NORMAN, Okla. — A $5 million gift to the University of Oklahoma is creating a new scholarship program designed to reduce the cost of becoming a teacher as the state continues to face a teacher shortage.
OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. said the program will provide additional scholarship assistance to Oklahoma students pursuing education degrees at the university.
“One of the big barriers is financially,” Harroz said. “Can you really afford to go to college ... and to teach?”
Harroz said the scholarship adds another layer of financial aid for Oklahoma students whose families have adjusted gross incomes between $75,000 and $135,000. Eligible students could receive $9,500 in additional scholarship assistance.
The program is designed to work alongside several other sources of financial aid available to future teachers, including Oklahoma's Inspired to Teach program and OU's Debt-Free Teachers program.
Stacy Reeder, dean of OU's College of Education, said the university wants to make it possible for students to finish their teaching degrees with little or no student debt.
“We want to ensure that with all the funding that we have, this scholars program included, that students can get their degree for almost free at OU,” Reeder said. “We want teachers to enter the field ready to go through our programs but also without carrying the burden of debt.”
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University leaders say reducing the cost of earning an education degree is also part of a larger effort to address Oklahoma's teacher shortage and increase the number of educators entering classrooms through traditional teacher preparation programs.
Harroz said the number of teachers coming through traditional certification programs has fallen 40% over the past decade.
Reeder said having teachers who receive comprehensive preparation before entering the classroom is important for Oklahoma schools.
“We know that teachers that are well prepared, comprehensively well prepared, in colleges of education are ready to go from day one in our classrooms to help students read, to do mathematics, to think,” Reeder said.
Reeder said students she speaks with remain enthusiastic about becoming educators despite concerns surrounding the profession. She said reducing debt provides another form of support as those students prepare to enter Oklahoma schools.
The new scholarship itself does not require recipients to remain in Oklahoma after graduation, Harroz said. However, other programs available to education students, including Inspired to Teach and OU's Debt-Free Teachers initiative, include incentives or requirements connected to teaching in the state.
Harroz said reducing the amount future teachers have to borrow could make it easier for Oklahoma students to remain in the state after graduation.
The scholarship is open to incoming OU freshmen who are Oklahoma residents. The college expects approximately 20 students in it's first class, which will be the fall of 2027.
OU officials said the $5 million supporting the scholarship is expected to remain invested, with earnings from the gift used to fund awards into the future.
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