The Roaring Twenties and Early Bizzell Years

The Roaring Twenties and Early Bizzell Years. Before being battered by the Great Depression at the end of this decade, the University [of Oklahoma] experienced a period of sustained growth. Some of this expansion was manifested in the creation of new programs and departments, and at mid-decade, more more than sixty academic units operated on the Norman campus. , The institution also took advantage of the relative prosperity to embark on important auxiliary enterprises. A radio station, WNAD, was established in September 1923. Three years later the university opened its first dormitories (Hester House and Robertson House, both for women students). In January 1927 the first issue of Books Abroad, a well-received periodical devoted to international literature, appeared under the editorship of Roy Temple House. In October 1928 The Sooner Magazine began publication, and three months later, the University of Oklahoma Press was founded, its first director being Joseph Brandt, a Rhodes Scholar and an alumnus. , The most striking physical change to the campus during this period came as a result of an extensive fund-raising campaign to build a stadium and student union. More than $600,000 was eventually contributed by private citizens and student fees. Both buildings were dedicated as memorials to members of the university who had died during World War One. Memorial Stadium's first phase, seating 16,000, was completed in October 1925; a second phase of equal capacity was added in October 1928. The Memorial Union, housing student activities and services, opened in November 1928. Other notable additions to the campus included a liberal arts building (later named Buchanan Hall) and a new library. At the end of the fourth decade, the Norman campus consisted of nearly thirty buildings. , Unfortunately, following a period of relative quiet, the tradition of political meddling with the institution resumed. After incurring the opposition of Governor John (“Jack”) Walton, who summarily replaced five regents, President Brooks – despite his popularity on the campus and throughout the state – chose to resign at the end of the 1922-1923 school year. He was replaced by an esteemed professor of history and Dean of Arts and Sciences, James Buchanan. In July 1925 the regents appointed as the university's fifth president a superb scholar and academic administrator, William Bennett Bizzell. He too soon encountered political pressures and opposition, principally from the colorful and eccentric Governor William (“Alfalfa Bill”) Murray, but was able to withstand and survive the governor's animosity. , Among those joining the faculty during this time were Ellsworth Collings (education), Leonard Logan (sociology), Mark Everett (biochemistry), Jens Rud Bielson (physics), William Carson (engineering), John Brixey and Eugene Springer (mathematics), Kenneth Kaufman (modern languages), Helen Burton (home economics), Cortez Ewing (political science), Gustav Meuller (philosophy), John Willis Stovall (paleontology), Forest Clements (anthropology), Jewell Wurtzbaugh (English) and Frank Armon Melton (geology). , At the close of the university's fourth decade, the institution seemed on solid footing. In 1932 the school enrolled more than 5700 students and employed nearly 380 faculty. That so much had been accomplished during this period of prosperity was fortunate, as the years that lay just ahead were to be far less happy.