Kelly Wilkerson

Chickasha small business owner Kelly Wilkerson was appointed by Gov. Kevin Stitt to to a seven-year term on the Science & Arts Board of Regents in 2020.

“Only four institutions in Oklahoma have a statewide mission,” said President John Feaver. “Science & Arts can only fulfill its distinct role as Oklahoma’s public liberal arts university and continue to build on our illustrious history thanks to the often difficult, but utterly essential, work that our regents never fail to approach with a clear sense of resolve, pragmatic insights and an absolute dedication to seeing this university succeed. Kelly’s record of service as an educator speaks volumes, and, combined with her savvy as a businessperson, I am eager to see what she will bring to the table during her tenure.”

A former public school educator who retired after 32 years of service, Wilkerson earned her bachelor’s degree from Southwestern Oklahoma State University and her master’s from Tarleton State University. She later attended the Principal’s Institute at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Since 2017, she has owned and operated Chicken Express franchises in Chickasha, Duncan and Lawton.

The Oklahoma State Legislature created Science & Arts’s seven-member Board of Regents to govern the institution as it carries out its distinct mission as the only public liberal arts institution within Oklahoma’s higher education system. The governor appoints each member to overlapping seven-year terms with the advice and consent of the Oklahoma Senate.