NEWS
NORMAN, OKLA. – The University of Oklahoma has officially dedicated McCasland Hall, its newest residence hall and a centerpiece of the university’s ongoing transformation of the student experience. Made possible through a visionary $10 million gift from the McCasland Foundation, the 560-bed facility stands on the former site of Adams Center and is the first of two modern residential communities to be constructed.
Designed to foster a close-knit environment, McCasland Hall offers students amenities that enhance both academic success and community life. Features include a coffee shop, a storm shelter, study spaces, a mail room, a music room, a game room and multipurpose rooms. The building opened in time to welcome the record-breaking Class of 2029, the largest freshman class in state history, at 6,229 students.
“McCasland Hall is a bellwether of our university’s commitment to enhancing the student experience,” said OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. “As new Sooners adjust to college life, their residential spaces are key to ensuring they are part of a secure, welcoming and vibrant community. McCasland Hall delivers that promise, and we are deeply grateful to the McCasland Foundation for their generosity.”
The McCasland Foundation’s support of OU spans more than five decades and includes transformational gifts to OU Athletics, highlighted by the 2001 renaming of OU’s Howard McCasland Field House. Major gifts from the foundation also have benefited the Gallogly College of Engineering, Price College of Business, Weitzenhoffer College of Fine Arts, OU Libraries and the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy.
Demolition of the old Adams Center began in May 2023. Future phases of the OU First-Year Housing Master Plan will replace the existing Walker and Couch buildings, ensuring that all first-year students benefit from a modern living and learning environment.
For more information on McCasland Hall, visit ou.edu/housingandfood/housing/halls-and-apartments/mccasland-hall.
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.
The University of Oklahoma Honors College hosted its 38th annual Undergraduate Research Day on April 16 in the Thurman J. White Forum Building. Over 300 people attended, and 175 students presented their posters and projects to visitors, faculty members, judges and peers.
The Collaborative Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership offers emerging leaders across Oklahoma’s PK–12 public education system a doctoral experience designed to be as relevant as it is rigorous.
A study published today in PLOS Medicine has identified two new genetic pathways that contribute to cardiometabolic disease, which includes heart disease, obesity and diabetes. The research, led by Dharambir Sanghera, Ph.D., of the University of Oklahoma, represents a step toward targeting the diseases more precisely.
