the Campaign
Oral Roberts University is redefining leadership in the 21st century through a campaign to continue the university’s aggressive growth.
"ORU is focused on developing Spirit-empowered leaders and to do that, we must keep growing and expanding our campus, giving our students unique opportunities to lead all over the world.” –Dr. William M. Wilson, President
Our Whole Leaders for the Whole World campaign will take leadership development to an entirely new level. This campaign and what comes after it will enable us to add innovative academic programs (both on-campus and online), enroll students from every nation on earth, boost our faculty’s teaching strengths with more resources, and continue to transform our Spirit-empowered whole-person education model through creative use of new technologies.
WELCOME CENTER - project completed!
ORU celebrated the grand opening of the Welcome Center with a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, September 14, 2022. Located on the south side of ORU's Avenue of Flags entrance, the center is now ORU’s “front door” – the place to welcome visitors, arrange tours for prospective students, serve veterans and their dependents who are interested in earning a college degree, and provide guests with more information about ORU’s rapidly expanding campus. Read more.
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.
April 14, 2021 was the day that ORU broke ground for the Welcome Center. President William M. Wilson and First Lady Lisa Wilson were joined by ORU administrators, David Short (Managing Principal, KSQ Design), the Student Association president, and the alumni who made the lead gift for the Welcome Center: Jim and Donna Stuck.
ORU is also committed to creating an environment that makes our veterans feel at home. A Veterans Experience, situated inside the Welcome Center, gives veterans their own space as well as access to information they need when it comes to earning a degree, adjusting to campus life, and securing employment after college.
The Welcome Center offers an outstanding introduction to ORU—a university “founded on the Holy Spirit” that relies on Him in developing Spirit-empowered leaders for the 21st century and beyond.
Peggy V. Helmerich MEDIA ARTS CENTER -
now open!
The spectacular Peggy V. Helmerich Media Arts Center (MAC), so named in response to a generous gift from the Tulsa-based Helmerich Trust, opened in time for the start of the Fall 2024 semester. The dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on September 13. The MAC brings students and faculty from the music, theatre, dance, and digital media programs under one roof, creating a synergistic relationship that will open up new opportunities for collaboration.
The MAC features the 400-seat Bridgman Theatre (named for beloved Music professor Joyce Bridgman), the 130-seat Cynthia L. Zellmer Music Performance Hall, the 100-seat Lewandowski Black Box Theatre, the Jeff and Stephanie Lippencott Orchestral and Choral Suite, the Victoria Lynn Dance Studio, practice rooms, the Laura Holland Costume Shop, dressing rooms, a scene shop, and three sound stages (including a virtual production studio that will house an Extended Reality [XR] LED wall). As a multipurpose space, the MAC’s programming will include lectures, concerts, recitals, theatre productions, and dance performances. Entertainment and education will coexist beautifully.
At the MAC, students will be equipped to impact the entertainment industry—Hollywood, Broadway, and other world stages—in ways that make a difference for the kingdom of God. They will also have the knowledge, tools, and creative instincts to elevate worship programs in the church.
J. D. MCKEAN LIBRARY - PROJECT COMPLETED!
ORU's beautiful new library opened on August 18, 2023. It offers students contemporary resources and state-of-the-art technology. In addition to the standard print items, there is an expanded digital database with tens of thousands of materials on every pertinent subject from all over the world; an Innovation Station with a 3D printer, music station, VR headsets, and a flight simulator; a green room where faculty can record lectures and students can practice their class presentations; and individual and group study areas. As the ways information is accessed and used have changed, so must the modern library be an updated place for information discovery and retrieval.
ORU's new Center for Spirit-empowered Research and the Holy Spirit Resource Center (HSRC) are also located in the McKean Library. The HSRC, established in 1962, contains one of the largest and most comprehensive Pentecostal-Charismatic and Holy Spirit collections in the world.
This new facility is named for Dr. J. D. McKean, the lead donor. It will equip our students with the learning resources they need to cultivate and develop the leadership giftings within.
MIKE CARTER ATHLETIC CENTER - PROJECT COMPLETED!
ORU Athletics is expanding! The new $15 million Mike Carter Athletic Center, located on the south side of Mabee Center, opened on April 19, 2023. Inside the three-story building are two regulation basketball courts, an expansive strength and conditioning space, team meeting rooms, staff offices, an ORU Hall of Fame presentation, and accommodations for the ELI Academic Learning Center.
