Dr. Cynthia S. Ross (born December 7, 1950), better known as Cindy Ross, is a fifth generation

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

n whose work in higher education and administration lead to her pioneering roles for women. She is known primarily for her service as the first female president of

Cameron University Cameron University is a public university in Lawton, Oklahoma. It offers more than 50 degrees through both undergraduate and graduate programs. The degree programs emphasize the liberal arts, science and technology, and graduate and professional ...

Personal life

Dr. Cynthia Ross was born in Wakita, Oklahoma—one of three daughters. She was raised in Wakita through elementary school and attended junior high and high school in

Medford, Oklahoma Medford is a city in and the county seat of Grant County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 996. History ''The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' states only that the town name was for Medford, ...

. Ross has two children, Garrett and Jordan.

Education

Neither of Dr. Ross' parents had a college education, so college was not something regularly discussed by the family. Immediately out of high school, Ross went to

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

(OSU) and dropped out after a year to be married. After seven years, Ross went back to OSU and attended college part-time while working full-time. Ross earned her baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degrees from OSU in 1983, 1986, and 1989 respectively. Her undergraduate degree was in university studies while her master's and doctoral degrees were in higher education administration.

Career

Dr. Ross started out her career at Oklahoma State as an

administrative assistant A person responsible for providing various kinds of administrative assistance is called an administrative assistant (admin assistant) or sometimes an administrative support specialist. In most instances it is identical to the modern iteration of th ...

under Academic Vice President Dr. Bogg. While working for OSU, Ross developed several policies in areas such as sexual harassment, as well as "family-friendly policies in dependent care leave and child care for working parents." In 1990, Ross went to the

Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education is the agency of the government of Oklahoma that serves as the governing body of the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education, which is the largest provider of higher education in the state of Ok ...

(OSRHE) in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

. She started out there as Associate Vice Chancellor until she was promoted to Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs four years later. She is the first and only woman (thus far) to hold the position of Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Ross held this position until 2002. In 2002, Ross was chosen by

to serve as their first woman president—and only the third female college president in the state of

. At Cameron University, she served for 11 years, retiring in 2013. In 2011, Dr. Ross was elected to BancFirst's board of directors.

Achievements

* Inducted into the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame (2011) * Oklahoma State University College of Education Hall of Fame (2005) * Stillwater Business and Professional Women of the Year (1983) * Inducted in The Order of Saint Barbara for her support of the Army and Marine Corps * OSU Distinguished Alumni Award (2014) * Received the Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian of the Year Award (2007) * OU Board of Regents named an academic building on Cameron’s campus in her honor * Higher Education Hall of Fame (2013) * Elected to BancFirst Board of Directors (2011)

Personal life

Education

Career

Achievements

References

Further reading