summer2009 excellence for oral roberts university alumni and friends
Another Step Forward for ORU Dr. Mark Rutland, the university’s third president, has brought new energy and excitement to a campus community that is poised to “grow and go.” your voice Can We Expect Miracles to Continue Happening? "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us…" (Ephesians 3:20 NKJV).
Many of us have testimonies of problems of deferred maintenance, how God has worked in our lives in outdated electrical systems, such a way that we would not have dilapidated dorm rooms — and the believed it except for the fact we list goes on and on. In a very short witnessed it. We may not be able to time, ORU’s debt has been virtually explain how we are still alive and well eliminated. The deferred maintenance after catastrophic accidents. Others is being eradicated, dorm rooms are cannot explain how they were able to being brought up to date — and the achieve unfathomable feats against all blessings go on and on. How did all of this happen? ORU has experienced a miraculous renewal that can God’s people be seen in technology upgrades, building renovations, were faithful. and even stronger academics, athletics, spiritual life Donors were faithful in giving. Rhae Buckley has been on the Alumni Board programs and student services. This renewal can be since 2000. Outside of his ORU involve- Faculty and staff ment, he serves as vice president of Human traced back to the faith of those who believed that God remained faithful Resources with Compassion International, a Christian ministry that rescues children from to their calling. poverty in 25 countries. wasn’t done with His university. All remained with victory over any issue we face in faithful to pray our lives here on earth, but with the for ORU and ORU ultimate victory: life everlasting in odds. We could go on and on about has remained faithful to its founding heaven. the many miracles and blessings God principles. ORU has experienced a has provided His children. I am reminded of a recent sermon miraculous renewal that can be seen When I reflect back on my by an ORU alumnus who said, “Faith in technology upgrades, building childhood, my teen years, my college is a spiritual force.” It’s what we must renovations, and even stronger years and the years since, I can all focus on. We must not focus on academics, athletics, spiritual life testify to countless works of God. I the problems that are in front of us. programs and student services. This remember miracles and blessings We need to focus on the victory God renewal can be traced back to the faith I have witnessed that cannot be wants to reveal to us. God has given of those who believed that God wasn’t explained by human wisdom. The us His word to guide us and His Spirit done with His university. only way that I or anyone else can to live inside us. We have to let Him Thank you, alumni, for staying wrap our brains around such works direct us and light our way. “Your faithful by praying for your alma is by acknowledging that all of them word is a lamp to my feet and a light mater and financially supporting its are for God’s glory and His purposes for my path” (Psalm 119:105 NIV). God-given mission to bring light to . . . and simply leave the details up to We also need to be transformed the world for God’s glory. Him. We just have to have faith. each day by the renewing of our mind All of us have witnessed a miracle (Romans 12:2) and allow our faith in the rebirth of ORU. Less than two to grow. The seeds are inside us; the years ago, the university was faced rain of His Spirit will bring it out. Rhae buckley 80 chair, ORU alumni association with colossal debt, unimaginable Our faith will be rewarded not just board of directors
2 | SUMMER 2009 | Oral Roberts University Key Contacts
David Wagner 73 President and Chairman Alumni Foundation Board of Directors SUMMER 2009 | vol. 21 no. 2 918/495.7312 [email protected]
George Paul 69 Associate Vice President AlumnI & Development 918/495.7324 [email protected] YOU'LL FIND IT AT ORAL ROBERTS UNIVERSITY Natalie (Kilgore) Bounds-Adams 88 Director, Alumni Relations 918/495.6588 departments [email protected]
Chris Miller 95, 05-MMGT 4 Presidential Perspective Director, Development Dr. Mark Rutland invites alumni 918/495.7436 to come back to campus and [email protected] experience the “Spirit of Newness.”
Winnie Perdue 17 Campus Currents Alumni Events Coordinator • New Business Dean 918/495.6627 [email protected] • Coach Duke’s 80th • RTV Wrap-up • More Renovations! • Working the Vision, Part 2 Publisher • Commencement ’09 tt Harr i so n
ORU Alumni Association o • Meet the Trustees Editor by Sc o by Debbie Titus 77 George t 24 the eli report Contributors/Writers Ph o • Year in Review Rhae Buckley, Chris Busch, Debbie George, In the developing world, many walk three hours each day to get water . . . Danielle Parker, Dr. Mark Rutland, Rachel Wegner. • New Practice Facility unsafe water. Page 5 Photography/Photos Provided By 27 lIfelong links William Bartlett, Chris Busch, Gerry Landers, Jeremy Loud, Danielle Parker, Chris Shinn, Seth features • Daydream Believer Silvers, Cameron Strang, Kristin Threadgill, Rachel Wegner, Don Wilson, Nicky Yates/charity: water, • Homecoming Preview ORU Athletic Media Relations. • Alumni News 5 ‘Water changes everything’ Cover photo • Obituaries Chris Shinn of Chris Shinn Photography A volunteer position has turned into a full-time Art and Production job and a new passion for psychology grad Waller & Company Public Relations Nicky Yates. Excellence is published and distributed to alumni and friends by the Oral Roberts University Alumni Association. Rutland Takes the Reins ge s Direct inquiries to: 8 ORU Alumni Association [email protected] The Grad Center’s 7th floor alumni.oru.edu Ep ic I m a ty/ 918/495.6610 has a new occupant, and all ORU Development [email protected] systems are GO! orugift.com 800/822.8203
Mission Statement 12 The Songs Live On ghe r id Dau Dav o by The purpose of Excellence magazine is to share t alumni stories and recent university news with Saying goodbye to pianist Larry Dalton. Ph o alumni and friends of ORU, thereby demonstrat- ing that the mission of ORU is being carried out Seth Silvers prays before heading up on stage to on a daily basis all over the globe – “in every speak at a Thirst Youth Conference in June 2008. person’s world.” A Whole Person Legacy 14 Page 14 Whole Person Scholarship recipient Seth Silvers, the youngest son of two alumni, is ready to Corrections create his own ORU memories. In the spring ’09 issue, there was an incorrect date on pages 3 and 45. Dr. Rutland’s first ORU press conference was held on Jan. 28, not Jan. 29. A higher standard. We regret the error. A higher purpose.
excellence | SUMMER 2009 | 3 presidential perspective
years or the tears or your faults or The Spirit of Newness your failures. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Newness, different from and contrary to the Oldness of the There are two kinds of “newness.” One is transi- Law (Romans 7:6). Age does not tory, the fleeting smell of a new car, the restless longing for make us old; the law does. The Spirit makes all things new. baubles that quickly lose their shiny fascination. Obsession Today I have a new job. I with such so-called newness breeds immaturity, hinders com- am the new president of ORU, sitting behind a desk in my new mitment and steals joy. office, writing to new friends and constituents. There is a Spirit of Renewal all over the campus. Renovation. Refreshment. Every sign of new energy abounds at ORU. It is fun to see, and a delight to all on the campus. Millions, literally millions of dollars of work is being done on the buildings, classrooms, dorms and labs. Christ’s Chapel is being beautifully refurbished and new landscape now dots the campus like islands on the lawn. From the Prayer Tower and the Gardens to the Learning Resources Center to the 7th floor of the Graduate Center, the Spirit of Newness is everywhere. The rich history of this great university, the founding vision of Oral Roberts and the heritage of Charismatic spirituality are treasures There is much that is new about ORU, but as Dr. Rutland will tell you, the vision and the mission never to be lost or compromised. remain the same. Photo by Jeremy Loud Indeed, the Spirit of Newness makes Novelty is a tyrant demanding heavens. He suffers us to enter the the very best things new. This the first blush of excitement while very holy of holies by a new and living campus is flush with new energy, mocking endurance and perseverance way and summons us to newness new hope, and new life. This is the as the antique virtues of pedestrian of life. To those who overcome, He dawn of a “New Day” at ORU. souls. The end of such “newness” will give a white stone in which will Sweeter far than new things is is that joyless Athenian discontent be written a new name. Indeed, the the Spirit of Newness which we all which “spends its time in nothing else blessing of God can be summed up sense so richly in the air. Come back but to tell or to hear some new thing” in one grand, glorious sentence: to ORU. Visit the old campus you (Acts 17:21). “Behold, I make all things NEW.” love so much, and sense the “New Yet one of the most precious Christ lends to everyday life the ORU.” Delight again at the inner promises of God is newness. He newness of the first dawn. Such knowledge, the great biblical truth makes us new creations, puts a new newness transcends fashion, defies that He makes all things new. song in our mouth, weaves new fads and never fades. cloth, fills new wineskins with new This day, even now as you read mark rutland, Ph.D. President wine, and some day will grant us new these very words, rejoice that His love bodies to walk a new earth under new for you is new and undimmed by the
4 | SUMMER 2009 | Oral Roberts University ‘Water changes alumni feature everything’
The staff of charity: water, including ORU alum Nicky Yates, knows this to be true.
