Garrett T. King

Working with the Foundation Trustees as well as the Associational Directors, King leads a dynamic roster of professionals in developing philanthropic partnerships and growing volunteer support for SWOSU’s ongoing mission and work. King and his team work together with donors and sponsors to secure millions of dollars in contributions that benefit SWOSU students, faculty, and programs while also overseeing the long-term investment and management of the institution’s endowment.

King serves on the SWOSU executive leadership team as well as the institution’s Executive and Administrative Councils at the request of SWOSU’s President, Dr. Joel H. Kendall.

In addition to his Foundation role, King held the SWOSU post of Vice President for Institutional Advancement from September 2014 to July 2025 under Presidents Randy L. Beutler and Diana R. Lovell; he also served as SWOSU’s Chief of Staff from November 2021 to July 2025.

Background

From 2007 to 2014, King served on the personal staff of U.S. Representative Frank D. Lucas (OK-3) where his work focused on issues related to education, agriculture, Indian affairs, energy, transportation, and the environment.

King was raised on a rural electrical cooperative-powered peanut farm and Black Angus beef cow/calf operation in the Oakdale Community near Eakly in northern Caddo County where his family has lived and worked since 1890 and where his early childhood was enriched by the Washita Valley Head Start Program. He is a 2004 graduate of Binger-Oney Public Schools (where his mother, a first-generation college graduate and SWOSU alumnae, taught fifth grade for over three decades and retired after serving as superintendent) and a 2008 alumnus of SWOSU where he studied history and political science as a beneficiary of both the Pell Grant and the Oklahoma’s Promise Scholarship Program as well as the Johnny Bench Scholars Program.

King met his wife, Carissa (Marquis) King when both were undergraduates at SWOSU. Following graduation from SWOSU, Carissa went on to study law at the University of Oklahoma; she is the founder of King Legal, an estate planning & probate law firm in western Oklahoma. She previously practiced law at Tisdal & O’Hara; Graft & Walraven; and Christensen Legal Group.

The Kings reside in Weatherford with their daughters, Nellie and Margie, who attend Weatherford Public Schools. The Kings are members of the Federated Church.

Community Service & Leadership

King has served or is serving in various capacities on the governing boards of the following:

• Oklahoma Educational Television Authority (OETA)
• Infant Crisis Services
• Oklahoma Policy Institute
• Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy
• General Tommy Franks Leadership Institute & Museum
• Friends of the Weatherford Public Library
• America’s Public Television Stations (APTS)
• Weatherford Community Habitat for Humanity
• Friends of OETA
• Weatherford Food & Resources Center
• Wisdom Knot Basketball Camps
• Oklahoma-Israel Exchange
• HOBY Oklahoma
• Local Advisory Board, Hope is Alive Ministries.

King served as the 99^th President of the Weatherford Rotary Club.

Awards & Recognition

• 2009: Oklahoma’s Young Republican of the Year.
• 2012: Oklahoma’s “30 Under 30” Achievers.
• 2024: Weatherford Area Chamber of Commerce’s Young Professional of the Year
• 2025: King was honored by the national public media community with the David J. Brugger Award in recognition of his voluntary advocacy efforts on behalf of public television. 

Education

 2018-2026 (pending): PhD, History, Swansea University, Wales, United Kingdom

2016-2018: M. Ed., Social Sciences, SWOSU

2004-2008: BA, Political Science/History, SWOSU