Qualla: University of Tulsa

University of Tulsa: Introduction

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Photo by Todd Otanicar. – U.S. Department of Energy from United States, Public domain. It started with twelve girls and a schoolhouse. In 1882, in Muskogee, Indian Territory, the Presbyterian Church opened the Presbyterian School for Indian Girls -- also known as Minerva Home -- to educate young women of the Creek Nation. No one involved could have imagined that this modest mission school would become a research university managing a world-class art museum, publishing the James Joyce Quarterly, and training petroleum engineers who run energy companies across the globe. But frontier institutions have a way of outgrowing their origins. By 1894, the school had expanded into Henry Kendall College, named for a Presbyterian Board of Home Missions secretary. In 1898, still in Muskogee, it granted the first post-secondary degree in Oklahoma history.

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Image: Photo by Todd Otanicar. – U.S. Department of Energy from United States | Public domain

University of Tulsa: A College Goes Where the Money Is

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Matt91486, CC BY-SA 2.5. By 1907, Kendall College had produced only 27 collegiate graduates. The Tulsa Commercial Club saw opportunity. Its members assembled a bid: $100,000, 20 acres of real estate, and guarantees for utilities and streetcar service. The college packed up and moved to Tulsa, opening to ...

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Image: Matt91486 | CC BY-SA 2.5

University of Tulsa: Rescued by an Investment Banker

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Photo by Todd Otanicar. – U.S. Department of Energy from United States, Public domain. The Great Depression nearly killed the university. By 1935, debt had climbed to $250,000, enrollment had fallen to 300 students -- many unable to pay tuition -- faculty morale was dismal, and closure seemed inevitable. Oil tycoon Waite Phillips intervened, offering the presidency...

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Image: Photo by Todd Otanicar. – U.S. Department of Energy from United States | Public domain

University of Tulsa: Gilcrease and the Literary Archives

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit TulsaPoliticsFan, CC BY-SA 4.0. Under TU's management, the Gilcrease Museum in northwest Tulsa holds the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of art and artifacts of the American West. The collection was assembled by Thomas Gilcrease, a Native American oilman and passionate art collector, and inclu...

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Image: TulsaPoliticsFan | CC BY-SA 4.0

University of Tulsa: The Smallest School in Big-Time Football

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Chippothenut, CC BY 3.0. TU holds a peculiar distinction: it has the smallest undergraduate enrollment of any Football Bowl Subdivision school in the nation. The Golden Hurricane -- originally called the Golden Tornadoes -- compete in the American Athletic Conference across Division I. The football team ...

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Image: Chippothenut | CC BY 3.0

University of Tulsa: A Campus with a Mosque and a Mission

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit User:Camerafiend, CC BY 2.5. In 2002, TU became home to the first mosque built on an American university campus -- a notable milestone for an institution with Presbyterian roots. The university also hosts a Hillel International chapter for Jewish students and multiple Christian organizations spanning Protest...

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Image: User:Camerafiend | CC BY 2.5