By Rachel Wegner 07
A long line of African women and children with yellow water jugs atop their heads walk for hours in blaz- ing heat to find water for their families. After reaching their destination, they submerge their jugs into filthy water that is contaminated with parasites and animal waste. Filling their jugs, they turn around and begin the long journey home with 40 pounds of water in tow. Each day, they are forced to spend precious hours finding water, which inhibits their ability to work, seek education and care for their families.
Photo by Scott Harrison
Such is the plight of over a billion A new beginning through a friend and spent time volun- people around the world who have no teering for them. As she was transition- access to clean, safe drinking water. As Yates first moved to New York City ing out of her job at the DA’s office, she a member of the team behind charity: in 2005 to attend New York University was invited to join the charity: water water, Nicky Yates, an ’04 psychology and pursue a master’s degree in psy- staff full time as the communications/ graduate, is working to alleviate this chology, with a specialization in foren- volunteer coordinator, a job made pos- situation. A nonprofit organization sic psychology. Although the transition sible after the nonprofit received a $1 based in New York City, charity: water from her childhood in Alabama and million grant. facilitates projects that provide clean her time at ORU to the Big Apple was Although she admitted it was hum- drinking water to those who desper- jarring, she felt the diversity of cultures bling to be handling tasks unrelated to ately need it. she experienced at ORU prepared her her master’s degree, such as shipping, In its nearly three-year history, char- in many ways. She also felt her faith Yates has discovered a passion for her ity: water has accomplished over 1,200 took deep root at ORU. job at charity: water. She now acts as water-related projects in 14 countries, “One of the big things I learned at an executive assistant to its founder, providing things like water wells, wa- ORU was what I believed and why I coordinates volunteer efforts and of- ter towers and water purifiers. Over believed it,” Yates said. ten travels to its many water projects 650,000 people have been impacted by During her second year of gradu- around the world. charity: water, which puts 100 percent ate school, Yates began working for the “It’s been amazing,” Yates said. “The of public funds toward water projects. New York County District Attorney’s more I’ve gotten involved, the more I Even as a young organization, it has office as a child victim specialist, com- love the passion, the mission and the garnered attention from major media pleting her degree in 2007. During that unconventional methods we use to get outlets such as CNN, ABC and NBC. time, Yates heard about charity: water the word out and run our organization.”
excellence | SUMMER 2009 | 5 alumni feature
AN innovative APPROACH placing familiar and unfamiliar people this huge disparity. It’s putting it more in an identical situation, charity: water in context.” With social media and multimedia hoped to convey that whatever their cir- In April 2009, charity: water took tools at its disposal, charity: water has cumstances, people are people. advantage of an opportunity to gain many ways to raise awareness and funds For most Americans, “seeing an old support via Twitter. Actor Hugh Jack- for its cause. At its annual “charity: ball” woman in Ethiopia struggling to find man was offering to donate about in December 2008, the group mounted her water is a little more bearable than $73,000 ($100,000 AUD) to a chari- a photography series that showed Afri- [watching] an 80-year-old woman on ty, based on the best “tweet” explaining cans and Americans alike holding up Park Avenue” do the same, Yates said, why a suggested charity should get the cups full of filthy water. The series was because Americans don’t see this hap- money. Ultimately, he chose to split his also featured at Chelsea Market in New pening on a daily basis. “It’s showing donation between charity: water and York City from March to May 2009. By that they are just like us and it’s not Operation of Hope.
The Facts
• More than one billion people in the world do not have access to clean drinking water. That’s one in six people.
• Unsafe water and a lack of basic sanitation cause 80 percent of all sickness and disease, killing more people every year than all forms of 1 violence, including war.
• Many people in the developing world, usually women and children, walk more than three hours every day to fetch water that is likely to make them sick.
• Of the 42,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and a lack of basic sanitation, 90 percent are children under the age of 5.
2
6 | SUMMER 2009 | Oral Roberts University alumni feature
The charity: water Web site (www. water projects with faith-based organization years later.” charitywater.org) offers video and organizations around the world. As a As charity: water continues to step photo documentaries of well drilling whole, it manages over 1,200 water up its game, Yates feels she is fulfilling and the stories of the people who are projects on a global scale, a task that the vision of ORU by going into every impacted by their efforts. The site also Yates notes demands much of their 11- person’s world and offering more than hosts satellite views of their water sites member core team. just a cup of clean water. Her true mo- via Google Earth. “It’s a little daunting to know that tivation is the love of Christ, which you’re playing a hand in the develop- pushes her through the long hours of supporting the ment of an organization you see lasting work and travel. In the end, she hopes global kingdom another 30 years and raising millions that what she is contributing will Although charity: water is of dollars,” Yates said with a laugh. create a lasting impact on the world as not faith-based, it “It’s odd to think that what I do now she knows it. often funds can have a large role in shaping this
1. Nicky Yates’ career path has taken her in an unexpected-but-exciting direction. Photo by Scott Harrison 2. In Murinja, Rwanda, many children must walk up to 3 hours one way to 4 gather water, missing valuable time in school. Photo by Esther Havens 3. This spring in Gasi Spring, Amhara, Ethiopia, is the water source for more than 600 people. In September 2008, charity: water funded a spring protec- tion system for the village, providing clean, safe water for nearby communi- ties. Photo by Scott Harrison 3 5 4. The staff celebrated the selection of 7 charity: water as one of two charities 6 to which actor Hugh Jackman made a donation. The contest was held over micro-blogging site Twitter. Photo by Ashley Herman 5. In Ethiopia alone, where one- fourth of the nation does not have access to clean water, charity: water has funded more than 300 projects. Photo by Scott Harrison 6. A few local children in Berberati, Central African Republic, respond to their new spring protection system by giving Yates plenty of love. Photo by Esther Havens
excellence | SUMMER 2009 | 7 Rutland takesReins the The new president is excited about where ORU is headed.
