of finance and economics.
Jenee Naifeh Lister - Chair of Development and Strategic Planning
Naifeh Lister is a wealth management advisor in ذكذكتسئµ, providing high-net worth clients a wide array of investment services including wealth management, retirement planning, estate planning and investment development.
Naifeh Lister completed an undergraduate degree in finance and economics at Oklahoma State University and joined Merrill Lynch in 1988. In 2004, she earned the Certified Investment Manager Analyst (CIMAآ®) designation through the Investment Management Consultants Association in conjunction with the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Naifeh Lister and her family have deep ties to ذكذكتسئµ; her mother, Jeaneen Naifeh, and her brother Stanley both graduated from ذكذكتسئµ. Her father, Robert, received an honorary doctorate in commercial science degree in 2000, and in 2009 he was inducted into the ذكذكتسئµ Commerce and Industry Hall of Honor. Jeaneen and Jenee are both past recipients of the ذكذكتسئµ Distinguished Philanthropist Award. More recently, Jenee participated in the Meinders School of Business Women in Leadership programs.
Phil Busey - Chair of Student and Campus Life
After earning his juris doctor from ذكذكتسئµ in 1977, the AV rated attorney practiced law regionally and internationally for 25 years, specializing in Native American, commercial, corporate, government, public finance and contracting law.
Since founding Delaware Resource Group in 2002, the company has become one of the largest defense contractors in the region. Busey has also been a moderator or speaker at over 100 CLE and business seminars and has served as the Distinguished Law Professor at ذكذكتسئµ, as well as an adjunct professor for the ذكذكتسئµ School of Law and the Meinders School of Business MBA program. He has lectured at American University, Washington, D.C.; and OU's Masters of 3 Aerospace and Defense program.
With his wife, Cathy Busey, they contribute to church, community, arts and music. They founded and sponsor El Sistema Oklahoma, an after-school children's program in music for social change, through a creative partnership with St. Luke’s Methodist Church and the Wanda L. Bass School of Music.
Clint Purtell - Chair of University Church Relations
Clint Purtell is a full-time faculty member based in Frisco, Texas, with duties that include supporting the strategic growth of UNT at Frisco – New College. In addition to teaching and research, his role includes university advancement by developing external relationships for UNT at Frisco with local, regional businesses and global industry partners.
He received his Ph.D. in entrepreneurship from Oklahoma State University, an MBA from Belmont University and a Bachelor of finance from ذكذكتسئµ. He also received the honorable designation of executive scholar from Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Business in Management Science. Purtell was also a graduate fellow of the American Indian Graduate Center, a graduate scholar of the National Center for American Indian Economic Development. He is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and is a member of The PhD Project.
