BRONZE, BLUE AND GOLDEN

CENTRAL’S UNIVERSITY STATUS WAS WON 50 YEARS AGO

Through Resilience And Perseverance

BY MIKE BRESLIN, UCO MASS COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT, PHOTOS FROM UCO ARCHIVES

APRIL 15, 2021, WILL MARK A MAJOR MILESTONE for the University of Central Oklahoma – the 50th anniversary of Central attaining university status. Though that status may seem like a given to Bronchos today, it only came about after more than five years of controversy and political struggle that tested the resilience and perseverance of Central’s leadership and champions. The result was a new chapter in UCO’s history that stands in stark contrast to Central’s humble beginnings as – quite literally – a one-room schoolhouse on the Plains.

Over its first 75 years, Central grew from an initial enrollment of 23 students to a class size of 6,500. This growth saw a corresponding expansion of the school’s mission, as evidenced by several name changes over time: Central State Normal School in 1904, Central State Teachers College in 1919 and Central State College in 1939. Action by the Oklahoma Board of Education in 1919 enabled Central to start issuing four-year bachelor’s degrees; the first Bronchos to receive them graduated as a part of 1921’s nine-member cohort. It was four decades after that, in 1965, when Broncho alumnus C.H. Spearman first submitted legislation to establish Central State University. In doing so, he argued that the change would allow Central to lure more students to its campus while also attracting increased federal funding, research grants and institutional gifts. He further noted that such a move would enable the university to compete more effectively for quality faculty members, while also benefitting the state’s ability to attract industry. Unfortunately, supporters of Oklahoma State University (OSU) and the University of Oklahoma (OU) argued that a third university in the state was unnecessary and would diminish the prestige of Oklahoma’s existing university offerings. Media accounts at the time noted that some legislators were fearful that a third university would marginalize the higher education offerings in their city. If Central achieved university status, their argument stated, the five other Oklahoma colleges would “defensively” seek to do the same. The result would be multiple, mediocre universities throughout the state.

The need for program expansion at a proposed Central State University was the basis for another key argument against Spearman’s proposal. Central should not be named a university, opponents said, because it simply was not a university. Its offerings were too limited to justify the change. As of the mid-to-late-1960s, Central only offered a single master’s degree and zero doctorates. By contrast, OU offered 100 master’s and 40 doctoral programs; at OSU, the numbers were 65 and 40, respectively. Garland Godfrey – Central’s president at the time and another key figure in its fight for university status – countered that the status change was needed to expand those offerings. Underlying all of the objections were fears about what a Central State University would do to the funding for higher education in the state. As many editorials in Oklahoma newspapers noted at the time, funding for higher education in Oklahoma then was similar to what it is today - scarce. If Central were given university status, opponents said, the funds needed to expand its programs and make it a true university would strain the already thin coffers available to other schools.

Ultimately, Spearman’s proposal was vetoed by the governor. Undaunted by this initial loss, Spearman and Godfrey resumed the battle in the 1967 legislative session. Godfrey articulated an “If you build it, they will come” mindset. He noted that OU was in a similarly underdeveloped state when it achieved university status. “People from OU and OSU would say, ‘That’s [university status for Central] the silliest thing, they’re not a university’…Well, neither was the University of Oklahoma when it became a university. You grow into a university, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

While many of the earlier objections to Central’s university status were raised in the new legislative session, numerous legislators voted for the status change regardless. They reasoned that the bill would ultimately be vetoed, and thus allow anger at its failure to be redirected to the executive branch. They were right. Spearman managed to shepherd his bill for Central State University through the legislature twice more – in 1967 and 1969. Each time he did, however, he ran into his greatest obstacle to passage – Oklahoma Gov. Dewey Bartlett.

In 1967, Bartlett rejected the notion offered by Godfrey that Central could grow into a true university if it was awarded that status. Citing financial restraints, Bartlett said that such an approach was not feasible. Undaunted yet again, Spearman and his Central allies rebounded and resumed the fight in the 1969 legislative session. Spearman reintroduced the bill, and Central began aggressively advocating for its passage. Students and university staff reached out to potential supporters via internal and external channels. The Central alumni newsletter urged alumni, parents and others to begin writing to the governor, state legislators and their local newspapers to advocate for university status. Central’s student-run newspaper, The Vista, sought to provoke strong sentiment among the student body with the use of provocative editorial cartoons, which implied unfair treatment of Central.

Central advocates didn’t rely solely on passion to make their case in 1969. They disseminated new, objective data that wasn’t available in 1965 to make their case. The late 1960s saw a huge spike in enrollment at the college, as the student population mushroomed from 6,500 in 1965 to more than 10,000 near the end of the decade. Advocates noted that a 10,000-plus student population was simply too big for a college structure to support it. They further noted that, despite earlier cost-based arguments against university status, the change would not cost the state any additional money. Part of this argument was supported by a $3 million federal grant that had been received to double the size of the campus.

Unfortunately, just four days after the federal grant was received, Bartlett once again vetoed the Central State University measure. Despite getting the bill through both houses of the legislature once again, Spearman and Central seemed unable to sway Bartlett, despite signs earlier in 1969 that the governor might acquiesce. In spite of growing support for Central’s increased status, the future looked bleak so long as Bartlett held a veto pen. Luckily for Central, that was about to change.

Gubernatorial candidate David Hall of Tulsa openly supported university status for Central and other Oklahoma colleges while campaigning for the governor’s office. When he upset Bartlett in the 1970 election, he made good on his promise. During the 1971 legislative session, Spearman once again got the bill for university status through the Oklahoma House of Representatives, while fellow Broncho alumni Bryce Baggett and Cleeta John Rogers did likewise in the senate. Members of both chambers assured the state that a third university would not drain funds from OU or OSU, and Hall echoed that pledge when signing the bill into law April 15, 1971. After six years of political battles, Central’s perseverance and resilience finally paid off, and Central State University came into being.

In the years that followed, UCO has unquestionably grown into a full-fledged university. It currently boasts approximately 15,000 students, supported by nearly 1,000 full-time and adjunct faculty. It offers 122 undergraduate and 78 graduate majors and hosts roughly 200 student organizations. All made possible by the resilience and perseverance of one dedicated alumnus.