Education, welfare and roads are the three primary services provided by state government, asserted the 15th governor of Oklahoma, Raymond Gary. Although his administration made great strides in all three areas, it was education that arguably became the defining issue of his administration. Elected in 1954, Gov. Gary entered office at the crossroads of history with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down “separate but equal” public education in the Brown v. Board of Education case. Standing on principles of social justice and pragmatic public policy, Gov. Gary was widely lauded for his ability to bring segregation to an end in Oklahoma’s public schools, colleges and universities without the discord and violence found in other states.
Even as he worked to integrate the schools peacefully, Gov. Gary worried that the financial resources of a small, rural state could not always provide for the possibilities that better education offered. In his 1957 State of the State address, Gov. Gary said, “I don’t think there is any question in the minds of the people of this state concerning my views on education. It has always been my policy to support legislation that would improve our education system, from kindergarten to the higher institutions of learning. I regret that we have never had sufficient funds available to write the kind of program we would like to have for the children of this state.”
Fifty years later, providing access to higher education is more of an economic issue than one of law. Students today are asked to invest more in their education through tuition and fees than the state provides in appropriations, a reversal of nearly 100 years of public policy. For many students, access to the University of Oklahoma is made possible by generous donors who understand that education provides the answers to most of society’s problems.
It is significant, then, that in October of 2007, the State of Oklahoma’s centennial year, Gov. Gary’s family and friends have established scholarships to benefit students in the University of Oklahoma’s African and African-American Studies Program. These scholarships, the first endowed for students in the major, will forever honor Gov. Gary’s leadership by ensuring that a student’s access to the possibilities afforded those with a college education is not limited by financial resources.
Photo courtesy of the Gary family.