Hess has spent career serving students and building institutions

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Media Contact: Mack Burke | Associate Director of Media Relations | 405-744-5540 | editor@okstate.edu

Jim Hess has done it all.  

He had a prolific career in higher education spanning over four decades before he was inducted into the Oklahoma Education Hall of Fame in 2023 and named the 20th president of the OSU System this spring.

But he wasn’t thinking about leading a university when he was working his first job — selling vacuums. It wasn’t front of mind when he was working for Walmart in college, nor was it on his radar when he arrived at OSU in the fall of 1975, securing his first employment position at the university — shoveling stalls at the College of Veterinary Medicine (Yes, you read that right).

Then, a conversation with his mentor, Richard Mosier, foretold the future, setting him on the pathway to a doctorate in education and a lifetime of service to higher education in Oklahoma. Hess was working at Rogers State College in Claremore then, and Mosier was president of the institution, which would eventually be split into different entities, including OSU-Tulsa.

“He told me, in my first conversation with him, he said, ‘You don’t know it, but you’re gonna spend your entire career in higher ed,” Hess said.

Hess recalled he initially scoffed at the idea, but when Mosier offered him the role of assistant to the president, he was open to believing. He was a young 20-something, still making plenty of mistakes, but his work ethic didn’t go unnoticed. He was met with support and encouragement that eventually led him to Stillwater and a doctorate in education.

“I thank the Lord every day for Richard Mosier, because he put me on a path that I would otherwise not have been on,” Hess said.

Mosier and other Hess supporters would be proven right about him time and time again.

The Henryetta native helped establish OSU-Tulsa and Rogers State University as separate institutions, doubled OSU-Tulsa’s enrollment, created the Big Orange Bus, expanded the OSU Physicians Group and served an instrumental role in the acquisition of the teaching hospital, creating what is now OSU Medical Center. He also played a key role in developing and leading the OSU Medical Authority and the OSU Veterinary Medicine Authority and Trust.

His long journey to the president’s office had many twists and turns, but one pivotal milestone stands out for Hess: The day he met his future wife, Angela.

“Well, one day, I’m sitting in the back row. Church had just started, and this lady walked by. She was late, but she walked by and sat down, and she was sitting with this other group of ladies that turned out to be her mother and her sisters,” Hess said. “I thought that person was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life.”

Jim said she had an aura about her, and he never forgot what she looked like that day. Their courtship was more about destiny than dating.  

“So, I decided I wanted to meet her,” Jim said. “I parked my car across the street where she parked her car the next Sunday. I walked out of church, and she’s about maybe 15-20 feet behind me. So, I stopped to turn around, to see if I could get her to talk to me, and she just stopped. I turned around, walked a little further and turned around, and she stopped again. So I thought, well, there’s a hint. I don’t think she wants to talk to me.”

That went on for a few weeks. Then, one Sunday, Jim had to miss out on “the highlight of his week,” so he left a rose on her windshield with a business card and a note that read, “I look forward to seeing you every Sunday, but today I can’t be there, so I’m going to miss the highlight of my week. If you have any interest in calling me, here’s my number. Please. Remember, the male ego is a fragile thing.”

That afternoon, his phone rang, and he answered.

“This is Jim,” he said.

Angela replied, “Listen, buddy, if you want to be called ‘Jim,’ put that on your business card because it says James.”

“I introduced myself, and he said, ‘I just feel in my spirit that we’re supposed to meet. He said, I’ve been praying God would send me an angel,’” Angela recalled. “My family calls me Angel. And so I said, ‘Well, do you want to go out?’ He said, ‘Yeah, I’ll pick you up tomorrow after work.’

“So, he shows up at my front door, and at that moment, I thought, ‘Well, all right, God, I’m going to marry him.’”

Three months later, Jim had married the preacher’s daughter from western Oklahoma.

“We both knew immediately on the first date; we just talked and talked. I told him about 20 times I was never going to get married again. So get that through your head, sir,” Angela said. “And then I married my best friend. He is really my best friend. I know people say that all the time, but it’s the truth.”

Their faith remains a pillar of their marriage, and Angela said it has helped to guide them through life’s seasons and challenges. When he received the call to serve as interim president, Hess conferred with his most trusted adviser and best friend. A decision like that isn’t one Jim would make lightly, and when he asked her what she thought, Angela had a ready answer.

“This is your Moses moment, Jim,” she said. “Are you going to answer the call or ask the Lord to send someone else?”

Jim was happy for the opportunity to serve but knew he would need his partner every step of the way.

“If you’re with me, then I’ll do it,” he told her.

___

Since assuming the position in February and the removal of “interim” from his title in April, Hess has made his priorities clear. Topping that list: students. Despite his new role, Dr. Hess still teaches his courses because he said, “They made a commitment to this class, and I made a commitment to them.”

He also gave up his presidential parking spot, which is now awarded to a different honors student every month.

“If they have to pay to park, why should I be any different?” he said.

None of that is surprising for those who know him best. It would be a mistake to conflate his kindness with weakness, but his care for students is as genuine as the man himself.

“Of course, he is going to take care of everything else that needs to be addressed, but for Jim, it’s always been about students,” Angela said. “And I think that will always be the case for as long as he is here.”

At the institutional level, Hess is focused on securing long-term investment in the College of Veterinary Medicine to ensure that the college and the veterinary teaching hospital are once again recognized as national leaders.

“You know, life has a twisted irony to it, and I started in Vet Med, and then ended up, more recently, the last couple of years, trying to improve Vet Med and thought, ‘What a great, circular path that was,’” Hess said. “Now, we have an opportunity to solve this problem for generations.”

Another major point of emphasis for Hess is empowering faculty and staff to do what they do best.

“The most exciting thing about this job is the people you get to work with,” he said. “Our institution, like all other institutions, has some great challenges ahead of it. … But I’m not worried about that, because we have the very best people that you can imagine working at this institution.”

Hess said he aims to leave the university in a better position than when he began as president, starting with identifying goals for the future and building relationships.

“When you really, really like one another, you’ll do just about anything to help each other,” he said. “I think the most exciting thing is identifying where we would like the institution to be 5, 10, 15 years from now. And that is an inclusive process because the most important thing you can do is just listen to the people around you, because if you listen to them, they’ll give you great wisdom.

“The biggest mistake a president can make is to think that their vision is the only vision, because every person who works at this institution has a vision for their area or the discipline. To be successful as a president, you need to figure out what they need, give them what they need and then get out of the way. It’s pretty simple.”

While still serving in an interim role, reporters asked Hess if he intended to pursue a more permanent appointment. Hess said that wasn’t a concern for him. In his view, there are two ways to serve in an interim role.

“​​One is to just do the job in front of you every day and make the best decisions you can make that are in the long-term best interest of the institution, regardless of how it affects you,” he said. “The other approach is to audition for the job that you want all the time. That causes people to make decisions that might not be in the best interest of the institution, but they might be in the best interest of an audition for a job. I’m committed to leading, not auditioning.

“I think that this is a great institution. I just love it so much, and it deserves the very best leader available. And so what I’m going to spend my time focusing on is making the best decisions that I can to deliver a tremendous student experience and drive long-term growth. If we can do that, the future will take care of itself.”

---

Photos by: Gary Lawson and Ellie Piper

Story by: Mack Burke | STATE Magazine