University of Central Oklahoma
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The University of Central Oklahoma, located in Edmond, Oklahoma (a suburb north of Oklahoma City), is the third largest university in the state with over 14,000 full time students. Founded in 1890 as the Territorial Normal School, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The original purpose of the school was to train teachers, and it still boasts the largest and most respected education department in the state.
History
On November 9, 1891, students met for classes in the Edmond First Methodist Church and the oldest state higher education institution in Oklahoma began its evolution toward what is today the University of Central Oklahoma.
Construction of the first campus building, Old North Tower, began in the summer of 1892 and classes were first held in Old North on January 2, 1893.
In 1919, the institution’s name was changed from the Territorial Normal School to Central State Teachers College and the training program expanded to offer a four-year bachelor’s degree in education. From 1901 until 1961, UCO housed a laboratory school in which local elementary schoolchildren were schooled by UCO faculty and soon-to-be teaching graduates.
Two decades later, Central State Teachers College became Central State College. In 1939 the Oklahoma Legislature authorized the institution to grant both Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees.
On March 11, 1941, Central State became part of a coordinated state system of post-secondary education overseen by the Oklahoma Regents for Higher Education, and joined institutions with similar missions as a “regional institution.”
On July 1, 1991, Oklahoma lawmakers gave the institution its current name – the University of Central Oklahoma, which more appropriately represents the school’s status as the third largest university in the state and its unique role in serving the people of central Oklahoma.
Blanchard, Oklahoma country music singer and songwriter Jeremy Castle graduated at the University of Central Oklahoma with a Master's degree in Adult Education.