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The University of Oklahoma, often called OU or Oklahoma, is a coeducational public research university located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The university was founded in 1890. It currently enrolls 30,447 students (with a vast majority of those located at its main campus in Norman, Oklahoma), has over 2,000 full-time faculty members, and offers 153 baccalaureate programs, 152 master's programs, 75 doctorates, 20 majors at the first professional level, and 18 graduate certificates. David Boren is the president of OU, a position he accepted in 1994.

The Princeton Review has named OU as one of its "Best Value" colleges. OU is also number one per capita among public universities in the number of National Merit Scholars enrolled and in the top five among all public universities in the graduation of Rhodes Scholars. OU is home to the Neustadt International Prize for Literature, considered to be second in prestige only to the Nobel Prize and often referred to as the "American Nobel." The Carnegie Foundation classifies the university as a research university with "high research activity."

The school is very well-recognized nationwide as a result of the success of its athletic teams. The gymnastics teams has won four out of the last five national championships and the football team has the best winning percentage of any Division I-A team since the introduction of the AP Poll in 1936, and has played in three of the last six BCS national championship games.

History

The history of the University of Oklahoma can be traced back to before Oklahoma was a state. In 1890, Governor of Oklahoma Territory George Washington Steele urged the Oklahoma Territorial legislature to create public school systems and universities of higher education in the Territory. In December of 1890, the Legislature approved and established two universities: one in Norman and another in Stillwater. The Norman Territorial University would become the University of Oklahoma upon Oklahoma's statehood in 1907. Norman residents donated 407 acres (16 ha) of land for the university 1/2 a mile (.8 km) south of the Norman railroad depot. Prior to the beginning of construction of the first campus building, numerous trees were planted, beginning a tradition of beautiful landscaping that still endures on the campus.

David Ross Boyd became the University's first president and arrived in Norman in August 1892. The first freshmen were enrolled that year. There was a high demand for pharmacists in the territory so also in 1893, the School of Pharmacy was founded. Three years later, the first degree at the university was awarded to a pharmaceutical chemist. The first university building opened on September 6, 1893. Prior to that, classes were held in a building called the "Rock Building" in downtown Norman.

On January 6, 1903, the university's only building burned down and destroyed many records of the early university. A new building began construction shortly thereafter as several other towns were hoping they could convince the university to move. President Boyd was not dismayed by the loss. He was quoted saying, "What do you need to keep classes going? Two yards of blackboard and a box of chalk." As a response to the fire, English professor Vernon Louis Parrington, suggested what later became the North Oval. The North and South Ovals are now distinctive features of the campus. He also suggested the university adhere to the architectural style of "Collegiate Gothic" that was popular among east coast colleges. Over a dozen buildings have been built using some variation of Collegiate Gothic.

In 1907, Oklahoma entered statehood. With this change, came a change in the political atmosphere of the state. Up until this point, Oklahoma had been mostly Republican but this changes with the election of Oklahoma's first governor, the Democratic Charles N. Haskell. Since the inception of the university, a religious bout had been brewing between the different groups on campus. Early in the university's existence, many professors were Presbyterian, as was Boyd. Under pressure, Boyd eventually hired several Baptists and Southern Methodists. The Presbyterians and Baptists got along but the Southern Methodists were a different story. Two notable Methodists, Rev. Nathaniel Lee Linebaugh and Professor Ernest Taylor Bynum, were critics of Boyd and activists in Haskell's election campaign. They were in strong favor his Haskell's election. When Haskell was elected, he fired many of the remaining Republicans at the university including President Boyd.

The campus continued to grow over the next several decades. By 1926, the university encompassed 167 acres (68 ha). The South Oval was developed, allowing the campus to spread further south. A new library was built in 1929 at the very north end of the new oval.

