OKLAHOMA CITY — Over the past year, the board that governs one of Oklahoma’s flagship public universities has racked up tens of thousands of dollars in bills while eating costly meals, listening to live music and enjoying optional social events and other entertainment outside board meetings.
In all, it has cost over $69,000 to host 13 Oklahoma A&M Board of Regents meetings, according to an analysis of over 270 pages of the receipts from the meetings compiled by Oklahoma State University in response to an open records request. That figure excludes about $11,000 in mileage reimbursement.
When that’s factored in, it cost on average over $6,100 each time the regents met.
Records show the OSU system and Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College shouldered the burden of those costs, spending over $45,000 on meals and refreshments and thousands more to purchase fresh flowers. They hosted “social” events, and even once hired a string quartet to entertain the regents. At one point, the total cost to host a single meeting at OSU’s Tulsa campus soared to over $13,000.
The OSU Foundation, the fundraising arm of the state’s second largest university, meanwhile, chipped in to treat regents to a hospitality suite and help them pay for a “whiskey tasting,” receipts show.
The governing board has been under increased scrutiny since the abrupt resignation of OSU president Kayse Shrum in February. It has since signed a contract with a crisis communications firm with close ties to Gov. Kevin Stitt.
Current regents and the board’s chief executive officer declined to answer specific questions about the expenditures. But the expenses raised questions about optics during a time when Republicans, including the governor, are pressing for greater efficiencies with taxpayer dollars and four of the five universities the entity oversees had tuition increases approved.
An industry “norm”
But, former board chairwoman and regent Trudy Milner said the costs are not “exorbitant,” and are an industry “norm.” Milner resigned in February, days after Shrum stepped down.
Republican Gov. Mary Fallin appointed Milner to the board in 2013 to help oversee the Oklahoma State University system, Langston University, Connors State College, Northeast Oklahoma A&M College and Oklahoma Panhandle State University, which combined serve an estimated 42,000 students.
Many of the regent meetings span two days, Milner said, with a dinner scheduled on a Thursday without any formal business. The official meeting typically takes place the following day. Milner said the dinners ahead of a meeting could include the regents and their spouses as well as presidents, representatives from other campuses, and community leaders.
Some receipts indicate dozens of people attended the dinners based on per plate charges, but the records do not identify the guests.
After a dinner, the regents often have a bar set up with snacks at the hotel they’re staying at to “talk informally” for the “camaraderie of it,” Milner said.
While the receipts obtained by Oklahoma Voice do not reflect the purchase of alcohol, one notes that a bartender was hired at a price of $150 for a dinner on Jan. 25, 2024. Another record details a “Board of Regents Night Cap” with a “social” theme in December.
Others reveal that the OSU Foundation footed the bill for cups and signage to facilitate a whiskey tasting for the regents as well as spending about $250 on personalized cookies, $900 in refreshments, snacks and other items, and over $1,200 for a “hospitality suite.”
The OSU Foundation did not respond to requests for comment. The foundation’s website said the private, nonprofit organization’s role is to “manage donor dollars to provide the most advanced educational opportunities to students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of OSU.”
Recently, the foundation hosted an online fundraising event aimed in part at raising money to help OSU’s food insecure students. As of Friday, the foundation’s site said it had raised over $20,000 to help students. The fundraiser noted that nearly 50% of OSU students grapple with some level of food insecurity.
Milner said the universities provided meals and entertainment for the regents, but the entertainment usually came in the form of touring campus facilities. She said they once visited a shooting range at Panhandle State University.
Receipts show in January 2024 that a string quartet was hired at the cost of over $800, at OSU’s expense.
Mack Burke, an OSU spokesperson, said in a statement that the ensemble was made up of OSU students that performed to “highlight our support of the arts and our students” which he said is “standard operating procedure” for higher education boards.
Current board chair Jimmy Harrel has said he didn’t want to go to campuses besides OSU’s, Milner said. Since January 2024, records show all but one of the 13 meetings took place at an OSU campus.
Meetings are supposed to rotate among schools who share the hosting responsibilities so the cost is not on one campus, Milner said.
