Oakwood College

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Oakwood College

Oakwood College
Motto Education. Excellence. Eternity.
Established 1896
Type Private
President Delbert Baker
Students approximately 1,800
Location Huntsville, AL, USA
Campus Suburban
Website www.oakwood.edu

Oakwood College is a historically black college located in Huntsville, Alabama. It is affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Oakwood College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Department of Education of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists to award the associate and baccalaureate degrees. It aims to offer a liberal arts curriculum in a Christ-centered atmosphere.

Oakwood has performed well in external rankings, having listed on a regular basis among the top 15-20 institutions of higher learning that provide African-Americans to medical schools. [1]

Contents

[edit] History

Oakwood College was founded in 1896 as Oakwood Industrial School. The school was located on land that had previously been a plantation. Legend has it that the school was named for a stand of oak trees found on the campus.

The school first opened in 1896 with 16 students. Classes were offered in various trades and skills. In 1904, the name was changed to Oakwood Manual Training School, and it was chartered to grant degrees in 1907. In 1917, the school offered its first instruction at the postsecondary level, and in that same year it changed its name to Oakwood Junior College. In 1944, the present name, Oakwood College, was adopted. The first bachelor’s degrees were awarded in 1945.

Oakwood College has been a member institution of the United Negro College Fund since 1964.

[edit] Campus

Moran Hall, one of the oldest buildings on campus
Moran Hall, one of the oldest buildings on campus

Oakwood college owns 1,185 acres in Huntsville, Alabama. The main campus consists of 23 buildings spread across 105 acres. Another 500 acres under cultivation. Building developments are continuing. The J. L. Moran Hall, completed in 1944 and named after the first Black president of Oakwood College, stands with more recently erected buildings such as the McKee Business & Technology Building, completed in 2002.

The college also houses a branch office of the Ellen G. White Estate.

The campus has two major construction projects that are currently in progress. One project is the Bradford-Cleveland-Brooks (BCB) Leadership Center. This building will house a training center for evangelists and ministers as well as provide more room for the Department of Religion and Theology. This building will also be used to introduce the first master's degree program for the college (a Master's degree in Pastoral Studies). The BCB Leadership Center is scheduled to be completed in July 2007. The second project is Holland Hall, a new male residence hall complex which will house approximately 300 students. This complex will be completed in spring 2008.

[edit] Student life

Students at Oakwood College, or "Oakwoodites" as they are sometimes called, either live on campus in any of the five residence halls/areas, rent an apartment from the school's own West Oaks Apartment Complex, or live in the Huntsville/Madison area or beyond. Freshmen males live in the Peterson Hall dormitory while freshmen women live in Carter Hall. There are two more residential complexes for women: Wade Hall and the Annex are for senior female students. Edwards Hall is the dormitory for senior male students. A new male residence hall to be named Holland Hall is now under construction and will open in the spring of 2008.

The majority of the student body are members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Weekly church services are held at the campus church. Friday evening vespers services (AYS) are held weekly as are Religion & Theology Forums.

Basketball and football are the major sports on campus, with intramural basketball activities taking place during the spring semesters. The school's basketball teams are the Oakwood College Ambassadors and Lady Ambassadors.

The school is noted for its touring choir, the Aeolians[citation needed]. The Aeolians was founded in 1946 by former professor, Dr. Eva B. Dykes[citation needed]. Other musical ensembles on campus include the Oakwood College Choir and gospel choirs Dynamic Praise and the Voices of Triumph.

[edit] Oakwood College Histories

Two books have written about Oakwood College, "Oakwood! A Vision Splendid" and "A Place Called Oakwood".

'Oakwood! A Vision Splendid'

Oakwood! A Vision Splendid was written by Dr. Mervyn A. Warren to celebrate Oakwood's century of existence. The book is 280 pages long and contains information not previously published about Oakwood. Dr. Warren is currently the Provost and Senior Vice President at Oakwood.

'A Place Called Oakwood'

A Place Called Oakwood is a 180-page history of the first 20 years of Oakwood. It was written by Benjamin J. Baker.

