History of Oklahoma Christian

Christian Higher Education Month ended in October, highlighting faith-based higher education institutions like Oklahoma Christian University. Oklahoma Christian has continued to strive for academic and spiritual excellence since its beginning in 1950.

Oklahoma Christian began as a Church of Christ college in 1950 in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, under the name Central Christian College. According to Oklahoma Christian’s website, only 97 students were enrolled in the two-year college. L. R. Wilson was Oklahoma Christian’s first president, with eight faculty members supporting him. One of those faculty members was Harold Fletcher, who wrote the alma mater for the school and taught in the music department.

Oklahoma Christian adopted their Eagles mascot around 1952. President James O. Baird became president a year later. Baird oversaw the college’s move from Bartlesville to Oklahoma City in 1958. A year later, the college was renamed Oklahoma Christian College and offered its first bachelor’s degree, typical of four-year universities but not unheard of for community colleges.

The school became a four-year institution in 1961. Oklahoma Christian gained full accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools in 1965. That same year, the school opened the Mabee Learning Center.

In 1974, Baird stepped down as president and J. Terry Johnson replaced him. Johnson is the university’s longest-tenured president in Oklahoma Christian’s history, serving 21 years at the school. During his leadership, the Vienna Study Abroad program was created, and an accredited engineering program was added.

Oklahoma Christian expanded its reach when it became the sponsor for The Christian Chronicle in 1981. Oklahoma Christian also officially became a university in 1990.

Kevin Jacobs became the next president in 1996. He added an MBA program and a wireless campus network. The campus expanded, with additions including the McIntosh Conservatory and Recital Hall, and the renovation of the Gaylord University Center.

Alfred Branch started his Oklahoma Christian career as the executive vice president and chief operating officer in 1999. He served as the president from 2001 to 2002.

During Branch’s presidency, Oklahoma Christian became the only university in the state to offer a personal laptop computer to every full-time student. In 2008, the university provided a MacBook to all full-time students and faculty. The university has since stopped offering laptops, but loaner laptops and other technological support are offered at the Office of Information Technology (IT).

Mike O’Neal became the president shortly after Branch in 2002. He helped Oklahoma Christian connect with Rwanda and leaders from across the globe in addition to expanding the university’s network at home.

Oklahoma Christian’s current president, John deSteiguer, took over as the seventh president in 2012.  DeSteiguer worked for nine years as Oklahoma Christians’s chief advancement officer before becoming president. Under his leadership, $110 million was given to the university towards projects including Lawson Commons, the Noble Science Wing and the Mabee Laboratories. Since becoming president, deSteiguer has implemented projects including the Student Success Center, the Ethos Program and the New College.

Oklahoma Christian now has eight graduate programs and 1,698 students in the fall 2020 semester. According to Oklahoma Christian’s website, the university is home to five colleges, 21 academic departments and 71 majors. Oklahoma Christian also has been named on the “Colleges of Distinction” best colleges list, a “Best University-Master’s” in the western region in U.S. News and World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges,” and titled a Best Western College by The Princeton Review.

Oklahoma Christian also offers master’s degrees in accounting, business administration, computer science (with a focus on cybersecurity), engineering, Christianity and culture, Christian ministry and theological studies. Around 90% of Oklahoma Christian students find employment if they choose to enter their field immediately after college.

Oklahoma Christian has worked to make itself unique from other Christian colleges. Events including History Speaks, First Week Follies and the Lighting of the Commons, invite the community to join the university’s residents every year to learn and enjoy. 

Oklahoma Christian University continues to grow and seek academic and spiritual excellence.