By Emma Murphy, Oklahoma Voice
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma A&M Board of Regents will pay a communications firm, whose leadership has close ties to Gov. Kevin Stitt, $10,000 per month to provide “crisis communications support” amid the fallout of the abrupt resignation of a popular university president.
The regents hired Pinkston Group to also provide “reputation management and other consulting as needed” just days before announcing former Oklahoma State University President Kayse Shrum had abruptly resigned Feb. 3, according to a contract obtained by Oklahoma Voice.
Oklahoma State University’s public records division released a copy of the year-long contract, which runs from Feb. 1 through Jan. 31, 2026, in response to an open records request filed last month. It wasn’t immediately clear which funding source would be used to pay for the contract, which will cost at least $120,000 annually.
Pinkston Group’s senior vice president Donelle Harder has close ties to Stitt, an OSU graduate, and is part of the team fulfilling the contract. She previously worked as an adviser to Stitt, as vice president of the Oklahoma Oil and Gas Association, and as a spokesperson for former U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe.
While she spoke on behalf of the regents following their special board meeting Feb. 7 after Shrum’s departure and the appointment of Jim Hess as interim OSU president, records show the contract with the D.C.-based public relations firm had not formally been signed. The contract was signed by Pinkston’s chief executive officer Feb. 19 and the OSU A&M Board of Regents’ CEO on Feb. 21.
But a request for proposals provided by OSU indicates that the governing board had begun searching for “as-needed reputation management and crisis management support” in December.
The request outlines a need for services for the regents and the institutions under their governance. While OSU and its campuses “represent a significant portion of reputational and crisis management needs,” the services are also available to the other institutions under the board’s jurisdiction: Langston University, Oklahoma Panhandle State University, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, and Connors State College, according to the proposal.
“The OSU Department of Brand Management oversees the OSU System’s marketing and communications strategy and supports the advancement of OSU’s land-grant mission and strategic initiatives,” said Mack Burke, spokesperson for OSU, in a statement. “While the Department of Brand Management works in partnership with the OSU/A&M Board of Regents, its support of the board is limited to pertinent OSU activities.”
While OSU did not provide its budget for its in-house communications division Tuesday afternoon, university officials said that in addition to public relations staff, the department also employs designers, photographers and web developers.
When asked for comment, Harder provided a statement from her employer.
Christian Pinkston, founder and CEO of the firm, said in a statement that the group participated in a competitive request for proposal process and was selected as an approved vendor in late January and worked with the governing board while the contract was formalized.
“We have a specialized practice providing support to governing boards and universities across the country,” he said in a statement. “Our Senior Vice President, Donelle Harder, is on the leadership team of this practice with extensive expertise in the field. Our Oklahoma City team, alongside Donelle Harder, is honored to serve the OSU/A&M Board of Regents over the next year, bringing our experience and commitment to excellence in communications.”
In addition to the monthly cost of the contract, the regents will also reimburse Pinkston for “press releases, travel, third party fees, and all other reasonable and necessary out-of-pocket expenses incurred.”
