An experienced leader for OCU
PARTICULARLY during the past 40 years, Oklahoma City University has been blessed with outstanding leadership at the top. Martha Burger, who will become OCU’s president July 1, knows plenty about leadership.
Burger, who earned her MBA from the university, spent several years at Chesapeake Energy Corp., including as senior vice president of human and corporate resources. Currently she is president of the state Board of Health, where she’s helping to guide the state Health Department through a financial crisis. She also heads the audit and finance committee for OCU’s Board of Trustees, where she has served for 10 years.
Burger is co-founder of Amethyst Investments LLC and sits on the board of directors of Tapstone Energy. She has chaired the United Way of Central Oklahoma Campaign Cabinet, and has served on numerous other civic boards.
Burger’s professional and civic accomplishments “have prepared her well to serve as OCU’s next president,” said Ron Norick, chairman of the university’s trustees. “She is the right person to guide our university forward.”
Burger will succeed Robert Henry, who has been president since 2010 and announced last summer his intention to retire. Among other things, Henry led the move of OCU’s law school to its new location downtown. “I look forward to a smooth transition and a bright future for the university,” Henry said.
OCU is indeed in good hands. We congratulate Burger on her selection.
Teachers in empty classrooms?
The Oklahoma Education Association has called for a teacher walkout and Capitol rally beginning Monday. The OEA advises participants they will likely have to use portable toilets, bring their own food and stand in long lines, among other things. The Legislature has passed roughly a half-billion dollars in tax increases to fund an average $6,000 pay raise for teachers, so it’s understandable if some teachers decide the protest doesn’t sound like a worthwhile use of time. Others may be philosophically opposed (the tax increases also hit teachers). In Oklahoma City, nonparticipating teachers are required to go to work, even though schools will be closed, unless they prefer to take personal leave or unpaid leave. Yet it’s likely many teachers who sign in at the Capitol protest Monday will do so to get credit for a paid day off, then go elsewhere. That some teachers could be required to sit in an empty classroom while their colleagues are paid to engage in political advocacy on the taxpayers’ dime should disturb Oklahomans.
Fact checking the fact checkers
We’ve noted the flaws of media “fact checking.” Now the conservative Media Research Center has launched Fact-Checking the Fact-Checkers to review the work of those groups. “MRC routinely finds instances when fact-checkers bend the truth or disproportionately target conservatives,” said MRC President Brent Bozell. “We are assigning our own rating to their judgments and will expose the worst offenders.” Critics will argue, correctly, that MRC reviewers have their own biases. That doesn’t change the fact many media “fact checks” are a joke. When a Ph.D. student at Stanford University reviewed the work of the two major media factchecking organizations in 2017, she found they gave “two completely opposite ratings” nearly one out of every five times the two “fact checked” the same statement. That doesn’t happen with valid fact checking, and shows how much of the work of “fact checkers” is improperly labeled editorial commentary.
Box office ‘surprises’
The movie “I Can Only Imagine,” which was shot in Oklahoma and tells the story behind the song by MercyMe, surprised movie industry journalists when it earned $17.1 million during its opening weekend. Yet as USA Today’s Patrick Ryan wrote this week, “It’s about time Hollywood had some faith in Christian entertainment.” Ryan noted that since 2014, the films “God’s Not Dead,” “Heaven Is for Real” and “War Room” have all defied conventional expectations by opening well. Recent films “The Shack,” “Miracles From Heaven” and “Son of God” all made at least $57 million. In 2004, Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” made a whopping $370.8 million. The three “Chronicles of Narnia” movies all did big business. Not every faith-based film is a hit, of course. But the record shows there is indeed a healthy appetite in this country for films without the usual Hollywood go-tos — excessive violence and foul language. That’s encouraging.
Disconnect
The recent “March for Our Lives” rally in Washington, D.C., in which many teenagers advocated for gun control, prompted much praise from celebrities on social media, but not necessarily clear thinking. Several entertainment figures, including actress Mia Farrow and movie maker Michael Moore, tweeted in response to the rally that the voting age should be lowered to 16. But many rally attendees and those who support them also support raising the age that one can buy a rifle from 18 to 21. So apparently, high school graduates who can join the military aren’t responsible enough to possess a hunting rifle, but teenagers still in high school can be trusted completely to make good choices about the political future of our country. There’s a clear disconnect between those positions, yet there’s little sense that those who advocate for both changes have the self-awareness to recognize this fact.
Taking on another challenge
Since 2014, Tom Bates has had a challenging job as special adviser to Gov. Mary Fallin on child welfare matters in Oklahoma. The issues facing that overburdened system are many. Now Bates is moving on to another tough task — interim commissioner of the embattled Department of Health. The agency has been in flux for several months. Former Commissioner Terry Cline and several top officials resigned in October after it was learned the department faced a $30 million budget shortfall resulting from overspending and mismanagement. Two other men have held the interim commissioner’s job since then. Bates, a former assistant attorney general, said his priorities include restoring a focus on the Health Department’s core mission of preventing disease and promoting public health. He also wants to “lower the tension in the building” in part by showing his support for agency employees. We appreciate Bates stepping in and wish him well.
Funny math?
The Oklahoma Education Association recently rolled out a plan to fund teacher pay raises and other items with tax increases. This week, lawmakers approved bills containing some of the OEA’s proposals. What’s jarring is the two groups used very different revenue estimates — and the union’s were more conservative. The OEA called for raising the gross production tax from 2 percent to 5 percent, and the Legislature approved that tax increase. According to the Tulsa World, the OEA predicted the tax increase would generate $158.7 million, but House lawmakers pegged the number at $190 million. There also was a discrepancy of more than $1 million on the estimated revenue the two groups predicted would be generated by a $5 charge per night on hotel and motel rooms. That idea ultimately may be shelved. But the variation in estimates means it’s possible the state could see sizable tax increases and yet still face budget shortfalls.