STILLWATER, Okla. (KFOR) – Dr. Kayse Shrum officially began her tenure as Oklahoma State University’s 19th president on Thursday.

Shrum was appointed in April to become OSU’s president following the retirement of Burns Hargis.

The excitement and magnitude of becoming OSU President hit Shrum on her first day on the job.

“It is really exciting,” Shrum said. “Every time I hear ‘19th president, Dr. Kayse Shrum,’ I start thinking about the magnitude of the role and the history of Oklahoma State University. The 19th person to serve in that capacity and being the first female is a big responsibility. It is a little bit surreal. I would not have ever imagined that. My first experience here was at a softball camp, and I think back to that 13-year old girl who never had this in mind. To be here today, I am really proud and humbled to be the 19th president and serving in this role, it is quite an honor.”

Shrum, a Coweta, Okla., native, previously served as president of the OSU Center for Health Sciences. She said leaving that position was bittersweet.

“I said yesterday that I felt like the Miranda Lambert country song, ‘The House That Built Me.’ I feel like the OSU Center for Health Sciences is the house that built me professionally,” Shrum said. “The people there are my family, and I am not leaving them; I am relocating. But it is a bittersweet moment, walking out of the office, knowing you aren’t coming back the next day. 

“But there is an excitement about coming here, starting a new chapter, taking all of those things I have learned and my love for the land-grant mission and accomplishing new things and touching lives here is just as exciting.”

Take a look at the below photo gallery for photos of Shrum’s first day on the job as OSU’s president: