East Central University ( ECU or East Central ) is a public university in Ada, Oklahoma . It is part of Oklahoma's Regional University System. Beyond its flagship campus in Ada, the university has courses available in McAlester , Shawnee , and Durant , as well as online courses. Founded as East Central State Normal School in 1909, its present name was adopted in 1985. Some of its more prominent alumni include former Microsoft COO B. Kevin Turner , Modernist painter Leon Polk Smith , former NFL player Mark Gastineau , past governors Robert S. Kerr and George Nigh , former U.S. Representative Lyle Boren , Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Tom Colbert , and U.S. Army General James D. Thurman .
17-579: The East Central Tigers (also ECU Tigers ) are the athletic teams that represent East Central University , located in Ada, Oklahoma , in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Tigers compete as members of the Great American Conference for all 11 varsity sports. In March 2016, the school announced that it was suspending golf and tennis due to budget cuts by the state of Oklahoma. In 1993,
34-645: A local chapter of Alpha Psi Omega and Pi Kappa Delta as well as the Student Government Association and Campus Activity Board. In addition, there are five Greek organizations at ECU divided among the Interfraternity Council (IFC) and Panhellenic Association (PHA): East Central's athletic teams (the "Tigers") have competed in the NCAA Division II Great American Conference (GAC) since 2011, after competing in
51-400: A new four-year high school accreditation. In 1953, a new Horace Mann building was completed where the program was housed until Horace Mann Training School was discontinued in 1960. Expanding beyond education degrees, in 1939 the school became East Central State College . Fifteen years later, the regional colleges were allowed to offer graduate degrees. By 1974, the state legislature renamed
68-430: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . East Central University ECU is approximately 90 miles (140 km) from Oklahoma City, 115 miles (185 km) from Tulsa and 150 miles (240 km) from Dallas. Today the campus consists of 37 buildings on 135 acres (55 ha); the university typically enrolls more than 3,500 students per semester from more than 30 countries and 25 states. The university
85-677: Is no longer one of four participating institutions offering courses at the Ardmore Higher Education Center . There are Distance Education sites located in Shawnee, OK , through the Gordon Cooper Technology Center and McAlester, OK through the Eastern Oklahoma State College. ECU offers online graduate and undergraduate courses. East Central hosts nearly eighty student organizations. Among them are
102-675: The Lone Star Conference of the NCAA from 1997 to 2011. The university hosts 13 sports, 6 men's athletic programs and 7 programs for women. The school's football team won the NAIA national football championship in 1993. Athletics offices are located within the Kerr Activities Center . ECU has had several graduates move to political office, including five of alumni who were elected to the position of governor. Several ECU grads have excelled in
119-545: The Noble Foundation ). With more space, enrollment expanded to more than 750 students (with more than 90 college courses then available). At that time, the institution was formally known as the "Ardmore Higher Education Center." In 1985 new legislation was passed and an independent governing Board of Trustees was established, with its members appointed by the Governor of Oklahoma . Enrollment has continued to expand over
136-430: The 25,000 Club, a local booster group. The club raised funds for faculty salaries so classes could begin that fall in local churches and public school classrooms. Graduates of the normal school program received lifetime teaching certification statewide. The 1910 Oklahoma Legislature funded faculty salaries and the construction of a building on a 16-acre (65,000 m ) site donated by a Chickasaw allottee. In 1919,
153-611: The Tigers won the NAIA national football championship against Glenville State 49-35 at ECU's Norris Field. In 2011 the Tigers won the inaugural GAC regular season championship and the Conference tournament championship. For three seasons — from 1928 through 1931 , when the school was known as Ada Teachers College — the Tigers men's basketball team played at a major competitive level comparable to what since 1973 would be considered NCAA Division I . During these years, Tigers guard Bart Carlton
170-539: The area of professional sports: Ardmore Higher Education Center The University Center of Southern Oklahoma (formerly known as the Ardmore Higher Education Center) is a consortium-model higher education delivery system which provides academic degree programs from four participating institutions of higher education located in southern Oklahoma . Freshman through graduate courses are offered and students can earn college credits for
187-636: The campus of Ardmore High School; 110 students enrolled in the first semester and chose from among ten college courses. By 1977, the pilot program was made permanent by statute and was placed under the administration of the Office of the Chancellor for Oklahoma Higher Education. By the early 1980s, (due to increasing enrollment) a new building was constructed on property belonging to the Ardmore School District (funded, in part, from an endowment from
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#1733086167257204-551: The normal schools were authorized by the Oklahoma Legislature to offer four years of teacher education , to offer bachelor's degrees , and were designated teachers' colleges. From 1910 to 1960, East Central operated Horace Mann Training School, a teacher education program designed to equip prospective teachers with classroom skills. From its inception, the training school focused on elementary and junior high students. In 1925, Horace Mann added older students upon achieving
221-649: The past two decades and, as of 2012, the institution provides educational opportunities to nearly 1,800 students (on average) per semester; the students have more than 300 courses from which to choose during the fall and spring semesters, and 90 during the summer session. UCSO offers degree programs in the following areas of academic study: Students who do not pursue a degree may enroll in courses that further their professional credentials as elementary school teachers , school administrators, school psychologists, school psychometrists, and licensed professional counselors. All degree programs are fully accredited through one of
238-542: The purposes of transfer to another college (for completing a degree), or students may complete their degree program on-site. The four participating institutions for the University Center are: In 1974, the Oklahoma Legislature created a pilot higher education program called the Ardmore Higher Education Program (which eventually became the University Center of Southern Oklahoma) and housed it on
255-587: The state colleges, and it became East Central Oklahoma State University —a name it retained until 1985 when it gained its present name. ECU serves around 4,000 students and is perhaps best known for its Environmental Health Science Program, one of only 30 programs nationally accredited by the National Environmental Health Science and Protection Accreditation Council. East Central is divided into 5 academic units (three colleges and two schools) with 70 degree programs. They are: East Central
272-745: Was a two-time All-American in 1930 and 1931 . In 1944, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected him as the Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year for the 1930–31 NCAA men's basketball season . On November 20, 2008, the Tigers men's basketball team and Texas Tech set school records for points scored in a game in a 167–115 Tigers loss to the Red Raiders. This article related to sports in Oklahoma
289-423: Was founded as East Central State Normal School in 1909, two years after Oklahoma was admitted as the 46th U.S. state . It was one of the six newly created state funded normal schools that were designed to provide four years of "preparatory" (or high school ) study, followed by two years of college work towards teacher certification. The school's establishment was the product of the intense lobbying efforts of
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