Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) is a

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universit ...

in Weatherford and

Sayre, Oklahoma Sayre is a small city in, and the county seat of, Beckham County, in western Oklahoma, United States. It is halfway between Oklahoma City, and Amarillo, Texas, on Interstate 40 and the former U.S. Route 66. The population was 4,375 at the 2010 ...

. It is one of six Regional University System of Oklahoma members.

History

SWOSU was first established through an act of the

Oklahoma Territorial Legislature The Oklahoma Territorial Legislature was the legislative branch of the government of the Oklahoma Territory. It was organized as a bicameral legislature with a territorial council and a territorial house of representatives.Brown, Kenny L.Oklaho ...

in 1901 as Southwestern Normal School, although no classes were held until 1903. Several towns fought a court battle to become the home of the new school, but Weatherford won the battle. The

normal school A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...

included both a two-year degree program for teacher education and a preparatory school. In 1920, the preparatory part of the school closed and a four-year

baccalaureate degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

program replaced it. The first bachelor's degrees by the renamed Southwestern State Teachers College were awarded in the spring of 1921. The Great Depression brought several attempts to close the school for financial reasons. It had to remove several presidents to survive politically. But it did survive. In 1939, the school added a vocational training curriculum to its teacher-training mission. The school underwent significant expansion during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, adding additional programs in the arts and sciences as well as its School of Pharmacy. After brief periods as Southwestern State College of Diversified Occupations and Southwestern Institute of Technology, the name was formally changed to Southwestern State College by the

Oklahoma Legislature The Legislature of the State of Oklahoma is the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma House of Representatives and Oklahoma Senate are the two houses that make up the bicameral state legislature. There are 101 ...

. The first graduate degree, a Masters of Teaching, was added in 1953, and the school was officially designated as Southwestern Oklahoma State University in 1974. In 1987, Sayre Junior College in

was merged with SWOSU, becoming Southwestern Oklahoma State University at Sayre.''SWOSU History''
retrieved September 19, 2010

Presidents

There have been 18 presidents that have served at Southwestern Oklahoma State University: # James Robert Campbell (1903–1907) # John Fletcher Sharp (1907–1911) # Ulysses J. Griffith (1911–1915) # James Burnette Eskridge (1915–1921) # Alfred H. Burris (1921–1923) # James Walter Turner (1923–1927) # Ernest Edward Brown (1927–1932) # Charles Walter Richards (1932–1935) # Walter W. Isle (1935–1939) # James B. Boren (1939–1942) # G.S. Sanders (1942–1945) # R. Harold Burton (1945–1960) # Dr. Al Harris (1960–1975) # Dr. Leonard Campbell (1975–1990) # Dr.

Joe Anna Hibler Joe Anna Hibler (born May 5, 1939) is an American educator. Much of her career was spent teaching business at the university level. Retired from active teaching, she is the former president of Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU), an in ...

(1990–2001) # Dr. John Hays (2001–2010) # Randy Beutler (2010–2021) # Diana Lovell (2021–present)

Campus life

On Southwestern Oklahoma State University's campus, there are several places to eat such as ''The University Grill'', ''The Bulldog Beanery'', ''Brandy's Quick Stop'', and ''Duke’s Diner''.

Weatherford Campus

The Weatherford campus has a span of over 100 acres. The campus is the grounds for several diverse buildings, some dating back to the school's opening in 1903, and some as recent as 2014. The new Pioneer Cellular Event Center opened January 2014. SWOSU offers 38 bachelor's degrees, 7 associate degrees, 6 master's degrees and 1 doctorate. Enrollment for SWOSU is approximately 5,200 and the most up-to-date student-to-faculty ratio is 20:1. SWOSU has a Veteran's assistance program as well as a distance learning program. As of June 2017, SWOSU made the ranking in a MSN "Best Schools of 2017" list. SWOSU was ranked #18 in the list.

SWOSU at Sayre

SWOSU at Sayre was founded in 1938 as a Junior College, but in July 1987 by act of the Oklahoma legislature, it was merged with Southwestern Oklahoma State University. It offers open admission to high school graduates. SWOSU at Sayre offers Associate of Science and Associate of Applied Science degrees in both general and specialized areas of study.

Student life

Athletics

SWOSU's athletic teams are known as the Bulldogs. The university competes at the NCAA Division II level as a member of the Great American Conference (GAC). SWOSU began play in the GAC in the 2012–2013 academic year. SWOSU offers nine different sports including: baseball, men's and women's basketball, women's track and field, women's cross country, football, men's and women's golf, men's and women's rodeo, women's soccer, softball and volleyball.

Campus organizations

There are nearly 100 student organizations such as SGA (Student Government Association), CAB (Campus Activities Board), NSO (New Student Orientation), GSM Project (Gender and Sexual Minorities Project, formally SODA (Sexual Orientation Diversity Association)), RHJB (Residence Hall Judicial Board) and Greek Fraternities and Sororities that offer interesting activities to make campus life more exciting for students. The events these organizations put on are typically free to students. SGA is the official governing body of SWOSU students. It is the advocate for student interests, a powerful voice for change and progress, and a dedicated provider of student services and resources. SGA puts on annual events such as SWOSUPalooza.

Notable people

Notable alumni

John Aaron John W. Aaron (born 1943) is a former NASA engineer and was a flight controller during the Apollo program. He is widely credited with saving the Apollo 12 mission when it was struck by lightning soon after launch, and also played an important rol ...

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

engineer who developed the electrical recovery sequence for the Apollo 13 mission *

Carl Birdsong Carl Birdsong (born January 1, 1959 in Kaufman, Texas) is a former National Football League punter from (1981-1985) for the St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Card ...

