Yours U MMEVOICEr 2012 ExcellenceOraL rObErts U NivErsity Jack Whitt THE MAKING OF A NATIONAL CHAMPION Summer 2012 | EXCELLENCE | 1 Your VOICE I n Remembrance of Me C ommunion is part of the very fabric of ORU. At Homecoming 2012’s Vespers service, this sacred ritual brought alumni and students together to remember once again the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 2 | alumnioru.edu SUMMER 2012 Excellence VOL. 24 NO. 2 7 DEPARTMENTS 4 PRESIDENTIAL PErsPECTIVE It’s never too early to help ORU recruit 5 students for next year’s class. 5 CAMPUS CurrENts Commencement Academic review Bye, Braxton Hello, Student Center 16 GEB America 16 THE ELI REPOrt Jack Whitt, national champion New coaches Luper; Binam 10 18 Hall of Fame; All-Americans TRUSTEES FEATURES 20 She’s one of us: Kelli (Bass) Hansbauer THE FACEBOOk ‘MIRACLE’ 9 See how social media drove attendance at the 40+ Year 22 SUPPOrtING ORU Reunion. Borman Scholarship Annual Fund H MEERE CO S THE SCUM Charting progress 10 ORU marks the return of those infamous Am Herratz alumni. 26 LIFELONG LINKS New to Alumni Board Homecoming 2013 H OMECOMING 2012 AND THE ALUMNUS Alumni News 12 OF THE YEAR AWARDS Obituaries (Snow)-free at last! Summer 2012 | EXCELLENCE | 3 Presidential PERSPECtivE K EY CONTACTS Jesse Pisors 96, 05-MA-Ed. Rise Up and Recruit Senior Director Development and Alumni Relations 918/495.6610 BARN RAISINGS. Is that a phrase [email protected] you know? From out of America’s agrarian George Paul 69 past, it is a quaint old term so marinated Director in community and good will that it makes Major Gifts and Development Services the heart warm just to meditate on it. Barn 918/495.7324 raisings were a combination of state fair, [email protected] homecoming, agricultural necessity, and Christian charity. They worked like this: PUBLISHer ORU Office of Alumni Relations When a guy needed his barn built, he would EDITOR get the frame laid out on the ground and his Debbie Titus-77 George neighbors would come and lift it into place, CONTRIBUTORS/WRITERS Jeremy Burton, Cynthia Carney, then roof it and put on the siding. It was Hannah Covington, Debbie (Titus) George, Andrea Graff, Amanda hard work and great fun. There would be (Morse) Iseminger, Paul Palmer, plenty to eat and afterwards, there would Nathan Porter, Matt Rearden, Dr. ORU’s College Weekend gives Mark Rutland. be a hoedown. prospective students an inside look at classes, PHOTOS/IMAGES PROVIDED BY I don’t know that anyone (except the chapel, and social activities as well as the Athletic Media Relations, College of Business, Dan Borman, Kelli Amish, perhaps) still does barn raisings. We admissions and financial aid processes. The next (Bass) Hansbauer, Amanda (Morse) College Weekend takes place Nov. 8-10, 2012. Iseminger, Mark Moore, Sarah should. Hardly anything is more rewarding Sandford, ORU Photo Library. Get details at collegeweekend.oru.edu. Homecoming 2013 artwork created than working together toward a common by Amanda King. goal and sharing in the gratification of see- excellent students with a world-renowned ART AND PRODUCTION ing it actually happen. The barn was the Christian university that will prepare them Waller & Company Public Relations owner’s to be sure, but he knew that it was body, mind, and spirit to go into every per- Cover photo of Jack Whitt provided by Athletic Media Relations his because of his neighbors’ gracious coop- son’s world, and when they get there, to be eration. redemptive healing agents on divine orders. Excellence is published and distributed three times a year to Well, I’m calling on all ORU alumni to I guess you could say we are not so much alumni and friends by the ORU Office help in a good ole fashioned barn raisin’. It doing a barn raising as a “student raising,” of Alumni Relations. can be great fun. We are building the enroll- or maybe a “world-changer” raising. How- DIRECT INQUIRIES TO: ORU Office of Alumni Relations ment at ORU faster than anyone imagined. ever you say it, we need you to come along- 7777 S. Lewis Ave. Tulsa, OK 74171 We have pulled out of the slide the univer- side. Send us their names, tell them how to [email protected] sity was in just a few years ago. This fall’s find us online, and tell all prospective stu- alumni.oru.edu 918/495.6610 enrollment numbers are excellent, so now dents where to find a great university that www.facebook.com/orualumni www.twitter.com/orualumni it’s time to look ahead to 2013 and work turns out championship alumni . JUST toward another increase. LIKE YOU. MISSION STATEMENT The purpose of Excellence All is well at ORU. Good accounting Come on over and give us a hand. The magazine is to share alumni stories and recent university news with practices, a well-run university, a wonderful best is yet to come. alumni and friends of ORU, thereby model of 21st-century shared governance, demonstrating that the mission of Your Servant at ORU, ORU is being carried out on a daily and morale that is sky high. The growth is basis all over the globe — “in every person’s world.” happening and we are thrilled. We just want more — more excitement and more of these wonderful students. You can recruit in good MA RK RUTLAND, PH.D. conscience, knowing that you are matching President A higher standard. 