- A. Grant Evans
Arthur Grant Evans (
September 9 ,1858 –November 30 ,1929 ) was the second president of theUniversity of Oklahoma .He was born in
Madras ,India , in 1858 to English parents. He received his bachelor of arts degree inLondon fromBorough Road College . He came to theUnited States in 1883 to work as a missionary among theCherokee Indians .cite news | first=Charles F. | last=Long | pages= | title=With Optimism For the Morrow: A History of The University of Oklahoma | date=September 1965 | publisher=Sooner Magazine | url=http://digital.libraries.ou.edu/sooner/issue_info.asp?issueID=478 ] In 1887, he wasordained as aPresbyterian minister and began pastoring at a church inOswego, Kansas and later at churches inOregon andColorado .cite news | first=Luthera | last=Mills | pages=107-108 | title=Second Varsity President Dies | date=January 1929 | publisher=Sooner Magazine | url=http://digital.libraries.ou.edu/sooner/articles/p107-108_%201929v1n4_OCR.pdf ] Prior to becoming the president at Oklahoma in 1908, he served as the president of Henry Kendall College inMuskogee, Oklahoma for ten years (the college later moved toTulsa and became theUniversity of Tulsa ).When
Oklahoma became a state in 1908, the firstgovernor ,Charles N. Haskell , made several changes to the staff of the then territorial college. His most notable change was the firing of the university's first president,David Ross Boyd . Evans was Haskell's appointment for president of the university as Evans was also a Democrat andprohibitionist .Evans' tenure as university president was marked by some notable achievements. One of the most important of these was the construction of the third administration building. Also, it was Evans that adhered to the since-fired
Vernon Louis Parrington 's suggestion of using theCollegiate Gothic architectural style on campus. That administration building built during his tenure, which is a classic example of the architectural style of campus, was later renamed in Evan's honor. The separation of the campus began during Evan's stay as well. The College of Fine Arts, the College of Engineeing, and the College of Arts and Sciences were all started between 1908 and 1911. Also, the School of Law was established during his tenure.After his retirement in 1911, he once again became a pastor, this time in a church in
Santa Barbara, California . He diedNovember 30 ,1929 of a "stroke ofapoplexy ."Many people lost confidence in the new state university after the Oklahoma government fired the beloved President Boyd. Because of this, nearly 1,500 students went to out-of-state universities over the next few years. Following Dr. Boyd's dismissal in 1908, the campus enrollment declined nearly 20% and it declined another 11% between 1910 and 1911. [cite web | title=Total Headcount Enrollment, 1892 to Present | work=University of Oklahoma 2006 Factbook | accessdate=2006-06-27 | url=http://www.ou.edu/provost/ir/Factbook_2006/HTML/06_1_31%201892on.htm]
Notes
Persondata
NAME=Evans, A. Grant
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=University president
DATE OF BIRTH=September 9 ,1858
PLACE OF BIRTH=Madras ,India
DATE OF DEATH=November 30 ,1929
PLACE OF DEATH=Santa Barbara, California
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