- Details
- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Higher Education
The University of Tulsa announced Monday that Stacy Leeds, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and dean of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, will become the university’s next president, effective July 1.
Leeds, a 1997 graduate of the University of Tulsa College of Law, will be the first woman to serve as the university’s permanent president.
She currently leads Arizona State’s law school and previously held leadership roles at the University of Arkansas, including serving as vice chancellor for economic development. Over a career spanning more than 25 years, Leeds has worked as a professor and administrator at major research universities.
Leeds also has experience in tribal governance. She served as a justice on the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court from 2002 to 2006 and has held judicial roles for other tribal courts, including the Muscogee Nation.
“Returning to The University of Tulsa is an honor and profound homecoming for me,” Leeds said in a statement.
Leeds will take over leadership of the university following the resignation of former President Brad Carson in May. The institution has since been led by interim President Rick Dickson, the university’s former athletic director.
The leadership change comes as the university addresses financial challenges. The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported the school disclosed a $31 million deficit in its 2026 budget. Officials cut about $20 million in spending, reduced $1.5 million in upper-administration costs, laid off about 40 staff members and implemented a three-year hiring freeze.
