East Central University’s new president is a man who values the things that matter most in life.
Highly successful people are often thought to be unapproachable as they appear in suit and tie, decorated with titles, awards and accomplishments. In spite of his success, John R. Hargrave is quite the contrary. Born and raised in Wewoka and a graduate of ECU, he has never forgotten where he comes from.
The post at ECU is an exciting career change for Hargrave and one that he considers meaningful.
“The business I was in takes its toll on you,” he said. “The legal work I do is very different than the legal work most people think about. I worked for very big companies doing litigation only. It’s an adversarial procedure so there’s always someone against you. After 30 years of combat I decided to get into something that was more constructive, more rewarding in terms of working with young people. I wanted to put myself in a position to try to make the world a better place.”
Hargrave is a founder and managing partner of Edmonds Cole Law Firm, one of the most respected litigation law firms in Oklahoma City. He serves on numerous boards in Wewoka, Seminole, Oklahoma City and Ada, involved in everything from economic development to youth programs and city infrastructure.
Hargrave comes from a long line of public servants and comes by his career in law honestly.
“Most of my family has either been involved in education, elected office or the judicial branch,” he said.
His father, fellow ECU alumnus Rudolf Hargrave, was an attorney and district judge. He’s now the senior member of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, and has twice served as the state’s Chief Justice.
John Hargrave is an admitted member of the Western, Eastern, and Northern Districts of the Federal Court of Oklahoma and of the Tenth, Fifth, and Eight Circuits of the United States Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. He said his father never forced him to follow in his footsteps and it was at East Central University where he realized he had a talent for debate.
“My father put absolutely no pressure on me whatsoever to do that,” he said. “He very much is a believer in letting your kids grow up and make their own decisions. I had a lot of success in debate at ECU and the thought occurred to me that it would be a waste of the talent I seemed to have if I didn’t pursue a career to utilize that.”
He also grew up appreciating parents who were concerned about their community in Wewoka.
“All of my family have been very involved in their community whether that be professional women’s organizations, Lions Clubs, the Masonic Lodge and my parents are still very active in their community,” he said.
He and his wife have been named Citizen of the Year and Volunteer Parents of the Year in Wewoka and recently were awarded the statewide Oklahoma Community Service Award.
Hargrave hopes to be just as involved in the Ada community and he’s off to a good start. He is chairman of the Ada Art District and has already addressed the Lions Club, Kiwanis Clubs, and the Ada Area Chamber of Commerce.
“One of my roles as president of the university is to reach out to the community to see how East Central can work more closely with the citizens of Ada,” he said.
Hargrave has personal convictions about helping in the community.
“Not just on behalf of the institution but it’s me personally getting involved…if I have to sell hotdogs, sell tickets or drive the choo choo train, that’s really not East Central doing that,” he said. “The welcome my wife and I have received from the faculty, staff and citizens of Ada has been absolutely overwhelming. It’s been unbelievable how many friends and new acquaintances have come forward and offered to help us. ”
In spite of being acquainted with the glitz and glamour of big city life, Hargrave and his wife prefer the charms of small town living.
“One of the greatest joys of living back in your hometown is living in a family atmosphere,” he said. “When I deal with people [in Wewoka] sometimes it might be my third grade teacher or my high school English teacher. It’s just such a joy to go to church with the same people you grew up around. My mother reads the Boxcar Children and she’s read to third graders whose parents she taught when they were in third grade. When I was in Scouting I had boys in my group whose parents I was in Scouting with. You get those bonds and that’s the stuff you get in a small town. I wouldn’t give it up for the world.”
As to his plans at ECU, he’s taking the job very seriously. This summer he lived in the dorms.
“I wanted to experience campus life firsthand,” he said. “I thought it was appropriate for me to understand student residential housing and the correlation between there and their classrooms.”
Hargrave said that he was impressed with the things that make ECU stand out from other universities, such as a more accessible campus, the close involvement between faculty and students, and the fact that 68% of their teaching staff holds Ph.Ds.
“I’ve been very pleased with the talent, dedication and professionalism of the faculty and staff at ECU,” he said. “They care about the students to a level that surprised me.”
Family man, public servant, and accomplished attorney, John R. Hargrave seems to be the perfect fit for Ada’s prestigious university and a complement to the values and way of life its citizens enjoy.