Our History
1972
Father Richard “Dick” Virtue became the founding executive director of Norman Alcohol Information Center (NAIC).
He was a businessman who lost everything to his own alcoholism and found recovery in dedicating his life to others fighting addiction.
1973
NAIC became a United Way of Norman Partner.
1975
NAIC became the first outpatient treatment center in the state of Oklahoma funded by the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health.
1997
NAIC moved into the old Linn St. building near campus after first having an office space with only a desk and a phone at St. John’s Episcopal Church, and then a small old house next to the church.
2017
In celebration of our 45th anniversary, the Board voted to change the D.B.A. name from NAIC to The Virtue Center in honor of Father Dick Virtue.
2020
In pursuit of providing a space that reflects dignity and respect, destigmatizes addiction and other mental health issues, and serves more people, The Virtue Center kicked off a capital campaign to begin funding construction of a trauma-informed designed building.
2023
After several years of planning, fundraising and collaboration to make this vision a reality, construction was completed. The Virtue Center officially moved into the beautiful, trauma-informed designed facility in July. In September, The Virtue Center attained national accreditation for behavioral health through The Joint Commission.