Jari Askins has been selected to serve as interim president of Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma. She will begin her new duties on July 22.
Cameron University enrolls about 3,100 undergraduate students and 300 graduate students. Women represent nearly two-thirds of the undergraduate student body.
Askins has over four decades of experience in public service and education in the state of Oklahoma. Currently, she serves as administrative director of the courts for Oklahoma. Throughout her tenure in state-level public service, she has held positions such as special district judge, chair and executive director of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, and deputy general counsel to Governor David Walters. She was the Oklahoma District 50 State Representative for the maximum limit of 12 years, after which she served one term as lieutenant governor. During her service as a state representative, she held the post of Democratic minority leader in the House.
After her term as lieutenant governor, Askins was appointed associate provost for external affairs at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. She served in the role for three years, primarily focusing on operations for the university’s Stephenson Cancer Center. Prior to her present position, she returned to public service as special advisor to the governor on child welfare.
Askins holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a juris doctorate from the University of Oklahoma.