Oakland University Timeline

1956: Michigan State University President John Hannah asks Alfred and Matilda Wilson to donate $2 million to found Michigan State University - Oakland.

1957: The university begins to take shape with the Wilson's gift of $2 million, their 1,500-acre estate and its buildings.

1958: Matilda Wilson demands that the university's address match Meadow Brook Hall's Rochester address, even though the main campus lies in Pontiac Township (now Auburn Hills). She prevails by reminding U.S. Postmaster General Arthur Summerfield that she had been a generous contributor to his Republican administration.

1959: Michigan State University - Oakland opens with 570 students. North and South Foundation halls are dedicated and the Oakland Center is completed.

1961: Hannah Hall of Science is completed.

1962: The university dedicates Anibal and Fitzgerald houses and Kresge Library.

1963: The school changes its name to Oakland University and graduates its first class. Pryale House and the intramural athletics buildings are completed.

1964: Baldwin Memorial Pavilion and Hill House are dedicated.

1965: A student throws a beer can into a then-swamp on campus, naming it Beer Lake. The name then stuck.

1966: Vandenberg Hall and Wilson Hall are completed.

1967: OU co-founder Matilda Dodge Wilson dies on Sept. 19 at age 83.

1969: Hundreds of students protest at Wilson Hall to keep Woody Varner, OU's first chancellor, from leaving to assume the presidency at Michigan State University. Graham Health Center and Hamlin Hall are dedicated, and Dodge Hall of Engineering is completed.

1970: The Michigan Legislature recognizes the maturity and stature of Oakland University by granting it autonomy, and Michigan's governor appoints Oakland's first Board of Trustees. Woody Varner leaves to become chancellor of the University of Nebraska, and Donald O'Dowd becomes OU's second president. Varner Hall is completed.

1974: About 8,000 guests turn out for OU's 15th birthday celebration. Damp, cold weather reduces the number of attendees.

1976: Katke-Cousins Golf Course, located on the grounds of Meadow Brook Hall, is dedicated.

1977: The new Honors College accepts 33 students. OU's Tautological Society survey, which produced 1,004 responses from students, faculty and staff, shows that most don't want OU's name to change. Many cite the cost as a reason.

1978: First-year students are no longer segregated in Hamlin Hall as they had been since 1972 "to shelter them from the influence of certain upperclassmen."

1981: Joseph Champagne becomes OU's third president. The George T. Matthews Apartments are completed, and Jan and Don O'Dowd Hall is dedicated.

1984: Oakland University celebrates its 25th anniversary.

1986: Meadow Brook Health Enhancement Institute opens.

1987: The university loses a landmark building as the Barn Theatre, which housed the Student Enterprise Theatre and served as a meeting place and venue for other performances, burns down.

1989: The Alumni and McGregor wings, $11.6 million enlargements and improvements to Kresge Library, are dedicated.

1990: Three bombings close the campus for a day. The first bomb explodes on the fourth floor of Kresge Library. The others damage cars in parking lots - four minutes later south of the library and 90 minutes later near South Foundation Hall. A student is suspected of creating diversions for a planned robbery of the cashier's office.

1992: Sandra Packard becomes OU's fourth president.

1995: The university reaches the midpoint of its 10-year strategic plan, having completed more than 2,000 strategic initiatives to further teaching, learning, research and planning.

1996: The Board of Trustees appoints Interim President Gary Russi as OU's fifth president.

1997: The university's athletic teams join the Division I Mid-Continent Conference. OU dedicates The Honors College's new home, a 1,100-square-foot glass hall. The $43-million Science and Engineering Building is dedicated.

1998: OU introduces the Golden Grizzlies as its new nickname and mascot. In September, the $37-million Recreation and Athletics Center opens.

1999: OU celebrates its 40th anniversary.

2000: Enrollment exceeds 15,000 students for the first time in OU's history, with fall 2000 enrollment reaching 15,235. R & S Sharf Golf Course, OU's second 18-hole championship course, opens for play. R. Hugh Elliott, Athletics Board of Visitors member, and his wife, Nancy, donate $2 million to the university to name the R. Hugh and Nancy Elliott Hall of Business and Information Technology building.

2001: Oakland University breaks ground for two new construction projects: the University Student Apartments to house an additional 454 upperclass students on campus and the new Education and Human Services Building.

2002: For the first time in Oakland's history, enrollment topped 16,000 students. The Education and Human Services Building, University Student Apartments and a three-story parking structure opened. National and international press focused on the university when U.S. President George W. Bush and Poland President Aleksander Kwasniewski visited campus in July. The women's basketball team won its first Mid-Continent Conference Tournament title and competed in the NCAA Division I Tournament for the first time in team history.

2003: The university opens the doors to a new 30,000-square-foot Oakland Center expansion, the Thomas M. Cooley Law Library, Crittenton Hospital Medical Center Multimedia Laboratory, and the Fastening and Joining Research Institute. Oakland signs an agreement with the city of Rochester to work together on a variety of reciprocal business and academic ventures.

2004: OU Board member Dennis Pawley and his wife, Carlotta, donate $4 million to the university to name the School of Education and Human Services building Carlotta and Dennis Pawley Hall. Oakland partners with Macomb Community College to allow students at MCC to seamlessly transfer to OU for baccalaureate degree completion. Jack's Place for Autism at Oakland University opens and is one of the nation's first campus-based centers designed to help meet the needs of families and children with autism spectrum disorders.

2005: The university sets new enrollment records during the fall semester with 17,340 students, the first time in Oakland's history that enrollment tops the 17,000-student mark. Oakland kicks off its first-ever comprehensive campaign, Innovation and Opportunity - The Campaign for Oakland University, and sets the campaign's financial goal at $110 million raised by the year 2010. Several new services were introduced or enhanced on campus including the new Student Technology Center, Gender and Sexuality Center, Student Resource Center and Credit Union ONE full-service on-campus branch. Oakland partners with Wayne State University's Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences to allow OU undergraduates a unique opportunity to earn a doctorate in pharmacy at Wayne State. The men's basketball team wins the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament championship and advances to the Division I NCAA Tournament for the first time in the team's history.

2006: OU INC, a SmartZone business incubator, opens on campus in Shotwell-Gustafson Pavilion. The Grizzly Center for Graduates and Champions opens for student athletes. The Grizz statue, a bronze mascot to symbolize student spirit and OU athletics team achievement, was unveiled, standing 8 feet tall and weighing a ton. The American Bar Association granted Thomas M. Cooley Law School's request to establish a full, three-year Juris Doctor degree program at Oakland. M20, the state's first dual-degree program with Macomb Community College provides a seamless transition to OU for a bachelor's degree. The OU Writing Center and Joan Rosen Writing Studio opens in Kresge Library. Oakland University's women's basketball team wins the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament title and the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament for the second time.