Oklahoma State University Foundation has named Waukomis resident Dr. Barry Pollard as chairman of its 2008-09 Board of Trustees
“Dr. Pollard is one of the busiest people I know, but we are so pleased he has accepted this position,” said Kirk A. Jewell, OSU Foundation president and CEO. “His passion and dedication to OSU and the foundation are evident in his gifts of both time and resources to help OSU.”
Pollard grew up in Hennessey before earning his biochemistry degree from OSU in 1973. He earned his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma and is a practicing neurosurgeon in Enid. He owns nine John Deere dealerships through P&K; Equipment and operates Pollard Farms, a farming and ranching operation in Enid.
Pollard credits much of his success to what he learned in Stillwater and he is dedicated to giving back. He founded OSU Medical Cowboys, a group of health-care professionals who have set a goal of building a $3 million endowment to fund scholarships for 20 students in each graduating class. He also endowed a professorship in agribusiness and gives to several athletics programs. Also, P&K; Equipment funds two scholarships annually.
“There are not many higher goals than the function of the foundation, where you are helping to raise money and take care of money to provide scholarships for students to provide an education that is going to benefit them for the rest of their lives,” Pollard said. “We have an opportunity every day to help people get an education, get a better job and, hopefully, have a better life. It’s an opportunity for me to give back to Oklahoma State University, which was so good to me.”
As chairman, Pollard wants to improve fundraising; improve the culture of giving among OSU students, graduates and supporters; and help others discover the positive feeling he gets from his donations.
For Pollard, all of those goals come back to one main objective — to help OSU provide the best education possible at a more affordable level.
“We need to let people know that we need their help and promote that culture of giving so that we can improve our ability to help,” Pollard said.
Even his promotion of non-scholarship donations, such as his own chair endowment, really is about helping the students.
“We must be able to bring the best educators to campus,” he said. “I can certainly remember the names of all of my great professors. We need to bring faculty to OSU that the students remember because of the impact they made on them.”
Pollard and his wife, Roxanne, currently have a son in the MBA program at OSU.
Oklahoma State University Foundation serves as the private fundraising organization for OSU.
