University of Oklahoma School of Education
http://www.ou.edu/education/
History of the College
The first education classes at the University of Oklahoma began in 1901, with one course in educational principles and one course in education history. As new residents poured into Oklahoma both before and after statehood in 1907, the demand for capable teachers led to the university establishing a full School of Teaching in 1909. The school was part of the College of Arts and Sciences.
In 1920, the School of Teaching was given independent status, with a two-year general curriculum. Six years later, Ellsworth Collings became dean, a position he held for almost 20 years. In honor of his service to the university, the College of Education building is named after him.
The school became a stand-alone college in 1929. Four-year undergraduate degrees were offered in elementary teaching, secondary teaching, school supervision and school administration. In 1931, the college awarded its first doctorate in education. School supervision and school administration became graduate programs only in 1933.
The university experienced a surge in enrollment and construction after World War II, and the College of Education was part of that. Its current building on the South Oval was completed in 1951.
The College played a supporting role in one of the U.S. Supreme Court's most important rulings. In 1950, the Supreme Court ruled that George McLaurin, an African-American retired educator, had the right to pursue a graduate degree at the College alongside white students. McLaurin had been admitted to the College but had to attend separately from white students, as required by Oklahoma's "equal-but-separate" law, which he successfully challenged. McLaurin's case was the climax of the NAACP's campaign between 1930 and 1950 to overturn the separate-but-equal doctrine in graduate and professional schools. This laid the groundwork for the landmark 1954 decision, Brown v. the Board of Education, that ended school segregation.
Today the College seeks to extend the legacy of George McLaurin and others by providing the best possible education for its students, as explicitly stated in the College's mission "to promote inquiry and practices that foster democratic life and that are fundamental to the interrelated activities of teaching, research and practice in the multidisciplinary field of education."
In 2005, the College celebrated its 75th anniversary. To honor its rich history, an Alumni Hall of Fame was established and the annual Celebration of Education honored "75 Who Made a Difference," the inaugural class of hall of fame inductees. Each year, College alumni honored during the Celebration will deservedly join this important roll call of individuals who have helped to firmly establish and carry on the College's tradition of excellence.
That excellence was recognized earlier this year when U.S. News and World Report ranked the College of Education in the top 50 graduate programs in education in the nation.
The College offers degree programs that prepare professional educators for the classroom as well as for careers in diverse fields such as administration, counseling, literacy and advocacy. Educational programs are accredited and approved by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, Oklahoma State Department of Education and American Psychological Association as well as several professional associations for specific subject areas.
Having been led by Dean Joan K. Smith since 1995, the College is home to more than a dozen centers and institutes that directly help Oklahomans in their daily lives. The College is nationally recognized for its programs in counseling psychology, educational psychology, continuing education, school improvement, early childhood literacy, school administration and multicultural issues in education. Last year, the College attracted more than $16 million in external funding for research.