the latest news on campus improvements, new buildings, and more
Tandy Computing & Mathematics Labs Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony – Nov. 8, 2024
Thanks to a $1.45 million grant from the A. R. and Marylouise Tandy Foundation, ORU’s Computing and Mathematics Department now has several new labs and a Drone Arena. Alumni, faculty, staff, and students were here to celebrate as the ribbon was cut during Homecoming weekend. The labs are Game Development, Nanotechnology Research, Artificial Intelligence, Plasma Physics Research, Edge Computing, and Network Administration. “These cutting-edge facilities will provide the opportunity to elevate our teaching, engage students in innovative projects, and strengthen our roles as leaders in AI and technology within Christian higher education,” said Dr. Andrew Lang, Senior Professor and Chair of Computing and Mathematics.
Pictured (left to right): Dr. Ken Weed, Dean of the College of Science and Engineering; Dr. Andrew Lang, Senior Professor and Chair of Computing and Mathematics; President William M. Wilson; Dr. Kathaleen Reid-Martinez, Provost; and ORU students Chloe Winkler and Carrington Boswell.
J. D. McKean Library Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony – Aug. 18, 2023
ORU celebrated the grand opening of its new three-story, $18 million, 39,000-square-foot library on August 18, 2023. The McKean Library serves as an intellectual hub for student research and academics. Spacious and light-filled, this thoroughly modern structure offers a mix of traditional and digital sources of information, study rooms, conference rooms and workrooms, and tech tools. It also houses the world-renowned Holy Spirit Resource Center and the new Center for Spirit-empowered Research. The groundbreaking took place less than two years ago—on October 22, 2021.
Mike Carter Athletic Center Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony – April 12, 2023
After about 17 months of construction, ORU introduced the Mike Carter Athletic Center on a windy Oklahoma day to a large crowd of faculty, staff, students, alumni, friends, donors, and dignitaries that included Tulsa Mayor G. T. Bynum. Guests heard from President Wilson, Mike Carter, Athletic Director Tim Johnson, Board of Trustees Chair Holly Moore ’86, the Mayor, and basketball head coaches Russell Springmann and Kelsi Musick. After the ceremony ended, the crowd poured into the center for self-guided tours and marveled over the two identical, regulation basketball courts, the amazing strength and conditioning center, the ELI Academic Center, study rooms, team rooms, and coach and staff offices.
Fenimore & Fisher College of Business Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony – Sept. 23, 2022
The Fenimore & Fisher College of Business bears the names of Rick Fenimore and Terry Fisher, two of the college’s alumni whose generous gifts to their alma mater prompted the ORU Board of Trustees to honor them with this distinction. President Dr. William M. Wilson, business dean Dr. Julie Huntley, trustees, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and Oklahoma Rep. Kevin Hern joined Rick and Shelley Fenimore and Terry and Julie Fisher at the ceremony. Located on the third floor of the Graduate Center, the high-tech college features a Capital Markets Trading Floor. Classrooms, labs, and faculty offices have also been renovated.
Welcome Center Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
As part of the Whole Leaders for the Whole World campaign, ORU has built a new Welcome Center. The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place on September 14, 2022. This center houses the Admissions team, a Veterans Experience wing (serving veterans and their dependents as they pursue degrees), and a Golden Eagle fan shop. As ORU's new "front door," it is a place to arrange for campus tours and find out more about the university.
Pictured (left to right): Lead Donors Jim and Donna Stuck, Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell, Trustee Gordon Helm, Trustee Dr. LaDonna Osborn, ORU President Dr. William Wilson, First Lady Lisa Wilson, Alumni Board Chair Cory Nickerson, Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum, and Assistant VP of Enrollment Management (Residential) Alison Vujnovic.
Media Arts Center (MAC) Groundbreaking - Nov. 17, 2021
In October 2023, ORU announced that the MAC will bear the name of Peggy V. Helmerich. The Helmerich Trust provided a gift that secured naming rights. ORU’s theater, dance, music, and digital media departments will be right at home in this building. The MAC will feature a proscenium-style theatre, a black box theatre, a music performance hall, music practice rooms, dance studios, a piano lab, a sound stage, editing pods, dressing/craft/costume rooms, and space for a digital set. The MAC is projected to open early in the Fall 2024 semester.
J. D. McKean Library Groundbreaking - Oct. 22, 2021
The three-story, technologically advanced library will serve as an intellectual hub for student research and academics. Spacious and light-filled, this thoroughly modern structure will offer a mix of traditional and digital sources of information, study rooms, conference and workrooms, and tech tools. It will also house the world-renowned Holy Spirit Resource Center and the new Center for Spirit-empowered Research. ORU will hold a Dedication and Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony in the main lobby on Friday, August 18 at 12:15 p.m. (shortly after the chapel hour).
i4 Lab (Imagine, Innovate, Incubate, Impact)
A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Stanley White Foundation i4 Digital Enterprise Lab took place on August 19, 2021. Dr. Andrew Lang, Senior Professor of Mathematics and Chair of ORU’s Computing & Mathematics Department, said that this lab will offer an environment where “students can collaborate with faculty--and each other--in research and development activities to produce new technologies and other entrepreneurial opportunities.”
Computing Lab
The new Stanley White High Performance Computing Lab opened on August 26, 2020. It is a creative space where Computing and Mathematics students can brainstorm and put their ideas to the test by using ORU’s supercomputer, known as Titan.
