Dr. James Finck, professor of history at Science & Arts, talked about the historical connection between Science & Arts and the community of Chickasha, and the continued importance of community support.The February 16, 2023 meeting of the Rotary Club of Chickasha was called to order by President Lewis Knisley. Rotarian Mitch Williams led the club in singing "When Johnny Comes Marching Home".
Rotarian Gerron Smith delivered an update on the Rotary Run fundraiser. Right now the club is seeking sponsorships for the event, and Smith petitioned members to help in recruiting sponsors.
Pres. Knisley gave announcements:
- The Rotary Clothes Closet at Bill Wallace Early Childhood Center is now open.
- Based on members' input, the club board has decided to allocate $600 of the club's international charity fund for the year to ShelterBox, and the remaining $400 to Water4.
Additional donations were collected at the meeting for ShelterBox to assist in the Turkey earthquake response.
Rotarian of the Day JP Audas introduced the speaker, Dr. James Finck. Finck is a professor of history at the University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma. The Science & Arts History Department has published a book on the history of the university, which was the main focus of Finck's presentation.
Dr. Finck said that the book has been a project 20 years in the making. Originally it had been assigned to Dr. Hobbs, but after his retirement, Finck had been asked to resume the project 5 years ago. The book should be released sometime in March. He read a portion of his introduction. In it, he says that after moving to Chickasha, "I have found a home." He also writes that "the history of the university is a positive one—not an easy one, but a positive one."
Dr. Finck underscored the historical relationship between Science & Arts and Chickasha from its inception. The very first state legislature after Oklahoma's statehood in 1907 created a college for women, which Finck stressed was a rare thing at the time. At the time, "Chickasha was up and coming," being one of the largest cities in the state. The people of Chickasha submitted a proposal to house the new Oklahoma College for Women. The land originally designated for it is what is now the Habitat. The land the college was built on was donated by Bud Sparks.
Due to the slowness of obtaining state funds, Finck said that much of the college's initial construction was underwritten by Chickasha itself. The city originally paid all the water and electrical costs. "The community...fought for this, they paid for it," he said. "The people of Chickasha made this college." He spoke in detail about how the community embraced the school and welcomed its students.
Finck noted that the relationship between OCW (soon to be the Oklahoma College for Liberal Arts, or OCLA) and the surrounding community started to become strained in the 1960s. He attributed this partially to the perception of students being "hippies", etc. at the time. In more recent years, he stated, Science & Arts has made concerted efforts to rebuild this relationship. He mentioned President Feaver and Sid Hudson as key figures in this effort.
Finck also acknowledged that the adoption of the Master Education Plan (MEP) in the 2000s, while very important to the school, also impacted the relationship between college and community. The goal of the MEP was to provide the type of liberal arts institution seen in high-class Eastern schools. Higher admissions and academic standards were applied, which turned off many locals. Regardless, Finck noted that things are trending positively. Among other things, he observed that more faculty were moving into Chickasha—many lived out of town when he first moved here.
Lunch was provided by Chicken Express.