Oakwood College
Encyclopedia
Oakwood University is a private
university
located in Huntsville, Alabama
, United States
. It is owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church
. A group of College constituents made the decision on December 2, 2007, to change the school's name from Oakwood College to Oakwood University, effective January 1, 2008.
Oakwood University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
(SACS) and the Department of Education of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists to award the associate, baccalaureate, and master's degrees. The first master's degree offered by the University was the Master of Pastoral Studies Degree (January 2008). The first graduate students were conferred degrees on May 9, 2009. Oakwood also conferred its first honorary doctorate on May 9, 2009, to Wintley Phipps
, internationally renowned musician and the 2009 Commencement speaker. Oakwood University has been a member institution of the United Negro College Fund
since 1964.
The University has performed well in external rankings, having listed among the Best Baccalaureate
Colleges in the Southern Region (#31) and #28 on the list of Best Historically Black Colleges and Universities by the U.S. News & World Report, tied with Alabama A&M University (also in Huntsville) and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore
. The University is also listed on a regular basis among the top 20 institutions of higher learning that provide African-Americans to medical schools.
Oakwood University owns and operates the Christian radio station WJOU
90.1 FM, formerly WOCG.
The school first opened in 1896 with 16 students. Classes were offered in various trades and skills. In 1904, the name was changed to Oakwood Manual Training School, and it was chartered to grant degrees in 1907. In 1917, the school offered its first instruction at the postsecondary level, and in that same year it changed its name to Oakwood Junior College. In 1944, the name Oakwood College was adopted. The first bachelor’s degrees were awarded in 1945. Oakwood College received its initial accreditation from SACS in 1958, and in 2007, the college received approval to award graduate degrees. In response to this higher accreditation, the school's Board of Trustees and constituents voted to change the name of the institution again to Oakwood University of Seventh-day Adventists.
The institution also houses a branch office of the Ellen G. White Estate
.
The Bradford-Cleveland-Brooks (BCB) Leadership Center which opened in October 2007 houses a training center for evangelists and ministers as well as provide additional classroom space for the Department of Religion and Theology. This building is also home to the classes for the first master's degree program for the university (Master of Arts degree in Pastoral Studies). The newly completed Holland Hall will accommodate about 300 males, primarily freshmen, and will house its first students in the 2008-2009 school year.
Degrees awarded by the Department of Biological Sciences are Biology (B.S.), Biology Education (B.S.), Biomedical Sciences (B.S.), and Natural Science (B.S.). The curriculum is designed for those students desiring to enter graduate, medical, dental, or allied health schools, as well as for those planning to teach in elementary or secondary schools. Oakwood’s pre-medical/dental and pre-graduate programs provide their students with funded opportunities to perform extramural laboratory research at many well-known research universities.
Degrees awarded by the Department of Chemistry are Biochemistry (B.S.), Biochemistry Professional (B.S.), Chemistry (B.S.), Chemistry Professional (B.S.), Chemical Engineering (B.S.), Chemistry Education (B.S.), Cytotechnology (B.S.), Medical Technology (B.S.), Pre-Physical Therapy (B.S.), Pre-Occupational Therapy (A.S.), Pre-Physician Assistant (A.S.), and Pre-Speech-Language Pathology (A.S.).
The Department of Religion & Theology became the first department to offer graduate degrees in 2008. Currently, degrees in Theology (B.A.) [Pastoral/Evangelistic Ministry, or Pre-Counseling/Pre-Chaplaincy Ministry], Religious Education (B.S.), and Pastoral Studies (M.A.) are offered.
(USCAA) in March. This school year was also the team's first year as part of the league.
for President Bill Clinton
and at the Kennedy Center, both in Washington, D.C. The current conductor of the ensemble is Jason Max Ferdinand, M.M., a graduate of Oakwood University and Morgan State University
and a former Aeolian. He is also the current conductor of the Oakwood University Choir. Other musical ensembles on campus include gospel choirs Dynamic Praise
, Voices of Triumph, the group Serenity, and countless other talented groups of students. Oakwood University is known for its legacy of great music. In 2010, Oakwood's group, "Committed" won the national competition The Sing-off
.
National Championship Tournament in Orlando, Florida
, Oakwood University team members brought home the trophy. This competition featured 64 teams from historically black colleges and universities around the nation. In addition to winning the championship, Oakwood University received a grant of $50,000 from the American Honda Motor Company. Both the quiz bowl and basketball teams adjusted their playing schedules to not play on Saturday, the day observed as the Sabbath (Oakwood University is a Seventh-day Adventist institution), and both teams still emerged as champions over Alcorn State University
. At the 2009 Honda Campus All-Star Challenge National Championship Tournament, the team, led by captain Alesis Turner, returned to once again be named the champions (the team played in the final rounds against North Carolina Central University
). The school joins Tuskegee University
, Florida A&M University
, and Morehouse College
, as the only schools to win back-to-back championships at HCASC.
Oakwood! A Vision Splendid
A Place Called Oakwood
Private university
Private universities are universities not operated by governments, although many receive public subsidies, especially in the form of tax breaks and public student loans and grants. Depending on their location, private universities may be subject to government regulation. Private universities are...
university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
located in Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
. A group of College constituents made the decision on December 2, 2007, to change the school's name from Oakwood College to Oakwood University, effective January 1, 2008.
Oakwood University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is one of the six regional accreditation organizations recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation...
(SACS) and the Department of Education of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists to award the associate, baccalaureate, and master's degrees. The first master's degree offered by the University was the Master of Pastoral Studies Degree (January 2008). The first graduate students were conferred degrees on May 9, 2009. Oakwood also conferred its first honorary doctorate on May 9, 2009, to Wintley Phipps
Wintley Phipps
-External links:* * * * * * *...
, internationally renowned musician and the 2009 Commencement speaker. Oakwood University has been a member institution of the United Negro College Fund
United Negro College Fund
The United Negro College Fund is an American philanthropic organization that fundraises college tuition money for black students and general scholarship funds for 39 private historically black colleges and universities. The UNCF was incorporated on April 25, 1944 by Frederick D. Patterson , Mary...
since 1964.
The University has performed well in external rankings, having listed among the Best Baccalaureate
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
Colleges in the Southern Region (#31) and #28 on the list of Best Historically Black Colleges and Universities by the U.S. News & World Report, tied with Alabama A&M University (also in Huntsville) and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
University of Maryland Eastern Shore located on 776 acres in Princess Anne, Maryland, United States, is part of the University System of Maryland...
. The University is also listed on a regular basis among the top 20 institutions of higher learning that provide African-Americans to medical schools.
Oakwood University owns and operates the Christian radio station WJOU
WJOU
WJOU is a non-commercial, listener-supported college radio station licensed to Huntsville, Alabama, and owned and operated by Oakwood University. It serves the Oakwood University community and the Tennessee Valley area....
90.1 FM, formerly WOCG.
History
Oakwood University was founded in 1896 as Oakwood Industrial School. Legend has it that the school was named for a stand of oak trees found on the campus.The school first opened in 1896 with 16 students. Classes were offered in various trades and skills. In 1904, the name was changed to Oakwood Manual Training School, and it was chartered to grant degrees in 1907. In 1917, the school offered its first instruction at the postsecondary level, and in that same year it changed its name to Oakwood Junior College. In 1944, the name Oakwood College was adopted. The first bachelor’s degrees were awarded in 1945. Oakwood College received its initial accreditation from SACS in 1958, and in 2007, the college received approval to award graduate degrees. In response to this higher accreditation, the school's Board of Trustees and constituents voted to change the name of the institution again to Oakwood University of Seventh-day Adventists.
Campus
Oakwood University owns 1185 acres (5 km²) in Huntsville, Alabama. The main campus consists of 23 buildings spread across 105 acre (0.4249203 km²). Another 500 acres (2 km²) under cultivation. Building developments are continuing. The J. L. Moran Hall, completed in 1944 and named after the first black president of Oakwood, stands with more recently erected buildings such as the McKee Business & Technology Complex, completed in 2002.The institution also houses a branch office of the Ellen G. White Estate
Ellen G. White Estate
The Ellen G. White Estate, Incorporated, or simply the White Estate, is the official organization created by Ellen G. White to act as the custodian of her writings, which are of importance to the Seventh-day Adventist Church...
.
Student housing
Students at Oakwood, or "Oakwoodites" as they are sometimes called, either live on campus in any of the five residence halls/areas, rent an apartment from the school's own West Oaks Apartment Complex, or live off-campus in the surrounding area. Oakwood is a boarding institution, and any student under the age of 22 not living with an immediate family member over age 22 in the area is required to live on campus. Freshmen males live in the Holland Hall dormitory, which is a new residence hall for freshmen males and selected upperclass males, while freshmen women live in Carter Hall. There are two more residential complexes for women: Wade Hall and the Annex are for senior female students. Edwards Hall is the dormitory for senior male students. Two additional dormitories, Peterson Hall and Cunningham Hall, are currently vacant and awaiting renovation.Departments
- Biological Sciences
- Business and Information Systems
- Chemistry
- Communication
- Education
- English and Foreign Languages
- Family and Consumer Science
- Health and Physical Education
- History and Political Science
- Math and Computer Sciences
- Music
- Nursing
- Psychology
- Religion and Theology
- Social Work
Degrees awarded by the Department of Biological Sciences are Biology (B.S.), Biology Education (B.S.), Biomedical Sciences (B.S.), and Natural Science (B.S.). The curriculum is designed for those students desiring to enter graduate, medical, dental, or allied health schools, as well as for those planning to teach in elementary or secondary schools. Oakwood’s pre-medical/dental and pre-graduate programs provide their students with funded opportunities to perform extramural laboratory research at many well-known research universities.
Degrees awarded by the Department of Chemistry are Biochemistry (B.S.), Biochemistry Professional (B.S.), Chemistry (B.S.), Chemistry Professional (B.S.), Chemical Engineering (B.S.), Chemistry Education (B.S.), Cytotechnology (B.S.), Medical Technology (B.S.), Pre-Physical Therapy (B.S.), Pre-Occupational Therapy (A.S.), Pre-Physician Assistant (A.S.), and Pre-Speech-Language Pathology (A.S.).
The Department of Religion & Theology became the first department to offer graduate degrees in 2008. Currently, degrees in Theology (B.A.) [Pastoral/Evangelistic Ministry, or Pre-Counseling/Pre-Chaplaincy Ministry], Religious Education (B.S.), and Pastoral Studies (M.A.) are offered.
Adventist Colleges Abroad
Adventist Colleges Abroad is a program that allows Oakwood students to spend time studying at Adventist universities outside of the United States while earning credit for the degree they are pursuing at Oakwood. Some of the colleges participating in this program are in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, France, Spain, Austria, Italy, Greece, Germany, Ukraine, Thailand, and Japan. Most Oakwood students study in Argentina, France, Mexico, Spain, and Greece.Spiritual Life
Oakwood University is committed to the spiritual nurture and character development of each student with the goal of ‘developing servant leaders’. The Office of Spiritual Life, in conjunction with the Oakwood University Church, the USM, and the residence halls offers numerous programs and services for spiritual enrichment including weekly chapel services, Sabbath church service, Adventist Youth Society, residence hall worships, student missionary program, and club and outreach activities. The institution extends to each student the opportunity to participate in the Literature Evangelism Training Center (LETC) program. This program is designed to assist in helping students acquire scholarships for tuition and spread the Gospel in print to a world in need of a Savior.Athletics
Basketball and football are the major sports on campus, with intramural basketball activities taking place during the spring semesters. The school's basketball teams are the Oakwood Ambassadors and Lady Ambassadors. The Ambassadors male basketball team won the 2008 National Championship for the United States Collegiate Athletic AssociationUnited States Collegiate Athletic Association
The United States Collegiate Athletic Association is a national organization in the USA for the intercollegiate athletic programs of less than 100 small colleges, community collegs and junior colleges. It holds 11 "National Championship" tournaments in seven sports...
(USCAA) in March. This school year was also the team's first year as part of the league.
Musical groups
The Aeolians, Oakwood University's premier touring ensemble, was founded in 1946 by former professor, Dr. Eva B. Dykes. This choir has 45-60 members from various disciplines, and the group travel nationally and internationally as musical ambassadors for the University. The choir has visited Romania, Great Britain, Poland, Jamaica, and Bermuda among other locations. The group has also performed at the White HouseWhite House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
for President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and at the Kennedy Center, both in Washington, D.C. The current conductor of the ensemble is Jason Max Ferdinand, M.M., a graduate of Oakwood University and Morgan State University
Morgan State University
Morgan State University, formerly Centenary Biblical Institute , Morgan College and Morgan State College , is a historically black college in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Morgan is Maryland's designated public urban university and the largest HBCU in the state of Maryland...
and a former Aeolian. He is also the current conductor of the Oakwood University Choir. Other musical ensembles on campus include gospel choirs Dynamic Praise
Dynamic Praise
In the Fall Quarter of 1988, several freshmen organized a Freshman Choir at Cunningham Hall of Oakwood College, Alabama. Among the organizers were Johnny Ramsey, Gerald Morgan, Brian Clifton, Michael Darville, Patrick and Paul Graham, Bobby Anderson, Robert Bell, and Owen Simons. Owen Simons was...
, Voices of Triumph, the group Serenity, and countless other talented groups of students. Oakwood University is known for its legacy of great music. In 2010, Oakwood's group, "Committed" won the national competition The Sing-off
The Sing-Off
The Sing-Off is an American television singing competition featuring a cappella groups. It premiered on NBC on December 14, 2009, and is produced by Sony Pictures Television....
.
Academic competitions
At the 2008 Honda Campus All-Star ChallengeHonda Campus All-Star Challenge
Honda Campus All-Star Challenge is a quizbowl tournament administered by College Bowl for Historically Black colleges and universities. The sponsor of the program is Honda Motor Company.-History:...
National Championship Tournament in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, Oakwood University team members brought home the trophy. This competition featured 64 teams from historically black colleges and universities around the nation. In addition to winning the championship, Oakwood University received a grant of $50,000 from the American Honda Motor Company. Both the quiz bowl and basketball teams adjusted their playing schedules to not play on Saturday, the day observed as the Sabbath (Oakwood University is a Seventh-day Adventist institution), and both teams still emerged as champions over Alcorn State University
Alcorn State University
Alcorn State University is an historically black university comprehensive land-grant institution in Lorman, Mississippi. It was founded in 1871-History:...
. At the 2009 Honda Campus All-Star Challenge National Championship Tournament, the team, led by captain Alesis Turner, returned to once again be named the champions (the team played in the final rounds against North Carolina Central University
North Carolina Central University
North Carolina Central University is a public historically black university in the University of North Carolina system, located in Durham, North Carolina, offering programs at the baccalaureate, master’s, professional and doctoral levels....
). The school joins Tuskegee University
Tuskegee University
Tuskegee University is a private, historically black university located in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...
, Florida A&M University
Florida A&M University
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, commonly known as Florida A&M or FAMU, is a historically black university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States, the state capital, and is one of eleven member institutions of the State University System of Florida...
, and Morehouse College
Morehouse College
Morehouse College is a private, all-male, liberal arts, historically black college located in Atlanta, Georgia. Along with Hampden-Sydney College and Wabash College, Morehouse is one of three remaining traditional men's colleges in the United States....
, as the only schools to win back-to-back championships at HCASC.
Notable alumni
Further reading
Two books have been written about the history of Oakwood: Oakwood! A Vision Splendid and A Place Called Oakwood:Oakwood! A Vision Splendid
- Written by Dr. Mervyn A. Warren in 1996 to celebrate Oakwood's century of existence. The book is 280 pages long and contains information and photographs not previously published about Oakwood. Dr. Warren is currently the Provost and Senior Vice President at Oakwood.
A Place Called Oakwood
- A 180-page history of the first 20 years of Oakwood and its founders' key statements on the school. It was edited by Benjamin J. Baker, an alumnus of Oakwood and educator and author.
See also
- List of Seventh-day Adventist colleges and universities
- List of historically black colleges of the United States
External links
- www.oakwood.edu - Official web site
- www.oakwoodite.com - alumni networking site