Oakwood University Oakwood University is a private university located in Huntsville , Alabama , United States . It is owned and operated by the Seventh - day Adventist Church . A group of College constituents made the decision on December 2 , 2007 , to change the school ' s name from Oakwood College to Oakwood University . Oakwood University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools ( SACS ) and the Department of Education of the General Conference of Seventh - day Adventists to award the associate , baccalaureate , and master ' s degrees . The first master ' s degree offered by the University was the Master of Pastoral Studies Degree ( January 2008 ) . The first graduate students were conferred degrees on May 9 , 2009 . Oakwood also conferred its first honorary doctorate on May 9 , 2009 , to Wintley Phipps , internationally renowned musician and the 2009 Commencement speaker . Oakwood University has been a member institution of the United Negro College Fund since 1964 . The University has performed well in external rankings , having listed among the Best Baccalaureate Colleges in the Southern Region ( # 31 ) and # 28 on the list of Best Historically Black Colleges and Universities by the U . S . News & World Report , tied with Alabama A & M University ( also in Huntsville ) and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore . The University is also listed on a regular basis among the top 20 institutions of higher learning that provide African - Americans to medical schools . Oakwood University owns and operates the Christian radio station WJOU 90 . 1 FM , formerly WOCG . History . Oakwood University was founded in 1896 as Oakwood Industrial School . Legend has it that the school was named for a stand of oak trees found on the campus . The school first opened in 1896 with 16 students . Classes were offered in various trades and skills . In 1904 , the name was changed to Oakwood Manual Training School , and it was chartered to grant degrees in 1907 . In 1917 , the school offered its first instruction at the postsecondary level , and in that same year it changed its name to Oakwood Junior College . In 1944 , the name Oakwood College was adopted . The first bachelor ’ s degrees were awarded in 1945 . Oakwood College received its initial accreditation from SACS in 1958 , and in 2007 , the college received approval to award graduate degrees . In response to this higher accreditation , the school ' s Board of Trustees and constituents voted to change the name of the institution again to Oakwood University of Seventh - day Adventists . Campus . Oakwood University owns in Huntsville , Alabama . The main campus consists of 23 buildings spread across . Another 500 acres ( 2 km² ) under cultivation . Building developments are continuing . The J . L . Moran Hall , completed in 1944 and named after the first black president of Oakwood , stands with more recently erected buildings such as the McKee Business & Technology Complex , completed in 2002 . The institution also houses a branch office of the Ellen G . White Estate . The Bradford - Cleveland - Brooks ( BCB ) Leadership Center which opened in October 2007 houses a training center for evangelists and ministers as well as provide additional classroom space for the Department of Religion and Theology . This building is also home to the classes for the first master ' s degree program for the university ( Master of Arts degree in Pastoral Studies ) . The newly completed Holland Hall will accommodate about 300 males , primarily freshmen , and will house its first students in the 2008 - 2009 school year . Student housing . Students at Oakwood , or " Oakwoodites " as they are sometimes called , either live on campus in any of the five residence halls / areas , rent an apartment from the school ' s own West Oaks Apartment Complex , or live off - campus in the surrounding area . Oakwood is a boarding institution , and any student under the age of 22 not living with an immediate family member over age 22 in the area is required to live on campus . Freshmen males live in the Holland Hall dormitory , which is a new residence hall for freshmen males and selected upperclass males , while freshmen women live in Carter Hall . There are two more residential complexes for women : Wade Hall and the Annex are for senior female students . Edwards Hall is the dormitory for senior male students . Two additional dormitories , Peterson Hall and Cunningham Hall , are currently vacant and awaiting renovation . Academics . Departments . Degrees awarded by the Department of Biological Sciences are Biology ( B . S . ) , Biology Education ( B . S . ) , Biomedical Sciences ( B . S . ) , and Natural Science ( B . S . ) . The curriculum is designed for those students desiring to enter graduate , medical , dental , or allied health schools , as well as for those planning to teach in elementary or secondary schools . Oakwood ’ s pre - medical / dental and pre - graduate programs provide their students with funded opportunities to perform extramural laboratory research at many