University Renames Health Campus for Harold Hamm

Board of Regents finalizes the name after a $150 million donation, the largest gift in University of Oklahoma history.

Updated on Nov. 12, 2026 in Financial Aid

Photograph of a modern multi-story health campus building with limestone and glass facade and a wide entrance canopy over a flat green lawn under a broad sky. — The University of Oklahoma Board of Regents finalized renaming its Oklahoma City health campus for Harold Hamm after his $150 million donation, the largest gift in university history. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

The University of Oklahoma Board of Regents finalized renaming its health campus the Harold Hamm Health Campus, following a $150 million donation from Hamm. The board also approved $40 million in financing for residence hall and Price College of Business facilities.

Why it matters

The gift is the largest in the university's history and directs funds to its Oklahoma City health campus and a diabetes center. The financing package, drawn from state Legacy Capital Financing Act funds, will be repaid by the university over 20 years unless the Legislature changes the schedule.

The $150 million gift is the largest in University of Oklahoma history, with $100 million for the Oklahoma City health campus and $50 million for the Harold Hamm Diabetes Center. The $40 million state financing is to be repaid over 20 years unless the Legislature suspends or restructures the payments.

The players

Harold Hamm

Harold Hamm is an Oklahoma oil executive and philanthropist, founder of Continental Resources, whose $150 million gift to the University of Oklahoma is the largest in the school's history.

University of Oklahoma Board of Regents

The University of Oklahoma Board of Regents is the governing body that oversees the state's flagship university and approved the renaming and financing.

The details

The Board of Regents also approved a measure to begin talks with construction firms on managing the National Weather Center renovation, estimated at $10 million, after the Oklahoma Mesonet and Oklahoma Climatological Survey move to the new Weather and Advanced Technology Center. Ross Group of Oklahoma City is the proposed top-ranked firm for that work.

The 2026 Oklahoma legislative session authorized the Oklahoma Capitol Improvement Corporation to distribute $40 million in Legacy Capital Financing Act funds to the university.
The Board of Regents finalized the renaming and financing at its Wednesday meeting, before November 11, 2026.
The university is to repay the $40 million over a 20-year period unless the Legislature suspends or restructures the payments.

Legacy Gifts

The $150 million Hamm gift exceeds any prior donation to the University of Oklahoma, extending the pattern of major donors having facilities named after them. The state-backed $40 million financing, repaid over 20 years, shows how public capital and private philanthropy are being combined for campus projects.

For students and families, the most direct effect is that new residence hall and business college space is planned with state financing that the university must repay. The health campus and diabetes center gifts expand services that Oklahoma patients and students may use in Oklahoma City.

The takeaway

Large private gifts can reshape public universities, but state-backed financing carries long repayment obligations that students and taxpayers ultimately help bear. Following Board of Regents agendas is the best way to track how those commitments are carried out.