Roots of the University of Tulsa reach back to an 1882 school for Creek Nation girls in Muskogee, Indian Territory. Imagine it began as the Presbyterian School for Indian Girls, known to some as Minerva Home, founded in Muskogee, Indian Territory, in 1882 to provide primary education to young women of the Creek Nation. In 1894 that young school expanded into Henry Kendall College, named for Henry Kendall of the Presbyterian Board of Home Missions.
Its first president, William A. Caldwell, served a brief two-year term that ended in 1896, and he was succeeded by William Robert King, a Presbyterian minister and co-founder who came to Oklahoma from Tennessee. By 1920 the institution merged with the proposed McFarlin College and became the University of Tulsa that you see today. As of 2024 the university enrolls 3,769 students.
Walkers with a love of sport will recognize the Tulsa Golden Hurricane competing in Division I as members of the American Conference, with their mascot Gus T and the school colors of royal blue, old gold, and crimson. Picture the 3,769 students of 2024 walking these same paths as Golden Hurricane fans in royal blue and old gold.