Building Traditions, Educating Generations: UCO

Building Traditions, Educating Generations offers a comprehensive narrative of the University of Central Oklahoma as the first institution for higher education in Oklahoma Territory. From simple beginnings as the normal school with Principal Richard Thatcher instructing twenty-five students in the early 1890s to today s university of approximately 400 full-time faculty and almost 16,000 students under the leadership of President W. Roger Webb, the University of Central Oklahoma has an exciting story to tell. Uniquely, the Department of History and Geography, in partnership with Archives and Special Collections, has launched an oral history project in connection with the book. The process of collecting oral histories from past presidents, retired faculty and alumni at the university has provided a prism through which to view the collective memory of the institution. In addition, the book includes over thirty vignettes written by UCO students, alumni and staff. Vignette topics range from the graduates of 1897 to the forgotten years of World War II to the African American Student Union during the 1960s to George Nigh.