Evans Hall

Evans Hall. . The university's first administration building burned in 1903. On December 20, 1907, the university's second administration building University Hall met the same fate. The third administration building, Evans Hall, was completed in 1912 on the same site as the second. , Ironically, as University Hall was burning, the administration was being uprooted by the state's first governor, Charles N. Haskell. The great pioneer president, David Ross Boyd, and seven distinguished members of his faculty were removed, and the new Board of Regents appointed Arthur Grant Evans (1858-1929) as the university's second president. , Born in Madras, India to British parents, Evans came to this country in 1883 as a missionary to Native Americans. , Evans, an ordained Presbyterian minister, strong Democrat, and ardent prohibitionist, was president of Henry Kendall College (later the University of Tulsa) when chosen to serve as the university's president, taking office on July 1, 1908. Although his administration was brief, Evans left his mark on the university by two significant accomplishments: the reorganization of the university into colleges and schools and the merger of the medical program with Epworth Medical School in Oklahoma City, which established the foundation for the University's College of Medicine. , Evans also played a substantial role in the construction of the third administration building. Following the advice of English professor Vernon Parrington, Evans pushed to have it built in a collegiate Gothic design, a style later dubbed “Cherokee Gothic” by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Dr. Roy Gittinger advocated naming the building after Evans, stating that it was a “fitting tribute to the man who selected our campus architecture and made it an institution and tradition of the university.” , Although well liked by faculty and students, Evans could not overcome the obstacles of politics. As with Boyd, a change in governorship ended his administration on May 24, 1911. Since it was not ready for use until after his departure, Evans never had the opportunity to work in the building that now bears his name. The first president to occupy it was Stratton D. Brooks who came to the university from Boston, Massachusetts where he was the respected Superintendent of the Boston Public Schools.