Nancy Randolph Davis, the first African American student to enroll at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, died on March 23. She was 88 years old.
Davis graduated from historically Black Langston University in 1948. She enrolled at what is now Oklahoma State University in 1949. Due to rigid rules of Jim Crow, she was initially required to sit in the hallway outside of the classroom. But when White students complained, she was permitted to sit in class.
Davis graduated with a master’s degree in home economics in 1952. She had a 43-year career teaching in the Oklahoma public schools. A residence hall and three scholarships at Oklahoma State have been named in her honor.
