University of Oklahoma president announces resignation

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — University of Oklahoma President Jim Gallogly, whose short tenure at the state's flagship university included a sexual harassment probe of its longtime former president and bitter student reaction to a racist incident on campus, announced his resignation on Sunday.

A former energy industry CEO and major OU donor who began his tenure on July 1, Gallogly said he informed the university's regents that he would step down once they have a transition plan in place. Brought in to help tighten the university's finances, Gallogly soon found OU embroiled in an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against former President David Boren, a former Oklahoma governor and U.S. senator who led the institution for 24 years.

In a statement released by the university on Sunday, Gallogly pushed back against any suggestion that his decisions on the university's finances, which included the firing of many longtime executives under Boren, was intended to diminish his predecessor's legacy.

"That false narrative is now also being used to question the motives and propriety of the ongoing investigation of alleged misconduct," Gallogly said in a statement released by the university. "The university was required by law to commence an investigation upon the receipt of complaint(s). That process has been ongoing according to its procedural mandate. The Jones Day law firm was hired to conduct an independent and unbiased, expert investigation and issue a report which the firm has now done."

A former OU student, Jess Eddy, now 29, alleged he was touched and kissed inappropriately by Boren on several occasions almost a decade ago when the man worked as a teaching aide for Boren. Boren, now 78, has denied any inappropriate conduct in statements released by his attorneys. Eddy's complaint led to an internal probe by the...