History, Affiliations and Rankings
On December 18, 1890, the Oklahoma Territorial legislature founded three institutions, one of which being the state university in Norman, with Governor George Washington Steele's support. Following Oklahoma's admission to the union in 1907, the Norman Territorial University has renamed the University of Oklahoma. David Ross Boyd, the university's first president, arrived in Norman in August 1892, and the first students were enrolled the following year. Because of the strong demand for pharmacists in the territory, the university established a School of Pharmacy in 1893. Universities Research Association (URA), Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA), and Space-grant have academic affiliations with the university. The Higher Learning Commission has granted the University of Oklahoma accreditation. The University of Oklahoma secured the ranking of #651-700 in the QS World University Rankings. They are in bracket #301-500 in the Graduate Employability Ranking category. U.S. News and World Report ranked the University #127 in National Universities (tie), #79 in Best Colleges for Veterans (tie) and #177 in Best Value Schools.
Infrastructure, Campuses and Courses
OU has three campuses in Oklahoma, as well as study abroad programmes and OU campuses around the world. The University of Oklahoma Libraries in Norman, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa are the core of the university, serving all students, staff, and professors by serving as the intellectual crossroads for interdisciplinary creativity. Bizzell Memorial Library and distinct branch libraries for architecture, visual arts, and geology are among the research library facilities on the Norman campus. The university provides a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programmes in a variety of fields. Business, management, marketing, engineering, liberal arts and sciences, general studies and humanities; social sciences, biomedical sciences, and psychology are among the most popular majors at the University of Oklahoma.
Accomplishments and Alumni
Dr. Tomás Daz de la Rubia, who joined OU in October 2019 as the Norman campus Vice President for Research and Partnerships, is leading the University's push for new levels of excellence and impact in research and creative activities. When compared to the same time period in fiscal year 2019, OU's research expenditures grew 10.41 percent from July 2019 to March 2020. A $9 million research relationship with Universidad Nacional de San Agustín, Peru's largest and oldest public research university, is one of OU's newest and most intriguing research ventures. NASA has awarded OU a grant for its Earth science mission, the Geostationary Carbon Observatory (GeoCarb), which is scheduled to go into space early this decade. The university’s list of accomplishments is unending. It has a prestigious network of alumni all across the world. Some of the notable names are Baker Mayfield, American football quarterback, Olivia Munn, American actress and David Boren, Former Governor of Oklahoma.
Student Diversity and Visiting Companies
The largest first-year class in OU history arrived in the fall of 2019. The Class of 2023 demonstrates a commitment to attracting the best students to the University of Oklahoma, with over 4,500 students. 34 percent of the students in their class are from historically underrepresented minority groups, and 24% are first-generation college students. These students have an average ACT score of 26.0 and a cumulative GPA of 3.62, making them one of OU's most academically competent cohorts. Amazon, Dell Technologies, Deloitte, Microsoft, Accenture, and Google are among the top employers of university graduates.
