Jim Halligan Obituary

Jim Halligan was an Oklahoma state senator and university president. Halligan was born on June 23, 1936, in Moorland, Iowa.

He joined the US Air Force and worked as a Bulgarian translator for four years. He then went on to study chemical engineering at Iowa State University, where he earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees.

Jim Halligan became the sixteenth president of Oklahoma State University on August 1, 1994

As president of the university, Halligan oversaw $200 million in campus construction projects for research and student facilities, as well as a $260 million renovation of Gallagher-Iba Arena.

His achievements extended beyond OSU’s campus, including his eight years in the state senate.

His role as the architect of the 2015 law prohibiting tobacco use in schools and on college campuses was one of his most significant legislative accomplishments.

Jim Halligan died on the morning of October 25, 2022, at Integris Hospital in Oklahoma City. He was 86. His cause of death has not been made public.