WLT’s govt director, editors, and workers all deeply mourn the passing of David L. Boren, who died on February 20, 2025. Nick Hathaway, who served as a vice chairman on the College of Oklahoma throughout Boren’s tenure, provided the next tribute on Fb, which we’re happy to publish within the late president’s honor. 

David L. Boren’s affect spanned a long time and continents. Those that knew him finest will bear in mind his profound kindness. His energy was all the time on-the-ready to make sure that his kindness was by no means mistaken for weak spot. He was a powerful chief. However he actually didn’t just like the suggestion that he had “energy.” To my data, he by no means needed “energy” and didn’t even need you to say he had it. He most needed a lifetime of affect spent in service to others. 

David Boren (1941–2025) had a profoundly optimistic affect on my life, together with his main function in introducing me to my spouse, Nanette. Few probably know that matchmaker was one among Boren’s favourite roles. The truth is, he boasted of his success in linking Nanette and me. After we just lately shared a reflective goodbye, he proudly started to sing the tune “Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match.” 

The David I knew appeared to most get pleasure from being a instructor. Educating fed his soul. His U.S. Senate internship program was legendary for its dynamism. At OU, he cherished educating his authorities class. The truth is, on quite a few events David Boren shared his appreciation for Mr. Chips, a fictional instructor within the 1934 novella, Goodbye, Mr. Chips. Boren noticed a whole lot of himself on this fictional character. It’s no shock that Chips embodied the enduring energy of human connection and a life devoted to service. 

For these privileged to serve alongside him, as I used to be, David Boren was a caring mentor. He instilled a basic precept: to dedicate one’s life to one thing better than oneself. This was not merely talked about in numerous speeches; it was a every day mantra, a guiding drive in his actions and interactions.

His counsel was sought by world leaders, from Margaret Thatcher to Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela in addition to quite a few U.S. presidents. These and plenty of different world leaders visited the college throughout his transformative presidency. He fostered an surroundings of mental change and world engagement, leaving an indelible mark on OU.

David and Molly Boren love the State of Oklahoma, its individuals and its geography. I can bear in mind driving David at some point, as I usually did, by means of rural Oklahoma. From the white noise of a automotive at seventy miles per hour, he stated, “Isn’t it lovely?” I had no clue what he was speaking about. However, fairly merely, he cherished the sight of the Oklahoma panorama. On those self same drives, driving by means of McDonald’s had the qualities of a meals cease and “I shouldn’t do that” financial institution theft. 

David was a visionary in larger training. He was keen on a poem by the English poet John Masefield that begins with the phrases, “There are few earthly issues extra splendid than a college” and consists of strains like “wherever a college stands, it stands and shines; wherever it exists, the free minds of males, urged on to full and truthful enquiry, should convey knowledge into human affairs.”

One in all his biggest legacies as a college president was that he gave OU a better understanding of itself. He championed efforts to inform the story of the numerous individuals who served by means of historical past to construct the inspiration of an ideal college. He put in quite a few historic markers and images celebrating the college’s previous. His speeches usually highlighted the contributions of visionary predecessors like George Lynn Cross and David Ross Boyd. The truth is, the long-lasting statue of the legendary President George Lynn Cross—the place Cross sits on the North Oval as if answerable for the college—stands as a result of Boren put him there. 

Boren additionally revolutionized girls’s athletics on the college. He demonstrated outstanding foresight by massively elevating the salaries of ladies’s coaches, together with the legendary Patty Gasso, to unprecedented ranges. This was a daring, controversial transfer that superior the unparalleled success that’s now a supply of state satisfaction. After all, his partnership with Bob Stoops introduced numerous victories to the soccer program.

Instructor, pal, senator, mentor, president, governor—David Boren embodied all these roles with grace and distinction. His legacy is one among lasting dedication to the State of Oklahoma and an unwavering dedication to public service. He leaves behind a world enriched by his presence and a college perpetually formed by his imaginative and prescient.

College of Science & Arts of Oklahoma