New University of Oklahoma president says school shouldering $1 billion in debt

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The University of Oklahoma’s incoming president says the school is losing $36 million a year as expenses continue to outpace revenue.

The Oklahoman reports that Jim Gallogly met with the university’s Board of Regents in Oklahoma City on Tuesday. He’ll become the university’s 14th president July 1.

Gallogly says total debt is nearly $1 billion at the Norman campus, and debt service costs are almost $70 million a year.

The regents approve the university’s annual budget and tuition rates for the coming academic year every May. Regents approved a $2.12 billion budget for fiscal 2019 with the understanding Gallogly will rework it.

The incoming president says the focus will be on efficiencies and “putting money into the right places,” including faculty raises. He says the university will not increase tuition.