RSU President Named to State Economic Development Team

Rogers State University President Dr. Joe Wiley is one of five university presidents appointed by Gov. Brad Henry to serve on a new statewide initiative to develop a vision to grow Oklahoma’s economy.

“Oklahoma’s EDGE: Economic Development Generating Excellence” is a project initiated by the governor to bring together private business and industry leaders and higher education officials to develop a plan with strategies to expand economic opportunities for the citizens of Oklahoma.

Gov. Henry has charged the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education under the leadership of Chancellor Paul Risser to work with Secretary of Commerce Kathy Taylor and the Department of Commerce and Tourism to lead the creation of “Oklahoma’s EDGE.”

The project will be guided by a steering committee co-chaired by Ken Levit, president of the University of Oklahoma – Tulsa and David Lopez, vice president for development of the Oklahoma Arts Institute and economic advisor to the governor’s office. The steering committee will coordinate the work of 23 expert teams that will develop recommendations in specific areas, including aerospace, biotechnology, and information technologies.

Wiley has been appointed by the governor to serve on the information technologies team along with several IT industry professionals.

“With his expert background in information technology and his understanding of the important link between higher education and economic development, President Wiley is ideally suited to serve on the governor’s team,” Risser said.

The expert teams will meet this month to formulate two or three major actions needed to strengthen the state’s economy. The teams will submit their recommendations to the steering committee, which will review the plans and hold statewide public meetings to discuss the results. The steering committee will submit its final report to the governor in early December.

Wiley became president of RSU in January 1999. He presided over RSU’s effort to gain accreditation at the baccalaureate degree granting university in just 18 months.

In 2002, he was awarded the prestigious John L. Blackburn Award for Exemplary Administrative Leadership from the American Association of University Administrators (AAUA) for his role during RSU’s transition from a two-year to a four-year institution. The national award is the most prestigious award given by the AAUA – the nation’s largest and most respected organization of university administrators.

Previously, Wiley served as Executive Vice President and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Southeastern Oklahoma State University (SEOSU) in Durant. He served in that capacity from 1995 to 1998. Before that, he was Vice President for Academic Affairs at SEOSU from 1990 to 1995. He served as Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs from 1988 to 1990. He was a Professor and Chairman of the Department of Computer Science at SEOSU from 1981 to 1988.

Wiley received a doctoral degree (Ph.D.) in mathematics from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in 1979. He completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Computer Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1981. He received a master of science degree (M.S.) from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in 1974 and a bachelor of science degree (B.S.) from Southeastern Oklahoma State University in 1972.

He traveled to China on three occasions in 1985, 1986, and 1987 to serve as a technical consultant to the State Commission on Science and Technology.