Carson Engineering Center - University of Oklahoma - Norman, Oklahoma
Posted by: 
gparkes
N 35° 12.647 W 097° 26.613
14S E 641669 N 3897528
The Oklahoma University has an outstanding series of markers, explaining the names and events of different locations. This marker can be found at the intersection of Boyd and Asp.
Waymark Code: WM8AFZ
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 02/28/2010
Views: 14
The narrative on this marker reads:
Carson Engineering Center
Completed in 1965, Carson Engineering Center was opened for use during the 75th anniversary celebration of the University of Oklahoma. Designed to house the growing College of Engineering, the facility effectively doubled the space available for engineering programs. The building was originally called the Engineering Center, but was renamed for William H. Carson, the second dean of the College, upon his death in the early 1970’s.
Dean Carson graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1923. In 1925, he joined the Engineering Faculty at the University of Oklahoma where he served in both the Mechanical and Petroleum Engineering schools. Before becoming dean in 1937, Carson had served as director for both schools. He served as Dean of the college until 1962 after which he continued on as a faculty member until 1966. During his tenure at the University, Dean Carson became widely known as the University’s “Goodwill Ambassador” having made trips to several foreign countries on behalf of O.U. While he was Dean, the College continued to grow rapidly making it the largest engineering program in Oklahoma.
Today, the College of Engineering continues to follow in the direction set by Dean Carson. Currently the school has nine schools and departments covering all major engineering disciplines. By 1997, the college had graduated over 20,000 including 2 former astronauts and 750 corporate executives, placing it in the top ten colleges in the nation in the training of corporate officers. The faculty of the College continues to excel in their respective areas of study. By 1998, over 30 members of the faculty were serving on editorial boards of national/international journals.
By 1997, under the deanship of Dean Billy L. Crynes, the college had risen into the top five engineering colleges in the nation in the number of National Merit and National Achievement Scholars enrolled as students. The Minority Engineering Program ranks in the top three in the United States. The College’s faculty authors over 300 referred journal articles each year. In addition, each year the College’s faculty and students win scores of awards in national and international competitions.
The Carson Engineering Center continues to be the center of the College’s activities housing both the Dean’s office and the Koch Undergraduate Student Advising Center.