As with colleges all over the country, the enrollment at OU sharply declined during World War II. Enrollment in 1945 was 3,769, down from its Pre-WWII high of 6,935 in 1939. However, there were many infrastructure changes to the university during this time. The southern portion of South Campus in the vicinity of Constitution Avenue, still known to long-time Norman residents as 'South Base', was originally built as an annex to Naval Air Station Norman. It contained mostly single-story frame buildings used for classrooms and military housing; most were severely deteriorated by the late 1980s and were demolished in the 1990s to make room for redevelopment. The Jimmie Austin University of Oklahoma golf course was built as a Navy recreational facility. The North Campus and the airfield were built in the early 1940s as Naval Air Station Norman. The station served mainly an advanced flight training mission, including training for crews of TBM and TBF Avenger torpedo bombers. A large earthen mound east of Interstate 35 and north of Robinson Street, colloquially known as 'Mount Norman' and greatly eroded since the 1980s, was used as a gunnery and torpedo target. The installation was given to the university in the post-World War II demobilization. This airfield's Naval past is commemorated by Naval aviator's wings diplayed at the entrance to the terminal.

After the war ended, enrollment surged. By 1965, enrollment had risen over 450% to 17,268. Because of this, student housing became a concern. In the mid 1960s, the administration completed construction of three new 12-story dormitories located immediately south of the South Oval. In addition to these three towers, an apartment complex was completed around this time that housed married students, which was an issue following WWII. These apartments are now Kraettli Apartments.

Since David Boren became OU's president in 1994, he has overseen an explosion in new developments throughout the University of Oklahoma system. A short list of some of the new developments include the purchase of the new 60 acre (24 ha) location of OU-Tulsa; the new Gaylord Hall, Price Hall, the ExxonMobil Lawrence G. Rawl Engineering Practice Facility (under construction), Devon Energy Hall (under construction), the Wagner Student Academic Services Center (under construction), and the Research and Medical Clinic (under construction in Tulsa); the expansions of Holmberg Hall, Nielson Hall, and the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art; and the renovations of the Henderson-Tolson Cultural Center, and the Huston-Huffman Physical Fitness Center.For a complete list of campus improvements from 1994-2002, refer here.

Recently, there have been several tragedies on the OU campus. On September 30, 2004, a Sigma Chi pledge was found dead of alcohol poisoning inside the fraternity house. This event shook the campus and shook the administration even more. Shortly thereafter, OU President David Boren announced that starting January 18, 2005, OU would be a "dry" campus, meaning alcohol would not be allowed in greek houses, student housing, or student functions (without permission). In addition, a "three strikes policy" was enacted which holds students accountable for alcohol violations both on and off campus and an online alcohol education program is required for all incoming freshmen.

On October 1, 2005, OU engineering student Joel Henry Hinrichs III, committed suicide less than 500 feet (152 m) from Oklahoma Memorial Stadium where more than 84,000 spectators were attending an OU football game. Hinrichs placed a homemade bomb made with triacetone triperoxide in a backpack that he detonated in his lap. There are rumors and conspiracy theories that Hinrichs was a converted Islamic extremist and was attempting to enter and detonate the bomb inside the stadium, though there is no evidence to support any of these theories.

Academic profile

OU is composed of fifteen colleges, and is well known for its meteorology, geology, petroleum engineering, architecture, law, Native American studies, history of science, and dance programs. While the two main campuses are located in Norman and Oklahoma City, affiliated programs in Tulsa expand access for students in eastern Oklahoma. Programs in Tulsa include: medicine, pharmacy, nursing, public health, allied health and liberal studies.

Norman campus

The Norman campus has 20,424 undergraduate students and 6,570 postgraduate students. Following the Sooner's 2000 football national championship season, the university experienced a surge in college applicants and admissions. In 2001, 5,279 new freshmen were enrolled. In 2005, 4,360 freshman were enrolled. Students come from all 50 U.S. states and nearly 100 countries. 37% of the 2005 freshman were in the top 10% of their high school class. Over 23% of newly-enrolled undergraduates and 27% of all students are members of ethnic minority groups. In addition, the university has an enrollment of over 700 Nation Merit Scholars making in number one per capita among public universities.

