C. I. Pontius

Clarence Isaiah Pontius (1892–1981), more commonly identified as Clarence I. Pontius, C. I. Pontius or Cy Pontius, was an Oklahoma businessman, banker and university president. Pontius was born in Butler County, Pennsylvania. He then enrolled in Ohio State University, graduating in 1915 with a degree in agriculture.

Businessman in Oklahoma During the Texas oil boom, (According to Savage, Pontius later told friends that he had always wanted to "go west." He had also admitted that "...he knew no one in Tulsa before he moved there." He is credited with saving the school from bankruptcy and putting it on a sound financial basis, and was the longest-serving president in TU's history.)

Tulsa University's growth had been substantial during his presidential administration: between 1935 and 1958, TU's student body had more than quintupled, faculty and staff had grown sixfold and university assets increased more than sevenfold.

Civic activities in Tulsa Pontius involved himself in many civic activities. He served on the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce board of directors, and was on the board of directors of the Tulsa-based International Petroleum Exposition. He was appointed to the original Oklahoma State Coordinating Board for Higher Education and the committee which created the Board of Regents for Higher Education. He also was vice president of the Oklahoma Industrial College Foundation and on the board Oklahoma Frontiers of Science.

Awards and honors Oklahoma City University warded Pontius an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1936. Oklahoma Governor’s Award for Outstanding Public Service (1942). Tulsa’s Man of the Year (1949). Admitted to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame (1951) TU Awarded Pontius an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree in 1960.