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Feb. 20 (UPI) — David Boren died Thursday at age 83 and formerly was Oklahoma’s governor, a U.S. Senator and president of the University of Oklahoma.
Family spokesperson Robert Burke announced Boren’s death without disclosing the cause of death, KFOR reported.
“He really was a giant in Oklahoma politics and very, very well respected, not only in Oklahoma but certainly here in Washington, D.C.,” KWTV Washington Bureau Chief Alex Cameron said.
“He worked closely with both sides, across both sides of the aisle,” Cameron said. “But more than anything, David Boren was a statesman, and I think that’s how people will remember him.”
Boren was a lifelong Democrat who was graduated at the top of his class from Yale University and won a seat in the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1966 to start his long political career.
“David Boren was a transformational leader whose influence is evident throughout Oklahoma,” Oklahoma Democratic Party Chair Alicia Andrews told KFOR. “He was steadfast in his pursuit of reform, education and progress. His impact on our state is profound and enduring.”
Boren also served three terms as a U.S. Senator from 1979 to 1994 and was the University of Oklahoma’s second-longest serving president in addition to being the state’s governor from 1975 to 1979.
Boren became the university’s president after leaving the Senate and suffered a stroke in April 2018 during a ceremony honoring former Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops. Boren retired two months later.
“My father loved the people of Oklahoma,” said Dan Boren. “He saw public service as a noble calling and dedicated his life to it. He was driven by a deep desire to improve the lives of others and build abetter future for our state, nation and university.”
Boren was the University of Oklahoma’s president in 2015, when a video of members of the university’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity chapter were recorded on video singing a racist song.
The video went viral on the Internet, and Boren responded by banning the fraternity and expelling two of the fraternity members who appeared in it.
While the university’s president, he also was accused of sexual harassment and battery by several university students and staff members.
Boren denied the allegations, calling them “character assassination” attempts. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation investigated the allegations but did not file any charges.
The university also conducted its own investigation but did not reveal the results. A lawsuit regarding the matter remains active.
Garth Hudson
Musician Garth Hudson of The Band arrives on the Yellow Carpet where he will be inducted into the 2014 Canada’s Walk of Fame during ceremonies at The Sony Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto, Ontario, October 18, 2014. He died on January 21 at age 87. He was The Band’s last living member. Photo by Heinz Ruckemann/UPI | License Photo
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