A majority of OU-Norman students are in the College of Arts & Sciences, 37%. The next highest is the Price College of Business with 14%. Other large colleges in Norman include the College of Engineering with 11%, and the College of Education and the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication both have approximately 6% of the student body. The rest of the students are enrolled in one of the smaller schools that include the College of Architecture, College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences, College of Earth and Energy, Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts, or Law School. New students do not have to declare a major immediately and are not required to until their Junior year. If they are undecided in their major, they are said to be apart of the University College. Many Pre-Health majors also use this option. University College is comprised of roughly 11% of the student body.

Health Sciences Center

The OU Health Sciences Center has its main campus in Oklahoma City, with other classes being taught at the Tulsa campus. There are over 3,500 students enrolled in one of the seven colleges. The distribution of students in each of these colleges is more uniform than that of the main campus. These colleges include (with student percentages in parenthesis) the College of Allied Health (19%), College of Dentistry (9%), College of Medicine (26%), College of Nursing (23%), College of Pharmacy (15%), and the College of Public Health (9%). There are also students in the Graduate College who are studying within these colleges.These numbers include students in Tulsa participating in one of the colleges.

Campus

Norman

The Norman campus is divided into three sections: North Campus, Main Campus, and South Campus. All three campuses are connected through a free bus service paid for through student fees. A free shuttle allows students to park at Lloyd Noble Center and provides 5-10 minute service to the main and south campuses. Other regular Norman bus routes provide service to north campus as well as the main campus. The main and south campus are contiguous while the north campus is located about two miles north of the main campus.

Main Campus
On the east side of the northernmost part of campus sits the imposing Sarkeys Energy Center, while to the west is the Fred Jones, Jr School of Art and Museum, home to the Weitzenhoffer Collection of Impressionist art. The Van Vleet Oval (or South Oval) is anchored on the north by the Bizzell Memorial Library and flanked by academic buildings. On any given day when class is in session, the South Oval is inundated with students going to and from class. Elm Avenue is primarily the boundary of the academic portion of OU, with a few exceptions. Lying between Elm Avenue and Chautauqua Avenue are mostly fraternity and sorority houses.

On the east side of the central part of campus lies Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, just north of Lindsey street on Jenkins Avenue. Immediately adjacent to the stadium is the Barry Switzer Center, a museum to the historical success of Oklahoma athletics, as well as a comprehensive training facility for Oklahoma athletes. North of the stadium is the McCasland Field House, the former home of Oklahoma Basketball and the current home of Wrestling, Volleyball and Gymnastics. Across Jenkins Avenue are the athletic dorms and statues honoring Oklahoma's four Heisman Trophy winners (one statue, featuring Billy Vessels is currently on display; statues for the other three Heisman winners will go up over the next three seasons with Steve Owens's statue going up later in 2006). Other statues on campus include several honoring the Native Americans who defined so much of Oklahoma's history and a new memorial statue on the north side of Oklahoma Memorial Stadium honoring OU students, faculty, and staff that have died in war.

The portion of campus south of Lindsey Street consists of mainly student housing, Cate and Cross centers being four-story quadrangular centers and Walker Tower, Couch Tower and Adams Center being 12-story towers. Facing the towers on Asp Avenue is the Huston Huffman Center, the student activity and fitness center. On the north side of Timberdell road is the Murray Case Sells Swim Complex which is open to students and features and indoor and outdoor pool.

Directly north of the main campus on Boyd Street is Campus Corner, a popular commercial area. There are several restaurants, bars, and small shops that cater to the student body, as well as the Norman population at large.

The Oklahoma administration also prides itself on the aesthetic appeal of the campus. All three campuses (Norman, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa) have beautifully landscaped gardens. The Norman campus by itself budgeted States dollar|$" target="_blank" >*1,700,000 for the 2006 fiscal year for its Landscaping and Grounds Maintenance department. As a matter of fact, trees were planted on the OU campus before the first building was ever built. There are also many statues around campus, most of which portray the strong influence of the Native American culture.

