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90th Anniversary

90 Years 1929-2019

Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education

Celebrates 90 Years


The Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education is proud to celebrate its 90th year as a stand-alone college in 2019. Over the course of the last 90 years, thousands of graduates have gone on to make a difference in the fields of teaching, counseling, educational administration, research, higher education and more. Below we take a look back at the history of the college, and hear from students whose lives were impacted by their time here.

 

The first education classes at the University of Oklahoma began in 1901, with one course in educational principles and one course in education history.

 

As new residents poured into Oklahoma both before and after statehood in 1907, the demand for capable teachers led to the university establishing a full School of Teaching in 1909.  The school was part of the College of Arts and Sciences.

 

In 1920, the School of Teaching was given independent status, with a two-year general curriculum. Six years later, Ellsworth Collings became dean, a position he held for almost 20 years. In honor of his service to the university, the College of Education building is named after him.

 

The school became a stand-alone college in 1929. Offered were four-year undergraduate degrees in elementary teaching, secondary teaching, school supervision and school administration. In 1931, the college awarded its first doctorate in education. School supervision and school administration became graduate programs only in 1933.

 

The university experienced a surge in enrollment and construction after World War II, and the College of Education was part of that. Its current building on the South Oval was completed in 1951.

 

The college played a supporting role in one of the U.S. Supreme Court’s most important rulings.  In 1950, the Supreme Court ruled that George McLaurin, a retired African-American educator, had the right to pursue a graduate degree at the college alongside white students. McLaurin had been admitted to the college but had to attend separately from white students, as required by Oklahoma state law. He and his attorneys for the NAACP successfully challenged the “equal but separate” law. McLaurin’s case was the climax of the NAACP’s campaign between 1930 and 1950 to overturn the separate-but-equal doctrine in graduate and professional schools. This laid the groundwork for the landmark 1954 decision Brown v. the Board of Education that ended school segregation.

 

Today, the college seeks to extend the legacy of George McLaurin and other students by providing the best possible education for its students. This is explicitly stated in the college’s vision “to promote inquiry and practices that foster democratic life and that are fundamental to the interrelated activities of teaching, research and practice in the multidisciplinary field of education.”

In 2005, the college celebrated its 75th anniversary. To honor its rich history, an Alumni Hall of Fame was established, and the annual Celebration of Education honored "75 Who Made a Difference," the inaugural class of hall of fame inductees. Each year, college alumni honored during the celebration will deservedly join this important roll call of individuals who have helped to firmly establish and carry on the college's tradition of excellence.

 

The college offers degree programs that prepare professional educators for the classroom as well as for careers in such diverse fields as administration, counseling, literacy and advocacy. Educational programs are accredited and approved by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, Oklahoma State Department of Education, and American Psychological Association as well as several professional associations for specific subject areas.

 

Having been led by Dean Gregg Garn since January 2012, the college is home to more than a dozen centers and institutes that directly help Oklahomans in their daily lives.

Other important dates in the College of Education’s history:

1917
University School (a laboratory school) established (first site was in Carnegie Building)
1935Institute of Child Development founded
1947University School moves to North Base
1948University Reading Clinic established
1951College of Education Building opens on South Oval
1973University School closes
1977Education Building renamed in honor of Ellsworth Collings
1986Counseling Psychology Clinic opens; College of Education departmentalized into three departments: Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum; Educational Leadership and Policy Studies; and Educational  
2001First Celebration of Education honors alumni and friends of the college
2008College of Education named for longtime alumna and supporter Jeannine T. Rainbolt
2010Renovated and expanded Collings Hall dedicated
2013The college receives its first Apple Distinguished Program honor
2014Debt-Free Teachers program is founded