4 | alumni.oru.edu A higher purpose. Campus CUrrENTS 2012 Commencement OrU aWardEd 651 dEgrEEs (including eight dual degrees) to 642 graduates. Laura Egstad became OrU’s 25,000th graduate on May 5 and was congratulated by Dr. Mark Rutland (left) and her grandfather, Dr. William Jernigan, ORU’s dean of Learning Resources. best known as the producer of the “X-Men” trilogy and other popular movies, Ralph Winter had wise words for the Class of 2012. “Make no mistake: We are people of the journey. That is how God shapes us and our character for the destination. We long for and hope for the ending, but it’s already decided. The journey is what shapes us into God’s image.” r ita bennett, widow student of the Rev. Canon association Dennis Bennett, accepted President a posthumous doctor of Jentre Olsen’s divinity degree on behalf response speech, of her husband. Rev. “Rhymin’s Not a Crime,” Bennett, author of Nine brought down the O’Clock in the Morning, house. Scan to view! is considered one of the key figures in the Charismatic Renewal. 5 Campus CUrrENTS 2011-12 Highlights the anna vaughn iNsidE aNd outsidE thE CLassrOOM, College of Nursing ORU students proved to be intellectually held a mock disaster drill on campus in February, alert as well as concerned about the joining forces with the welfare of those in need. Tulsa Fire Department, Tulsa Police Department, Tulsa-area hospital nurses, the branding and and LifeTeam AirEvac. Promotions class joined the One group of students fight against human traffick- acted as disaster victims ing by producing educational while another group served materials for Truckers Against as rescue responders. Trafficking, and earned a Zenith Award from the Public Relations Student Society of America for their efforts. t he debate team, introduced last fall, has enjoyed enormous success. The Joseph Jackson/Sarah Sand- ford duo took first place at the National Parliamentary Fifty-five College of Debate Association’s Junior Varsity Division National Education teacher candidates Tournament, held March 9-11 in Kansas. Pictured: and a dozen faculty and staff Josh Wagoner, Sierra Koelling, Sarah Sandford, Rachel members brought color and inspi- Curylo, Charlie Meadows, and Joseph Jackson. ration to Chouteau Elementary in March. In just one day, they painted 110 murals inside and the students in Free Enterprise team won fifth in outside the building, working with the nation at the SIFE USA National Exposition, held May patterns that had been traced on 22-24 in Kansas City, Mo. One of their projects involved col- the walls by Chouteau teacher lecting 198,000 pounds of canned goods for Campbell’s Let’s Elizabeth Sublett. Can Hunger Challenge. 6 | alumni.oru.edu Campus currENts Up, Down, and All Around Campus Farewell, braxton Time took its toll on Braxton Hall, one of ORU’s three original structures, so it was torn down this sum- mer. Braxton served as a residence hall for women until 2006. Presidential search Update The selection of the next presi- dent of Oral Roberts University is anticipated in early 2013 with the new president assuming responsibilities no later than July 1, 2013. CarterBaldwin Executive Search is assisting the Presidential Search Committee in its work. Confidential applica- tions and nominations will be ac- cepted until the position is filled. More than 100 individuals have been recommended thus far — many by alumni — and candi- date screening is ongoing. For more information or to find out how to nominate a candidate, go to oru.edu/presidential_search. talk about progress! Read Nathan Porter’s Ground was broken in January 2012 for the new Armand Hammer Alumni-Student Center and story on the new construction is ahead of schedule. The grand opening is tentatively scheduled to take place in Engineering Lab at January 2013. This 28,000-square-foot building will feature a giant video wall (12 feet high by 21 alumni.oru.edu. feet wide), Internet café computer stations, game stations, eateries, Alumni Relations and Student Association offices, and more. Go to hammercenter.org for videos, photos, and other updates. Summer 2012 | EXCELLENCE | 7 Campus CUrrENTS GEB America Debuts in October ORU’s TV network revamps and renews its commitment to help people live well.