SchChat - School | Oakwood University

Descriptions

The mission of Oakwood University, a historically black, Seventh-day Adventist institution, is to transform students through biblically-based education for service to God and humanity. Oakwood University, in Huntsville, Ala., was founded by the Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) in 1896 to educate the recently-freed African-Americans of the South. Drawing upon its Christian faith and the emancipation of slaves by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, it believed that “all people are created equal” and deserved the opportunity to learn a trade. Oakwood is consistently recognized by national media, business and educational associations. US News and World Report ranks it perennially among the nation’s “Best Colleges,” both in terms of the “Historically Black Colleges and Universities” (HBCUs) and “Regional Colleges/South” categories; the magazine also ranks Oakwood among the top ten HBCUs with highest graduation rates. In its first-ever HBCU ranking, the September 2012 EBONY Magazine top-ranked Oakwood’s science program. Additionally, Oakwood is the nation’s fifth-ranked producer of undergraduate black applicants to medical schools, according to the Association for American Medical Colleges. Oakwood’s ISO 9001: 2008 designation distinguishes it as the first and only HBCU, as well as the first and only Alabama and/or SDA higher education institution, so qualified. The University has tremendous local impact hosting, since 1946, the annual Camp Meeting for the South Central Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, a 10-day spiritual/educational/recreational retreat accommodating 8-10,000 attendees. The University enjoys a beautiful natural setting on prime acreage and is considered one of the historical landmarks of the city of Huntsville, a cosmopolitan city of approximately 175,000 people located in north central Alabama.