University of Oklahoma

The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its main campus in Norman. Employing nearly 3,000 faculty members, the school offers 152 baccalaureate programs, 160 master's programs, 75 doctorate programs, and 20 majors at the first professional level. David Boren, a former U.S. Senator and Oklahoma Governor, has served as President of the University of Oklahoma since 1994.

The school is ranked first per capita among public universities in enrollment of National Merit Scholars and among the top ten in the graduation of Rhodes Scholars. PC Magazine and the Princeton Review rated it one of the "20 Most Wired Colleges" in both 2006 and 2008, while the Carnegie Foundation classifies it as a research university with "very high research activity." Located on its Norman campus are two prominent museums, the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, specializing in French Impressionism and Native American artwork, and the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, specializing in the natural history of Oklahoma.

The school, well known for its athletic programs, has won 7 NCAA Division I National Football Championships. Its baseball team has won 2 NCAA national championships and the women's softball team won the national championship in 2000. The gymnastics teams have won four national championships since 2002 and its football program has the best winning percentage of any Division I-FBS team since the introduction of the AP Poll in 1936, playing in four BCS national championship games since the inception of the BCS system in 1998.

History
In 1889 the Governor of Oklahoma Territory, George Washington Steele, urged the Oklahoma Territorial legislature to "create public school systems and universities of higher education". In December 1890, the 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). Oklahoma's admission into the union in 1907 led to the renaming of the Norman Territorial University as the University of Oklahoma. Norman residents donated 407 acre of land for the university 0.5 mi south of the Norman railroad depot. The university's first president ordered the planting of numerous trees before the construction of the first campus building because he "could not visualize a treeless university seat." Landscaping remains important to the university.

The university's first president, David Ross Boyd, arrived in Norman in August 1892 and the first students enrolled that year. 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. The "Rock Building" in downtown Norman held the initial classes until the university's first building opened on September 6, 1893.



On January 6, 1903, the university's only building burned down and destroyed many records of the early university. Construction began immediately on a new building, as several other towns hoped to capitalize by convincing the university to move. President Boyd and the faculty were not dismayed by the loss. Mathematics professor Frederick Elder said, "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 created a plan for the future development of the campus. Most of the plan was never implemented, but Parrington's suggestion for the campus core formed the basis for the North Oval. The North and South Ovals are now distinctive features of the campus.

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 American tribes from Oklahoma. This term was coined by the renowned American architect Frank Lloyd Wright when he visited the campus. The University has built over a dozen buildings in the Cherokee Gothic style.

In 1907, Oklahoma entered statehood, fostering changes in the political atmosphere of the state. Up until this point, Oklahoma's Republican tendencies changed with the election of Oklahoma's first governor, the Democratic Charles N. Haskell. Since the inception of the university, different groups on campus were divided by religion. 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 conflicted with the administration. Two notable Methodists, Rev. Nathaniel Lee Linebaugh and Professor Ernest Taylor Bynum, were critics of Boyd and activists in Haskell's election campaign. When Haskell took office, he fired many of the Republicans at the university, including President Boyd.

The campus expanded over the next several decades. By 1932, the university encompassed 167 acre. 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.

Like many universities, OU had a drop in enrollment during World War II. Enrollment in 1945 dropped to 3,769, from its pre–World War II high of 6,935 in 1939.

Many infrastructure changes have occurred at the university. 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. By the late 1980s, most were severely deteriorated and were demolished in the 1990s to make room for redevelopment. The Jimmie Austin University of Oklahoma Golf Course was built as a U.S. Navy recreational facility.

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.

The north campus and airfield were built in the early 1940s as Naval Air Station Norman. The station served mainly an advanced flight training mission and could handle all but the largest bombers. A large earthen mound east of Interstate 35 and north of Robinson Street, colloquially known as 'Mount Williams', was used as a gunnery (the mound has since been removed to make way for a commercial development). In the post–World War II demobilization, the university received the installation. Naval aviator's wings displayed at the entrance to the terminal commemorates this airfield's Naval past.

After the war, enrollment surged. 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.

The university had policies of racial discrimination and segregation which were challenged and overturned in court cases. The Bizzell Memorial Library has been designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in commemoration of the cases of David McLaurin, a black man who was denied admission to graduate school in 1948. It was then state law that no school should serve both white and black students, but there were few or no separate graduate programs available for blacks. A court case effectively forced the Board of Regents to vote to admit McLaurin, but he was directed to study in a separated area within the law library and to be allowed to lunch only in a segregated area as well. The National Association for Advancement of Colored People brought the case to the U.S. Supreme court in McLaurin vs. Oklahoma State Board of Regents. In 1950, the court overturned the university's policy for segregation at the graduate school level. The case was an important precedent for the more famous and sweeping 1954 case of Brown v. Board of Education which disallowed "separate but equal" policy at all school levels.

