A Brief History of OBU

Year	Event
1906	The Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma appoints an Education Commission.
1907	Education Commission recommends “a new Baptist University be established.”
1910	Charter of Incorporation is issued Feb. 9 for The Baptist University of Oklahoma.
1911	School opens in the First Baptist Church of Shawnee. Dr. J.M. Carroll is president.
1912	Operations are suspended in May because of financial exigency.
1915	School opens in September in a new building, Shawnee Hall, built by the city of Shawnee on a 60-acre campus. Dr. F.M. Masters is OBU’s second president.
1919-22	Dr. J.A. Tolman is OBU’s third president.
1920	Name changes to The Oklahoma Baptist University.
1922-26	Dr. J.B. Lawrence is OBU’s fourth president and also pastor of the First Baptist Church of Shawnee.
1926	The Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma begins regular financial support of OBU.
1926-30	Dr. W.W. Phelan is OBU’s fifth president.
1928	W.M.U. Memorial Dormitory, built and financed by the Oklahoma Woman’s Missionary Union, opens for students.
1930-32	Dr. W.C. Boone is OBU’s sixth president.
1932-34	Dr. Hale C. Davis is OBU’s seventh president.
1934-61	Dr. John Wesley Raley, chairman of the Board of Trustees, is elected as OBU’s eighth president and begins the longest presidential tenure in the University’s history.
1943	OBU trains 1,500 Army Air Corps pre-aviation cadets on the campus.
1946	OBU’s endowment fund is established with $40,979.
1948	Brotherhood Dormitory is completed.
1951	Ford Music Hall is constructed.
1952	Accreditation is received from North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. OBU begins a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program.
1954	Thurmond Hall, an administration and science building, is completed.
1956	Mrs. W.S. Kerr Memorial Dormitory is completed.
1960	OBU’s Nursing program is accredited by the National League for Nursing.
1961	Dr. John Wesley Raley resigns his presidency due to health reasons. He is elected Chancellor.
1961-65	Dr. James Ralph Scales is elected as OBU’s ninth president.
1963	Stubblefield Chapel – the original building of First Baptist Church of Shawnee – is moved to the campus. In 1906, the building hosted the final meeting of the Baptist General Convention of Indian Territory. At the conclusion of the meeting, the convention merged with the Oklahoma Baptist State Convention to form the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma.
1963	The music department of the Warren M. Angell College of Fine Arts receives accreditation from the National Association of Schools of Music.
1965	Dr. James Ralph Scales resigns the presidency. He becomes president of Wake Forest University in 1967.
1966	OBU’s Bison basketball team wins the NAIA championship, becoming the first Oklahoma team to do so.
1966-70	Dr. Grady C. Cothen is elected OBU’s 10th president.
1967	Bel Air Complex – now Howard Residence Center – is completed.
1969	The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education accredits OBU’s programs.
1970	The Geiger Center for University Life is completed.
1970	OBU’s academic calendar changes to a 4-1-4 format. The Unified Studies program is adopted.
1970	Dr. Cothen resigns to become president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
1971-76	Dr. William G. Tanner is elected OBU’s 11th president and the Mabee Fine Arts Center opens in Raley Chapel.
1972	The Neptune Computer Center in Thurmond Hall opens to students.
1974	David L. Boren, OBU associate professor of political science, is elected Governor of Oklahoma.
1976	Dr. Tanner resigns to become president of Southern Baptists’ Home Mission Board.
1976	The Mabee Learning Center is dedicated.
1977-82	Dr. E. Eugene Hall is elected OBU’s 12th president.
1977	Schools of Business, Christian Service and Nursing are established from existing academic programs.
1977	West University Apartments are constructed.
1981	W.M.U. Memorial and Brotherhood dormitories undergo major renovations.
1982	OBU’s first endowed professorship, The Augie Henry Chair of Bible, is established.
1982	Dr. Hall resigns the presidency to teach at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
1982-98	Dr. Bob R. Agee is elected OBU’s 13th president.
1982	The Noble Complex for Athletics opens. Burns Apartments and Peitz Plaza are completed.
1983	In cooperation with the BGCO, OBU opens the Ministry Training Institute program for off-campus courses in Christian Studies.
1985	W.P. Wood Science Building is completed.
1985	OBU celebrates its 75th anniversary.
1985	Cobbs Married Student Apartments are completed and OBU acquires Devereaux East Apartments.
1985	The Physical Plant building is named in honor of Kenneth Eyer.
1986	Sarkeys Telecommunication Building is completed.
1987	OBU launches a partnership program with China’s Xinjiang University.
1987	Jent Alumni Center and Williamson School of Nursing Education Center are dedicated.
1988	Devereaux West Student Apartments are constructed.
1989	The School of Business is named in honor of Ardmore businessman Paul Dickinson.
1990	Midland Apartments are acquired by the University.
1990	OBU assumes ownership of Tulsa Royalties Company, a private foundation.
1990	West University Apartments are expanded by 16 units. MacArthur Drive Apartments are constructed.
1990	The Bison win the NAIA Men’s Outdoor Track and Field National Championship.
1992	OBU’s endowment exceeds $30 million.
1993	The Bailey Business Center, home of the Paul Dickinson School of Business, opens.
1993	OBU launches a Master of Science degree program in marriage and family therapy.
1993	OBU-Global Options incorporates in summer 1993.
1996	The School of Business is accredited by the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs.
1997	The Doris and Jim Taylor Residence Center opens.
1998	Dr. Bob R. Agee retires after 16 years as OBU president.
1998	OBU’s endowment exceeds $60 million.
1998-2007	Dr. Mark A. Brister is elected OBU’s 14th president.
