City: Tulsa, OK

Category: Education

Telephone: (918) 631-2000

Address: 800 S. Tucker Dr.

Description: The university’s beginnings date back to 1882 when Presbyterian missionaries began a small boarding school for Indian girls in Muskogee. In 1894 it was upgraded to college status and renamed Henry Kendall College. The school moved to Tulsa in 1907. It became the University of Tulsa in 1920. The private school is nondenominational, though it maintains an affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (USA).The campus comprises more than 200 acres with approximately 75 buildings. The heart of the campus is a large lawn known as “The U” where many campus-wide activities take place. On warm days it’s a prime spot for sunbathing. The iconic building on the campus is probably the McFarlin Library with its sturdy tower, but old-timers might cite the H. A. Chapman Stadium (originally Skelly Stadium) for its location on historic Route 66.Classes at TU are small—with an average size of 19 students—with a 10-to-1 student-faculty ratio for undergraduate classes. There are approximately 4,300 students—undergraduate, graduate, and law. The university grants 59 undergraduate degrees, 33 graduate degrees, 10 doctoral degrees, and a JD degree.About half of the students are from Oklahoma; 13 percent of the students are international. Seventy percent of the students live on campus, either in student housing or fraternity or sorority houses. The size of the campus and student body provides a close-knit campus community, but the programs offered are comparable to a comprehensive state university. Students like the flexibility offered here, particularly the ability to create individualized, cross-discipline programs.The university is strong in the fields of accounting; management information systems (MIS); petroleum, mechanical and chemical engineering; English; environmental law; and psychology. One of the emerging specialties is the field of computer science and information security. TU was one of the first six schools selected by the National Science Foundation for the Federal Cyber Service Initiative, which trains information-assurance professionals for service with the federal government. Most active in these efforts is Dr. Sujeet Shenoi, the F. P. Walter professor of math and computer science, who was named the 1998-1999 Carnegie Foundation Professor of the Year.The University of Tulsa consistently makes U.S. News and World Report’s list of top universities. The 2009 Princeton Review included TU in the top fifty best values, citing quality of life, town/gown relations, and race/class relations as outstanding features.