Since David Boren became Oklahoma's president in 1994, the University of Oklahoma system has experienced tremendous growth, with an increase in new developments throughout including the purchase of 60 acre 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 meteorology, geology, petroleum engineering, architecture, law, medicine, Native American studies, history of science, and dance programs. 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, 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. 32% of the 2006 freshmen were in the top 10% of their high school class. Ethnic minority groups represent over 25% of newly-enrolled undergraduates and 27% of all students. In addition, the university has an enrollment of over 700 National Merit Scholars, making it first per capita among public universities. Due to stricter enrollment policies in recent years,  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.

The University of Oklahoma has been categorized as "more selective" by the Carnegie Foundation. For the 2010-2011 school year, 9,996 applied and 8,498 were admitted (85%). The university's freshman retention rate in 2009 was 82% and the six-year graduation rate was 62.0%.

Rankings
In 2010, the University of Oklahoma was ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The 2010 U.S. News and World Report ranked OU 111th among "National Universities."

In a survey of the top 500 academic institutions in the world by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2006, Oklahoma ranked 301st. They were tied with 99 other schools, including Big 12 schools such as Texas Tech University and Kansas State University. University of Colorado was the highest Big 12 school, being ranked number 34.

Norman campus
As of the Fall of 2009, the Norman campus had 18,667 undergraduate students and 6,367 postgraduate students. Following the Sooners' 2000 football national championship season, the university experienced an increase in college applicants and admissions. The falls of 1999 and 2000 both saw a 1.3% increase in the number of students over the respective previous years while the fall of 2001 saw an increase of 4.8% over 2000.

The largest school, The College of Arts & Sciences, enrolls 35.2% of the OU-Norman students. The College of Arts & Sciences offers several programs, which include internships and most notably a joint archeological program with Saint Anselm College of Goffstown, New Hampshire, in Orvieto, Italy. The next largest school, The Price College of Business enrolls 13%. Other large colleges on the Norman campus include the College of Engineering with 10.6% and the College of Education, Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, and College of Liberal Studies, each with approximately 6% of the student body. Smaller schools include the Colleges of Architecture and Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences, Earth and Energy, the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts, and the College of Law. New students do not have to declare a major (a concentrated course of study) immediately and are not required to declare a major until their Junior year. If they are undecided in their major, they are considered a part of the University College, comprising approximately 8% of the student body. Many Pre-Health majors choose this option until they are able to apply for the medical program of their choice.

The Norman campus is divided into 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 5–10 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
The main campus is bordered by Boyd Street on the north, Timberdell Road on the south, Chautauqua Avenue on the west, and Jenkins Avenue on the east. The Norman campus is centered around two large "ovals." The Parrington Oval (or North Oval as it is more commonly called) 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. On the east side of the northernmost part of campus sits 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 and the Catlett Music Center. The Van Vleet Oval (or South Oval) is anchored on the north by the Bizzell Memorial Library and flanked by academic buildings. When class is in session, the South Oval is often inundated with students going to and from class. Elm Avenue bounds the western edge 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 highlighting 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 Oklahoma's wrestling, volleyball and gymnastics programs. Across Jenkins Avenue are the athletic dorms and statues honoring Oklahoma's past five Heisman Trophy winners. 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 while serving in the armed forces.

The portion of OU's main campus south of Lindsey Street includes three Colleges, University housing, student activity and fitness facilities, and the Oklahoma Center for Continuing Education. The Joe C. and Carole Kerr McClendon Honors College is located in David L. Boren Hall, which serves as an Academic Arts Community where residential rooms, faculty offices, classrooms, a computer center and library are all available in the same building. Other residence halls include the twelve-story Adams, Couch and Walker Centers, as well as Cate Center, made up of three- and four-story buildings, which are transitioning to faculty offices. Adjacent to the residence facilities are the Huston Huffman Fitness Center, Henderson-Tolson Cultural Center and the Jim Thorpe Multicultural Center. The Murray Case Sells Swim Complex is also nearby, providing indoor and outdoor swimming opportunities for the OU community. The Oklahoma Center for Continuing Education (OCCE) is one of eleven W. K. Kellogg Foundation-funded centers in the United States and Brittain. It is home to OU Outreach, which consists of the College of Continuing Education and the College of Liberal Studies, and includes a conference center able to host events of up to 1500 participants.

