Mautra Staley Jones

Dr. Mautra Staley Jones (born 1978) is an American higher education administrator serving as the 11th president of Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC). When she took office in March 2022, she became both the first woman and the first person of color to head OCCC, and the first African American woman to lead any Oklahoma institution of higher education outside the HBCU sector. In November 2025, she was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, founded in 1927 and regarded as the state's highest civic honor. She went on to the University of Oklahoma as a first-generation college student, earning a Bachelor of Arts in journalism through the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, a program that later recognized her as a Distinguished Alumna.

Following graduation, she moved to Encinitas, California, taking a position at an orthopaedic medical group where she rose to lead its business development operations. She pursued a Master of Business Administration, earned in 2005, at night through the University of Phoenix in San Diego.

Career

Early career

The family returned to Oklahoma when her husband Bernard Jones joined the law firm McAfee & Taft, at which point Jones moved into education and nonprofit work.

Oklahoma City Community College (2022–present)

Jones was named OCCC's 11th president by the college's Board of Regents on January 31, 2022, and entered office on March 1. Jones was separately appointed to the National Science Foundation's Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering (CEOSE), serving a term from February 2025 through January 2028. She also holds seats on the Higher Learning Commission's Credential Lab Advisory Board and the Association of Community College Trustees President's Advisory Committee. Oklahoma Citizen of the Year (Okcityan), OKC Friday, 2025 Oklahoma's Remarkable Woman, KFOR, 2023 Oklahoma African American Educators Hall of Fame inductee, 2022 Woman of the Year, Women of Color Expo, Perry Publishing and Broadcasting, 2018 Oklahoman of the Year, Oklahoma Magazine

Personal life

Jones and her husband Bernard M. Jones II, a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, have three children.