Oklahoma Wesleyan University was founded by the Wesleyan Church to provide higher education within a Christian environment for Wesleyan youth. Central Pilgrim College its predecessor, was founded on the campus in Bartlesville, Oklahoma from a series of mergers of several schools:the Colorado Bible College (Colorado Springs, Colorado), the Pilgrim Bible College (Pasadena, California), and the Holiness Evangelistic Institute (El Monte, California). Central Pilgrim College was renamed Bartlesville Wesleyan College in 1968, following a merger of the Pilgrim Holiness Church and the Weslayan Methodist Church to become the Weslayan Church. In August 2001, Bartlesville Wesleyan College became Oklahoma Wesleyan University.In 1972, OWU merged with a Kansas school, Miltonvale Wesleyan College. OWU then became a four-year college having about 1300 students.

As an evangelical Christian university of The Wesleyan Church, Oklahoma Wesleyan University models a way of thought, a way of life, and a way of faith. It is a place of serious study, honest questions, and critical engagement, all in the context of a liberal arts community that honors the Primacy of Jesus Christ, the Priority of Scripture, the Pursuit of Truth, and the Practice of Wisdom.

Kurt Bahr, Missouri state legislator David Brown, Minnesota state legislator Todd Burpo, author, Heaven is for Real Orval Butcher, minister Jim Garlow, minister, author, political activist Sadiel Rojas, professional basketball player, NBA D-League Lynal Root, McDonald's executive Jordan Tata, Major League Baseball player

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