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CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State University President Paul Risser, who in his nearly seven years at the helm led the university to record enrollments and impressive growth, today was named chancellor of The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education.

As chancellor of the Oklahoma system, Risser will be the chief executive officer for the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. He will head a system comprised of 25 state colleges and universities, 10 constituent agencies, and two higher education centers.

He will begin his duties as chancellor on Jan. 6, 2003. He succeeds Hans Brisch, who last month announced his retirement after 14 years as Oklahoma's chancellor.

"I've dearly loved Oregon State University," Risser said, "but I grew up in Oklahoma, I went to high school there, I taught at the University of Oklahoma for 14 years, and my mother and one son live there. So, in essence, I'm going home.

"I've been president of two universities now, and this gives me a chance - in what may be a last step - to run a system," the 63-year-old Risser added. "It is a good fit."

Risser had been president of Miami University in Ohio when he was selected to become Oregon State University's 13th president. Before he arrived at OSU on Jan. 1, 1996, the university's enrollment had plummeted to a 30-year low of just 13,700 students. Under Risser's leadership, the university boosted recruiting efforts, expanded scholarship offerings, broadened its marketing, and implemented new orientation and retention programs.

Larry Roper, OSU's vice provost for student affairs, said Risser was instrumental in getting the campus to focus on the needs of students.

"Paul's vision was to put the interests of the students first," Roper said, "and that attitude became infectious. There was a campus-wide effort to make the student experience at Oregon State something special, and that energy and desire to help our students find success is still vibrant today."

Since 1996, Oregon State has experienced a dramatic growth in enrollment, topped by the record 18,700 students this fall term.

OSU has experienced significant growth in other areas as well. In 2001, the Oregon State System of Higher Education selected Oregon State to develop the first branch campus in Oregon history and the OSU-Cascades Campus opened in Bend that fall. Despite budget restrictions, enrollment has grown significantly in the last year.

Risser also helped Oregon State launch an effort to propel its College of Engineering into one of the top programs in the nation. In 2000, the university began an ambitious 10-year, $180 million fundraising campaign, with two-thirds of the funds to be raised privately. That campaign led to a $20 million gift from alumnus Martin E. Kelley to support the initiative - the second largest gift in the university's history.

Popular among alumni, Risser has been an advocate for a strong athletic program, though he "isn't really a sports fan," he admits. In 1998, he hired a young, unproven athletic director named Mitch Barnhart to help the department field more competitive teams, improve facilities and reduce its debt. He encouraged Barnhart to sign Dennis Erickson as head football coach, and three years later the Beavers went to the Fiesta Bowl. Season tickets have sold out for the past two years.

Bob De Carolis has since replaced Barnhart as athletic director, and is now spearheading a drive to expand Reser Stadium, the smallest facility in the Pacific-10 Conference. Two years ago, the athletic department built the privately funded $12 million Merritt Truax Indoor Practice Facility. Risser's support has been a critical key to athletic success, boosters say.

Other new buildings dot the OSU campus or are in the construction phase. In 1997, the university opened the CH2M-HILL Alumni Center. Two years later, OSU completed a $40 million expansion of The Valley Library - later named the Library of the Year by the Library Journal - and dedicated the College of Forestry's Richardson Hall, a $27 million teaching and research facility.

This fall, the university opened its first residence hall in nearly 30 years. Halsell Hall is named after one of the university's first African American graduates. Construction is at the midway point of a $19 million expansion of Dixon Recreation Center, and just beginning on a new Hilton Garden Inn hotel project on Western Boulevard. And in September, the university held a pre-groundbreaking ceremony for the $48 million Kelley Engineering Center.

Risser also has been the university's most vocal proponent of faculty excellence, touting the accomplishments of faculty teaching and research in every venue. Earlier this year, the university launched an internal self-examination called OSU 2007 designed to focus the institution's efforts on areas of excellence.

An internationally known scientist, Risser has continued to pursue his interest in ecological issues. Last year, he chaired a team of Oregon scientists that produced the State of the Oregon Environment Report. Earlier, Risser led the Willamette River Restoration Initiative for Gov. John Kitzhaber.

Orcilia Zuniga-Forbes, OSU's vice president for university advancement, has known Risser since they both served on the faculty and in the administration at the University of New Mexico. She said he will be missed.

"I think the most important think that Paul has done is to instill a sense of pride about OSU that is felt by the students, staff, faculty and alumni, and even by people with no apparent affiliation with OSU," she said. "He takes a certain sense of pride in knowing that he helped people feel good about their university."