On December 16th, SWOSU students received an email announcing President Diana Lovell’s resignation, leaving SWOSU without a president… for six days. On the seventh day, Joel Kendall returned.
Kendall previously worked at SWOSU for 27 years: 23 years as a Journalism Professor, 3 years as Associate Provost, and 4 years as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. Leaving SWOSU six months ago to accept a position at the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. The State Regents is another governing body over SWOSU, similar to RUSO (Where RUSO is a system for regional universities; Regents manages all Oklahoma universities). After a short stint as the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the State Regents, Kendall left his job and accepted the position as SWOSU’s Interim President.
While the return of Kendall is welcomed, many staff and students are still left clueless as the reason for Lovell’s departure. As some had predicted before the announcement, Lovell did not return to her position after her leave of absence ended. Kendall, while more accessible than Janet Cunningham, was just as forthcoming about Lovell’s leave:
“Dr. Lovell resigned in December, and she sent out a nice letter to everybody, and I think that is what’s best for her, and we support her,” Kendall said.
As for Kendall, his future at SWOSU is still unknown. After taking the role of Interim President, The State Regents posted a job opening for the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, signaling he most likely won’t be returning to that position in the near future. With the President position up for grabs, Kendall was hesitant to say he wanted to pursue the role going forward.
“I’m just honored they brought me back in this position,” Kendall said. “I never said I wanted to be president. The RUSO Regents called me after Dr Lovell resigned and asked if I would be interested in coming back and serving as interim president. So obviously, it is an honor to even be considered to do that. So, I told them yes. Simply because this is an incredible institution.”
This shift in leadership extends beyond the office of the president. After Kendall left SWOSU in 2025 for the State Regents, SWOSU began its search for a replacement provost. This decision is usually made by the president of the university, but without Lovell, who was making the decision was unknown. Kendall was again less than forthcoming on his involvement in the process: “With Dr. Lovell absent, and Dr. Cunningham no longer here to make her decision. Who will be choosing the next provost?” Kendall’s response: “That process is still in progress.” And when questioned about the timeline on when the role will be filled, Kendall gave a similar response: “I think I’ll just say the process is still in progress.”
Since this interview, Jason Johnson was announced as the next Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs in an email sent to students by Kendall.
When asked about the term of his role, Kendall answered with another underwhelming response: “I think we’ll leave that up to Regents.”
Kendall, in general, was much more open than Cunningham. Responding to the interview request personally, instead of having the questions proofed by the Head of Public Relations before accepting, like Cunningham did. And while most of his responses regarding the future of SWOSU’s leadership were unremarkable, his commitment to SWOSU is undeniable.
“It’s an honor that overwhelms me,” Kendall said. “It allows me to work with incredible people, and it’s just an incredible opportunity.”
