SWOSU Press Release

Weatherford, OK – Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) has announced that Mr. Garrett King will assume the role of Executive Director of the SWOSU Office of Institutional Advancement, effective immediately.

This move comes as part of a multi-year, multi-phase strategic update to the institution's development and engagement efforts.

“SWOSU and the SWOSU Foundation, Inc. have worked closely together for nearly half a century to support students, faculty, and programs by aligning donor intent with our institution’s needs,” said SWOSU President Dr. Diana R. Lovell. “We are deeply grateful to Vice President King for his service and leadership at the senior university leadership level and we look forward to continued collaboration together as he takes on greater responsibilities at the SWOSU Foundation.”

King is a 2008 & 2018 SWOSU alumnus who has served SWOSU in multiple capacities since September 2014 including as a vice president and as chief of staff. In this latest role he will continue leading the SWOSU Office of Institutional Advancement as well as the SWOSU Foundation, Inc., an independent 501 C 3 entity which has functioned as SWOSU's primary philanthropic partner since 1977.

"As the SWOSU Foundation, Inc. approaches its 50th birthday in 2027, we are committed to continue building out our staff team’s capacity for effective, innovative leadership,” said SWOSUF Board of Trustees Chairman Philip Busey, Jr.,of Oklahoma City, a 2004 SWOSU alumnus. “As we restructure and enhance our operation, it is a thrill to have our longtime leader, Garrett King, working more intensively and closer with our Board and stakeholders to deliver on our mission of strengthening SWOSU.”

A former aide to United States Congressman Frank D. Lucas, King is completing his PhD in History at Swansea University in the United Kingdom. He met his wife, the former Carissa Marquis, at SWOSU when the couple were undergraduates. The Kings are parents of two daughters. They reside in Weatherford and are members of the Federated Church.

For more information, please visit www.SWOSUFoundation.com.