South Campus
South of student housing is Timberdell Road, the unofficial southern boundary of the university. South of this road are University-owned apartments and athletic complexes. On the south side of Timberdell Road is the law school building which opened in 2002. L. Dale Mitchell Baseball Park, OU Softball Field, and the Lloyd Noble Center all are found in this area of campus. While this area has traditionally been free from academic buildings, with the pressure of expansion being felt in the northern part of campus, new academic buildings, such as the National Weather Center and Stephenson Research and Technology Center, are being built on the south end of campus. This development is not without controversy although it has already led to increased economic activity in Norman. In 2004, global weather information provider WeatherNews opened its U.S. Operations Center located in the South Campus one block away from the new NWS building. The southern boundary of the south campus is Oklahoma State Highway 9.

North Campus
On the far north side of Norman is the OU Research Park, which includes University of Oklahoma Max Westheimer Airport (ICAO airport code KOUN) and several NOAA weather organizations, most of which will be moved to the new National Weather Center during the summer and fall of 2006. This part of campus is not frequented by students with the exception of those studying meteorology or aviation.

Oklahoma City and Tulsa

The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, established in the early 20th century, is OU's presence in Oklahoma City. OUHSC is one of only four academic health centers in the nation with seven professional colleges. The nineteen buildings that make up the OUHSC campus occupies a fifteen block area in Oklahoma City near the Oklahoma State Capitol. Surrounding these buildings are an additional twenty health-related buildings some of which are also owned by the University of Oklahoma. The Health Sciences Center is the core of a wider complex known as the Oklahoma Health Center. The College of Medicine is the largest component of the Health Sciences Center, with approximately 600 students and 600 residents and fellows training in specialties and subspecialties of medicine. The major clinical facilities on campus are the OU Medical Center hospital complex including The Children's Hospital, the OU Physicians clinics, and the Oklahoma City VA Medical Center. Large biomedical research facilities operated by the University are joined on campus by a growing biomedical research park developed by the Presbyterian Health Foundation dedicated to biotechnology, research, and new scientific ventures.

Established in 1972 as a branch of the main medical school campus, the College of Medicine–Tulsa has enabled the University to use hospital training facilities in Tulsa to establish medical residencies and provide for expanded health care capabilities in the state. Under this program, selected third- and fourth-year students receive their clinical training in hospitals in the Tulsa community. From this humble beginning, the OU-Tulsa campus has flourished. Between 1972 and 1999, OU's presence in Tulsa has grown but also scattered. In 1999, a 60 acre (24 ha) site formerly owned by BP Amoco was sold to the University for $24 million (even though the property was appraised at $48 million). The site already featured a 370,000 square foot (34,400 m²) building with office, labs, and classrooms. The university quickly purchased this property with the help of a $10 million gift from the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation. The existing building was given the name the Schusterman Center.

In 2003, Tulsa voters approved the Vision2025 plan for capital improvements to the Tulsa metro area. Included in this plan was $30 million for a new Research and Medical Clinic to be built near the existing Schusterman Center. Construction is currently underway.

Student life

Greek life

Greek life on Oklahoma's campus has always been strong. Many fraternities and sororities are only a couple decades younger than the university itself with the first fraternity chapter being established in 1905. Currently there are 40 national fraternities and sororities on campus. Governing these 40 greek chapters are four governing bodies: Interfraternity Council, Panhellenic Association, National Pan-Hellenic Council, and the Latino Greek Council. These organizations stress grades and scholastic involvement above all else. In 2005, the average GPA for the Panhellenic Association was 3.30.

OU is also home to Kappa Chapter of the nation's largest Christian fraternity, Beta Upsilon Chi. Kappa Chapter was the first BYX chapter outside the State of Texas, and remains influential within the Fraternity.

Due to the death of a pledge in 2004 (as previously mentioned), a popular campus fraterntiy, Sigma Chi, was kicked off campus. However, in 2006, they were informed they will be allowed to apply for reinstatement in 2007. The dry campus rule established as a result of this incident has effected both fraternity and sorority involvement, recruitment and activities.

