​Clarence G. Oliver, Jr., Ed.D., Emeritus Professor and former Dean of the College of Education at Oral Roberts University and retired Superintendent of Schools, Broken Arrow Public Schools, has enjoyed success in three distinct career fields— Journalism, Military, and Education.

He has been a teacher, journalist, Army officer, school administrator, newspaper editor and publisher, author, community leader, university professor and dean of a university college of education.

Most recently the Dean of Education at Oral Roberts University and named by the university regents as Emeritus Professor in 1999, he is probably best known for his work as superintendent of one of Oklahoma's fastest-growing school districts, Broken Arrow, where he was a school administrator for 30 years. He continues in volunteer adjunct professor status at ORU as a guest lecturer and serves on doctoral degree dissertation committees.

​Born in Ada, Oklahoma, in 1929, he attended public schools in that city, graduating from Ada High School in 1947, and in future years attended East Central University, Oklahoma State University, the University of Oklahoma, the University of Tulsa, and the United States Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia.  He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from East Central University and Masters and Doctors degrees from the University of Tulsa. 

Prior to his long-time career in educational administration, Oliver had an extensive journalism career, including serving as news editor of  The Watonga Republican , a historic western Oklahoma newspaper; managing editor of the  Broken Arrow Ledger  and six other newspapers owned by McWilliams Publications, Inc., and after retiring from the Superintendent of Schools position in July, 1992, he joined Retherford Publications, Inc., as publisher of the  Broken Arrow Scout  and assistant to owner-publisher Bill Retherford, publisher of 15 other Tulsa area  Neighbor Newspapers .   ​

​An avid student of history, and frequent speaker on historical topics, Oliver is author of several non-fiction books with historical, biographical, and leadership themes.  He also has written scores of articles for professional journals.  

​ Oliver was co-editor, contributing author and chairman of the editing committee for the Broken Arrow “Centennial Year” history book,  Broken Arrow: The First One Hundred Years , a 2002 publication. Among his other history-related books are the 2004 published  One from the Least and Disappearing Generation: A Memoir of a Depression-Era Kid, and  Tony Dufflebag . . . and Other Remembrances of the War in Korea , released by the publisher in 2007.  He is the photographer-author of a limited-edition book,  A Time of Peace, Season of Innocence , a photographic history about young people growing up in a small town in Oklahoma in the 1945-1950 time span between the end of World War II and the beginning of the Korean War. That book was released in 2012.

Oliver also is author of the book,  Ethical Behavior: A Guide for School Administrators,  commissioned by the Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administrators (CCOSA). That book is distributed to association members and also is a supplemental textbook in some university graduate courses in school administration.  Another publication, Leading with Integrity . . . Reflections on Legal, Ethical and Moral Issues in School Administration, is his newest book and was released in December 2015.  That book also was prepared for the Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administrators (CCOSA) for distribution to association members and as a supplemental textbook in university graduate classes. The book is available in hardback, soft cover and electronic formats.  

An award-winning documentary DVD movie,  The History of Broken Arrow , a 2010 production of the Broken Arrow Historical Society, was based on a storyline by Oliver, who also served as a narrator for the movie. That DVD production received the Oklahoma Museums Association “Outstanding Educational Project” award in 2011.

Oliver and his young family moved to Broken Arrow in 1955 when he joined the Broken Arrow High School faculty as an English and journalism teacher.  He soon returned to his journalism career as managing editor of the  Broken Arrow Ledger  and four other newspapers in the McWilliams Publications group. Then, in 1962, Oliver returned to the education career, obtained certification in vocational education, and became the Distributive Education (DECA)—now Marketing Education—teacher and coordinator at Broken Arrow High School before becoming Assistant Superintendent, a role he held for 12 years. In 1974, Oliver was named the Superintendent of Broken Arrow Public Schools, serving 18 years in that role—the longest serving Superintendent in Broken Arrow's history.
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In 1992, after his retirement from Broken Arrow Public Schools, Oliver again returned to his first-love Journalism career. He became Publisher and Managing Editor of The Broken Arrow Scout newspaper, and Assistant to the Owner-Publisher of the Retherford Publications Neighbor Newspaper group of 18 community newspapers in the Tulsa metropolitan area.

That newspaper career was cut short when a year later he was asked to join the leadership team at Oral Roberts University. He served as Dean of the College of Education and a Graduate School Professor (now Emeritus Professor) and spearheaded the establishment and accreditation of the University’s now premier Doctoral program in Educational Administration and Leadership.

A former, long-time member of the Oklahoma State Board of Vocational-Technical Education, he served during the administrations of three Governors. His service on Boards of Directors is extensive. Oliver served as a member and officer of the Board of Directors of Cancer Treatment Centers of America—Tulsa for 27 years. He also has served on Boards of Directors of five not-for-profit organizations and foundations—the Broken Arrow Community Foundation, the Broken Arrow Historical Society Foundation, the Thunderbird Challenge Program Foundation, Junior Achievement of Oklahoma Board of Directors, and the Junior Achievement of Oklahoma (Tulsa Region) Board of Directors.

Oliver is a combat veteran of the Korean War, where he served as a Master Sergeant in a front-line Infantry unit with action in North Korea. He received a direct appointment as a Second Lieutenant, Infantry in 1952, served in command and staff assignments in the 45th Infantry Division for almost two decades and another 10 years in U.S. Army Reserve assignments. His last military assignment was at the John F. Kennedy Center for Special Military Assistance, where he briefly served as a Psychological Operations Officer with the 1st Psychological Operations Battalion, a Special Forces unit at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. 

He is a retired U. S. Army Infantry Major.

A recipient of awards in all three career fields, Oliver is an inductee in the  Oklahoma Educators’ Hall of Fame  and has been honored as a  Distinguished Alumnus  by both the University of Tulsa and East Central University.  He has been inducted into the Educators’ Hall of Fame for the Colleges of Education at the University of Tulsa and East Central University, and the Tulsa Tech Hall of Fame Inductee .
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Oliver loves to ride and has been biking for over 75 years.