The Oklahoma administration prides itself on the aesthetic appeal of the campus. All three campuses (Norman, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa) have beautifully landscaped gardens. Trees were planted on the OU campus before the first building was ever built. There are also many statues and sculptures around campus, most of which portray the strong influence of the Native American culture.

There are also four buildings on the main campus that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They are the Bizzell Library, the Beta Theta Pi fraternity house, Casa Blanca (the old Alpha Chi Omega sorority house), and Boyd House – the residence of the University president.

In September 2008, it was announced that the University of Oklahoma’s main campus will be entirely powered by wind by 2013. According to OU President David Boren, "It is our patriotic duty as Americans to help our country achieve energy independence and to be sound stewards of the environment." The school plans to purchase its energy from the OU Spirit Wind Farm, which is scheduled for construction near Woodward in late 2009. The new source of energy is projected to cost the university an additional $5 million per year.

Current renovation projects on the main campus including Gould Hall and Collings Hall started in the fall of 2008. The Gould Hall renovation project is still in its construction stage as it should be expected to be finished by January 2011. One of the main purposes of this renovation was unite all five divisions of the College of Architecture under one roof for the first time.

The Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work is currently being constructed on the Norman campus and will offer state of the art facilities for the training of undergraduate and graduate social workers. The 12 million dollar building is named for the Zarrow family, a philanthropic couple from Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Zarrow's donated 5 million dollars as the keystone donors for the new building with the remaining funds coming from a bequest of Ruth I. Knee, a graduate of the program, and a portion of the states federal stimulus funds. The building is slated for occupancy during summer of 2011.

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 – one of the most prestigious establishments of its type in the United States – as one of only 28 accredited colleges in the world.

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 Timberdell 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).



OU owns the wooded area just south of Highway 9 between Chautauqua and Jenkins. This area is called Oliver’s Woods. Ecology classes take field trips to Oliver’s Woods frequently. They can use the area to study Ecological patterns including tree growth and pH in the ground. Visible patterns of plant dispersion can be studied in Oliver’s Woods as well, including uniform, random, and clumped patterns. The area has a trail for people to follow and a creek running through the lower elevated area.

Research Campus
While this area has traditionally lacked academic buildings, the pressure of expansion in the northern part of campus led 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 is now termed The University of Oklahoma’s Research Campus, which "brings academic, public and private sector organizations together in a mutually beneficial collaborative environment." In 2004, global weather information provider WeatherNews opened its U.S. Operations Center in One Partners Place, located in the research campus one block away from the new NWC building. The southern boundary of the research campus is State Highway 9. Also located on the Research Campus is the state-of-the-art weather radar called OU-PRIME for Polarimetric Radar for Innovations in Meteorology and Engineering. This radar facility is operated by OU's Atmospheric Radar Research Center. The new Life Sciences Research Center is almost complete and is soon to open. In addition to this, there are now several other buildings located on the research campus named One Partners Place, Two Partners Place, Three Partners Place along with a proposed Four Partners Place. Housed within these buildings are the Center for Spatial Analysis, RiskMetrics and the Center for Applied Social Research amongst several others. Plans for Four Partner Place call for it to eventually house a research division for the Nanjing Automobile Group.

Health Sciences Center
The University of 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.

The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC), 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 owned by the University of Oklahoma. With approximately 600 students and 600 residents and fellows training in specialties and subspecialties of medicine, the College of Medicine is the largest component of the Health Sciences Center. The major clinical facilities on campus are the OU Medical Center hospital complex and they include The Children's Hospital, the OU Physicians clinics, and the Oklahoma City Veterans Administration Medical Center. The Oklahoma Health Center at large has large biomedical research facilities operated by the University joined on campus by a growing biomedical and pharmaceutical research corporations developed by the Presbyterian Health Foundation, dedicated to biotechnology, research, and new scientific ventures.

Established in 1972 as a branch of the main Health Sciences Center campus in Oklahoma City, the OU School of Community Medicine, formerly 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. Between 1972 and 1999, OU's presence in Tulsa had grown but scattered. In 1999, a 60 acre 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 370000 sqft building with office, labs, and classrooms. The university purchased this property with the help of a $10 million gift from the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation. The existing building was renamed the Schusterman Center. In 2003, Tulsa voters approved the Vision 2025 plan for capital improvements to the Tulsa metro area. Included in this plan was $30 million for a new Research and Medical Clinic near the existing Schusterman Center. Construction on the new building was completed in June 2007.