Residential life

Oklahoma requires, with few exceptions, that all freshmen live in one of the six residence halls. Three of these building are towers (12 stories each): Adams Center, Walker Center, and Couch Center; the other two are quads with Cate Center being the primary quad and Cross Center being a spillover location. The final building is the Honors College. It is also a quad that caters to Honors students. The three towers are all located around each other with the Couch Cafeteria completing the residence community. Couch Cafeteria is composed of several different themed restaurants that serves a wide variety of food each day. Located in between Adams and Walker Centers is the Adams/Walker Mall, a field roughly the size of a football field with a basketball court. As of Fall 2005, over 3,400 students lived in one of these residence halls. By 2010, all residential halls will be completely renovated. As of summer 2006, Adams and Couch Centers are near completion.

The university also owns several apartment complexes. Some of these apartments were old and dilapidated, and the university has taken the strides to resolve this issue. One brand new apartment complex (Traditions Square East) has already been completed, while another older complex has been torn down and another new one is going up in its place (Traditions Square West). One older complex, Kraettli apartments, still has residents, while another, Parkview Apartments, has been emptied for possible demolision.

Due to the lower cost of living in Oklahoma, many students find it financially viable to live off campus in either apartments or houses. Over the last several years, Norman has seen a boom in apartment development. Since 2002, four new apartment or condominium complexes (not including the OU-owned properties) have been built in addition to a booming housing market that is resulting in Norman spreading further east. Many students also commute from nearby Moore and Oklahoma City.

Student organizations, activities, and media

There are over 350 student organizations at Oklahoma. Focuses of these organizations range from ethnic to political, religious to special interest. The student body at OU generally leans towards right-wing politics therefore is has a very sizeable base of conservatives and Christians. The College Republicans club at OU has over 1800 members, nearly 10% of the Norman campus undergraduate population. Also, OU has around 17 organizations related to Christian ideals.

The student union provides a place for students to relax, sleep, study, watch television, or socialize. Another group at OU is the Union Programming Board which provides diverse activities and programs in the Union. These programs can include movies, bands, dances, give-a-aways, etc. Intramural sports are also popular on campus with over 35 different sports available. A large IM field where many outdoor events take place is located just one block east of the dorms.

The Pride of Oklahoma is the university's marching band. The Pride celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2004 and consists of 311 student musicians and dancers from 19 states. Students wishing to enter the band must go through a rigorous audition process, whereas many other college marching bands take a lax approach in admitting members to its band. The band plays at every home again and a traveling squad travels to every away game which usually consists of 100 members. The full-band makes trips to the AT&T Red River Rivalry game against The University of Texas, Big 12 Championship Game, and the bowl game. In some circumstances, the full band may travel if a game is of importance. Members of the band are also present for many student events. It is often noted as one of the best college marching bands, as it won the Sudler Trophy in 1987.

The campus radio station is The Wire, which is broadcast on TV4OU SAP and over the Internet. The campus TV station, TV4OU, features student produced programming five nights a week and is available on local cable (COX Ch. 4). The Wire and TV4OU are programmed through OU's Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. OU's Department of Continuing Education operates KROU and KGOU (website), a public radio station broadcasting on 106.3 FM. KGOU is affiliated with NPR. The campus newspaper is The Oklahoma Daily produced daily during the fall and spring semesters and weekly during the summer semester.

Student government

The main governing arm at the school is the University of Oklahoma Student Association (UOSA). UOSA is comprised of four branches, an Executive Branch, a Legislative Branch, a Legal Counsel, and a Programming Branch. The student government, as well as all organizations, have offices located in the Conoco Student Leadership Center located in the student union.

The Executive Branch provides student services on behalf of the UOSA, executes UOSA law, and advocates for the position of the student. The Legislative Branch is comprised of the Undergraduate Student Congress and the Graduate Student Senate. The General Counsel provides legal advice, handles issues regarding academic misconduct, and approves new student organization constitutions.

The Campus Activities Council (CAC) governs the Programming Branch. The CAC oversees all of the campus-wide events that happen on campus. These events include Homecoming, Parent's Weekend, Big Red Rally, Howdy Week, Winter Welcome Week, Speakers' Bureau, as well as many others. Originally, CAC was the programming arm of the UOSA under the Executive Branch which UOSA began in 1971. In 2002, UOSA voted to make the CAC its own branch. The CAC is comprised of over 300 students who volunteer their time to ensuring these events go as planned.