, former NFL punter * Bill Brewster, former U.S. Congressman *

Ray Burris Bertram Ray Burris (born August 22, 1950) is an American former pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB), and the current rehabilitation pitching coordinator in the Philadelphia Phillies organization. He played in MLB from 1973 through 1987 for seve ...

, former

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher *

N. S. Corn N. S. Corn, also known as Nelson S. Corn or Nelson Smith Corn, (1884–1967) was a justice on the Oklahoma Supreme Court who was one of the central figures of the Oklahoma Supreme Court Scandal that occurred during the mid-1960s. He was accused ...

, earned a teaching certificate, attorney, former Oklahoma Supreme Court justice, a central figure in the Oklahoma Supreme Court Scandal during the mid-1960s *

Richard Darby Richard Darby (born 1958) is an American lawyer and the chief justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. On April 5, 2018, Governor Mary Fallin appointed Darby to the Oklahoma Supreme Court to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Joseph M. ...

, attorney, Oklahoma Supreme Court justice *

Shane Drury Shane Wesley Drury (June 29, 1979 - October 31, 2006) was an American professional rodeo cowboy who specializes in bull riding. He competed in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). He was also known for his inspiration to fight ca ...

, former PRCA bullrider *

Glenn English Glenn Lee English Jr. (born November 30, 1940) is a U.S. Democratic politician who represented Oklahoma's 6th congressional district for 10 successive terms. English is formerly the chief executive officer of the National Rural Electric Cooper ...

, former U.S. Congressman *Michelle Nicole Evans,

Mrs. America Mrs. America may refer to; * ''Mrs. America'' (miniseries), a 2020 US television mini-series * Mrs. America (contest), a US national beauty pageant See also * '' Mr. and Mrs. America'', a 1945 film * Mr. America (disambiguation) * Miss America ...

2015 *

, alumna and former President of SWOSU *

Pat Irwin Pat Irwin (born May 17, 1955) is an American composer and musician who was a founding member of two bands that grew out of New York City's No Wave scene in the late 1970s, the Raybeats and 8-Eyed Spy. He joined The B-52s from 1989 through 200 ...

, attorney, Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice *

Yvonne Kauger Yvonne Kauger (born August 3, 1937) is an associate justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, and was appointed to the Court's District 4 seat by Governor George Nigh in 1984, and served as chief justice from 1997 to 1998. She was born in New Corde ...

, attorney, Oklahoma Supreme Court justice *

Grady Lewis Grady W. Lewis (March 25, 1917 – March 11, 2009) was an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs and Oklahoma Sooners. Lewis played four seasons with the Phillips 66 Oile ...

, former NBA player *Gary Linderman, pharmacist, last remaining resident of

Picher, Oklahoma Picher is a ghost town and former city in Ottawa County, northeastern Oklahoma, United States. It was a major national center of lead and zinc mining for more than 100 years in the heart of the Tri-State Mining District. The decades of unrest ...

Merlin Little Thunder Merlin Little Thunder is a Southern Cheyenne artist living in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His paintings express the history, people and the land in a narrative, representational style, especially from the perspective of the Southern Cheyenne people. He is we ...

Southern Cheyenne The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes are a united, federally recognized tribe of Southern Arapaho and Southern Cheyenne people in western Oklahoma. History The Cheyennes and Arapahos are two distinct tribes with distinct histories. The Cheyenne (Ts ...

artist *

Cord McCoy Cord Jarret McCoy (born August 19, 1980) is an American professional rodeo stock contractor and producer and former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in saddle bronc riding and bull riding. He is best known as the 2nd-place finisher (al ...

PBR PBR may refer to: Science and technology * Passive bistatic radar * Partition boot record * Pebble bed reactor, a type of nuclear reactor * Peripheral benzodiazepine receptor, another name for translocator protein * Phosphorus bromide * Photobio ...

bullrider and contestant on ''

The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in forei ...

'', '' The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business'', and '' Amazing Race: All Stars'' * John "Red" Patterson,

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

pitcher *

Rex Ryan Rex Ashley Ryan (born December 13, 1962) is an American former football coach and analyst. Ryan was formerly the head coach of the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL), and also held various coaching position ...

, former head coach for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

Rob Ryan Robert Allen Ryan (born December 13, 1962) is an American football coach who is currently the senior defensive assistant for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). Ryan has served as a defensive coordinator or assistant co ...

, former assistant head coach / defense for the

Arnie Shockley Arnold A. Shockley (August 31, 1903 – April 27, 1988) was a professional football player who spent one season in the National Football League (NFL) with the Boston Bulldogs, in 1929. Shockley was an all-conference tackle at Southwestern Okl ...

, former professional football player * Stanley Vestal, American writer, poet, biographer, and historian, perhaps best known for his books on the American Old West, including ''Sitting Bull, Champion of the Sioux'' * Kathleen Wilcoxson, former Oklahoma State Senator representing part of

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

Notable faculty and staff

* J. W. Cole, American football coach coach *

Otis Delaporte Otis T. Delaporte (January 6, 1919 – April 1, 1981) was an American football and baseball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Southwestern Oklahoma State University Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) is a publ ...

, American football and baseball player and coach * A. DeWade Langley, former Director of the

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) is an independent state law enforcement agency of the government of Oklahoma. The OSBI assists the county sheriff offices and city police departments of the state, and is the primary investigative ...

* Steven Pray, professor of pharmacy and expert on OTC medication

References

External links

* *
SWOSU Athletics websiteStudent newspaper
{{Coord, 35, 32, 04, N, 98, 42, 28, W, format=dms, display=title, type:edu_region:US-OK Buildings and structures in Custer County, Oklahoma Education in Beckham County, Oklahoma Education in Custer County, Oklahoma Educational institutions established in 1901 1901 establishments in Oklahoma Territory Public universities and colleges in Oklahoma