Sooner Parents Purpose & History

Serving Sooner Parents for over 80 years

Purpose

Sooner Parents keeps you connected and helps enhance the OU student experience!

The purpose of Sooner Parents is to:

To provide the parents, guardians and other supporters of University of Oklahoma students an opportunity to learn more about the organization and policies of the university
To bring about closer cooperation between students, parents, faculty, administrative officials and regents of the university
To provide an organization through which parents may collectively organize their efforts in support of students and their educational experience
To provide an agency through which authorities of the university may more effectively present objectives, aims and needs to the public at large

It all started with the Dads' Association in 1925

A Brief History: The University of Oklahoma Dads' Association
On October 17, 1925, 272 fathers of University of Oklahoma students met in response to an invitation from University President W.B. Bizzell to organize the OU Dads' Association.

A History of Service Brochure

A History of Supporting OU Students

Over the years, the parents organizations have taken special interest in support of projects at the university. The Dads' Association publicly supported the bond issues that built Ellison Infirmary in 1927 and in 1964, its members passed a resolution supporting the creation of the OU School of Dentistry.

In 1940, the Mothers' Association sponsored and helped furnish Rochdale Hall for 38 needy women students. They also endorsed safety on highways and world peace.

The Parents' Association contributed $5000 to the building of the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History.

In recent years, the Parents' Association has helped co-sponsor some of the events linked to Dad’s Day and Mom’s Day activities.