The Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers at OSU-Tulsa was established to recognize notable writers and give students and the community the opportunity to experience and interact with them. The center, founded by Teresa Miller, has hosted a who’s who of literary talent. S.E. Hinton ("The Outsiders"), Kathryn Stockett ("The Help"), Tracy Letts ("August: Osage County"), Amy Tan ("The Joy Luck Club"), Mitch Albom (Tuesdays with Morrie), Edward Albee ("Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"), Frank McCourt ("Angela’s Ashes") and Neil Gaiman (“Sandman”) are among those who have shared their passion for writing.

The center also maintains the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame, which celebrates the achievements of Oklahoma writers and provides opportunities for aspiring writers, including the annual OSU-Tulsa Creative Writing Contest. For more than 18 years, visiting authors shared their personal stories with the public via the public television show Writing Out Loud, which was hosted by Miller and is now available from the digital archives on OStateTV.