By Danielle Parker 07
he day began like any typical “Here’s the go-to guy on the bas- initiatives discussed over the past few one. He brushed his teeth, ketball team. They are down by two months. T combed his hair, had his points, seconds left to go, and they are “It’s just not my style to sit and breakfast. His assistant, Cody Miller, going to throw him the ball to shoot that maintain something,” he said. “I enjoy briefed him on the day’s schedule. He three-pointer,” he said. “If he makes it, the feeling of improving things, of be- was still the president of a university they win. If he misses, they lose. Don’t ing a part of making something better. with about 3,000 students. A picture tell me he’s not nervous. But there is I want to be a part of something that of his wife, Alison, still hung in his of- all that mixture of energy, excitement, is moving, going and growing, where fice. However, this particular day, he people that are watching, the possibil- there is excitement and energy. I feel was hundreds of miles from Lakeland, ity of, ‘If we win this, we go there.’ If that here, and I think that it will gain.” Florida. It was July 1, and Dr. Mark it paralyzes you, it’s no good. And the The Texas native and first-genera- Rutland was now the president of Oral same thing is true in leadership.” tion college graduate grew up with po- Roberts University. And there were certainly no visible litical aspirations that were especially Rutland compared his first-day-of- signs of paralysis on Rutland’s first strong throughout high school and in school jitters to the sensation a player day. He hit the ground running, meet- college — at the University of Mary- may feel in the last few seconds of a ing with board members, department land, where he earned a bachelor’s de- game. heads and staff to begin implementing gree in Parks and Recreation, and at
8 | SUMMER 2009 | Oral Roberts University campus feature
Candler School of Theology at Emory “I love being with young people,” he said. “As University, where he received his mas- ter of divinity. Yet, over the years, Rut- a result, I was a very unconventional president. I never land also felt a tug at his heart toward worked at a college until I became the president of one. the ministry. He continued his studies at Cali- I was much more a student’s president than I was an insti- fornia Graduate School of Theology, tutional president. That makes for a different feel.” obtaining his Ph.D. in international church growth. In a short while, Rut- land began his work as a missionary, Along with his many ministry en- wasn’t interested. Over time, however, traveling across the world and found- deavors, Rutland has also penned 13 he “came to an awareness of His pur- ing Global Servants, a worldwide mis- books, including his latest, Most Likely pose,” as he once put it, and made his sions and evangelism-focused ministry. to Succeed. decision to come to ORU. After spending some time as the pastor “My call inside the ministry has “In leadership, where lightning of a Florida church, he was asked to evolved, sometimes as a pastor, some- strikes is where need and opportunity become the president of Southeastern times as a missionary, sometimes as intersect,” he said. “You can have plenty College in Lakeland, Florida. an educator,” he said. “My feeling was of need, but if there is no opportunity His decade of successful service at always that I was doing the same thing. to change it, the need just swats your Southeastern (1999-2009) may be at- Whether you play second base or pitch, boat. But when need and opportunity tributed to Rutland having no preset it is still baseball. Right now being a cross, right in that intersection, that is concept of what a university president president of a university is what God where the excitement and energy hap- should or should not look like. By be- has me doing, and I hope, until I am pen. And there was plenty of need and ing himself, the only person he said he finished.” no shortage of opportunity, and that knows how to be, Rutland found his Rutland has said that when he was intersection is what attracted me.” niche as an interconnected and rel- first approached by Board Chair Mart With such tremendous possibilities Reins evant leader. Green to consider the ORU job, he before the university, Rutland would
excellence | SUMMER 2009 | 9 campus feature
like to see ORU become the Christian “There is a great heritage here,” he he said. “An international influence for university of choice around the coun- continued. “The founding vision is excellence, for leadership and for au- try and the world. thentic spirituality — I want that to be brilliant. We are going to embrace “ORU is known, and it’s known the phrase that comes to mind when internationally,” he said. “There are and honor that which is to be hon- they think of ORU.” young people in villages in Zimbab– ored, but we have to get our eyes Along with the Board of Trustees, it we that know about ORU, that don’t is Rutland’s hope to expand what the focused on a visionary strategic know where Oklahoma is. So, there is a weight to the brand. We have to put plan to grow this university.” the shine back on it, and we’re going to promote that brand everywhere.” Rutland said he does not take his As ORU transforms, Rutland ex- responsibility lightly. Whether it is plained he has no intention of uproot- increasing enrollment numbers, man- ing the foundation upon which the aging the university’s finances or pro- university was built. viding open and clear communication, “When I hear the words Oral Rob- the new president comes into office erts University, the first thing that with a commitment to the success of comes to mind is its preeminent posi- the university. tion in charismatic leadership,” he said. “I want others to think of ORU as “ORU — in terms of a lot of things they a spiritual, vital university that con- tried, did, succeeded at, experienced, tributes to the lives of its graduates and to the spiritual leadership of the and experimented with — was pretty Dr. Rutland met Obi Chidebelu-Eze, a ’92 cutting-edge. world, even beyond the United States,” grad, in Atlanta.
10 | SUMMER 2009 | Oral Roberts University campus feature
university has had in place since the is referenced in Scripture. ‘The man in What can everyone anticipate from very beginning. Christ is a new creation.’ ‘He makes all the new president? As he is led by the “What we are keeping intact is the things new.’ They are talking about the Holy Spirit, Rutland desires to be a founding vision,” he said. “That’s non- spirit of newness, freshness, vitality, en- fair and open leader with a servant’s negotiable. We are who we are, and we thusiasm, new ideas, and creative ways heart. are a spiritual university with a world- of doing things. All of those things are view. We intend to continue to embed part of the ‘New ORU.’” our graduates in every man’s world.” But at the core, above the renova- tions, the administration, the media, “Raising up students to hear and so on, Rutland said his desire is to “Students can expect a level God’s voice” is still the objective, support and uplift the students — what he believes is his main purpose for being of firm, loving, gracious and according to Rutland. Under his here. accessible leadership. Alumni leadership, men and women will “Deep in my heart, I think of myself can expect more communication. Fac- continue to fulfill the mission of as the president of the university and the ORU, going to every man’s world pastor of the students,” he said. “I don’t ulty and staff can expect honesty about as whole people. do the counseling or their weddings, but I take very seriously that pastor/mentor where we are. When I have to make hard “When we talk about the ‘New role. I want to invest in their lives. I am decisions I’ll make them, but I will be as ORU,’ what people are talking about not here because of the buildings or be- is the spirit of newness. That is con- cause of the finances. Those have to be clear and transparent as I know how to sistent with the very best of Christian- fixed, but I am really here because of the be with the decisions and direction that ity. Think of all the places where that students.” we make. I will always be here for them.
I want to be as accessible to all those
groups as I can be.”
Elimination of debt, an unexpected increase in enrollment, an improved campus — these are key ingredients of what Rutland believes is the begin- ning of an exciting future for the uni- versity. “I think the best is yet to come for ORU,” he said. “I am very excited about the future. . . . The ambience, the morale, the finances, the facilities — everything is just rising. I think we can and will become the preeminent Christian university. We are going to be slim and trim, and I think we are going to rock and roll.”
ORU friends Paul and Delia Russell spoke with Dr. Rutland at an event in Houston.
excellence | SUMMER 2009 | 11 As of May 30, the Class of ’69’s Larry Dalton has another new address — his last and best — but his music and his impact on friends and fans won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
the songS When a friend asked Dalton if he used MIDI technology (Google it!) to compose, he said no, he Live On preferred to do it all by hand.
