University of Oklahoma

University of Oklahoma (OU) established in 1890 in Norman is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. It offers 152 baccalaureate, 160 master’s, 75 doctorate programs, and 20 majors at its first professional level. David Lyle Boren, The school is ranked first among public universities in enrollment of National Merit Scholars and among the top ten in the graduation of Rhodes Scholars. On December 18, 1890 the Oklahoma Territorial legislature established three universities

===the state university in Norman,

==the agricultural and mechanical college in Stillwater (later renamed Oklahoma State University)

==And a normal school in Edmond (later renamed University of Central Oklahoma).

In 1907 Norman Territorial University renaming as the University of Oklahoma. Norman residents donated 407 acres of land for the university 0.5 miles south of the Norman railroad depot The University established a School of Pharmacy in 1893 because of high demand for pharmacists in the territory. Three years later, the university awarded its first degree to a pharmaceutical chemist. On January 6, 1903, the university's only building burned down and destroyed many records of the early university.

The campus has a distinctive architecture, with buildings designed in a unique Cherokee Gothic style. The style has many features of the Gothic era but has also mixed the designs of local Native.

The campus expanded over the next several decades. By 1932, the university encompassed 167 acres. Development of South Oval allowed for the southern expansion of the campus. The University built a new library on the oval's north end in 1936. Then President Bizzell was able to get the Oklahoma legislature to approve $500,000 for the new library up from their original offer of $200,000. This allowed for an even greater collection of research materials for students and faculty. Later on many infrastructure changes have occurred at the university. During World War II, OU was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission.

After the World War, a period of rapid growth occurred on the campus and enrollment. By 1965, enrollment had risen over 450% to 17,268, causing housing shortages. 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 that housed married students, including men returning to college under the GI Bill. These apartments are now Kraettli Apartments.

In 1943 George Lynn Cross took over as president of the University, two years after the U.S. entered World War II. He served until 1968, 25 years later, becoming the longest-serving president in history of the university. Five presidents served in the next 25 years. In 1994, the university hired a president who has stayed longer. Since David Boren became President in 1994, the University of Oklahoma system has experienced tremendous growth, with an increase in new developments throughout including the purchase of 60 acres for OU-Tulsa, the new Gaylord Hall, Price Hall, the ExxonMobil Lawrence G. Rawl Engineering Practice Facility, Devon Energy Hall, the Wagner Student Academic Services Center, the Research and Medical Clinic, the expansions of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art and the National Weather Center.

Academic profile

The University of Oklahoma is a large residential, research university. The university consists of fifteen colleges, including 152 majors such as

Aviation,

Meteorology,

Geology,

Petroleum engineering,

Energy management,

Architecture,

Law,

Medicine,

Native American studies,

History of science,

And dance programs.

 Native American studies includes language classes in Cherokee, Choctaw, Muscogee Creek, and Kiowa as part of the University's Native American language program; currently Creek, Choctaw, and Cherokee I, II, and III are offered in both fall and spring semesters The university has a high four-year full-time undergraduate enrollment including a high transfer-in population While the two main campuses are located in Norman and Oklahoma City, affiliated programs in Tulsa expand access for students in eastern Oklahoma. Some of the programs in Tulsa include: medicine, pharmacy, nursing, public health, and allied health and liberal arts studies.

In addition to 152 majors to choose from, the University of Oklahoma also has a nationally recognized Honors College featuring its own dedicated faculty, dormitories, and writing center. Every student from any major can apply to the college; if accepted the student is eligible to take honors classes and graduate cum laude. In order to graduate with honors, the student must complete 18 credit hours of honors classes and submit an honors thesis. Transfer students are able to transfer up to nine credit hours of honor classes from a different university. Students come from all 50 U.S. states and over 100 countries. Due to stricter enrollment policies in recent year’s average scores for incoming students are on the rise. The average ACT score for a first-time student in 2006 was 25.8 while in 1999, it was 24.5

In addition to being a member of the Southeastern Universities Research Association and Universities Research Association, the University of Oklahoma has been categorized as "more selective" by the Carnegie Foundation.

Rankings

In 2011, the University of Oklahoma was ranked among the top 50 public universities in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The 2012 U.S. News & World Report ranked OU 101st among "National Universities.

Campuses

Norman campus

The Norman campus has three sections: north campus, main campus, and south campus. All three campuses are connected by a bus service funded by student fees which allows students to park at Lloyd Noble Center and provides 5 to 10 minute service to the main and south campuses.[67] 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

The main campus is bordered by Boyd Street on the north, Timber dell Road on the south, Chautauqua Avenue on the west, and Jenkins Avenue on the east. The Norman campus is centered on two large "ovals." The Parrington Oval is anchored on the south by Evans Hall, the main administrative building. This building highlights the "Cherokee Gothic" style of architecture locally derived from the Collegiate Gothic style, the style that dominates and defines the older buildings on the OU campus. The North Oval is bordered on the east by the Oklahoma Memorial Union.

North campus

On the far north side of Norman is the OU Research Park, which includes University of Oklahoma Max Westheimer Airport (ICAO: KOUN), the Radar Operations Center, the old National Severe Storms Laboratory facility, the OU OKDHS Training and Research Center, the OU ITS Lab, and Merrick Computer and Technology Center. This part of campus is frequented by students studying aviation. The Aviation Accreditation Board has accredited the College of Aviation at North Base.

South campus

South of student housing is Timberdell Road, the approximate southern boundary of the University. South of this road are University-owned apartments and athletic complexes. Also on the south side of Timber dell Road is the College of Law building which was expanded in 2002 by the addition of a larger law library and courtroom. There are additional athletic complexes in this area, including L. Dale Mitchell Baseball Park, the OU Softball Field, and Lloyd Noble Center (the basketball arena).

Research campus

This area has traditionally lacked academic buildings, the pressure of expansion in the northern part of campus led recently to the construction of new academic buildings – such as the National Weather Center and Stephenson Research and Technology Center – on the south end of campus. This area, now termed The University of Oklahoma's Research Campus, "brings academic, public and private sector organizations together in a mutually beneficial collaborative environment.

Health Sciences Center

The Oklahoma Health Sciences Center's main campus is located at the Oklahoma Health Center in Oklahoma City, while a secondary Health Sciences campus is in Tulsa. About 3,500 students enroll in one of the seven colleges at the Health Center. The distribution of students in each of these colleges is more uniform than that of the main campus.

Museums and libraries

The university has two prominent museums,

The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art

And the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History.

The primary library is Bizzell Memorial Library, located in the middle of the main campus.

The Architecture Library,

The Engineering Library,

The Fine Arts Library,

The Physics and Astronomy Library,

And the Geology Library.

The OU library system contains many unique collections such as

The History of Science Collections

The Bizzell Bible Collection,

And the Western History Collection.

The School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS), offers two graduate degrees Master of Library and Information Studies

Master of Science in Knowledge Management

One undergraduate degree (Bachelor of Arts in Information Studies).