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Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt caught some lawmakers off guard on Monday when he called for the consolidation of public colleges and universities in his State of the State speech, KOSU Radio reported.
The governor did not provide details about which specific institutions he believes should be merged, but he said he wants state lawmakers to approve legislation that incentivizes higher education models that promote workforce development.
It’s an effort to encourage the sharing of administrative costs among small institutions and eliminate duplicative programs, Stitt’s spokesperson Abegail Cave told KOSU.
“There are smaller publicly funded colleges around the state that are near other similarly sized colleges, all offering similar sets of programs,” she said. “If two colleges are 40 minutes apart, it makes sense for them to complement each other’s programs, not offer all the same.”
But the idea could also apply to the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University, Cave added.
Republican state lawmakers, who hold a supermajority in both chambers, have generally voiced interest in the governor’s calls for consolidation but say they need more information about his vision.
House Speaker Charles McCall, a Republican, said although the Legislature typically supports institution-driven consolidation, some lawmakers may resist state-driven efforts.
“If that’s the kind of consolidation that the governor is talking about, that has been supported by the Legislature when the consolidation is voluntary,” he said. “If it’s just arbitrarily picking two-year colleges or regional universities, picking winners and losers, that’s going to be a legislative fight.”