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 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 2,500 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 acquired many renowned works of Native American art and, in 2000, received the Weitzenhoffer Collection of French Impressionism which includes works by Degas, Gauguin, Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, Van Gogh, and Vuillard. 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. In 2005, the museum expanded with the opening of the new Lester Wing designed by contemporary architect Hugh Newell Jacobsen. The architectural style of the new addition deviates from the Collegiate Gothic style of the university, but Jacobsen felt this was necessary given the contemporary works of art the wing would house.

The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, located south of the main campus and directly southwest of the law building, specializes in the history of the people and animals that have inhabited 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 headquartered in Bizzell Memorial Library and is largest research library in Oklahoma, contains over 4.7 million volumes and is ranked 27th out of 113 research libraries in North America in volumes held. It 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 on 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 contains many unique collections such as the History of Science Collections (which houses over 94,000 volumes related to the history of science, including hand-noted works by Galileo Galilei ), the Bizzell Bible Collection, and the Western History Collection.

The School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS), the only American Library Association-accredited program in Oklahoma, offers two graduate degrees (Master of Library and Information Studies and Master of Science in Knowledge Management) and one undergraduate degree (Bachelor of Arts in Information Studies). The impact of OU and SLIS on the history of libraries in Oklahoma is shown in the recent list of 100 Oklahoma Library Legends as produced by the Oklahoma Library Association. Two current faculty, one faculty emeriti, and numerous others associated with either the OU libraries or SLIS comprise nearly 10% of the list's members.

Residential life
Oklahoma requires, with few exceptions, that all freshmen live in one of the four residence halls. Three of these building are referred to as "the towers" (being 12 stories each): Adams Center, Walker Center, and Couch Center. Adams Center is split into four towers, Johnson, McCasland, Muldrow, and Tarman, all united by a common ground floor. Walker Center and Couch Center are each split into East and West wings. The fourth resident hall is quad Cate Center. The Academic Arts Community, more commonly referred to as Cate 5 or Honors is located directly above the honors college, David L. Boren Hall. Although it is commonly believed that this dorm caters only to honors students, a large proportion of non-honors students comprise the community. 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. As of Fall 2007, over 3,900 students lived in one of these residence halls. Each residence hall has its own RSA (Resident Student Association) office, as well as its own computer lab and laundry facilities. By 2010, all residential halls, with the exception of Cate, were completely renovated and upgraded.

The university owns several apartment complexes around the campus. Some of these apartments were old and dilapidated, and the university has taken the strides to resolve this issue. Two brand new complexes owned by the university opened in recent years; OU Traditions Square East in 2005 and OU Traditions Square West in 2006.

Due to a low 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, both located north of Norman.

Student organizations, activities, and media
Oklahoma has over 350 student organizations. Focuses of these organizations range from ethnic to political, religious to special interests such as the Ted English Compositions Studies Club. Oklahoma Memorial Union (student union) houses many of these organizations' offices.

The student union provides a place for students to relax, sleep, study, watch television, or socialize. The Union Programming Board provides diverse activities and programs in the union such as movies, bands, dances, give-aways, or other activities. Intramural sports are a popular activity on campus with over 35 different sports available. A large intramural field, where many outdoor events take place, is located just one block east of the dorms.

The Pride of Oklahoma, the university's marching band, celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2004 and consists of 311 student musicians and dancers from 19 states. Students wishing to enter the band go through a rigorous audition process. The band plays at every home football game. A smaller "pep-band," which usually consists of 100 members, travels to every away football game. The full band makes trips to the AT&T Red River Rivalry game against The University of Texas, Big 12 Championship Game, bowl games and other games of importance. Members of the band are also present for many student events. It was awarded the Sudler Trophy in 1987. In 2007, The Pride of Oklahoma marched in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, making it one of only a few bands to have ever marched in the Rose and Macy's Parades.

The main governing arm of the student body, the University of Oklahoma Student Association (UOSA), comprises four branches: an Executive Branch, a Legislative Branch, a Judicial Branch, and a Programming Branch, which was first established in 1969. The student government, as well as all organizations, has offices located in the Conoco Student Leadership Center located in the student union. The student activity fee accumulated is divided into various amounts to be disbursed by a committee made up of the student president, the chair of the undergraduate student congress, the chair of the graduate student senate, and the vice president of student affairs. The student government's current budget is just over $700,000, which is used to funds student organization, as well as to pays staff assistants, bills on student government property, and other debts.

The local chapter of the Army ROTC provides officer training and education for nearly 100 OU students. Officially founded in 1919, it is one of the oldest such programs in the nation. OU Army ROTC cadets are active in numerous campus and state activities. They provide military color guards for Sooner football games and various on-campus ceremonies and events. After completing the Army ROTC program, OU students receive a commission in either the Regular Army, Army Reserve, or National Guard.

