President’s Office announces new Vice President of Transformative Leadership

Art Cotton was selected as the new vice president of transformative learning for the University of Central Oklahoma on Sept. 10, making this the second cabinet position UCO President Todd Lamb has added since becoming president of the university. He officially was placed in the position Monday, Sept. 16.

In an email sent to faculty, staff and students on Sept. 10, the president’s office announced the new position, stating that UCO is the paradigm for transformative learning. The goal of this new position is to move the President’s Leadership Cabinet (PLC) and Leaders of Tomorrow (LOT) closer to the president’s office.

“We are about transformative learning,” said Lamb. “We transform students at UCO.”

While this transition has been met with positivity from the cabinet and administration, some in PLC and LOT are still skeptical about the transition, with many not knowing the leadership change would be happening until the email was sent out to all members of the UCO community.

Many of the PLC and LOT members The Vista spoke with did not want to comment on their opinion of the change at this time, opting to wait until more concrete conclusions were made.

While some students remained skeptical, Cotton and Lamb were both excited about the new change.

“As I met with students and I saw more closely our PLC and LOT programs and spent time with those students and visited with them, I had a desire to be more personally involved,” said Lamb.

Lamb cites former UCO President Webb for the inspiration behind his new-found involvement in PLC and LOT.

When discussing his new position, Cotton said he hopes to bring new ideas to PLC and LOT and enhance and add value to the programs and make it work-force development oriented.

“We want to give our students that opportunity,” said Cotton.

The current advisors for Leadership Central are Claire Painter and Britnee Boone. Cotton said he hopes to continue working closely with them as the semester progresses, and he seeks to learn from them about how to better lead the program.

The organization and leadership team, which was originally under Vice President Christopher Lynch, are all being transferred into Cotton’s team, according to the email sent to the UCO community.

One thing that Cotton spoke to frequently was the communication and operation with faculty, as well as students. Pointing to the Leadership Minor offered at UCO as a way he plans on engaging with faculty and students outside of PLC and LOT.

“It would not just be students in PLC or LOT, it would be open to the entire campus community,” said Cotton.

When discussing the change within the organizations, Lamb said, “It remains to be determined.”

“I wanted to have my heightened focus on these two outstanding programs, and that’s why I elevated them to a direct report on the cabinet level,” said Lamb. “And I asked Vice President Cotton to 

not go in and make any wholesale changes, but I’ve asked him to go and assess where we are.”

To assess the decision for a new VP, Lamb discussed the decision with multiple colleagues across the nation, he said. Many university presidents inspired his decision, and he said multiple people on 

UCO’s campus were also consulted about the decision.

Vice president of transformative leadership is the second cabinet-level position President Lamb has added during his time at UCO. The first being vice president of athletics, a position that Stan Wagnon currently holds.

When discussing if he would add another vice president position, Lamb said it remains to be seen, citing his conversations with students in PLC, LOT and Greek Life for bringing the organizations to his attention, and that being the reason he wanted them closer to the president’s office.

Following the announcement that Cotton would be accepting the position for vice president of transformative leadership, a second email was sent on Monday announcing Allen Wright as the new vice president for advancement.