Oklahoma State University – Purple Heart University Designation

A Special Recognition Award, recognizing Oklahoma State University (OSU) as the first University in the State of Oklahoma to be designated as a Purple Heart University, was presented during a special ceremony on Veterans Day, November 11, 2016. Following a reading of a Purple Heart Proclamation, the Proclamation was signed by OSU President V. Burns Hargis and a number of Purple Heart recipients, including OSU Alumni. Presenting the Award was Sergeant First Class (SFC) James Battles, Jr., U.S. Army (Retired), Commander, Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH), Chapter 820. Receiving the Award on behalf of OSU was President Hargis. Other Purple Heart recipients, and veterans, including OSU alumni veterans, as well as OSU Staff and Faculty, also attended the ceremony. The Special Recognition Award reads: "THE MILITARY ORDER OF THE PURPLE HEART SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD IS BESTOWED WITH PRIDE TO OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY FOR YOUR DEDICATION AND SUPPORT HONORING AMERICA’S COMBAT WOUNDED VETERANS, BECOMING THE PURPLE HEART UNIVERSITY. PRESENTED BY THE PATRIOT VETERANS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF OKLAHOMA MILITARY ORDER OF THE PURPLE HEART U.S.A." The presentation was held in conjunction with the Grand Opening of the OSU Veteran Success Center, in the North Classroom Building on campus. The OSU program for the event noted: “IT IS WITH GREAT HUMILITY THAT WE ACCEPT THE DESIGNATION AS A PURPLE HEART UNIVERSITY, AGAIN THE RESULT OF SO MANY BRAVE MEN’S AND WOMEN’S DEDICATION TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.” On November 12, 2016, at an OSU home football game in Boone Pickens Stadium, the halftime festivities featured the recognition of OSU as a Purple Heart University, and honored all Purple Heart veterans. The OSU Marching Band members formed a huge Purple Heart formation with “U S A” at mid-field, and Purple Heart recipients were recognized as a group on the field, as patriotic music was played. Signs announcing the University’s status as a Purple Heart University are to be placed on the primary entrances to the campus. (Note: The process of being designated and formally recognized as a Purple Heart University by the Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH) is based on a number of criteria and is a cooperative venture between the University and the MOPH. The process begins with the recognition by the University that a number of its students, staff and faculty, and alumni have been awarded the Purple Heart as a result of serving as a member in, or with the Armed Forces of the United States, and having been killed or wounded, or died of wounds while engaged in armed combat with an enemy force, or as a result of international terrorism, or being a Prisoner of War. The University then formally proclaims itself as a Purple Heart University that appreciates the sacrifices of its Purple Heart recipients and pledges to honor and support them. The MOPH prepares a formal certification and presents a Special Recognition Award to the University to recognize their special status.) (Note: OSU was founded in 1890, is a land grant university, with an enrollment of 24,283 students on the Stillwater Campus (2017). (Note: MOPH was chartered by Congress in 1958, as a veterans’ organization. Members are men and women who were awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in armed combat with enemy forces, or as a result of international terrorism, or being a prisoner of war. The Purple Heart is America’s oldest military decoration, dating from 1782. MOPH National Headquarters is located in Springfield, Virginia. The Purple Heart University designation is a program initiative of MOPH.)