“I think it’s been grossly unfair that OSU had to host it this whole entire year and then they canceled the Panhandle one in April, and I’m not really sure why,” she said. “But I think that’s been a burden, in some ways, for OSU. And I think it’s kind of been a slap in the face of the other campuses that they didn’t get to show off their campuses.”
Current regents don’t answer questions about spending
Harrel, a banker and rancher, did not return messages seeking comment. Stitt appointed the OSU graduate in 2020.
Oklahoma Voice attempted multiple times to contact the 10 current and former board members who filed expense reports, but only Milner and Blayne Arthur, who also serves as the state’s agriculture commissioner, responded. Arthur’s office did not answer specific questions, but instead directed a reporter to the board’s chief executive officer, Jason Ramsey. Ramsey also did not answer specific questions about the spending but provided a statement.
Regents are unpaid volunteers and their budget pays for their travel and lodging expenses, Ramsey said.
Records show regents stayed at hotels such as the Atherton in Stillwater, the Mayo in Tulsa and the Ambassador in Oklahoma City. While records indicated they received discounted rates, the total cost of lodging topped over $6,000, according to records.
Records provided to Oklahoma Voice revealed that Ramsey also stayed in hotels, as did some staff. It wasn’t clear what the total cost was for the staff’s travel and lodging. The office lists an Oklahoma City address.
The board rotates its meetings across the campuses it governs and the hosting institution’s president’s offices plan and budget the board meetings and related events, which can provide “engagement opportunities” with community leaders and other stakeholders, Ramsey said.
Burke, an OSU spokesperson, said it’s typical for presidents to host these activities at their own discretion, and they allow colleagues across the OSU A&M system to engage. The board does not request the extra events, Burke said.
In many cases, “university facilities and catering services” are contracted to keep funds within the OSU system, Burke said.
Shrum, who headed the OSU system at the time of most of the meetings, did not respond to requests for comment. NEO, which spent over $4,000 on the meeting it hosted, also did not respond.
Politicians and observers react
Stitt, who has appointed all current members of the Oklahoma A&M Board of Regents and recently named his choice to replace Milner, said in a statement Friday that university presidents need to be “mindful of their spending.”
“University presidents are responsible for hosting the Board of Regents, and I get that these presidents want to showcase their campus and community,” he said in a statement. “But at the end of the day, I’m always going to urge the presidents to be mindful of their spending — because the last thing we need is higher tuition and constant requests for more recurring revenue.”
Gary Jones, a Republican, who previously served as state auditor, said he’s not sure that any of these expenses are in violation of state law, but the real test is how Oklahoma taxpayers respond.
“Everyone has to look at and determine, you know, the circumstances. Who all is there, whether or not they’re being compensated in any other ways for the job,” he said. “If you take into consideration their time and effort and their expertise being volunteered to the state, the question is would most people consider a dinner or something like that, out of line?”
He said he wasn’t sure a dinner is out of line, but said alcoholic consumption could be viewed negatively.
Rep. Ronny Johns, R-Ada, who serves on the House’s postsecondary education committee, said the spending is “concerning,” but that he didn’t know if it’s out of the ordinary.
“As a regent, it’s almost a thankless job,” he said. “They do get reimbursed for the mileage and things, and that’s good. But there’s an argument to be said that it doesn’t have to be as extravagant, that there could be better ways to spend that money. But at the same time, when you have the regents on your campus you want to put your best foot forward and showcase your campus.”
But despite being concerned, Johns said he does not think the Legislature should step in and pass further regulations.
Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, said regents need items like drinks and coffee, but should be cautious “in this environment” about what is considered reasonable when budgets are being scrutinized, she said.
This is a public board, not a corporate one that represents a private company, she said. It should not be treated as such, Kirt said.
Don Heider, chief executive of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University in California, said there are many questions to weigh when evaluating these kinds of costs, including whether regents and university presidents are being “good stewards” of the taxpayer money with which they are entrusted.
“And could the money be spent in a more efficient way on what they’re charged to do, which is overseeing these five universities?” he asked.