NOC regents appoint Diana Watkins Interim President

The Northern Oklahoma College Board of Regents appointed Diana Watkins as the interim NOC president beginning Jan. 1, 2024. This announcement follows an executive session during the Board of Regents monthly meeting today in Tonkawa.

Watkins currently serves as the Vice President for Academic Affairs and ranking administrative officer at the College.

“The NOC Board of Regents unanimously approved Diana Watkins as our interim president starting Jan. 1, 2024,” said regent chair Brad Fox. “We have all the faith and confidence in Ms. Watkins as our interim president and we are looking forward to her leadership for our students, faculty, and staff.”

Watkins said, “I am excited to lead the college through this transition period and continue to build on the positive momentum we have generated during this year of re-engagement at Northern.”

“Our tagline at NOC is “Life Changing,” and I believe in it wholeheartedly,” she added. “My father was very vocal about the fact that his decision to attend Cisco Junior College at the urging of Coach Sam Adams changed the trajectory of his life, and I look forward to working with our talented faculty, staff, and executive council as we offer similar opportunities to students here in Oklahoma.”

Originally from Perry, Oklahoma, Watkins came to NOC in 2005 as an instructor in the Language Arts Division and moved to administration in 2019 as the Vice President of the Stillwater campus which houses the NOC/OSU Gateway Program.

She assumed the role of Vice President of Academic Affairs in 2022.