well - known research universities . Degrees awarded by the Department of Chemistry are Biochemistry ( B . S . ) , Biochemistry Professional ( B . S . ) , Chemistry ( B . S . ) , Chemistry Professional ( B . S . ) , Chemical Engineering ( B . S . ) , Chemistry Education ( B . S . ) , Cytotechnology ( B . S . ) , Medical Technology ( B . S . ) , Pre - Physical Therapy ( B . S . ) , Pre - Occupational Therapy ( A . S . ) , Pre - Physician Assistant ( A . S . ) , and Pre - Speech - Language Pathology ( A . S . ) . The Department of Religion & Theology became the first department to offer graduate degrees in 2008 . Currently , degrees in Theology ( B . A . ) [ Pastoral / Evangelistic Ministry , or Pre - Counseling / Pre - Chaplaincy Ministry ] , Religious Education ( B . S . ) , and Pastoral Studies ( M . A . ) are offered . Adventist Colleges Abroad . Adventist Colleges Abroad is a program that allows Oakwood students to spend time studying at Adventist universities outside of the United States while earning credit for the degree they are pursuing at Oakwood . Some of the colleges participating in this program are in Argentina , Brazil , Mexico , France , Spain , Austria , Italy , Greece , Germany , Ukraine , Thailand , and Japan . Most Oakwood students study in Argentina , France , Mexico , Spain , and Greece . Student activities . Spiritual Life . Oakwood University is committed to the spiritual nurture and character development of each student with the goal of ‘ developing servant leaders ’ . The Office of Spiritual Life , in conjunction with the Oakwood University Church , the USM , and the residence halls offers numerous programs and services for spiritual enrichment including weekly chapel services , Sabbath church service , Adventist Youth Society , residence hall worships , student missionary program , and club and outreach activities . The institution extends to each student the opportunity to participate in the Literature Evangelism Training Center ( LETC ) program . This program is designed to assist in helping students acquire scholarships for tuition and spread the Gospel in print to a world in need of a Savior . Athletics . Basketball and football are the major sports on campus , with intramural basketball activities taking place during the spring semesters . The school ' s basketball teams are the Oakwood Ambassadors and Lady Ambassadors . The Ambassadors male basketball team won the 2008 National Championship for the United States Collegiate Athletic Association ( USCAA ) in March . This school year was also the team ' s first year as part of the league . The Ambassadors won their second USCAA National Championship in March 2012 . Musical groups . The Aeolians , Oakwood University ' s premier touring ensemble , was founded in 1946 by former professor , Dr . Eva B . Dykes . This choir has 45 - 60 members from various disciplines , and the group travel nationally and internationally as musical ambassadors for the University . The choir has visited Romania , Great Britain , Poland , Jamaica , and Bermuda among other locations . The group has also performed at the White House for President Bill Clinton and at the Kennedy Center , both in Washington , D . C . The current conductor of the ensemble is Jason Max Ferdinand , M . M . , a graduate of Oakwood University and Morgan State University and a former Aeolian . He is also the current conductor of the Oakwood University Choir . Other musical ensembles on campus include gospel choirs Dynamic Praise , Voices of Triumph , the group Serenity winners of the First Season of " Making The Group " reality show competition . Oakwood University is known for its legacy of great music . In 2010 , Oakwood ' s group , " Committed " won the national competition The Sing - off . Academic competitions . At the 2008 Honda Campus All - Star Challenge National Championship Tournament in Orlando , Florida , Oakwood University team members brought home the trophy . This competition featured 64 teams from historically black colleges and universities around the nation . In addition to winning the championship , Oakwood University received a grant of $ 50 , 000 from the American Honda Motor Company . Both the quiz bowl and basketball teams adjusted their playing schedules to not play on Saturday , the day observed as the Sabbath ( Oakwood University is a Seventh - day Adventist institution ) , and both teams still emerged as champions over Alcorn State University . At the 2009 Honda Campus All - Star Challenge National Championship Tournament , the team , led by captain Alesis Turner , returned to once again be named the champions ( the team played in the final rounds against North Carolina Central University ) . The school joins Tuskegee University , Florida A & M University , and Morehouse College , as the only schools to win back - to - back championships at HCASC . Notable alumni . Amber Bullock - winner of BETs Sunday ' s Best Further reading . Two books have been written about the history of Oakwood : " Oakwood ! A Vision Splendid " and " A Place Called Oakwood " :