The Oklahoma State Senate has approved the appointment of Julie Carson, an attorney, mother and community volunteer from Claremore, to the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
The Senate voted 40-0 on Monday to confirm Governor Brad Henry’s nomination of Carson as a member of the State Regents for Higher Education, the governing board for all public colleges and universities in Oklahoma, including Rogers State University.
“Regent Carson is an ideal selection to provide leadership for our state system of higher education,” said Sen. Stratton Taylor, President Pro-Tempore Emeritus. “Although she will serve as an advocate for higher education across the state, she has a unique and thorough understanding and support of the educational needs of northeastern Oklahoma.”
Members of the nine-member governing board are nominated by the governor and confirmed by the State Senate for terms of nine years. They govern a state system of 25 colleges and universities with a present enrollment of more than 235,000 students. Regents prescribe academic standards of higher education, determine functions and courses of study at all state colleges and universities, grant degrees, recommend to the state Legislature budget allocations for each college and university and recommend proposed fees within limits set by the Legislature.
“We are indeed fortunate that Governor Henry and members of the Oklahoma Senate had the wisdom and foresight to place Julie Carson in this important role,” said RSU President Dr. Joe Wiley. “I look forward to working with her to expand the educational opportunities provided by RSU.”
During the last five years, Julie Carson as been involved in politics and community affairs, working as treasurer for the congressional campaigns of her husband, Brad Carson. She also has been involved in a variety of community service activities, including service on the Board of Directors of the Claremore Public School Foundation, Tri-County Court-Appointed Special Advocates and Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Rogers County. She is a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma. In addition, she has served as a member of the RSU Community Advisory Board. .
She was born in Kansas City, Mo., and relocated with her family to Tulsa where she attended and graduated from the Jenks Public Schools. She attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and completed her undergraduate studies at Vanderbilt University, where she graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in economics. She earned her law degree from the University of Tulsa and was admitted to the Oklahoma Bar in 1998.
Carson began her career working in international business for MCI WorldCom as manager of geographic expansion planning and staff attorney. In those positions, she managed international network interconnection contracts and developed analytical models to identify strategic locations where MCI WorldCom could expand its international data network. Previously, she served as financial analyst for Superstar Satellite Entertainment (now TV Guide.)
She and her husband Brad Carson have one child, Jack David Carson. They live in Claremore.