The Oklahoma Legislature approved a bill in May 1998 establishing OSU-Tulsa on the site of the former University Center at Tulsa campus. OSU officially began administration of the downtown campus on Jan. 1, 1999. Prior to that, Tulsa was the largest city in the nation without a free-standing public university.

Dr. Gary Trennepohl, former dean of the OSU Spears School of Business, was selected as OSU-Tulsa’s first president. He served as president for four years overseeing the successful transition of OSU-Tulsa from the consortia model of the University Center at Tulsa.  

The photo shows Trennepohl when he first took office, being congratulated by Dr. James Halligan, the president at the OSU campus in Stillwater at the time.