Wednesday, July 22, 2009

University of Tulsa


McFarlin Library, the heart of the 200 acre TU campus.

A few weeks ago I attended the 50 year reunion of my 1959 Wagoner High School graduation. I drove by the University of Tulsa today and stopped to take a photograph of the main library. It is kind of a boring story but I will tell you what I did after high school.

After earning my Bachelor of Science degree at Oklahoma State University in 1964 I spent 2 years as a Lieutenant in the Army, then taught mathematics and science in the Tulsa Public School system for 3 semesters, and then began working on a graduate degree at the University of Tulsa in 1967. In January of 1968 I went to work for American Airlines as a programmer trainee and completed my Master of Science degree in January of 1972.

Working out a graduate program mostly in the evening while working full time with a wife and a growing family is a very different experience than enjoying campus life as a single undergraduate. Being a college student at OSU was a lot of fun. Graduate school at TU was a grind. I enjoyed the classes but there was no partying.

The University of Tulsa is a private university located about 2 miles east of downtown Tulsa. Established in 1894, it provides undergraduate, graduate, and professional education of the highest quality in the arts, humanities, sciences, business, education, engineering, law, nursing, and applied health sciences. The current enrollment is 4,192 of which 3,049 is undergraduate, 1,143 graduate and law.

4 comments:

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

I'm not sure we have private universities over here - if we have, I certainly don't know of any. The big regret in my life was I didn't make university, I went to a commercial college for a couple of years and learned shorthand, typing and bookkeeping.
Girls were not really expected to attend university in the early 50s.
We were expected to get a job and when we married (in our early 20s) we simply had babies and became stay at home mums.
How life has changed!

Anne

Elleona said... [Reply to comment]

Bonsoir.

Bill, vous m'excusez si je ne suis pas très présente en ce moment mais la canicule rend la convalescence plus pénible...
Je crois que si nous pouvons décaler d'une semaine les séances de rayons, nous allons partir (en camping-car) chez des amis sur l'Atlantique, là où il fait moins chaud.
Bonne soirée, bisous à Susan, à vous et caresses à mon ami Smokey.

Unknown said... [Reply to comment]

S'il vous plaît, croyez-moi je comprends. Je suis si heureux de vous voir en mesure de récupérer et de lire mon blog. Je vous souhaite brises frais de l'océan.

Unknown said... [Reply to comment]

Anne - "State" schools are subsidized by the state, as in Oklahoma, California, etc. Private schools are not government supported other than some kind of grant. For that reason private schools are more expensive. I went to a state school, Oklahoma State University for my BS because it was more affordable. I was able to get my MS from TU because after serving in the army I was eligible for assistance from the VA, the Veterans Administration. Actually the only way I could receive the benefit was if I was a full time student. That is why I took a full load of classes while working full time. I was a busy boy there for awhile.