If you were at Steinway artist Larry Dalton’s June or to visit with friends. Like his fellow prodigy, Mozart, 10 memorial service in Tulsa, or you checked out the many trib- Dalton began playing piano at the utes on Facebook, you know that a lot of people weren’t just age of 3. He became the pianist at his father’s church in Big Stone Gap, well-acquainted with him; they considered him to be their best Va., a short time later. By the time he friend. They were in awe of his musical talent, but appreciative reached high school, his talent was already awe-inspiring. He performed of his laidback, never-met-a-stranger disposition. with a gospel quartet after he gradu- ated and then came to ORU, where he Many of those “friends of Larry” en- for a few days (or weeks, or months) at was asked to play piano for Oral Rob- joyed sharing biscuits and gravy with a time. Longtime friend Terry Law said erts’ crusades. It was at a crusade in him at the Savoy, one of his favorite the 63-year-old pianist was afraid of Canada that he first met Law and told Tulsa hangouts, at one time or another, flying, but it didn’t prevent him from him about ORU. Law joined Dalton on or they put him up in their guestroom traveling all over the world to perform campus in 1968.
12 | SUMMER 2009 | Oral Roberts University Larry Dalton Scholarship Fund alumni feature
Jim Stovall 81 had a good reason for setting up this fund. “Larry may have been the most prominent figure that has ever graduated from ORU,” he The Steinway Initiative said. “There are people that knew his work around the world. He was, in my mind, a great example of go- Larry Dalton had been working with the ORU ing into every man’s world.” music department on its Steinway Initiative. He The scholarship, to be given this wanted to see ORU become an All Steinway fall, will go to “a music student School, an honor accorded to those schools that epitomizes what Larry did,” that provide only Steinway pianos for their mu- one who has the talent and ability sic students. Of the $2 million goal, $1.5 million to touch the world with their music will be used to purchase new Steinways and and “make a difference for a lot of $500,000 will go into an endowment for ongoing maintenance and people,” Stovall said. service. Fundraising began in earnest in mid-March. As of August 18, $60,600 had been raised. “Whether it’s Christian or classical or show tunes, Larry never took a In a letter to alumni in 2008, Dalton said that “becoming an All backseat to anyone,” he added. “Lar- Steinway School shows that ORU is committed to restoring excel- ry was one of the best musicians in lence in the department of music, both now and for the future.” the world, and I want young people to look at him as an example of ex- To contribute, go to alumni.oru.edu and click on Make A Gift. Be cellence as they study, and perhaps sure to check the “Larry Dalton Memorial” box on the form. Gifts look at their music in a new way” — may also be mailed to: ORU, 7777 S. Lewis Ave., Tulsa, OK 74171. as a vehicle to take them around the Write “Larry Dalton Memorial Fund–Steinway Initiative” on the world. memo line of your check. To make a gift, mail checks made out to “Crusader Scholarship Fund” to ORU (see address in "The Stein- way Initiative" box) and write “Larry ing people everywhere we go about instruments, too. He worked with a Dalton Scholarship” on the memo Jesus.’ I don’t believe I’m that great a number of big-name performers and line. preacher. But I do believe Larry’s mu- orchestras over the years including the sic was of such excellent quality that he Signature Symphony at Tulsa Commu- attracted people to come, and he built nity College, whose popular Christmas the audience for me to preach.” concerts were a Dalton tour de force. “We would talk about our dreams, One of the qualities friends admired Equally at home in small country about doing something for God,” Law about Dalton was his lack of pretense. churches and imposing cathedrals, said. What they ultimately did was put “There was no ‘big shot’ and ‘little in friends’ living rooms, vast concert together a music ministry group called shot’ to Larry,” said his college room- halls and Vatican City, Dalton “could Living Sound that circled the globe mate, Steve Alley 69. And “when he hear and visualize his music and more to spread the gospel. The performers was with you, he was with you. He than that, he lived within it,” said Liv- changed through the years, but not the wasn’t looking off . . . wondering, ‘Who ing Sound alumna Honey Bee (Powell) mission. am I missing?’” Anderson 73. “We had an agreement,” Law said Dalton was an “inactive” mem- Along with his love of music, “he at the Tulsa service, which featured a ber of Mensa, but the mind was al- loved to see people get saved,” said Don musical tribute from dozens of Living ways working. A composer, arranger Moen (70-71), another Living Sound Sound alumni and other friends who and conductor as well as a pianist, he alumnus. “He was an evangelist.” had traveled many miles to honor their amazed friends with his ability to pro- Blending music and ministry, friend. “‘We will not be simply a music duce stellar music in no time flat — not Larry Dalton’s life was indeed a life group. We will commit ourselves to tell- just for the piano, but for all the other well-lived.
excellence | SUMMER 2009 | 13 student feature A Whole Person legacy Among the first to receive the Whole Person Scholarship, freshman Seth Silvers is following in the footsteps of his parents, who both trace their spiritual roots back to ORU.
By Rachel Wegner 07
At the tender age of 17, Karen (Hazard) Silvers 77 packed her car and headed to ORU, a place and a culture that was largely unknown to her. Raised in a small ranching town in Colorado and a brand-new Christian, she was in for an experience unlike any other in her life.
Photo by David Daugherty/Epic Images
All to Jesus. Seth leads students in prayer at a Thirst conference in November 2008.
14 | SUMMER 2009 | Oral Roberts University student feature
A spirit of adoption. Seth's team worked extensively with Laugh Out Loud Ministries, All in the family. The Silvers clan gathers for a family photo outside their home in Fort Collins, which reaches out to the many orphans in Colo. Top row, L to R: son Caleb, parents Mark and Karen, son Levi and his wife, Brittany, Seth. Belize — a country from which it is difficult to Bottom row, L to R: Caleb’s wife, Brittany (yes, there are two!), Stevie (wife of Elliott), son adopt children. Elliott, daughter Autumn and her son, An'don. Photo by David Daugherty/Epic Images
“There were more people in my “The best way to describe it was didn’t want to be presumptuous, but it dorm than there were in my whole like 24-7 church camp, in a good way,” felt like the perfect fit for him.” town,” she said. “It was culture shock, Mark laughed. He later transferred to Seth returned to campus a few but it was exciting for me because that’s the University of Tulsa to continue his months later for the Whole Person where I felt like I was supposed to be. art studies. “I look at the two years I Scholarship competition. Applicants [ORU] is where I really grew up.” had [at ORU] as two of the best and for the scholarship were nominated Karen embraced the experience of most fun years of my life. I loved it. I and advanced based on how they ex- being a member of the first class in the feel like it laid a foundation for every- hibited the “whole person qualities” Anna Vaughn School of Nursing. Al- thing that I did from then on.” of being spiritually alive, intellectu- though it was a difficult road to accep- ally alert, physically disciplined and tance in the local medical community, Passing on a legacy socially adept. A dynamic young man her class laid the foundation for many with a heart for ministry and missions, successful nursing classes to follow. Shortly after a fateful meeting in Seth received a full-tuition scholar- Mark Silvers (73-75) first visited the Aerobics Center, Mark and Karen ship, which is renewable for up to four ORU as a high school student for a began dating and were married a year years. The concepts of body, mind and College Weekend and felt a strong and a half later. Now, five children and spirit are ones he says he works to keep confirmation from God that he was a few decades out, the couple is excited central to his life. supposed to attend ORU. With only about sending their youngest son, Seth, “My relationship with God is my $85 in his pocket, he set out for Tulsa. to ORU. He is among the first group top priority,” Seth said. “When you ac- When he arrived on campus, his fi- of students who received the Whole cept the call to be a follower of Christ, nancial aid had not yet been approved. Person Scholarship. After a campus to be countercultural, that’s going to Undeterred, he managed to work out visit in fall 2008, Karen and Seth were affect your mind and how you handle an arrangement with the financial aid able to see firsthand the many positive your emotions. The decision I’ve made office and began his studies as an art changes being made at ORU. to become a true disciple of Christ has major. He dove headlong into spiritual “I immediately felt that same in- affected all areas of my life.” life at ORU, serving as a wing chaplain credible peace on the campus that I With plans to study pastoral care during his second year. had when I went there,” Karen said. “I ministries, Seth already has a head
excellence | SUMMER 2009 | 15 student feature
start in ministry as the founder of “In Belize, one of the most impact- them, it is proof of God’s faithfulness Thirst, a ministry that unites youth ing things was the simplicity of life,” and provision that comes with follow- groups across Northern Colorado. For Seth said. “The Belizean people find ing His leading. At the start of this new the past two years, he’s shared and what they need in life to survive and chapter in his life, Seth said he looks spoken at many youth groups and net- they prioritize their whole life around forward to the community life of ORU worked with youth pastors via Thirst. those things. Here in America we de- and the many opportunities he’ll have He’s also interned with his father, who cide at an early age what we want in to network, learn, be challenged and works as a youth pastor as well as be- life and begin to shape our life around grow. ing an artist and art teacher. acquiring those things. This last year “I’m extremely expectant that God’s Seth has also gone on mission trips the Lord has been teaching me so going to do amazing things that ORU’s to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Ka- much about necessities versus wants. never seen,” Seth said. “For the next trina hit and to Tijuana, Mexico. In Jesus is a necessity, and seeing the In- four years, I’m excited that God’s going March 2009, he went on a mission trip dians in Belize and their lifestyle in- to have me there to meet with people, to Belize with a team from his Chris- spired me to come back into a culture to make new friendships that will last tian high school. On the trip, the team that accessorizes Christ and treat Him my whole life and that I’ll be able to of about 30 helped with construction like a need in my life.” grow closer to Christ in those relation- of an orphanage, built relationships ships. I am excited about getting edu- with locals and delivered water filtra- With great expectations cated and prepared for my life in the tion tools to two villages in the Beliz- ministry.” ean jungle. He was deeply moved by Seth and his parents expressed Nominate a student for a Whole Per- his experience and returned from the their deep gratitude for the oppor- son Scholarship! Go to www.oru.edu/ trip a changed person. tunity he has to attend ORU because of the Whole Person Scholarship. To wholeperson.
