The Daily O’Collegian

For many students, coming back to the OSU campus after a long break from classes can be a difficult readjustment.

In Mark Liotta’s case, a break from school involved a 10-year tenure in the Oklahoma State Legislature.

Liotta, who is enrolled in the master’s program in the college of Arts and Sciences and working toward a degree in political science, graduated from Southern Nazarene University with a bachelor of science in management of human resources. Many of the credit hours applied to the degree were earned while Liotta attended OSU before his work at the Capitol.

As the superintendent of the Tulsa County Highway District 3, Liotta decided that after his 10-year service as a representative in the State Legislature he wanted to earn a graduate degree.

The only major decision was to pick the institution he wanted to attend.

“Our family bleeds orange,” said Liotta, “I wanted a degree from OSU.”

When she heard of her father’s plans to concurrently enroll at OSU, Mark’s daughter, Katie, a business and accounting freshman, was less than enthusiastic.

“When my dad first told me that he was going to be coming back to school at OSU I can’t say that I was too thrilled with the idea,” she said. “I was finally on my own and my dad was tagging along. I have since found that it really is not that big of a deal to have him up here.”

Although he lives with his family in Tulsa, Liotta was not bothered with traveling to Stillwater for classes.

“I figured, ‘Well, I could drive down there once or twice a week, [get a degree] in six semesters,” Liotta said.

During his time as a state representative for District 77, Liotta led efforts that ultimately created the 2006 State Road Plan, the State Water’s Protection Act and established OSU-Tulsa and the OSU Center for Health Sciences.

A lot of these efforts stemmed from a personal connection Liotta felt with his area of constituency.

“I looked at the state my kids were growing up in,” Liotta said of his early years in the Legislature. “I wanted them to have opportunities without having to move to another state to get a job.”

Liotta gained much of his leadership experience away from the classroom, however, for he served in the military as an infantry officer years before he ran for an office. The two positions, Liotta said, had a lot in common.

“A lot of what you learn as an infantry officer applies to campaigning. You take limited personnel, limited time, limited funds and target an area.”

Now that he is back in Stillwater every week for classes, Liotta has been able to assess any changes that have occurred in Stillwater since he was last enrolled at OSU.

“When I was there it seemed to be more conservative,” said Liotta, “The campus, the student body seemed to be more conservative than now. I don’t think that’s a bad thing.

“The most significant thing I’ve noticed is everything is done online now. Also, it’s a lot easier to do research now.”

Liotta said the changes aren’t major.

“All in all, it’s still Stillwater,” he said. “There’s really not that much different from when I was there.”

After being in politics for many years, adjusting to the classroom setting required a change in mindset for Liotta.

“I knew coming from that background [political science] that there would be some differences,” said Liotta, “What you learn in college is more theory than practice. Am I critical of it? Not really. You have to learn to listen to people of very diverse backgrounds.”

Liotta’s situation is not unheard of, although it is surely not commonplace in the scholarly world.

“I can’t think of anybody who has had that kind of experience in political science who has come back to school,” said Vince Burke, Undergraduate Academic Advisor in the department of Political Science at OSU, “It’s a pretty unique thing.”

Liotta recognized having an open mind was important.

“I am going to have liberal professors, conservative professors,” he said. “My job is just to listen to them.”

Besides obtaining a degree in higher education, Liotta hopes to give back to OSU however he can use his political experience.

“My hope is that OSU will take advantage of the fact that I’m there,” said Liotta.

In his first semester back at OSU Liotta has already noticed an issue that deserves more attention.

“As a legislator I had no idea of the number of fees students pay,” he said. “I never had to do that before. I know legislators aren’t aware of that, or at least not like I am aware of it now.”

Although Liotta does not plan to run for office again, he certainly does not intend to keep his options limited. “You never say never,” Liotta said. “We need people who are not professional politicians to serve.”