ORU Growth Continues With Two More Dedications
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Stephanie Hill, Director of University Relations & Communications
Office: 918.495.7337, Mobile: 918.720.5548
sthill@oru.edu
Tulsa, OK – Oral Roberts University will celebrate the opening of more expanded space
for its students on Friday, November 8, 2019. ORU President Dr. William M. Wilson
will be joined by other dignitaries, including Congressman Kevin Hern, to cut the
ribbon on the new Nursing and Engineering Complex (NEC) and the Stovall Center for
Entrepreneurship (SCE), which is housed within the NEC.
In January 2019, ORU purchased from Victory Tulsa the buildings and seven acres on the southwest corner of 81st and Delaware and immediately began remodeling the 100,000-square-foot building and adjacent 14,000-square-foot warehouse. Not only does the NEC house the College of Nursing and School of Engineering, but also Counseling Services, ORU’s Online Operations, and the golf team.
“With 11 years of enrollment growth, we continue planning for the future and expanding ORU’s influence in Tulsa and around the world,” said Wilson. “In this new space we’ve added new technology in the College of Nursing to give our students more hands-on experience and expanded the space available to our School of Engineering students so they can take on innovative projects that will impact the world.”
The Stovall Center for Entrepreneurship was made possible through a $1,000,000 donation and $500,000 matching grant from ORU Alumni (1981) Jim and Crystal Stovall, along with the Tulsa Community Foundation. The Stovall’s are known for their entrepreneurial spirit as the founders of the Narrative Television Network. Jim Stovall is also the bestselling author of over 40 books including The Ultimate Gift, The Ultimate Life, and The Lamp, all of which have been made into major motion pictures.
The SCE is already sponsoring a contest for entrepreneurial students called the Launch competition. The Center has partnered with SCORE, a thriving community of entrepreneurs and executives who have been successfully mentoring people in how to take their dream to reality since 1964.
“Through the competition, we have some exciting concepts for businesses including the creation of a platform for using fully immersive VR and machine learning in a higher education context, the development of an app for personal trainers, an Art Café concept, and a magnet bumper to protect tires from nails,” said Dr. Kevin Schneider, Executive Director of SCE.
The ribbon-cutting and dedication for the NEC will begin at 2:00PM with the Stovall dedication and ribbon-cutting immediately following at 2:30PM.