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OU Celebrates Opening of McCasland Hall, Redefining First-Year Student Housing

NEWS
Photo of a ribbon cutting outside of McCasland Hall.
From left: OU Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Dr. David Surratt, Senior Resident Advisor Chelsea Rose, OU Regent Rick Braught, Mary Frances Michaelis, Tom McCasland Jr., OU President Joseph Harroz Jr., OU Regent Bob Ross. Photo by Travis Caperton.

OU Celebrates Opening of McCasland Hall, Redefining First-Year Student Housing


By

Jacob Muñoz
ounews@ou.edu

Date

Sept. 23, 2025

NORMAN, OKLA. – The University of Oklahoma has officially dedicated McCasland Hall, its newest residence hall and a centerpiece of the university’s ongoing transformation of the student experience. Made possible through a visionary $10 million gift from the McCasland Foundation, the 560-bed facility stands on the former site of Adams Center and is the first of two modern residential communities to be constructed.

Designed to foster a close-knit environment, McCasland Hall offers students amenities that enhance both academic success and community life. Features include a coffee shop, a storm shelter, study spaces, a mail room, a music room, a game room and multipurpose rooms. The building opened in time to welcome the record-breaking Class of 2029, the largest freshman class in state history, at 6,229 students.

“McCasland Hall is a bellwether of our university’s commitment to enhancing the student experience,” said OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. “As new Sooners adjust to college life, their residential spaces are key to ensuring they are part of a secure, welcoming and vibrant community. McCasland Hall delivers that promise, and we are deeply grateful to the McCasland Foundation for their generosity.”

The McCasland Foundation’s support of OU spans more than five decades and includes transformational gifts to OU Athletics, highlighted by the 2001 renaming of OU’s Howard McCasland Field House. Major gifts from the foundation also have benefited the Gallogly College of Engineering, Price College of Business, Weitzenhoffer College of Fine Arts, OU Libraries and the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy.

Demolition of the old Adams Center began in May 2023. Future phases of the OU First-Year Housing Master Plan will replace the existing Walker and Couch buildings, ensuring that all first-year students benefit from a modern living and learning environment. 

For more information on McCasland Hall, visit ou.edu/housingandfood/housing/halls-and-apartments/mccasland-hall.

About the University of Oklahoma

Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.


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