The OSSM Board of Trustees has named Tony Cornforth as the school’s new president. He was unanimously selected by the Board of Trustees, and his term began on June 1. He follows Edna McDuffie Manning, Ed.D., the founding president who served as the interim president for the past year.  

As only the third president in the school’s 30-year history, Professor Cornforth has worked with OSSM for more than 20 years. An Oklahoma native, Cornforth started his career with the school as a math professor at its Ardmore regional center in 2002. He taught at the residential campus in Oklahoma City in 2004, and in 2007 he moved to Wayne, Okla., to launch a regional program. During his 14 years there, 287 students completed the program, and his students achieved greater success on the ACT and AP exams. He also had 17 Oklahoma Academic All-Staters. 

“OSSM is the exemplar of science and math education and academic pursuit in Oklahoma,” said Cornforth. “Our sacred mission is to provide premier academic opportunities for our talented high school students. We should zealously and relentlessly pursue this mission.” 

Cornforth earned his master’s in mathematics from the University of Oklahoma and a bachelor of science in mathematics education from Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford.