OU Wins Davis Cup for United World College International Freshmen Enrollment

By Maura McAndrew

For the seventh time in the past eight years, the University of Oklahoma has won the Davis Cup, which recognizes record-setting enrollment of Davis United World College international freshmen. The OU Class of 2024 marks an all-time high of 76 Davis UWC Scholars enrolled. OU also boasts the largest total enrollment of Davis United World College Scholars in the United States, with 265 UWC Scholars representing 97 countries. More than 90 American higher education institutions participate in the global initiative, including Yale, Harvard and Princeton, and OU remains the only public university in the nation to ever receive the Davis Cup.

In an OU News press release announcing the award, OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. expressed his appreciation for OU's UWC community: “Our international students, including our 265 Davis United World College Scholars, provide unique and indispensable contributions that enrich our campuses and the broader community.”

The Davis UWC Scholars Program is the world’s largest privately funded international scholarship program. Students are selected by independent committees from around the globe to attend a multinational United World College, where they finish their last two years of secondary education, participating in a rigorous, English-language International Baccalaureate curriculum. They are then selected to attend a Davis UWC Scholars Program partner college or university in the United States.

The first United World College was established in 1962 with the vision of building cross-cultural understanding. There are now 17 United World Colleges on five continents, educating students from 180 countries. No more than 25% of the students at each school can be from the country where the school is located. OU enrolled its first class of UWC scholars in 2008.

Davis UWC Scholars attending OU have earned a reputation of being excellent students, influential members of the university community, and great assets to our international community in CIS. Our UWC scholars have achieved recognition as members of the President’s Leadership Class and President’s Community Scholars; Outstanding Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors; team leaders in the Ronnie K. Irani Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth; executive officers in the International Advisory Committee; and more.

Shelby Davis, co-founder of the Davis United World College Scholars Program, was quoted in the news release, saying, “We greatly admire the University of Oklahoma for its deep and longstanding commitment to our program and its scholars."

Source: www.ou.edu/web/news_events/articles/news_2020/ou-winsdavis-cup-for-record-setting-enrollment-of-united-world-collegeinternational-freshmen