Loughridge to Deliver OBU Winter Commencement Address Dec. 13 at Recreation and Wellness Center

November 21, 2025

Jerome Loughridge, executive director of the Aspen-Kern Program on Leadership and Character in Higher Education, will deliver the commencement address during Oklahoma Baptist University’s winter graduation ceremony at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13, in the Recreation and Wellness Center (RAWC) on OBU’s campus in Shawnee. The event marks the first OBU commencement held on campus since the April 2023 EF2 tornado.

Loughridge serves as the inaugural executive director of the Aspen-Kern Program, a new national initiative of the Aspen Institute in Washington, D.C. The program brings together college presidents from across the United States who are new to their roles, helping them explore the importance of character formation for democratic citizenship and human flourishing.

A native of rural Oklahoma, Loughridge previously served as chief of staff at both a major public and a national private research university. He returned to higher education following a 15-year career in the energy sector, where he led private equity-backed and publicly traded companies throughout North America.

Loughridge earned his interdisciplinary bachelor’s degree from Baylor University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He later attended Harvard University as a Truman Scholar before beginning his career as an international derivatives trader on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Following the attacks of Sept. 11, Loughridge was appointed one of 12 young professionals selected as White House Fellows during the Bush Administration, serving as special assistant to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. In that role, he worked on post-war Iraqi reconstruction, dividing his time between the West Wing, the Pentagon and Baghdad.

He later led portfolio companies with Connecticut-based Wexford Capital and New York-based Ziff Brothers Investments, serving in leadership roles including president, chief operating officer, executive chairman and chief executive officer across multiple firms. In 2019, he was nominated by Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and unanimously confirmed by the state Senate as Secretary of Health and Mental Health. In that volunteer Cabinet position, Loughridge oversaw Medicaid expansion efforts and helped lead Oklahoma’s COVID-19 Task Force.

Loughridge is currently completing a Master of Studies at the University of Oxford. He also chairs the Honors College board at Baylor University, teaches a weekly community Bible study in Oklahoma City and, is, along with his family, an active member of Oakdale Baptist Church in Edmond.

“The Walk,” a longstanding OBU tradition, will be held immediately before commencement. Graduates will begin at the Noble Complex, proceeding out the east doors to the sidewalk and down the south side of the RAWC before entering through the south glass doors. The symbolic walk mirrors the one taken by new students during Welcome Week, representing their journey through OBU and their transition into life beyond Bison Hill.

No tickets are required to attend the ceremony. For questions about parking, entrances, or seating, contact Sharon Eulberg, administrative assistant to the vice president of campus life and dean of students, at 405-585-5250 or by email at sharon.eulberg@okbu.edu.

For more information, visit okbu.edu/student-life/commencement.