Seth’s dad, Mark, is a professional artist and teacher. “Long’s Peak” is one of his original works. (See more at www.marksilvers.com.)
16 | SUMMER 2009 | Oral Roberts University campus currents
Going About His Father's Business s a pastor, former professor, “I am back in the classroom broadcasting exec, consultant because I have something that I did A and chief operating officer not have when I first began teach- for a major restaurant chain, you may ing,” he said. “Every moment in the call him a man of many talents, but classroom, I have the opportunity to be sure to address Dr. Steve Greene as be significant. As we use the gifts God “dean.” On July 6, the Memphis State has given us, we can impact the world University and Southeastern Louisi- by impacting one student. I so believe ana University graduate stepped into in the mission of ORU. To finish my the role of dean of the School of Busi- career at ORU is a blessing, because I ness and is gung-ho about teaching get to do what I have been trained to his students Christian principles in do and am called to do.” business. With a firm grasp of the univer- Greene listens to a question concerning fall Greene began teaching when he enrollment. Projected numbers, he said, were sity’s vision, Greene hopes to instill was 23. After a decade in education, looking good for the School of Business. godly principles that students can take he started a consulting career that “When I was younger, it was all with them for the rest of their lives. evolved into an advertising agency. about success,” he admitted. “It was a “The school is concerned with From there, Greene spent the next few 25-year drive to be successful. But one business ethics; we do business as years developing his expertise in busi- day I made a switch. I wanted to move Christians and lead our students spiri- ness and marketing. from success to significance. I want to tually by example,” he said. “In the “I have 30 years’ experience leave a legacy.” domain of business, I have strived to making a difference in the business Because of this fresh perspective, operate the way God does. If we train community,” he said. “I became the Greene believes that this time around them to do things that way — being executive vice president for Granite he will have more to offer his students transparent and living with integrity Broadcasting, managing 23 TV sta- than what the textbook provides. — we have helped our students.” tions. Before coming to ORU, I was chief operating officer for Camille's Restaurants here in Tulsa.” Happy 80th, Coach Duke! In one way or another, Greene said he has been teaching all his life. So when the opportunity arose for him to be an adjunct professor at ORU in 2007, he knew this was where he was meant to be. “The very first time I stepped foot on the parking lot of ORU, I had such a strong witness of the Holy Spirit,” he said. “There were no thunderclouds or audible voice, but I got a peace that Tennis team alumni from all over joined friends, family, and current and former faculty God was calling me here.” and staff in the ORU Fireside Room on April 18 to help Bernis Duke, tennis coach emeri- Along with his duties in the busi- tus, celebrate his 80th birthday, which was on April 14. Former players who attended (and their country, state or city of origin) included: (standing, L to R) Leet Sommerfeld ness school, Greene also serves as the (Pittsburgh, PA), Roy Brammer (South Africa), Roy Stewart (South Africa), Nicole Cam- senior pastor for Bixby Community eron (Australia), Eric Wedemeyer (Arkansas), Duncan Fourie (South Africa), Craig Pan- Church. Referring to himself as a busi- hofer (South Africa), John Hixon (Tulsa), Regon Styles (South Africa), Byron Alp (South Africa). Seated, L to R: Garrick Little (Australia), Marshal Wright (California), Coach Duke, ness pastor, Greene said he has a pas- Jeff Owen (St. Louis), Grant Gordon (South Africa). Present but not pictured: Jurgen Van sion to minister to younger generations. Staden (South Africa), Gerald Bowen (Texas), Josef Solc, Ph.D. (Czechoslovakia).
excellence | SUMMER 2009 | 17 campus currents
Better and Better
Paint, carpet, tile, upholstery, flowers, trees, sidewalks, fences, walls, doors, appliances . . . you name it, we’ve done it.
Thanks to another $10 million gift from the Green family, the ORU campus Hamill Student Center: New tile enjoyed another extreme makeover in the summer of ’09. floors, paint, carpet, tables and chairs in cafeteria. Sodexo funded renova- tions to the kitchen area, including Deferred maintenance is one of the four “dragons” that Board Chair new appliances. Mart Green has said ORU must defeat in order to achieve “mission with Internet Café/Chick-fil-A: economic sustainability.” The other three dragons are debt, declining New flooring. enrollment, and deficit. The debt is virtually gone. Enrollment has begun J. L. Johnson Stadium: Panels to climb; there are 73 more students on campus this fall than in the fall of replaced; new paint; air conditioning ’08 — a 17 percent increase. The deficit remains to be erased. units upgraded.
LRC/GC: A few of this summer’s projects are still being completed, like the New Admissions Welcome Center on chemistry labs and the baseball stadium updates, but the majority of the LRC 3; new tables and chairs for class- work was ready for inspection by the 3,140 students who have chosen to rooms; remodeled and enlarged chemistry make ORU their college home this year. lab (still in pro-
All dorms: New shower curtains; washers and dryers. »
Aerobics Center: New flooring; ren- ovated locker rooms and restrooms; lockers and pool painted; classroom paint and carpet; new ADA workout rooms.
Christ’s Chapel: 3,271 seats reuphol- » stered; new stage design; paint; waterproofing.
Claudius Roberts Hall: Paint; interior repairs. arker 07
E. M. Roberts Hall: New sprinkler anielle P system; interior repairs.
New steps to the Gabrielle Hall: D by Ph oto upper parking lot. The new landscaped, stamped-concrete walkway between Quad Towers and Hamill Student Center is a big hit with students.