The campus student radio station, the WIRE, broadcasts over the Internet. The campus TV station, TV4OU, features student produced programming five nights a week and is available on Public-access television cable TV (COX Communication Ch. 4). "OU Nightly", the live, student newscast, airs weeknights at 4:30 and 9:30. "The Sports Package", a live sports program, airs live Monday nights at 5:00 and throughout the week. Oklahoma's Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication programs The Wire and TV4OU. Oklahoma's Department of Continuing Education operates KROU and KGOU, a public radio station broadcasting on 106.3 FM. KGOU is affiliated with NPR. The campus newspaper, The Oklahoma Daily, is produced daily during the fall and spring semesters and weekly during the summer semester. The Oklahoma Daily's sister publication, Sooner yearbook, creates a 400-page coffee table book for current students and alumni. Sooner, ranked as one of the top two yearbooks nationwide, focuses on capturing the year that was with storytelling packages of text, photos and design.

Oklahoma has a strong social fraternity and sorority presence. Many fraternities and sororities are only a couple decades younger than the university itself with the first fraternity chapter 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 Multicultural Greek Council. In 2005, the average GPA for the Panhellenic Association was 3.30.

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, professional and Olympic levels, including: Blake Griffin, Sam Bradford, Lee Roy Selmon, WWE superstar World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger, Roy Williams, Tommie Harris, Billy Sims, Wayman Tisdale, Joe Washington, Darrell Royal, Steve Owens, Adrian Peterson, Matthew Lane, Anthony Kim, Danny Hodge, Jonathan Horton and Jermaine Gresham.

In addition, many state politicians have graduated from Oklahoma, including current OU President David Boren, David Walters, J.C. Watts, Carl Albert, Jeff Cloud (Oklahoma) Frank Keating, Dan Boren, Tom Coburn, Brad Carson and former Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry. Current New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez. Other notable alumni include shuttle astronaut Shannon Lucid and Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise, Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Steven W. Taylor, the mutual fund manager Michael F. Price, 2006 Miss America Jennifer Berry, former WNBA player and ESPN commentator Stacey Dales, Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, and actors Van Heflin, Dennis Weaver, Ed Harris, James Garner, country recording artist Kellie Coffey, actress Olivia Munn, ESPN SportsCenter anchor Dari Nowkhah, and actor and musician Christian Kane, PGA Golf Professional J.R. Glover.

Athletics
The school's sports teams are called the Sooners, a nickname given to early settlers during the land run who sneaked into the offered territory and staked claims illegally before they were officially allowed to. They participate in the NCAA's Division I-Bowl Subdivision and in the Big 12 Conference. The school sponsors nine sports for both men and women. 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 five Heisman Trophy winners: Billy Vessels in 1952, Steve Owens in 1969, Billy Sims in 1978, Jason White in 2003, and Sam Bradford in 2008. Many Pro Football Hall of Famers, including Lee Roy Selmon, Troy Aikman, and Ken Sitton also attended the University of Oklahoma. OU was also the only school to participate in both the football and basketball national championships in the same year (1988), until the 2006 season, when Ohio State and the University of Florida were both in each, with Florida winning both games. Oklahoma also currently holds the record for the longest winning streak in NCAA Division I history when they won 47 consecutive games between 1953 to 1957. In reference to the team's success and popularity as a symbol of state pride, George Lynn Cross, OU's president from 1943 to 1968, once told the Oklahoma State Senate, "I want a university the football team can be proud of."

The men's gymnastics team has won several national championships including championships in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2008. In addition, Oklahoma has produced five Nissen Emery Award winners, more than any other school and the only school with back-to-back honorees. The softball team won a national championship in 2000 and the baseball team a national championship in 1994. On May 10, 2007 the University announced the addition of women's rowing to the intercollegiate athletics program. A rowing facility will be built on the Oklahoma River near downtown Oklahoma City. This is the first sport added since women's soccer was added in 1996.

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, with Texas having the better overall record at 59–42–5. This rivalry is often thought of as a contest of state pride along with school pride. Oklahoma has a long-standing rivalry with Oklahoma State University. Known as the Bedlam Series, it encompasses all the athletic contests between the two universities with the winner receiving the Bedlam Bell. Another major historic rival is the University of Nebraska, which was part of the Big 8 Conference with Oklahoma and later joined with Oklahoma and other schools in the formation of the Big 12 Conference.The Sooners made football history December 6, 2008, when they scored sixty or more points in five consecutive games. This achievement occurred during their victory over the University of Missouri for the Big 12 Championship.