The Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts

The Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts is the oldest and the most comprehensive college of fine arts in the Great Plains states. The first courses in music were given in 1893. The addition of painting, drawing, and drama led to the establishment of the School of Fine Arts in 1903. The school was elevated to the College of Fine Arts in 1924. It includes the Schools of Music, Drama, Art and Dance and the Charles M. Russell Center for the Study of Art of the American West. In 2004, the college was named to honor the Weitzenhoffer family which has given such extraordinary support to the college. , The Weitzenhoffer family, including O.U. Regent A. Max Weitzenhoffer and his parents Clara and Aaron Weitzenhoffer, has made unparalleled contributions to the fine arts at the university. Max Weitzenhoffer earned his BFA degree in drama from O.U. in 1962. He went on to become a highly acclaimed producer in New York and London and has received the Tony, Olivier, and NY Drama Critics Awards. He served for many years as an Adjunct Professor of Drama. , Aaron Weitzenhoffer and his wife Clara were known as pioneer civic leaders and philanthropists in Oklahoma City. Aaron Weitzenhoffer was born in 1895 in Lexington, Indian Territory where his family had settled in 1888 before the land run. Aaron was a founder of Davon Oil Company, a leader in the energy field. An Oklahoma City newspaper wrote of him that his “humility and concern for others have endeared him to all.” His wife, Clara, with a deep understanding of the fine arts established a major collection of French Impressionist art in the 1950s and 1960s. In 2000, the collection was given by the family to the university. At that time it was the single most important gift of art ever given to a public university in the United States. , Clara Weitzenhoffer was also a founding member of the O.U. Associates and a member of the Board of Visitors of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. She along with her son Max helped provide funds for the renovation of the A. Max Weitzenhoffer Theater. He made the funding and endowing gift for the musical theatre department named in his honor and also endowed a faculty chair in the program and a fellowship in art history in memory of his late wife, Dr. Frances R. Weitzenhoffer. The Weitzenhoffer family, including Max's wife Ayako Takahashi Weitzenhoffer and their two children Nikki and Owen Weitzenhoffer, will always have a special place in the life of the college.