18 | SUMMER 2009 | Oral Roberts University campus currents
Renewing the Vision Wrap-Up Paint, carpet, tile, upholstery, flowers, trees, sidewalks, fences, walls, doors, appliances . . . you name it, we’ve done it. he results of the $25 million Renewing the Vision T matching campaign that Miscellaneous: IT upgrades; new were reported in the spring 2009 issue landscaping; new sidewalks; new land- of Excellence have been revised. The scaped pedestrian walkway between magazine went to press before we could Quad Towers and Hamill Student report that additional gifts had been Center; new campus signs; refurbished received in time to be included in chiller; power washing of buildings the tally. and windows; new prospective- With unpaid pledges factored out, student parking spaces near the LRC; the preliminary total of giving to the new overlay on Lake Evelyn Drive, the campaign, as reported on June 3, was drive from the Praying Hands to Lot Phase 1 of the Fred Creek improvement $22,138,595. These gifts came from project (pictured here) has been com- H, and parking lots G and F2; sidewalk 15,796 donors. pleted on the eastern side of the campus. drainage addressed. Work will continue through next spring on The ORU trustees, who had agreed sections southwest of the Graduate Center to match every gift dollar-for-dollar, and near Christ's Chapel. Prayer Gardens: Redesigned. New decided to go above and beyond their wrought-iron original commitment. They gave cess); paint/carpet/ railings. » $24,280,001. And since every trustee ceilings/lighting/ dollar was earmarked for debt retire- remodeling for Quad Towers: New ment, ORU’s long-term debt was Communication
» air conditioning units; reduced from $25 million to $719,999.
Arts, Oracle and Renewing the Vision funds are » new doors and new floor- Perihelion offices ing at lobby entrance; new beds; new being used for scholarships and other on LRC 1; Counsel- carpet; interior repairs. financial aid; technology upgrades; ing Center moved to university and departmental refurbish- remodeled LRC 5; LRC north porch Susie Vinson Hall: New workout resurfaced and fountain renovated; ment, renovations and other plant room. interior repairs and exterior drainage and equipment upgrades; academic improvements; LRC entry wall painted upgrades focused on faculty and staff Timko-Barton: and restored; carpet and paint for development; and resources that will Paint, tile, carpet » Math/Computer Science; new carpet enhance student recruitment and throughout. for Business computer lab; carpet, retention. paint, refurbishing, and restroom Using funds from remodels on GC 7; remodeled ADA their 2005 Cancer restrooms on LRC 2. Treatment Centers of America grant ($100,000 per year for Mabee Center: Stained concrete on 10 years), the Anna Vaughn School entry-level floors. Hail-damaged roofs of Nursing completed renovations were replaced via insurance money. that were initiated last summer. There Michael and Frances Cardone are new glass doors at the school’s Halls: All-new bathrooms. Michael: main entrance on GC 3. New hallway walls (high-impact sheet- rock) and new workout room. New and returning students are benefiting from the many improvements that Renewing the Vision funds made possible.
excellence | SUMMER 2009 | 19 campus currents
Take a seat. The Vision at Work Any seat will do!
ore than 700 chairs “We wanted to give back. started out in boxes, We believe in the purpose and M packed and stacked tight vision of the university,” Sherri in the main lobby of the second floor said. “It’s like we are planting of the Learning Resources Center. Yet seeds for the next generation.” in about two hours, the new furniture had been moved and arranged in its David 05 and Janna (Korstad-05) proper place, thanks to the hard work Burkus organized the first “Working of some ORU alumni at the second the Vision” day in 2008, where alumni Jed Cravalho 02 (left), director of Facility Ser- helped move furniture and books in vices, and his staff were a few of the helping annual Working the Vision Day. hands that contributed some sweat equity.
These are some of the 50-plus individuals the library. They were more than who “worked the vision.” willing to get involved again this On July 25, local ORU alumni summer. and their families, along with some “The new vision is pulling alumni faculty and staff members, spent their back,” David said. “The event last year Saturday morning hauling chairs into got a lot of alumni here taking owner- classrooms as far away as the fifth ship. When people come back and ac- floor of the Graduate Center. tually see the campus, they can see for Moving furniture was not the only themselves what is going on at ORU.” reason alumni set their alarm clocks a For the 50-plus members of this little earlier. Reggie 82, 86-DMD and workforce, the physical exertion was Sherri (Laughlin) Thomas 82, 86-MD well worth the effort. They could see showed up and brought their four that their contribution to the campus kids along as well to be a part of the was one that incoming students will vision of ORU. enjoy this semester and for years to come. David Burkus, organizer of the first “Vision” day, was back for more.
20 | SUMMER 2009 | Oral Roberts University campus currents
Class of ’09: Called to Hear, Go, Work and Exceed
May 2, 2009. Six hundred seventy-three men and women entered the Mabee Center as students and left as graduates, as one season of their academic journey ended and another was about to begin.
nterim President Dr. Ralph Keep the ambient noise level of your Fagin reminded those in life down so the still, small voice of I attendance that although it was a God can be heard.” day for graduates, faculty, friends and Along with the bachelor’s, mas- family to celebrate, it was also a day ter’s and doctoral degrees awarded, for the world to rejoice. the late Marie Green, grandmother “This is their day,” he said. “They of Board Chair Mart Green, was are waiting on you — the disenfran- honored with the Lifetime Achieve- chised, the lonely, the heartsick, the ment Award. And, 1981 ORU illiterate. You have been raised up to alumnus Stephen Mansfield, author go to them.” of the New York Times bestseller In seeing such a well-equipped The Faith of George W. Bush and group step out into “every man’s The Faith of Barack Obama, was world,” Fagin said, this day must bring presented with an honorary doctor God great pleasure as well. The Lifetime Achievement Award was pre- of humane letters degree. sented by Interim President Dr. Ralph Fagin “He sees this commencement to David Green, who received the honor on Fagin once again addressed the service as an opportunity for you to behalf of his late mother, Marie Green. graduates, giving them the charge to have another milestone in observe the mandate given to Chan- fulfilling His will for your With his theme centering on cellor Oral Roberts, heeding the call life,” he said. “He believes hearing the voice of God, Bill Hybels, to hear, go, work and exceed. in you as well, because author and pastor of Willow Creek “You have a rendezvous with He said that your Community Church in Illinois, gave destiny,” he said. “You have been works would exceed this year’s Commencement address. called to a dying, crying, sighing those of the founder, Oral “Your life matters in the overall re- generation. The proof in the ORU Roberts, and in that, He is demptive drama of what God is doing education is to go.” well pleased.” in planet earth,” Hybels said. “There The directive was reinforced by is a kind of a mission that God has in Joshua Michael Martin, who gave mind for you, and when you find it the Class of 2009 Response. and get on it, you will feel the power “I challenge you all to utilize the of the Spirit released in your life on whole-person education we have a day-to-day basis. The way you get received at ORU. Use your life in from where you are now to that day service to this mandate: ‘Until the when you are in the zone, feeling the whole world knows.’ Sacrifice all smile of God and saying, ‘I was born you have for the solution the world for this,’ is probably going to come needs. ORU is in its finest hour. from a whisper. Whispers matter. Especially during this time of great change, the whole world will be Graduating senior David Palomares, along with Music Ministries and the music watching to see if we will succeed.” department, led praise and worship during graduation.
excellence | SUMMER 2009 | 21 campus currents
Meet the Trustees In this issue, we tell you more about two of the newest trustees: Tulsan William Bartlett and Cameron Strang, who resides in Orlando, Fla.
