12/12/2025
Congratulations, Dr. Ryan Blanton! 🎉🎉
We're very excited to announce Dr. Ryan Blanton as AFO's 2026 board chair! 🥳Dr. Ryan Blanton serves as Vice President of Advancement and Interim Student Affairs at Oklahoma Panhandle State University. He previously held roles as Associate Vice President for External Affairs at Connors State College and Executive Director of the Connors State College Foundation.
With 15 years of leadership experience in Oklahoma higher education, he also brings a strong background in research, having worked as a medical anthropologist with the University of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Health Care Authority prior to entering college administration.
A third-generation veteran and former U.S. Army Field Artillery soldier, Dr. Blanton is deeply committed to public service. His dedication extends to rural healthcare, where he has spent two decades advancing research on rural health access and development and has served on the boards of two rural Federally Qualified Health Centers in southeastern Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Panhandle.