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Kirk Humphreys is resigning from the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents effective with the beginning of the spring semester.

Humphreys made the announcement after board members met behind closed doors for two hours.

As vice chairman, Humphreys was next in line to be chairman. The board currently is chaired by Clay Bennett, businessman and chairman of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Humphreys has been criticized for comments he made condemning homosexuality during a televised talk show that aired Dec. 10. Those comments angered gay rights leaders, some OU students and others who asked the real estate developer and former Oklahoma City mayor to step down from the OU board and other panels.

Tulsa-based Oklahomans for Equality, whose leaders and members also had called for Humphries to resign, issued a statement Thursday afternoon expressing satisfaction with the outcome.

"Every day, LGBTQ young people at OU ask themselves if they are safe, respected and protected by their university, and the answer must always be yes," the OkEq statement says. "Now, as the regents embark on the first presidential search at OU in nearly 25 years, it is even more critical that the current and future leaders understand that OU's mission is to provide just such an environment for its students.