History
The institution that is now RSU has gone through several stages in its existence, from its foundation as a state sponsored preparatory school, to its transition to a military academy, and finally, to its current incarnation as a four year university.
It has its roots in the Eastern University Preparatory School, which was founded in 1909. During the construction of the famous "Preparatory Hall", Eastern University Preparatory School held its classes in the old Claremont building until 1911. The institution was closed in 1917.
In 1919 it was restarted as the Oklahoma Military Academy (OMA), to meet the growing educational and training needs of the United States Armed Forces. In 1923 it became a six-year program, providing a high school and junior college education. The school received an Army ROTC Honor School rating in 1932, and the junior college division became fully accredited in 1950. Graduates of the program became second lieutenants in the United States Army Reserve; more than 2,500 OMA graduates served in the military, and over 100 alumni gave their lives serving their country during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
OMA's enrollment declined during the later 1960s, due in part to the unpopularity of the Vietnam War, and in 1971, the Oklahoma Legislature replaced OMA with an institution to grant two year associate degrees to the public known as Claremore Junior College. In 1982, it became Rogers State College, named after the county the main campus is located in, Rogers County, Oklahoma. Rogers County is in turn named in honor of Clement Vann Rogers, not Clem's son, Will Rogers. In 1996, Rogers State College and the University Center at Tulsa (UCAT) merged to form Rogers University, with campuses in Claremore and Tulsa, which operated for two years before being separated by the Oklahoma Legislature. The part that had been Rogers State College became a member of the OU Board of Regents, and was renamed Rogers State University. RSU was given permission to seek accreditation as a four year, bachelor degree granting university. In 2000, RSU became the institution it is today, a public four year, residential university. On August 16, 2006, Rogers State's Stratton Taylor Library was named a Federal depository library, the 20th in the state of Oklahoma.
In December 2008, the university officially began its centennial celebration with a lecture about local history and the unveiling of the "Centennial Clock" outside of the new Student Services Center. The centennial year of 2009 will be marked by a series of special events, lectures, and celebrations. The most notable of these events is the opening of the new Student Services Center, a recreational and administrative facility. The building will serve a variety of purposes both to the university itself and to the general public.
Read more about this topic: Rogers State University
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