David and Barbara Green
CENTRE FOR GLOBAL LEADeRSHIP
The new David and Barbara Green Centre for Global Leadership will be located on the 4th and 5th floors of the Learning Resources Center, where it will serve as a hub for leadership development across the university. As a result of what students learn and experience in this space, they will be prepared to discover solutions to some of the world’s greatest challenges. The center will advance “spiritual intelligence” in these future leaders; establish a global network of Spirit-empowered leaders across key sectors of society; and communicate whole person, Spirit-empowered leadership research and insights. Students from all over the world will have the opportunity to earn Spirit-empowered Global Leadership certificates and degrees.
Phase II: They Are Worth It!
We believe our students are worth every dollar we invest to give them an unparalleled Spirit-empowered, whole-person education.
NEW RESIDENCE HALLS
With more and more students coming to ORU every year, there is an ever-increasing need for housing. In Phase II of the Whole Leaders for the Whole World campaign, we will build two new residence halls—one for men and one for women.
Each multi-story hall will have all of the modern conveniences that students require in the 21st century: contemporary furnishings, laundry facilities, Wi-Fi, high-speed Internet, and communal areas for socializing, studying, and prayer.
Living on campus gives students immediate access to the facilities and resources they need on a daily basis. It makes it easy for them to become involved in clubs, programs, events, and activities that contribute to “the full college experience.”
NEW DINING HALL
Students don’t need a dinner bell to tell them when it’s time to eat. They just know! And when it’s time, they like to break bread with friends in a comfortable space that offers multiple meal options. They also appreciate being able to put their meals together quickly when they need to get to class.
ORU’s future dining hall will be designed to welcome more than 700 students at a time, with an all-you-can-eat food court style. Popular retail food concepts such as Chick-fil-A and a coffee/smoothie shop will also be incorporated.
RENOVATION OF two RESIDENCE HALLS
Claudius Priscilla Roberts and Ellis Melvin Roberts Residence Halls
Claudius and EMR, as these halls are commonly called, are two of the oldest buildings
on campus. Opened in the 1960s, they were state-of-the-art for their time...but time
marches on.
The current layout is primarily limited to single rooms that each house one or two students. With a 21st-century remodel, we will create a number of suites, giving students more space, more amenities, and more opportunities to socialize and study with other residents.
Each 3-room suite will have a separate, single bedroom on either side of a living room. The living room will have a kitchen nook with a full-size refrigerator, a microwave oven, and a dining set. The lobbies, restrooms, alcoves, and laundry rooms in both halls will also get some TLC as needed.
COURTYARD: GREEN SPACE, WATER FEATURE, & AMPHITHEATER
As students eat their daily meals in the dining hall, the very atmosphere will make it one of the most inviting places on campus to be with friends. Taking it to the next level will be the Courtyard—a beautiful Green Space with trees from many countries, a Water Feature, and an Amphitheater.
The Water Feature will carve a path from the dining hall to the plaza between the J. D. McKean Library and the Peggy V. Helmerich Media Arts Center. A midstream foot bridge will provide access to all areas of the lawn and the Amphitheater. At the western end of the Water Feature, students can unwind beside a horizontal pool.
The Amphitheater will be a unique place to enjoy the great outdoors, as well as theatre shows, concerts, lectures, and times of praise and worship. When students simply want to go outside to study, pray, have quiet time, or gather with friends, the Courtyard is bound to be a popular option.
QUEST WHOLE LEADER SCHOLARSHIPS
International Quest & Quest First
The International Quest Scholarship helps students from other nations realize their dream of studying at ORU. One of the biggest obstacles for these students is funding, since they are not eligible for the loans and grants that U.S. citizens can receive. For the Fall 2023 semester, ORU is serving students from 129 nations. Many of them are Quest recipients.
The Quest First Scholarship recognizes students who are seeking full-time residential undergraduate admission and will be the first within their family to graduate with a bachelor's degree. It is an honor to come alongside students who are blazing a new trail that will become part of their family’s story—and an inspiration to future generations.
Annual Fund
ORU is a place where alumni made some great memories—in class, chapel, the dorms,
the intramural fields, on retreats, and at social events. Now, we are calling all
ORU alumni to help today’s students enjoy an environment where they can make special
memories of their own. It can happen when you support the ORU Annual Fund.
Our Annual Fund impacts ORU in multiple ways. It provides safety measures for our
students, faculty support, technology upgrades campus-wide, improvements to buildings
and grounds, and so much more. Generous donors like you can make a huge difference.
Development
AN INVITATION TO INVEST
We invite you to join us as we develop a new generation of whole leaders for the whole world. A generous donor will match every gift for the three new buildings in Phase II with a 3-to-1 match (up to $30 million). That means when you give $1,000, ORU will receive an additional $3,000 for a total impact of $4,000.
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