Dr. Jay Gary is one of America's leading foresight educators, known among academics, entrepreneurs, and futurists worldwide. He serves as lead professor and program director of ORU's award-winning Doctor of Strategic Leadership program, where he has taught since 2022, following more than three decades of entrepreneurial experience in higher education, business consulting, and Christian ministry.
"We live in a time of accelerating change. There is no better place to be than ORU, standing with our faculty to develop whole leaders for the whole world," Dr. Gary states. As Associate Dean of ORU's Online and Lifelong Learning division, he also helps the university's colleges launch new online programs, enrolling over 2,000 students annually.
For more than 15 years, Dr. Gary has taught foresight and innovation to mid-career professionals, drawing on his work as a strategy consultant to non-profit, public, and private enterprises. He has supervised over 120 doctoral projects, including recent work on "From Automotive Decline to Applied Deep Tech: Transforming Germany's Economy through Innovation" and "AI-Led Customer Service: A Training for Tomorrow, Today."
Dr. Gary's own research focuses on defining credentials and professional development pathways for futurists, entrepreneurs, and innovators. His journal article "The Future of Foresight Professionals: Results from a Global Delphi Study" examined how institutions can develop future-focused analysts, managers, and consultants. Another notable paper, "The Future According to Jesus: A Galilean Model of Foresight," was selected by Emerald Management as one of the 50 best articles of 15,000 published in 2008.
A founding member of the Association of Professional Futurists more than two decades ago, Dr. Gary served as its board chair from 2018 to 2021. He currently serves as an accreditation commissioner with the World Futures Studies Federation and sits on the International Leadership Association's task force for "Advancing Leadership Programs." Among Christian audiences, he is known as the lead developer of the "Perspectives on the World Christian Movement" program, which has enrolled 100,000 adults since its start.
He and his wife live in Tulsa and have two grown children. They enjoy Cuban food, great books, and science fiction movies.