Oklahoma City University
Originally called Epworth University, a name suggested by J.B. Thoburn after the name of the home town of John and Charles Wesley, early leaders of the Methodist church, the Methodist affiliated school was started with a donation of 52 acres located at 18th and Classen. Initially the school had $100,000 for endowment, buildings, and equipment.
The school's first president was Professor R.B. McSwain, although he was in his position for only a short time before resigning after a nervous breakdown due to the stress that came with starting a new university.
By the time of the school’s September 11, 1904 opening 175 students had arrived. The university grew rapidly over the next few years. After seven years of significant growth, which included a commercial school, a law school, a pharmacy school, a school of dentistry, and the first school of medicine in the state of Oklahoma, the school found itself in financial dire straits, and by the end of the 1911 Spring semester Epworth University ceased operations.
Following the closing of Epworth University, the Methodist-Episcopal church opened another school, Oklahoma Methodist University, in Guthrie. That school remained in operation for less than a decade before it ceased operations in Guthrie, relocating to Oklahoma City in 1919, this time at 12th and Walnut. It would then be known as Oklahoma City College.
In 1921 the school adopted its first mascot, the Goldbug. On March 23, 1922, groundbreaking began on the new site of the school at 24th and Blackwelder Avenue. The first building was completed in December of that year. In 1924 the school was officially renamed Oklahoma City University, which it remains to this day.
Today, the university offers a number of undergraduate and graduate degrees, including a Ph.D. in nursing and a J.D.
The school's main library, the Dulaney-Brown library, is named for Luther Dulaney.
Oklahoma City University counts among its alumni Broadway star Kristin Chenowith, Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, former Oklahoma City Mayor Ronald J. Norick, and three Miss Americas.
