By Britton Summers – Reporter

As the old adage goes, change is always difficult. 

With the retirement of former OCCC president Jerry Steward and the newly announced appointment of Mautra Jones to lead OCCC into the future, Oklahoma City Community College has experienced the chaos associated with change. 

Luckily, the college has been in the competent hands of its current board of regents. 

Kevin S. Perry is the chairman of the Board of Regents and has held the position since 2016. Perry is also the president and CEO of Perry Publishing & Broadcasting, where he has worked for almost 30 years. 

Perry is an Oklahoma City native. He graduated from Millwood High School and attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga., earning a degree in Banking and Finance. 

Perry Publishing & Broadcasting is a print media, local cable television show producer and radio broadcasting group based in Oklahoma City, Okla. The company targets the local African American community and was founded in 1979 by Kevin Perry’s father Russell. 

“We are in the media business. We started everything in 1979 with the Black Chronicle Newspaper. We disseminate information, as well as entertain. We also have radio stations throughout the nation, including four in Oklahoma City, three in Tulsa, two in Arkansas and five in Georgia/South Carolina,” Perry said. 

The publishing company also has social media, websites, and Perry knows they do a great job of entertaining and informing their target audiences in all of the markets they serve. 

For all of the people that OCCC has encountered, including the distinguished alumni in the city and throughout the nation, Perry considers OCCC to be a hidden jewel and loves the beautiful college campus, but he didn’t understand the difference it was making in Oklahoma City when he was encouraged to consider joining the board of regents by a friend and was honored to do so. 

Perry eventually joined after meeting the ‘dynamic’ students, faculty, and staff, and as he started working as the chairman of the Board of Regents, was further impressed when he met graduates and started hearing stories about OCCC. 

“Here’s the testament about OCCC: you never know until you know and then when people found out I was on the board, I started meeting more alumni, more graduates and hearing people’s stories,” Perry said. 

Perry added OCCC gives students the opportunity to advance themselves and gives hope that one could better themselves. 

“I feel OCCC is phenomenal for this entire city and state, but specifically for Oklahoma City,” Perry said. 

Perry listed his vision for OCCC as expanding, enhancing and strengthening OCCC’s infrastructure, which starts at the top with the new president.

He also hopes to enhance programs that are currently doing well at OCCC such as the nursing program and workforce certifications, which will allow people to go out and make a living for themselves. He would like to see those programs improve and broaden at OCCC under his supervision. 

Perry also hopes to continue letting people know how great of a school OCCC is, as well as focusing on the school’s PR and marketing. 

“I think the marketing and the promoting and the PR side is paramount. You can’t go anywhere now without hearing about OCCC and its new leadership under Dr. Jones,” Perry said. 

Perry would like to let the OCCC community know that the Board is for the school and the students. Mr. Perry and all the regents are taking all people’s comments and concerns into consideration when making decisions for the school. 

While he understands sometimes students and faculty will question the decisions of the Board, Perry wants OCCC to know that the Board is there for the school. 

“I would like the community to know that we are committed to the school, the students, faculty, and staff,” Perry said.