| Joe E. White | |
| Office: | President of Carl Albert State College |
| Term Start: | July 1, 1975 |
| Term End: | July 1, 2007 |
| Birth Date: | 3 July 1937 |
| Birth Place: | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| Death Place: | Edmond, Oklahoma[1] |
| Spouse: | Melba Sue Curfman |
| Residence: | Edmond, Oklahoma |
| Alma Mater: | Oklahoma State University Southwestern Oklahoma State University Murray State College |
| Profession: | Retired college president Oil and gas investor |
Joe Ellis White (July 3, 1937 – May 31, 2018) was an American educator and oil and gas investor.[2] [3] White served as President of Carl Albert State College from 1975-2007.[2] His tenure at Carl Albert State College marked one of the longest sitting college president terms in the state of Oklahoma.[4]
White was a member of the Carl Albert State College Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame and the Murray State Distinguished Athlete Hall of Fame.[3] He also owned and was a managing partner at White Energy, LLC.[3] [5]
Joe E. White was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on July 3, 1937 to C.W. and Cleo White.[6] White graduated from Alex High School in Alex, Oklahoma in 1955.[7] From 1956-1958, White attended Murray State College where he played fullback on the Murray State College, football team.[8] Following his graduation from Murray State College, White transferred to Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1959.[2] [9]
In 1965, White completed his master's degree in education at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Oklahoma.[10] He returned to Oklahoma State University in 1974 completing his Doctorate in education.[3]
In 1959, White began his career as the head football coach and English teacher at Alex High School, his alma mater.[9] [11] In 1962, White served as an assistant football coach and teacher at Roswell High School in Roswell, New Mexico.[12] He later served as the coach of Minco High School in Minco, Oklahoma prior to being hired at Elk City High School in 1964.[10] [11]
White started at Elk City High School as a teacher, football coach, athletic director followed by assistant principal.[10] He became Elk City High School’s head principal in 1968.[12] He left Elk City to become superintendent of schools in Sentinel, Oklahoma in 1970.[10] White later served as Elk City Public Schools superintendent.[13] While superintendent of the Elk City schools, White was one of 50 superintendents to participate in an international study mission to the then-Soviet Union.[13]
White was appointed president of Carl Albert State College (CASC) in 1975.[14]
During President White’s tenure at CASC, from 1975-2007, student enrollment increased from 600 students in 1975 to over 3,700 students.[15] During that period, CASC grew from a single campus with two buildings to 3 campuses located in Poteau, Sallisaw and Idabel.[15] CASC also constructed six residence halls and tripled the size of its Sallisaw campus during White's tenure.[15] White also oversaw the creation of the CASC Development Foundation, which was established in 1979.[16] [14]
In collaboration with former United States House Speaker Carl Albert, White created the Jimmy Carter Presidential Lecture Series at CASC.[17] Featured speakers at the lecture series have included former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, George H. W. Bush, and Miss America Shawntel Smith.[18] [19]
The Carl Albert State College library was named the "Joe E. White Library" in recognition of White's contributions to the college.[20]
White was a former chairman of the Council of Oklahoma's College and University Presidents; and sat on the National Council of Two-Year College Presidents and the executive committee of the Council of North Central Two-Year Colleges.[15]
White was inducted into the Murray State College Distinguished Athlete Hall of Fame in 2003.[3] In 2004, he was inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Heritage Society’ Higher Education Hall of Fame.[15] He was also inducted into the CASC Hall of Fame in 2013.[21] In 2019, White was posthumously inducted into the Oklahoma Association of Community Colleges (OACC) Hall of Fame.[22]
In 1957, White married Melba Sue Curfman.[6] They had two sons, Vance White of Los Angeles, California and Oklahoma City attorney Joe E. White Jr.[23] In 2007, he retired from Carl Albert State College, and moved to Edmond, Oklahoma.[16] That same year, he created White Energy, LLC.[16] White Energy LLC has mineral interests in fourteen Oklahoma counties.[24]
In 2014, White's wife, Melba, died at the age of 76. On May 31, 2018, he died at the age of 80. Memorials took place in Edmond and Poteau, Oklahoma.[24] [25]