1999	The OBU campus expands by 50 percent with the purchase of a 69-acre tract adjacent to the north boundary.
2000	A three-year renovation of Raley Chapel is completed.
2001	The Art Building is remodeled and an art professorship established.
2002	The Millennium Park is dedicated. Two endowed business faculty positions are established.
2003	The renovation of Craig-Dorland Theatre is completed.
2004	A study and evaluation of the Unified Studies curriculum begins, culminating in trustees adopting recommended revisions in 2005.
2005	Trustees approve plans to construct new wellness and athletic facilities.
2005	The Avery T. Willis Center for Global Outreach is created.
2005	OBU’s Lady Bison win the NAIA Women’s Indoor Track and Field National Championship.
2006	OBU adds men’s and women’s soccer as varsity sports. Work begins on wellness and athletic facilities.
2007	OBU’s Lady Bison win their second NAIA Women’s Indoor Track and Field National Championship. OBU’s Bison win their second NAIA Men’s Outdoor Track and Field National Championship.
2007	The Recreation and Wellness Center is dedicated.
2007	Dr. Mark A. Brister retires as president.
2007	John W. Parrish, OBU executive vice president emeritus, is appointed interim president.
2008	Trustees name OBU’s new track complex in memory of longtime Bison coach Eddie Hurt Jr.
2008	OBU’s Recreation and Wellness Center opens.
2009-19	Dr. David W. Whitlock is elected OBU’s 15th president.
2010	OBU celebrates its centennial.
2010	OBU wins NAIA National Championships in women’s indoor track and field and men’s basketball.
2010	OBU adds football, men’s and women’s swimming and women’s lacrosse.
2011	OBU wins NAIA National Championships in women’s indoor track and field.
2011	OBU launches a $42 million capital campaign, The Vision for a New Century, the largest ever undertaken by OBU.
2012	OBU wins NAIA National Championships in men’s swimming and diving and women’s outdoor track and field.
2012	OBU dedicates the Paul and Ann Milburn Student Success Center and the Eddie Hurt Jr. Memorial Track Complex.
2013	OBU becomes the first school ever to claim four NAIA National Championship titles on the same day, winning men’s and women’s indoor track and field and men’s and women’s swimming and diving. The men’s and women’s track teams also won the NAIA outdoor championships later that spring.
2013	OBU receives the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup, an award for the top athletic program in the NAIA.
2014	OBU celebrates the grand opening for Chick-fil-A Express and Cafe on the Hill.
2014	OBU receives the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup for the second consecutive year.
2014	OBU is recommended for year one of NCAA Division II candidacy.
2014	OBU wins NAIA National Championships in men’s swimming and diving, women’s swimming and diving, and women’s indoor track and field.
2014	The Sara Lou and Robert Cargill Advancement and Alumni Center is dedicated.
2015	“The Lodge,” the fourth building in the student residential village, opens.
2015	OBU claims third consecutive Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup as top NAIA athletics program.
2015	OBU wins NAIA National Championships in men’s swimming and diving, women’s swimming and diving, and women’s indoor track and field.
2016	Jane E. and Nick K. Stavros Hall, the new home for the OBU College of Nursing, is dedicated.
2016	OBU dedicates Virtus Bison sculptures and new university sign.
2016	OBU wins NCCAA National Championships in men’s indoor track and field, women’s indoor track and field, men’s outdoor track and field, women’s outdoor track and field, and baseball.
2017	OBU is approved for full NCAA Division II membership.
2017	OBU wins NCCAA National Championships in baseball, softball, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, and men’s and women’s tennis.
2018	Ford Music Hall undergoes major renovations to include all areas of the fine arts and is renamed Ford Hall.
2018	OBU dedicates the Dick and Sue Rader Office of Student Life and the Women of Vision Center for Spiritual Life.
2019	Dr. David W. Whitlock retires as president.
2019	Former OBU Chief Academic Officer, Dr. C. Pat Taylor, is appointed interim president.
2019	Dr. Heath A. Thomas is elected OBU’s 16th president.
2019	Hobby Lobby and Green Family donate the former St. Gregory’s University campus to OBU.
2020	Princeton Review ranks OBU “Best in the West” for the 16th consecutive year and U.S. News and World Report for 29th consecutive year.