william bartlett “I’m so excited about the moves you’re making with the board, because Position: Co-founder of Callidus I don’t think Dr. Roberts had it Technologies (now Callidus Tech- nologies by Honeywell); chairman wrong,” Bartlett told Green. “I believe and CEO (retired) that his Board of Regents was neces- Degrees: B.S. from Denison sary for the funding of the university. University (Ohio); MBA, Emory University (Atlanta). Board But I think we’ve been around long member since January 2009. enough now to get a board that has academic expertise, and spiritual Like many in the Tulsa commu- expertise, and financial expertise, and nity, William Bartlett’s initial interest operations expertise, so that there can in ORU can be traced back to the bas- be shared governance.” ketball program — specifically, to the A short time later, Green asked early 1970s, when Richard Fuqua and Bartlett to join the board. “And we Bartlett and his wife, Rita, at his retirement his teammates reigned supreme. party in December 2008. are moving at jet speed in terms of the direction that the school is taking, “When we started Callidus, it was and all positive from what I can see,” “I loved those early teams,” my absolute intent that this company Bartlett said. Bartlett said. “They were so be founded on Christian principles,” Bartlett comes from a long line of competitive. And of course, Bartlett said. “We were looking for entrepreneurs, so it’s not surprising people to join us who not only were that in 1989, he and some colleagues you could not help but be smart, but who had a strong value sys- attempted to buy the John Zink impressed with Oral Rob- tem. And there’s no place better than Company, where he had worked for erts. He says, ‘Only with Oral Roberts University to go for that 20 years (and served three terms as person. . . . They’re bright, they have president). Coming in with the second God could you do what’s great attitudes, and they have a very highest bid, he took his wife Rita’s ad- been done here,’ which strong value system, which is perfect vice, switched gears, and found back- speaks to the relationship for our environment. Over the years, ers for Callidus. The highly successful we’ve hired many ORU graduates, company was bought by Honeywell in he’s had with the Lord.” and all have performed admirably.” 2008. Fast-forward again, this time to Bartlett also has a long history of 2008. Through his involvement with supporting missions work, including a Fast-forward a couple of decades. the State Chamber of Commerce, prison ministry that has taken him on Bartlett, a co-founder, chairman and Bartlett meets Dr. Ralph Fagin, field trips behind bars. CEO of Callidus Technologies, is, ORU’s interim president, and asks “I’ve been in the prisons deep as always, in the market for smart for an introduction to Board Chair enough, when the last door clanged employees who love to solve problems. Mart Green. “I want to shake his hand shut, I knew if there was a problem, I Thanks to another co-founder, Dr. and thank him for what he and his wasn’t coming out,” he said. Richard Martin, who at that time was family have done” at ORU, Bartlett The issues he’ll face on the board, an ORU engineering professor and a explained. A few weeks later, the three safe to say, shouldn’t be quite as risky. Callidus consultant, there’s a pipeline men met for lunch. to some excellent prospects.
22 | SUMMER 2009 | Oral Roberts University campus currents
and a high standard of academics.” As a trustee, Strang’s focus will tar- cameron strang Although Strang had a great get consistent progression in market- experience at ORU, he admits that ing, student affairs and media, all areas Position: Founder after graduation, he became a discon- that he has seen success in, which he and CEO of Relevant Media nected and uninvolved alumnus. Yet, hopes to bring here as well. Group as he has been included in the opera- “For ORU to impact the culture Degrees: B.S. tions and decision-making in months is in the DNA of the school,” he said. in Mass Media past, he, as a former student and cur- “Oral was an innovator, the way he Communication (emphasis: print rent board member, can be confident used media to reach people. I believe journalism) and a business minor. in his investment in the university. [ORU] can be strong and world-lead- Board member since January 2009. “We all know alumni have been ing in several areas, not only theology, hesitant to give in the past,” he said. but business, science and especially When 1998 graduate Cameron “The university was in survival mode. communications.” Strang contacted Board Chair Mart But I can tell the alumni that is no With renewed vision and inspired Green, thanking him for his investment longer the case; the ship is no longer leadership, Strang said he is thrilled to in the university, he had no idea that sinking. You can trust that ORU is see where ORU is headed. simple e-mail would soon lead to an good soil. Your finances are no longer “This is a very exciting new direc- invitation for him to be an integral part being thrown at debt, but [are] go- tion,” he said. “I believe we are going of what is being called “the new ORU.” ing toward growth and maturing the to start to see ORU emerge and carve Founder and CEO of Relevant Me- university. This is the time for alumni its unique place as a nationally and dia Group and publisher of the nation- to come out of the woodwork and world-known university. I am incred- ally recognized RELEVANT magazine, support ORU.” ibly optimistic.” the 33-year-old Strang is the youngest Board of Trustees member. And with college-aged students being his target audience, this former student has the drive and strategy necessary to support the vision of ORU. “It is not common for a university to have someone my age on its board. This speaks volumes about the leadership in place,” he said. “I hope to bring that vantage point and represent a different generation, being a connection point and advocate for the students.” Much has changed on campus in the decade or so since Strang attended ORU, and with everything that has taken place in the last 18 months, he is enthusiastic about returning to the place where he started out. “I am excited to give back to the school I went to,” he said. “I jumped at the chance to be a part of what is happening at ORU. We have a huge op- portunity in front of us. I love the heart behind this new season at ORU. The board is taking the spiritual foundation that was already in place and combin- ing it with strong financial governance
excellence | SUMMER 2009 | 23 Sports Sampler
Dominique Morrison started all 31 games for ORU in 2008-09, a school record for a freshman.
In 2009, Mark Serrano’s 13.77 strikeouts per nine innings ranked second nationally.
Here’s a little taste of what took place in recent months . . . and what’s to come.
About a month after the spring semester ended, ORU Athletics tinez are the other three), and one received word that the Summit League Commissioner’s Cup would of thirty ORU draftees since Rob Walton became ORU’s head coach remain in Tulsa for the fourth straight year (and eighth year over- in 2004. all). The Golden Eagles had four first-place and three second-place • Mass media communications major finishes, which helped them clinch the league’s top award. For the Katie Stoever, a senior from Tulsa, now holds ORU’s pole vault record tenth time, ORU also received the Summit’s Dr. William Steinbrecher with a height of 13-09.75. Her 3.67 Men’s All Sports Award. GPA placed her on the women’s all- academic track and field team se- Six weeks later, the news came • Right-handed pitcher Mark Ser- lected by the U.S. Track and Field that ORU has been selected to host a rano of Downey, Calif., drafted by and Cross Country Association. league-high three championships dur- the Cincinnati Reds, earned three • The President’s Cup, awarded to ing the 2009-10 school year: women’s All-America accolades along with the top male senior athlete, went golf, men’s and women’s tennis and Summit League Player and Pitcher to Alexander Dargel of Hamburg, baseball. of the Year honors. Serrano is one of Germany, a men’s tennis standout. When it comes to individual and four Golden Eagles to be drafted by Tulsa’s Christy Carter, who was the team honors from this past spring, the majors this year (Jerry Sullivan, Summit League’s Golfer of the Year, these are some highlights: Andre Lamontagne and Juan Mar- received the First Lady’s Cup.
