THE 15TH PRESIDENT OF NORTHERN OKLAHOMA COLLEGE
The Investiture of Diana Watkins

What is a Presidential Investiture?

The investiture of a president is a significant milestone in the life of a college – and one of the oldest and most treasured traditions in academia.

An academic procession takes place that includes delegates from other colleges and universities, trustees and college faculty and leadership. Marchers wear the academic regalia of their own institution. Accompanied by musical selections, the ceremony includes the processional, invocation, greetings from College and community groups, oath of office, presidential address, and the recessional.

Since its founding in 1901, Northern Oklahoma College has now been guided by 15 presidents, each of whom has left a lasting mark on the history of the College.

Investiture Press Release

Diana Morris Watkins Presidential Investiture set for Jan. 14 at NOC

The investiture for Diana Morris Watkins, the 15th president for Northern Oklahoma College, will be held Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, in the Kinzer Performing Arts Center on the Northern Oklahoma College Tonkawa campus at 3 p.m.

Watkins assumed the NOC presidency on June 1, 2024.

“This ceremony is a chance to celebrate the rich traditions of Northern Oklahoma College and to honor the incredible leaders who have held this role prior to the NOC Board of Regents entrusting it to me,” Watkins said. “I am so grateful for the opportunity to lead our outstanding faculty, staff and executive team as we seek to provide Life Changing opportunities for students and help develop them into effective learners and leaders who will make positive contributions to Oklahoma’s workforce.”

Diana Morris Watkins became the 15th President of Northern Oklahoma College on June 1, 2024.

She began her career in education teaching high school English in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Her move to post-secondary education came in 2000 when she joined the Oklahoma State University Honors Program, now Honors College, as an academic counselor before spending four years as an “early childhood educator,” taking on the role of full-time mom until her daughter began pre-K.

Watkins’s tenure at NOC began as an Adjunct Instructor in the Language Arts Department on the Stillwater campus in 2005. In 2007 she was named the Distinguished Adjunct Faculty Member for NOC Stillwater. After joining the Language Arts Department full-time in 2007, she was named the Distinguished Faculty Member for NOC Stillwater in 2009.

In 2019 she made the move to administration, taking on the role of Vice President for the Stillwater campus, which houses the NOC/OSU Gateway Program. In 2022 she was named Vice President for Academic Affairs for Northern. Extremely passionate about student success, Watkins served on the task force that developed NOC’s First-Generation Mentor Program, a program designed to assist students who are the first in their families to attend college. She has presented at numerous conferences, including the National Association of Developmental Education Conference and the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference. Watkins currently serves on the Oklahoma State Regents’ Campus Safety & Security Task Force.

A proud graduate of Perry High School, she went on to earn an Honors Program Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary English Education from Oklahoma State University where she also earned her Master’s Degree in Teaching Learning and Leadership and is currently a doctoral student in Higher Education and Student Affairs.

Watkins enjoys practicing yoga, running, reading, and attending sporting events, concerts, and theatre performances. Her daughter, Emma, an NOC alumni and graduate of Mounty Holyoke College, works as a visitor services associate and copy editor at the Oklahoma Hall of Fame and is a communications fellow for the Keats Shelley Association of America.

The tradition of an investiture officially marks the beginning of a new leader’s administration.  Sometimes referred to as an “inauguration”, the investiture is an academic ceremony held to confer the official power of the office upon a new college president, usually held during their first year in office. An investiture reflects academic traditions, celebrates institutional history, and symbolizes a new era in the life of the institution. The ceremony begins with a formal procession, much like a commencement. The procession includes the individuals in the platform party participating in the ceremony, delegates from the other Oklahoma colleges and universities, and from NOC faculty. Faculty will wear full academic regalia during the investiture procession and ceremony that follows.

The NOC College Choir and Concert Band will perform. A reception will be held at the Renfro Center following the event.