Osborn to serve as OSU’s director of federal relations
Tuesday, January 30, 2024
Media Contact: Mack Burke | Associate Director of Media Relations | 405-744-5540 | mack.burke_iv@okstate.edu
Oklahoma State University recently named Derek Osborn as its new director of federal relations.
In this role, Osborn will work closely with university leadership to ensure that the OSU System has clarity, coordination and partnership with the federal delegation and federal initiatives. He will be the primary liaison with federal constituents to align the system's mission and strategic plan.
"I'm grateful to President Shrum and the leadership at Oklahoma State University for giving me the opportunity to join this team,” Osborn said. “These are exciting times at the nation's premier land-grant university as OSU continues to lead the way in educating future generations and researching advances that will impact the lives of countless people around the world.
“I look forward to working with our students, faculty and staff to find ways to strengthen our federal partnerships and do my part to help America's Brightest Orange continue to build the path to the future."
Osborn is a central Oklahoma native who moved to Istanbul as an exchange student after high school.
Osborn interned in the Oklahoma City office of then-Congressman James Lankford, who is now a senator. Osborn served as staff assistant, case worker and field representative for the 5th Congressional District of Oklahoma before graduating with a Master of Public Administration and Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Oklahoma in 2014.
He served as a legislative assistant for Sen. Lankford in Washington, D.C., covering American Indian, immigration and other policy areas. In 2018, Osborn moved to Oklahoma to manage Lankford’s Tulsa office, field team and statewide activities as deputy state director.
“Derek Osborn not only brings more than a decade of invaluable experience working with federal policy to his new role at OSU, but he also evinces the character and characteristics of Cowboy culture that make him an outstanding leadership fit,” said Jerome Loughridge, OSU senior vice president and chief of staff.
“Derek’s understanding of how things get done in Washington will help OSU achieve its aspirations of land-grant preeminence by aligning the system’s strategic priorities with critical federal resources. His reputation precedes him and is evidence of the trust so many local, state and federal leaders have put in his quality work and outstanding integrity. We welcome him to the Cowboy family.”