Oakwood University is a private, historically black Seventh-day Adventist university in Huntsville, Alabama. It is the only HBCU owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

History

Early years

Oakwood University has its origins in the post-Civil and post-slavery effort to fund higher education for African-Americans who had been freed in the South. In response to the counsel of SDA Church co-founder Ellen G. White, In January 1896, That same year, Oakwood University was founded as Oakwood Industrial School in Huntsville, Alabama, under the authority of the General Conference.

Named for the oak trees surrounding it and the white SDA Church leaders' belief that industrial work is fitting for southern African-Americans, Classes commenced in November 1896

The Church and the South's expectations for women hindered female students' freedom to choose to participate in civil resistance events, if they desired to do so. However, students were able to stay informed of protests through local black-owned radio station WEUP, and male students had more freedom in choosing whether to participate in sit-ins, prayer-ins and marches, store boycotts and other nonviolent acts of resistance. Their efforts to integrate local white SDA churches were met with hostility by segregationists. For example, white church officials called the police to remove black students from the church grounds and altered their worship service times to coincide with students' class times, preventing them from being able to attend. In spite of the SDA Church's efforts against students' activism, a few male Oakwood students formed activist coalitions with Alabama A&M University students or formed their own small activist groups which attempted to obtain service at establishments throughout Huntsville that would only serve white patrons. and the school's first baccalaureate degrees were awarded in 1945.

In 2016, Oakwood achieved full accreditation by the Adventist Accrediting Association.

  • School of Arts & Sciences
  • School of Business & Information Systems
  • School of Education & Social Sciences
  • School of Nursing & Health Professions
  • School of Theology

In 2004, Oakwood entered into a subcontractor agreement with Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) through the Unified NASA Information Technology Services (UNITeS) program. By partnering to offer wireless technology support at Oakwood, ISO 9002 certification audit compliance, network engineering training, Federal contract training and human resources laboratory development, Oakwood and SAIC have been able to provide Oakwood students and graduates with STEM and business internships and part- and full-time work, generating ongoing business for the Oakwood community while supporting the space industry. By 2015, Oakwood had entered into similar contracts with Boeing, Leidos and Honeywell, among others.

Musical groups

The Aeolians, Oakwood University's premier touring ensemble, was founded in 1946 by former professor, Dr. Eva B. Dykes. This choir has 45–60 members from various disciplines, and the group travels nationally and internationally as musical ambassadors for the university. The choir has visited Romania, Great Britain, Poland, Jamaica, and Bermuda among other locations. The group has also performed at the White House for President Bill Clinton and at the Kennedy Center, both in Washington, D.C. Other musical ensembles on campus include gospel choirs Dynamic Praise, Voices of Triumph, the group Serenity winners of the First Season of "Making The Group" reality show competition. Oakwood University is known for its legacy of great music. In 2010, an Oakwood-based vocal group, Committed, won the a capella TV competition The Sing-off. In 2017, the choir was named Choir of the World at the National Eisteddfod of Wales Music Festival.

Academic competitions

At the 2008 Honda Campus All-Star Challenge National Championship Tournament in Orlando, Florida, Oakwood University team members brought home the trophy. This competition featured 64 teams from historically black colleges and universities around the nation. In addition to winning the championship, Oakwood University received a grant of $50,000 from the American Honda Motor Company. Both the quiz bowl and basketball teams adjusted their playing schedules to not play on Saturday, the day observed as the Sabbath (Oakwood University is a Seventh-day Adventist institution), and both teams still emerged as champions over Alcorn State University. At the 2009 Honda Campus All-Star Challenge National Championship Tournament, the team, led by captain Alesis Turner, returned to again be named the champions (the team played in the final rounds against North Carolina Central University). In 2017, Oakwood for the third time won the HCASC Tournament, defeating Bowie State University in the finals without losing a game the entire tournament. 2017 marked the 28th season of the tournament. The school joins Tuskegee University, Florida A&M University, and Morehouse College, as the only schools to win back-to-back championships at HCASC.

Athletics

The Oakwood athletic teams are called the Ambassadors and Lady Ambassadors. The university is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the HBCU Athletic Conference (HBCUAC), formerly the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC), since the 2023-24 academic year. The Ambassadors and Lady Ambassadors previously competed as a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) until after the 2021–22 school year.

Oakwood competes in five intercollegiate varsity sports: men's teams include baseball, basketball and soccer; while women's teams include basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball.

Intramurals

The university also offers several intramural sport activities.

Move to the NAIA

On January 20, 2022, Oakwood got an invitation to join the GCAC, along with Wiley College and the return of Southern University at New Orleans, effective beginning in July 2022. The university became the first college or university in Alabama to win three men's basketball championships when the Ambassadors defeated Concordia College to win the 2016 USCAA Division I National Championship. The Ambassadors men's basketball team won the university's fourth title in 2019 with a 58–57 win against Bluefield State.

Adventist Colleges Abroad

Adventist Colleges Abroad is a program that allows Oakwood students to spend time studying at Adventist universities outside of the United States while earning credit for the degree they are pursuing at Oakwood.

Principals and presidents

Everyone who served between 1896 and 1917 was a principal. Everyone listed afterward was a president.

Further reading

  • Oakwood! A Vision Splendid, Mervyn A. Warren (1996)
  • A Place Called Oakwood, Benjamin J. Baker

See also

  • List of Seventh-day Adventist colleges and universities
  • List of historically black colleges of the United States
  • Seventh-day Adventist education

References

  • Official athletics website