Athletic Department Council Of Diversity Chair Dr. Jason Kirksey Sees Opportunity

Finding out more about Dr. Jason Kirksey, he is a former walk-on in football that looks his role at Oklahoma State with pride and enthusiasm.

STILLWATER -- Having never met Oklahoma State Vice-President for Diversity and Chief Diversity Officer Dr. Jason F. Kirksey, I wasn't quite sure what he was like. The man that OSU President Burns Hargis pinpointed to put Oklahoma State ahead of other major educational institutions in the areas of racial acceptance, racial equality, and further open up the campus to diversity in all areas is a battler. Now, Kirksey has been appointed as the chair person for the new Council on Diversity and Inclusion in the Oklahoma State athletic department. Dr. Kirksey has been a big fan, has assisted on some projects, but the last time he was this involved in athletics on campus he was a walk-on football player. 

"I was a walk-on football player. I do understand the experience for student-athletes and that's important because it sits with me in 408 Whitehurst as I sit in there and do my job," explained Dr. Kirksey, who came to Oklahoma State after playing football at Denver Manual High School in Colorado. "I'm a proud Thunderbolt (Manual's mascot)."  

What I especially liked on first impression of the long-time successful professor in Political Science and a former President of the Big XII Chief Diversity Officers Consortium from 2013-2017. Dr. Kirksey's areas of expertise include minority politics, race and sports, and public policy, with emphasis on African Americans, Native Americans, and women in the American political system.

What he teaches, what he councils, he's lived.

"I do have an affinity for Oklahoma State and I showed up here as poor, first generation black kid from northeast Denver," said Dr. Kirksey. "My mother worked two full-time jobs as a janitor and the last 10-15-years of her working life and then cleaned houses on her days off. People see me as a vice-president of the school, but you don't know my story. That kid that showed up here and was motivated, supported, and inspired by a whole lot of people, some that looked like me and some that didn't look like me epitomizes what is possible at Oklahoma State."

I love the battler and competitor in Dr. Kirksey. He was following all the news since the first day of this recent controversy and protest with football. Since he became a University Vice-President the school has won a multitude of awards including some of the most prestigious for having a campus that has grown in numbers as far as diversity and has an excellent record of acceptance and equality when it comes to students of diverse backgrounds. 

So, when national media, like ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, who Dr. Kirksey mentioned by name, began criticizing Oklahoma State on the whole he took major offense.

"We have plenty of work to do, but give us credit for the work and the transformation at Oklahoma State," Dr. Kirksey said repeatedly in showing disappointment that reporters on a national level would do such a poor job of researching the topic and in this case the institution. 

Dr. Kirksey told me that he had not met with All-American running back Chuba Hubbard or any of his teammates on this issue, but he had made contact with Oklahoma State head football coach Mike Gundy. He said Coach Gundy had welcomed his involvement and that he met with the coaching staff for over two hours this past week. 

"When I talked to Coach Gundy we talked about what was important to do about making the change and was certainly the first step," Dr. Kirksey started. "He asked me to come over and present top them a two-hour workshop on inclusion and the comments were very positive for me and some of the others that were there. I received some notes that they appreciated that and that there is more work to do."

The Council when it is up and running will include coaching staff, student-athletes, administration, and alumni. Dr. Kirksey sees it like everything else, as an opportunity. For a long-time educator and somebody that is looking to push people to stretch boundaries that have stood in society for many years. The professor takes his overall approach very simple. 

"I look at everything as opportunities, not challenges. I look at it positively," he said. "You work hard, you do your best; you are kind, polite, and respectful to people; you don't make fun of people; and most important, you treat people the way you want to be treated."

That is an excellent starting point for any relationship, no matter who is involved.