The Phillips Gallery at the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center Museum
On December 31, 2008, Phillips University alumni and friends met their $1 million fundraising goal for the Phillips University Gallery in the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center (CSRHC). Housing more than 2,000 artifacts along with several thousand photographs related to the university, the PU Gallery is a part of the 6,000 square-foot expanded center at 4th Street and Garriott in Enid.
The displays are being built around the four ideals and cornerstones of the Phillips University experience – spiritual, intellectual, social and physical – represented by the majestic Corinthian columns that graced the lawn of the Phillips University Campus. The four columns are being prepared for a move to the east plaza grounds overlooking the PU Gallery in the CSRHC.
Gallery Features
The Phillips University Gallery design has been finalized and approved.
- The Gallery will engage visitors in the story of Phillips University with state-of-the-art, Smithsonian-quality exhibits that celebrate its achievements and share rich memories of Oklahoma's first private university.
- Visitors will enjoy seeing club jackets and paddles, athletic trophies and uniforms, and video clips of arts and music events. They may research photos and information about faculty, administrators and ther historical facts at kiosks throughout the Gallery. An interesting presentation is being planned to illustrate how the campus grew during its nearly 100 year history.
- The exterior landscape of the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center will feature the four 27-foot Phillips University Corinthian columns - once again standing as a testament to the University’s ideals.
- Funds will be allocated to allow the exhibits to change periodically, and will offer the opportunity to develop ongoing programming in the University’s name.
Partnering to Preserve Our Heritage
Phillips University Legacy Foundation leadership and members of the Phillips University Alumni and Friends Association have been involved in planning for the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center renovation and expansion. The partnership includes Phillips University, the Sons and Daughters of the Cherokee Strip, the Oklahoma Historical Society, and the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center Task Force Board.
Don and Barbara Angle
History & Artifacts Committee
"Through the Tradition Project, the Phillips Gallery will allow us to preserve our memories of the university we loved and show its influence on individuals, Enid, the state, the nation and the world."
