The Daily O’Collegian

OSU administrators said they contributed to James Halligan’s state senate campaign because of his experience and service to higher education.

However, Halligan the senator might be different from Halligan the OSU president.

He’s taking a wider approach to education.

“Career tech is a real focus of mine,” Halligan said “I’m a great believer in the career tech. About 75 percent of the adults above 25 in Oklahoma do not have a college education. And when you go out, there’s a significant need for college graduate, but there’s a major need for welders, and electricians and plumbers. People that are hand smart rather than head smart. There’s a tremendous demand now in Oklahoma for those kinds of people.”

Career tech has been an important aspect of Halligan’s campaign since he announced his candidacy in November when Halligan’s press release took place at the Meridian Technology Center and not down the street at OSU.

However, Halligan’s focus on career tech doesn’t mean he’s ignoring higher education. Halligan said he has eaten dinner about three times with OSU President Burns Hargis and discussed higher education needs.

The student officers of the OSU College Republicans are optimistic about Halligan’s interest in career tech.

“It plays a big, big role in the economy because very few Oklahomans actually go to college,” said Ashley Reynolds, co-chairman of OCR and a political science junior.

“I think, obviously, his key point is going to be education, higher education,” Reynolds said. “I think he’ll do really well for the colleges and career techs.”

Josh Pillow, co-chairman of OCR and a political science junior, said he agreed and pointed out that Halligan’s district comprises three large educational institutions: OSU, Langston and Meridian Technology Center.

Halligan is a Republican candidate for state senate seat 21, which includes Stillwater, the northeast part of Perkins, Ripley, Guthrie and Cushing, said Karl Algren, Halligan’s campaign consultant.

Halligan said that his focus on career tech is a large part of providing jobs and a stable economy to Oklahomans.

“In general, people just say ‘You know I just want a good job with health insurance,’” Halligan said. “That’s a very strong comment that you hear from a lot of people.”

Kirk Jewell, president and CEO of the OSU Foundation, said he trusts Halligan’s judgment.

“I think he has tremendous judgment when it comes to the needs of higher education,” Jewell said. “I know as a senator, it will be more about higher education in general than it will be about OSU, but if there’s an opportunity to do something good for OSU, I’m sure he would have an interest in helping any way he could.”

Jewell, who donated $2,000 to the campaign, said he was president of OSU’s Alumni Association during Halligan’s presidency, 1994-2003.

Jewell said Halligan’s passion is helping students.

“During the nine or 10 years when he was president here was really a significant time as far as OSU becoming more student focused,” he said. “A lot of the changes that were made while he was president had to do with making life easier for students at Oklahoma state.”

Halligan and his wife Anne had more than 1,000 students a year visit and eat at their home, Jewell said.

“I feel confident that what he does in the legislature ultimately will be the things that he feels like will help OSU serve the students as well as possible,” he said. “That’s his passion, always has been.”