[edit] Notable Alumni

[edit] See also

[edit] Trivia

The famous slave Dred Scott once lived and worked on a plantation that eventually became part of Oakwood's campus.

Famous people who have visited: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Julius Erving (Dr. J), Muhammad Ali, Debbye Turner (Miss America 1990), Marla Gibbs, Peabo Bryson, Florence Griffith Joyner, Kirk Franklin, Trin-i-tee 5:7. Willie Gary (former Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff and US Sectretary of State Colin Powell), Johnnie Cochran and Dr. Benjamin Carson

[edit] Oakwood Bibliography

Baker, B.J. 2007. A Place Called Oakwood. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association.

Baker, B.J. 2005. Crucial Moments. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association.

Baker, D.W. 1996. Telling the Story. Loma Linda, CA: Loma Linda University Printing Services.

Brown, W.J., comp. 1972. Chronology of Seventh-day Adventist Education. Washington, DC: Department of Education, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

Cadwallader, E.M. 1958. A History of Seventh-day Adventist Education. Lincoln, NE: Union College Press.

Dudley, C.E. 1997. Thou Who Hast Brought Us. Brushton, NY: Teach Services, Inc.

Dudley, C.E. 2000. Thou Who Hast Brought Us Thus Far on Our Way. Mansfield, OH: Bookmasters Inc.

Fordham, W.W. 1990. Righteous Rebel. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association.

Graybill, R.D. 1970. E.G. White and Church Race Relations. Washington, DC: Review and Herald Publishing Association.

Graybill, R.D. 1971. Mission to Black America. Washington, DC: Review and Herald Publishing Association.

Greenleaf, F. 2005. In Passion for the World. Nampa, ID: Pacific Press Publishing Association.

Hale, Jr., Frank W. 1996. Angels Watching Over Me. Nashville, TN: James C. Winston Publishing Company.

Hale, Jr., Frank W. ed. 2006. How Black Colleges Empower Black Students. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.

Hilde, R. 1980. Showdown: Can SDA Education Pass the Test? Washington, DC: Review and Herald Publishing Association.

Hodgen, M. 1978. School Bells and Gospel Trumpets: A Documentary History of Seventh-day Adventist Education in North America. Loma Linda, CA: Adventist Heritage Publications, Loma Linda University Press.

Knight, G.R. 1999. A Brief History of Seventh-day Adventists. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association.

Justiss, J. 1975. Angels in Ebony. Toledo, OH: Jet Printing Services.

Land, G. 1998. Adventism in America. Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press.

Land, G. 2005. Dictionary of Seventh-day Adventists. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, Inc.

Malcolm, Roy, ed. 1999. The Aeolians: Directors Recall Precious Memories. Huntsville, AL: Oakwood College Press.

Marshall, N., and S. Norman III, eds. 1989. A Star Gives Light. Decatur, GA: Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

Olsen, M.E. 1925. Origin and Progress of Seventh-day Adventists. Washington, DC: Review and Herald Publishing Association.

Reynolds, L.B. 1984. We Have Tomorrow. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association.

Rock, C.B. 1994. Go On! Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association.

Rock, C.B. ed. 1996. Perspectives. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association.

Schwarz, R.W. 2000. Light Bearers. Nampa, ID: Pacific Press.

Sepulveda, C., ed. 1997. Ellen White on the Color Line. Huntsville, AL: Biblos Press.

Sepulveda, C., ed. 2003. The Ladies of Oakwood. Huntsville, AL: Oakwood College Press.

Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia. 1976. Washington, DC: Review and Herald Publishing Association.

Spalding, A.W. 1961. Origin and history of Seventh-day Adventists, 4 vols. Washington, DC: Review and Herald Publishing Association.

Spalding, A.W. Lights and Shades in the Black Belt. (unpublished book manuscript) Washington, DC. Ellen G. White Estate File: DF3471-1.

Warren, M.A. 1996. Oakwood! A Vision Splendid. Collegedale, TN: College Press.

White, A.L. 1981-1986. Ellen G. White, vols. 4-6. Washington, DC: Review and Herald Publishing Association.

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