University of Tulsa. The Olin of the Bible Belt.

Traditionalists are having a case of the vapors over what’s happening to the University of Tulsa. With 4,000 students and an endowment of over a billion dollars, this fabulously wealthy small college should be able to ride out demographic change and the decline of interest in the humanities and the arts . But the folks at Tulsa aren’t waiting for that to happen.

Instead the university is reorganizing, which in higher ed code usually means a long-tenured philosophy professor is about to get the surprise of his life. Regional colleges are especially vulnerable to demographics. Regional colleges with national reputations–especially when they’re in engineering–are even more vulnerable when there’s a sudden downturn in international students choosing the US for college. And that’s happening at Tulsa.

Tulsa’s plans sound pretty dramatic and they’re creating a stir on campus and in the national media. But when you look at the details, it sounds less like a bloodletting than a flexible campus adjusting to some ugly truths about the admissions picture. And they’re not letting any tenured faculty go.

The university will create a single, interdisciplinary core studies program for the students in the Kellogg College of Arts & Sciences, focused around “critical and creative thinking”. Academic departments will be eliminated and courses will be grouped into one of four divisions: fine arts, humanities and social sciences. A few academic programs will be hit hard, like Classics and Music, a few majors become minors, but most of the cuts happen in graduate programs. The College of Business, College of Health Sciences and the Law School will combine into a “Professional Super College” and the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences–already substantial–will get even more heft. There’s a lot more to this reorganization–actually, it’s a modernization as much as anything–but you can see why its controversial.

So that’s the context of our afternoon on this refreshingly interesting college. Tulsa, in a different way, but still in a way worth noting, is an engineering powerhouse parading around as a liberal arts college much like the fantastically well-regarded Olin College in the Boston area. Only more so. There are a lot more non-engineers here than at Olin. And students rave about the quality of teaching and how close they get to their teachers–Tulsa professors are completely invested in their students success, much as you’d expect at a small college.

Tulsa attracts smart, serious students and while there’s a Greek system, don’t expect a wild party scene here. It doesn’t exist. The University of Tulsa is the smallest D1 college in the US and with that comes a largely forgettable athletic program, so choosing Tulsa could be your opportunity to say “I’m playing D1!”. Tulsa is ‘historically’ Presbyterian, but that’s about as far as it goes with any kind of denominational affiliation–this is essentially a secular institution.

A lot of urban, STEM focused colleges have sterile campuses, but the Tulsa campus is gorgeous. Neo Gothic architecture predominates but the university’s nontraditional use of sand-colored brick makes this Gothic seem less Dracula-like than most such campuses. There are a number of large quads, beautiful gardens, and luxuriously landscaped courtyards. The campus has been impeccably maintained and facilities appear top-notch, including some beautiful new student apartments.

And Tulsa? It’s the most liberal city in Oklahoma (really, there are liberals in Oklahoma) and is a hotbed of culture. The world-renowned Gilcrease Museum (managed by the university) is here, there’s a lively arts scene, live music and funky neighborhoods with cafes and restaurants.

For ambitious students shut out of increasingly selective coastal engineering programs, the University of Tulsa would be smart to consider. And even non-STEM students will find great teachers, superb resources, a close knit community and excellent financial aid. Tulsa is a gem of a small college.