BancFirst Vice Chairman to Deliver Minter Lecture Oct. 16

October 10, 2017

James R. Daniel, vice chairman of BancFirst, will deliver Oklahoma Baptist University’s 2017 Minter Lecture at 10 a.m., Monday, Oct. 16, in the Tulsa Royalties Auditorium of the Bailey Business Center on the OBU campus in Shawnee.

Daniel earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in finance from Baylor University where he attended on baseball, basketball and academic scholarships. He is also a graduate of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University.

Daniel served as the president and CEO of Friendly Bank of Oklahoma City from 1972 to 1993. He then served as the chairman, president and CEO of Bank One Oklahoma until 1997. He currently serves as the vice chairman of BancFirst.

Daniel’s commitment to stroke victims and funding of stroke research led to the establishment of the James R. Daniel Cerebrovascular and Stroke Center at Integris Health. He has been recognized as the Citizen of the Year by the South Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce and as Man of the Year by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. In 2001, Governor Frank Keating signed the declaration of Jim Daniel Day in Oklahoma for outstanding service in banking and health care. In 2011, he was recognized by the Oklahoma Banker’s Association for 50 years in banking.

The Minter Lectureship in Business, Leadership and Christian Ministry is intended to add a sound understanding of the business world to the educational experience of church ministry majors to broaden their ability to minister effectively. The Minter Lectureship was underwritten by 1940 OBU graduate Lloyd G. Minter of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. The annual series began in 1991.

Minter built a successful 35-year career with Phillips Petroleum Co., rising to the position of senior vice president and general counsel before retiring in 1978. His desire to help OBU religious vocation students broaden their understanding of the business community led to establishing the innovative lecture series.

OBU annually has the largest number of religion majors among Southern Baptist four-year colleges and universities. The Minter Lectureship is designed to provide orientation and training for those students in the history and nature of the American economic system and to help the students understand and appreciate the business and professional community. In addition to equipping the students with business knowledge for the institutions they will lead, the Minter Lectureship promotes proper management of personal finances.

Minter, who earned a law degree at the University of Oklahoma, served as counsel for Boone, Smith, Davis and Hurst of Tulsa. He served five terms as an OBU trustee and two terms as a trustee of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Minter died Jan. 4, 2013, at age 94.