3.01: Higher Education - Dr. Leigh Goodson

Welcome to the third season of Tulsa Talks presented by Tulsa Regional Chamber. 

Our season premiere features a conversation with Dr. Leigh Goodson, president and CEO of Tulsa Community College.

We begin the discussion by talking about TCC’s 50th anniversary, which is also featured in the August issue of TulsaPeople. She talks about the school as it is today, what it means to her to be the first female president of the school (4:10), a bit about her background and then checking in on the Tulsa Achieves program (10:48).

We pause that conversation about midway through to check in with our city editor, Morgan Phillips, who recently spent time on the Broken Arrow High School football field to find out “What the What” it takes to begin defending the 6A state football championship (15:20). That’s right, Morgan went through summer conditioning with the boys. 

Following Morgan’s story, we resume the conversation with Dr. Goodson (19:49). It begins with a discussion about the classroom and technology followed by what the student body looks like today (22:00). Goodson talks about TCC’s partnership with the Southern California Center for Urban Education to create an equity scorecard (23:42) then discusses being an Aspen Fellow and what that means for her five-year plan for TCC and who they measure themselves against (28:12). She shares her thoughts on the national conversation regarding student loans (33:12), discusses why college is still an important pathway for success (35:45) and why a local high school student should continue education at TCC (38:05). 

We conclude the season premiere with the new song “No Dress Rehearsal” (42:18) from the Brad James Band. Their new album “Brad James Band Live at Fellowship Hall” is being released by Horton Records on Aug. 9. 

More on Goodson:

Goodson was named the fourth president and chief executive officer of Tulsa Community College in May 2014.

A Tulsa native, Goodson has worked in higher education most of her professional career. Goodson previously served in numerous roles at Oklahoma State University.

Goodson has strong ties to education, having served previously as a university faculty member, university administrator and school board member for Tulsa Public Schools. She is passionate about student success.

She serves on the board of directors for the YMCA of Greater Tulsa and the Oklahoma Innovation Institute. She is a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma class XXIII and Leadership Tulsa Class 35. She serves as chair of the Education Task Force for the Tulsa Regional Chamber One Voice initiative as well as on its Board of Directors. She has a special interest in creating a pipeline for students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).

Goodson is an Aspen Presidential Fellow and under her leadership, TCC was selected as one of 30 institutions nationwide to participate in the AACC Pathways Project. 

Goodson earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Education Research and Evaluation from OSU, a Master of Science in Organizational Communication from Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kan., and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from OSU.

Goodson, her husband, Mark, and two children live in Tulsa.