Sherri Coale, a hall of fame basketball player and decorated basketball coach, is the newest member of the Oklahoma Christian University Board of Trustees.
Coale said she was honored to join the Board.
“I was asked earlier when I was still coaching at Oklahoma University, and I just didn’t feel like I had the bandwidth to take on the responsibility I felt like was included with the position,” Coale said. “And so they ask again, now that I’ve retired from that gig, and it felt like the right time, so I’m super excited to be involved and to hopefully give back. And I think it’s a really, really exciting time on campus right now.”
As an alumna of Oklahoma Christian, Coale said she understands the mission of the institution.
“When you go (to Oklahoma Christian), it’s just so much more than a diploma. The diploma opens the door, but boy, the experiences that you have while you’re there, the people that you meet, that’s what enables you to walk through it,” Coale said. “You leave there with the foundation that, literally, you build the rest of your life upon. And so I think I understand the value of that, because I’ve experienced it, and I think I have some things to offer per my experiences in higher education.”
Coale described the role of the Board as visionary.
“It’s the overarching vision of where the university is and where it’s going, and it’s helping to plot that course (…) We’re a prayerful unit. I think of the Board of Trustees as one of our chief jobs being we are prayer warriors for the on the ground leaders of Oklahoma Christian and the students who attend there,” Coale said. “But it’s about flying up to the top of the tree and looking out, not just down upon the university and all of its surroundings, but out into the future and projecting and helping to build a thing that can stand the test of time and influence.”
Coale said higher education is being challenged.
“I feel like Oklahoma Christian is poised for a new chapter. I spent a lot of time talking with Dr. Jones and hearing about his vision for the kingdom university. And I believe in his vision for our campus and for the campus community,” Coale said.
Enrollment and community are the challenges Coale said she would like to address during her time on the Board.
“How do we attract the best and the brightest students to be a part of our community? That’s question number one,” Coale said. “Beyond that, it would be for the experience. I had such a rich experience at Oklahoma Christian, and I would hope to help recreate that for students now and in the future so they have that same sort of experience.”
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