OFE News Release
Ken Fergeson Named President of Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence
September 29, 2006
 Ken Fergeson (right), new president of the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence, is congratulated by chairman and founder David L. Boren. Fergeson officially assumed his new duties as president at the foundation’s recent Board of Trustees’ meeting in Oklahoma City. |
OKLAHOMA CITY -- C. Kendric (Ken) Fergeson, an ALTUS banker and civic leader, has been named president of the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence.
The foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization that recognizes and encourages academic excellence in Oklahoma's public schools. Fergeson has been a trustee of the foundation since 1995.
Through its Academic Awards Program, the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence provides more than $190,000 in scholarships and cash awards annually to honor outstanding graduating seniors and top educators. It provides technical support and training to local education foundations across the state and sponsors the annual Fall Forum for Local Education Foundations, held each October on the University of Oklahoma Norman campus.
Among its other initiatives, the Foundation for Excellence coordinates a program to send Oklahoma teachers to the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute each summer and provides grants for schools to receive subscriptions to the Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trip series, bringing history to life in the classroom.
The foundation also awards Teacher Scholarships for Professional Development and Fund for Teachers grants, and coordinates the David and Molly Boren Mentoring Initiative, which draws on the statewide resources of the foundation to promote the establishment and growth of school-based mentoring programs in Oklahoma.
Fergeson said he is inspired by the vision and achievements of David Boren and others who have preceded him as president of the foundation.
“What began 21 years ago as an idea to honor outstanding students and teachers has grown into something far greater than any of us could have ever imagined,” Fergeson said. “Not only has the foundation brought statewide recognition to those who excel in the classroom, but it has promoted success for all students through its local education outreach program, teacher training and curriculum enhancement, and its new mentoring initiative.
“I am honored to be part of such a remarkable organization and look forward to furthering its mission to ensure that all Oklahoma students have the opportunity to reach their fullest potential.”
Fergeson, chairman and CEO of NBanC in Altus, is active in many local, state and national organizations. Currently, he serves as a member of the Military Affairs Committee of the Altus Chamber of Commerce and president of the newly created Quartz Mountain Musical Festival Board. Fergeson also serves on several boards, including the Native American Cultural & Educational Authority, Oklahoma 21st Century Inc., Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and the Oklahoma State Chamber. Nationally, he serves as treasurer for Americans for the Arts and the Arts Action Fund. He previously served as chairman of the American Bankers Association.
Fergeson has been honored by the Oklahoma Education Association for outstanding service for public education and received Governor’s Arts Awards in 1994 and 2000. In 2001, he received the Business in Arts Leadership Award by the Business Committee for the Arts, Inc. and FORBES magazine.