Notable people and alumni

With strong academic and successful athletics programs, the University of Oklahoma has seen many of its former students go on to local and national prominence. This includes many athletes that have excelled at the collegiate level that went on to make a name for themselves at the national level such as Lee Roy Selmon, Roy Williams, Darrell Royal, and Steve Owens. In addition, many state politicians graduated from Oklahoma including current OU President David Boren, J.C. Watts, Frank Keating, Dan Boren, Tom Coburn, and current Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry. Other notables alumni include shuttle astronaut Shannon Lucid and Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise, the late publishing tycoon Edward Gaylord, the mutual fund manager Michael F. Price, and Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen.

Athletics

The school's sports teams are called the Sooners, a nickname given to early Oklahoma land rush pioneers who snuck into the offered territory and staked claims before the land run officially started. They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A, and in the South Division of the Big 12 Conference. The University has won 18 team NCAA National Championships and seven national championships in football (football championships are not awarded by the NCAA). By far, OU's most famous and storied athletic program is the football program, which has produced four Heisman Trophy winners, Billy Vessels in 1952, Steve Owens in 1969, Billy Sims in 1978, and Jason White in 2003. Pro Football Hall of famer Lee Roy Selmon also attended the University of Oklahoma. The gymnastics, baseball, and softball teams have also won recent national championships.

The University of Oklahoma has had a long and bitter rivalry with the University of Texas known as the Red River Shootout, Red River Rivalry, or OU-Texas. This is often thought of as a contest of state pride along with school pride. Oklahoma also has had a longstanding rivalry with Oklahoma State University called the Bedlam Series that encompasses all the athletic contests between the two universities, the winner receiving the Bedlam Bell. OU's other major historic rival is the University of Nebraska, who were part of the Big 8 Conference with OU, and who joined with OU and other schools in the formation of the Big 12 Conference.

Museums and libraries

The university is home to two very prominent museums, the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art and the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History. The Museum of Art was founded in 1936 and originally headed by Oscar Jacobson, the director of the School of Art at the time. The museum opened with over 3,000 items on display and was originally located on campus in Jacobson Hall. Mr. and Mrs. Fred Jones of Oklahoma City donated money for a permanent building in 1971 and the building was named in honor of their son who died in a plane crash during his senior year at the University of Oklahoma. Since then, the museum has attained many renowned works of Native American art and in 2000, was the recipient of the Weitzenhoffer Collection of French Impressionism, including works by Degas, Gauguin, Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, Van Gogh, and Vuillard. Today, the museum has over 65,000 square feet (6,000 m²) filled with over 8,000 items from a wide array of time periods and movements.

The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History that specializes in the history of the people and animals that have inhabitated the state of Oklahoma over the last 300 million years. Since its founding in 1899, the museum has acquired over 5,000,000 objects. In 2000, a new building was opened to house the ever expanding museum. The new building offered nearly 200,000 square feet (18,600 m²) of space to display the many exhibits the museum has to offer.

The University of Oklahoma Library system is the largest research library in the state of Oklahoma. The system contains over 4.7 million volumes and is ranked 27th out of 112 research libraries in North America. It also contains more than 1.6 million photographs, subscriptions to over 31,000 periodicals, over 1.5 million maps, government documents dating back to 1893, and over 50 incunabula. It has nine locations all over campus. The primary library is Bizzell Memorial Library located in the middle of the main campus. Other notable campus libraries include the Architecture Library, the Chemistry and Mathematics Library, the Engineering Library, the Fine Arts Library, the Physics and Astronomy Library, and the Geology Library. The OU library system also contains many unique collections such as the History of Science Collection (which houses over 88,000 volumes related to the history of science including hand-noted works by Galileo Galilei), the Bizzell Bible Collection, and the Western History Collection.

References

External links

Big 12 Conference | Educational institutions established in 1890 | Land-grant universities | Space-grant universities | Southern Association of Colleges and Schools | University of Oklahoma

University of Oklahoma

 

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