Gittinger Hall - Norman, OK - Oklahoma Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Gittinger Hall is on the west side of the Van Vleet Oval, between Kaufman Hall and Nielsen Hall. The University of Oklahoma has done a wonderful job of placing these historical markers all around the campus, providing a great source of information on the original buildings, but also the people who helped shape the university.

Text on marker:

Gittinger Hall
When Roy Gittinger retired from the University in May 1950, President George Lynn Cross (the eighth president under whom Gittinger had served) sent him a personal note. "In my opinion," Cross wrote, "you have made a greater contribution to the University of Oklahoma than any other person in the entire history of the institution. No one else has served the University for as long a period of time. No one else has served the institution in such a versatile manner. And no one's services have been of better quality than your own."

Roy Gittinger came to Norman with his new bridge in March 1900. He was twenty-one years old and wanted to complete his undergraduate education. He graduated in 1902, and President David Ross Boyd asked him to teach in the University's Preparatory Department. He soon became the Department's principal. During the summers he earned a Master's degree at the University of Chicago, and in 1917, he completed his PhD at the University of California. For a half century, at the same time that he was teaching in the Department of History, Roy Gittinger filled nearly every important administrative post at the University of Oklahoma. He was, at one time or another, Registrar, Dean of Undergraduates, Dean of the Graduate School, Dean of Administration, Dean of Admissions. For twenty-five years he edited the University's annual Catalogue. In recognition of his outstanding service the Board of Regents named him to the first Regents' Professorship.

Despite his insistence on rigorous academic standards, "Dean Gitt" was a favorite among generations of students and probably knew more students by their names than any other person. His long and intimate connection with the University and his legendary memory for names and details made him the obvious choice to write "The University of Oklahoma: A History of Fifty Years" (1942), the pioneering study of the institution's early history.

This building was completed in 1952 as part of the massive construction effort after World War II. The original plans --never fulfilled -- called for it to mirror its neighboring building, Kaufman Hall, the two eventually to be connected with an auditorium.

County: Cleveland Record Address:: Van Vleet Oval Norman, OK U.S.A. 73019 Rate the Site: Sponsor (Who put it there): The University of Oklahoma Web site if available: Not listed Date Erected: Not listed

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log   11/05/2010 Max and 99 visited it