University of Oklahoma takes McClendon name off its Honors College, but won't say why

ARDMORE ― A college at the University of Oklahoma long named for the parents of the late Oklahoma City energy magnate Aubrey McClendon will revert to its former name after a unanimous vote Friday by the OU Board of Regents.

In 2008, OU’s Honors College was named the Joe C. and Carole Kerr McClendon Honors College in recognition of a $12.5 million gift to the university from Aubrey McClendon, the former Chesapeake Energy Corp. leader, and his wife, Kathleen McClendon. Of that gift, $5.5 million was to go to the Honors College to endow scholarships for students to study in other nations, the OU debate team and a faculty chair in energy policy.

OU regents at the time approved the recommendation of then-OU President David Boren to name the Honors College for Aubrey McClendon’s parents, who both graduated from OU.

"Katie and I are pleased to be able to lend support to these various initiatives at the University of Oklahoma,” Aubrey McClendon said upon announcement of the donation in 2008. "We are very supportive of President Boren's drive to continue improving OU both academically and athletically.”

After Friday’s vote at the regents' meeting at the Noble Research Institute’s conference center, the McClendon name will be stripped from the college. When the agenda item came up for consideration, OU President Joseph Harroz said only it “was a request to rename the college and revert it back to simply the Honors College,” but he didn’t explain why that was being done. Regents quickly voted without comment before moving on to the next item.

Background information included on the agenda for Friday’s meeting also didn’t explain why the university made its decision to rename the college: “In consultation with the McClendon family, signage on or near the OU Honors College that refers to the Joe C. and Carole Kerr McClendon Honors College will be removed. The name of the college will officially revert to be known as the OU Honors College.”

The agenda item noted the request for the name change for the college came from Harroz, who left the building before The Oklahoman could ask about his recommendation. Board Chair Eric Stevenson said the change was made after consultation with the McClendon family. Shortly after The Oklahoman asked Stevenson about the issue, the university emailed a statement that exactly duplicated the language in the agenda item.

Who was Aubrey McClendon?

The building that houses the Honors College on OU’s Norman campus is located on the southwest corner of Asp Avenue and Lindsey Street. The Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, where OU plays its football games, is located on the northeast corner of that intersection.

Aubrey McClendon co-founded Chesapeake in 1983 and served as its chairman and chief executive officer until he was forced out of the company in 2013 as its debt ballooned to almost $13 billion. He died at age 56 on March 2, 2016, when the sport utility vehicle he was driving crashed at high speed into a bridge abutment in northwest Oklahoma City. His death was ruled accidental.

The crash occurred one day after a federal grand jury indicted McClendon on charges of conspiring to rig bids for oil and natural gas leases in northwest Oklahoma. After McClendon’s death, those charges were dismissed. Just hours before his death, McClendon had called the charges “wrong and unprecedented” and said he would “fight to prove my innocence and clear my name.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: University of Oklahoma takes McClendon name off its Honors College