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Gaylord College to Celebrate Five Years of Route 66 Research, Storytelling at Centennial Showcase

NEWS
The exterior of Gaylord Hall.
Gaylord Hall. Photo by Ellie Pinter.

Gaylord College to celebrate five years of Route 66 research, storytelling at Centennial Showcase


Date

Sept. 24, 2026

NORMAN, Okla. — Five years of research, storytelling and creative work at the University of Oklahoma’s Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication will come together this fall as the college celebrates the 100th anniversary of Route 66.

The OU Gaylord Route 66 Centennial Research Symposium and Showcase, set for Friday, Oct. 16, will highlight the work Gaylord students, faculty and staff have contributed to documenting, preserving and telling the story of Route 66 leading up to its centennial.

The event begins with the Route 66 Research Symposium at 3:30 p.m., featuring academic research examining the history, culture, communities and media impact on the historic highway.

The Route 66 Centennial Showcase follows at 5:30 p.m., taking attendees through Gaylord College’s multi-year involvement with the Route 66 Centennial Commission.

During the past five years, students across Gaylord College have contributed to the centennial through research, branding and logo development, video storytelling, and strategic communication projects. Students and faculty have taken their work beyond the classroom, with visits to the Oklahoma state capitol and trips along The Mother Road.

The showcase features student-created work from across the five-year initiative developed in partnership with the Oklahoma Route 66 Centennial Commission.

Rather than focusing only on Route 66’s past, the event will demonstrate how a new generation of Oklahoma storytellers has helped document the highway and communicate its significance as The Mother Road enters its second century.

Students, faculty, staff, members of the Gaylord College Board of Visitors, Route 66 partners and members of the broader community are invited to attend the research symposium and showcase.

Event details

The OU Gaylord 66 Centennial Research Symposium and Showcase will be held on Friday, Oct. 16. The research symposium begins at 3:30 p.m. and the centennial showcase at 5:30 p.m in the auditorium of Gaylord Hall at Lindsey and Asp Ave. 

Those interested in attending should RSVP here. 

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 healthcare needs of the state, region and nation. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.


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