24 | SUMMER 2009 | Oral Roberts University eli report
• Golfer Scott Stiles, a Canadian mar- Anticipation is up and ticket prices Javier Nasarre of Barbastro, Spain, keting major, was tabbed by the are down as basketball season ap- are the recruits who join nine return- Golf Coaches Association as an All- proaches. The men open at home on ing players on the men’s side. For the America Scholar. He was also the Nov. 2 with an exhibition game against women, two Oklahomans — Jaci Big- MVP of the Summit League Cham- British Columbia. Southeastern Okla- ham and the much-decorated Kevi pionships and earned Academic All- homa will be the women’s first oppo- Luper — along with Savanna Buck and League and Commissioner’s List of nent in a Nov. 3 game at Mabee Center. Alex Adekunle of Texas and Brittany Academic Excellence honors. Both teams hope to improve on last Eskridge of Mill Creek, Wash., have • In their final season, basketball’s year’s record: the men were 16-15, the signed on. Luper was named Gatorade Robert Jarvis of Humble, Tex., and women were 13-17. Oklahoma Player of the Year, The Okla- the big man inside, Marcus Lewis Alaska’s Damen Bell-Holter and homan’s Super 5 Player of the Year, and of Long Beach, Calif., were named North Carolina’s Hunter McClintock, Jim Thorpe Player of the Year. first-team All-Summit League. Dunk Michael Craion of Kansas City, Mo., Check the schedules and read more about specialist Kevin Ford of Portland, Warren Niles of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Golden Eagle Athletics at orugoldeneagles.com. Ore., who has one more year to play at ORU, and Dominique Mor- rison of Kansas City, Mo., made the All-Newcomer team. Morrison also
impressed CollegeInsider.com, who Katie Stoever set her ORU pole vault put him on its 21-player Mid-Major record at the NCAA Midwest Regionals, where she finished second. Freshman All-America team. • The women’s golf freshman class was ranked best in the nation by Golfstat, the official statistics pro- vider for the NCAA. This class, said head coach Lance Watson, “provides us with a foundation to stay strong over the next three years.” The 2008-09 team won its 12th straight Summit League championship and now holds the nation’s longest con- secutive championship streak in women’s golf. After the women’s basketball season ended, Manchester, England import Georgia Jones was named the Sum- mit League Newcomer of the Year. This summer, Jones and fellow Brit Cristal Turner competed for their country at the World University Games, while Dominique Allen played for the Under- 20 Great Britain team at the European Championships. All three return this fall for their sophomore season. Men’s basketball’s Kyron Stokes, a rising sophomore and full-blooded Belizean, First Lady’s Cup winner Christy Carter owns school records in four categories, including lowest single- also gained some valuable internation- round score (67). President’s Cup winner Alexander al experience this summer while play- Dargel is working on his master’s degree. ing for the Belize National Team.
excellence | SUMMER 2009 | 25 eli report
New Athletic Addition to be an ORU Advantage By Danielle Parker 07 A new 35,000-square-foot indoor practice facility, opening in September, puts the finishing touches on the two-phase Golden Eagle Sports Complex project.
he first phase — an edifice baseball, track and soccer teams. It ORU’s newest addition does housing a strength and features an artificial surface infield, in- more than free up space in the AC, T conditioning center, baseball cluding a pitcher’s mound and bases and of course. It gives the university one offices and the Grand Slam Donor three batting cages, and can house in- more attribute that appeals to current Hospitality Room — was completed door track and field training and events and future athletes. in 2006. The economic downturn and with its pole vault area, long jump/triple “It is going to help in the develop- the Fred Creek project slowed work on jump pit and high jump pit. ment of our student athletes as well Phase 2. In the last few months, how- “The building is primarily for use as aid recruiting, as evidenced by the ever, the privately funded $1.2 million during inclement weather,” Carter said. number-one pole vaulter in America project has hit its stride, according to “Also, moving those track activities from signing with ORU,” Carter said, refer- Athletic Director Mike Carter. the Aerobics Center to this new build- ring to Jack Whitt of Norman, Okla. Sitting northeast of the stadium, ing will help relieve a lot of the traffic “It really adds to the energy already on the practice facility will cater to the there.” campus.”
Construction on the indoor practice facility was nearing completion in early September. Athletes on the baseball, track and soccer teams will be using this new building.
26 | SUMMER 2009 | Oral Roberts University lifelong links
Daydream Believer At the Past and Present Alumni Board Members Breakfast, held during Homecoming 2009, 1973 grad Chris Busch read an autobiographical essay that we thought would resonate with many alumni. Enjoy.
y field of dreams was next my initial four, marinating as an to a sewage plant. Today employee during the ORU campus M the sign says “New Brigh- golden age. ton Water Pollution Control Facility,” I came to ORU as a dreamer. I but everyone in town called it the left as a dreamer and a doer. sewage plant. I had the best view of it, In the years since, I’ve experi- with 200 yards separating the plant enced success and failure, joy and from my bedroom window. despair. But when clotheslined by This was steel country, and Steeler life, I’ve always managed to gather country, complete with billowing the grit to get back in the game. smokestacks, polluted rivers, and That passion springs from hope. tough-minded immigrants. I’d often Going through ORU conveys gaze out my back window at the field an education. But when ORU goes for any sign of an impromptu football through you, it imparts a living game. deposit of hope, a DNA strand from Once in eighth grade, I got into its founder. a tackle game with some senior high That hope, which undergirds the Busch, the founder and president of Light- ruffians. All arms and legs, I was Quest Media, Inc. and BizDreams LLC, served spirit of this university, is now rising loping across the middle with my as ORU’s Student Association president in on campus once again. 1972-73. fingers stretching toward the spiraling I am grateful for everyone who pigskin when Pudgee DeMarco intro- Sunday morning. The Sunday school patiently nurtured hope over the duced me to the clothesline tackle. A director, a partner with Oral Roberts, decades — faculty, administra- few seconds of unconsciousness later, told my parents about a new school tors, staff, board members, alumni, I was back in the game. The puking Oral was building. By Thanksgiving students . . . faithful people who from the mild concussion didn’t come 1967, my brother and I were in Tulsa breathed on the embers during dif- until later. to attend a Youth Seminar, now called ficult times. In a ditch next to the field, I’d a College Weekend. Today, I rejoice with alumni ev- shoot pellets at birds on phone lines That weekend I knew I was called erywhere in the resurgence of hope while dreaming about my future — to ORU, and like most things I’ve at ORU and how that will impact wife, children, career, everything been called to, I resisted but ulti- future generations. exhilarating and intimidating to a mately capitulated. In August 1969, Thank you, God, for Oral Rob- young boy. I rolled onto campus with my satchel erts University. My mother had five siblings, my of dreams. I learned math, physics, Chris and his wife, Linda (Salisbury 74), father four. College was not a part business and the like, though I was live in Tulsa and have three children: of the culture of either family, but always more interested in the human Christina Cook 00, Kimberly 03 and Ryan contrary to tradition, my parents laboratory called ORU. 07. Chris’s older brother, Gary 72, 79-MBA, and younger sister, Sharon Daniel 77, are envisioned, hoped and expected I heard Billy Joe Daugherty once also ORU grads. During his employment at my brother, sister and I would get say that some students went through ORU Chris served as vice president for Busi- degrees. ORU, but for others ORU went ness Affairs. He was a two-term chair of the first Alumni Board. Find him on Facebook, From the age of 7, we “went to through them. I was in that lat- Twitter, and his blog, www.chrisbusch.com. church” with Kathryn Kuhlman each ter group. I spent seven years, after
excellence | SUMMER 2009 | 27 lifelong links Homecoming 2010 February 12 & 13 In 140 words or less (because 140 characters just won’t cut it) . . . .
• Chapel • School of Nursing and School of Business luncheons • Past & Present Student Association Members reunion Follow us on Twitter for • Alumni Advisory Council meetings 140-characters-or-less updates! • Freshman Honors Seminar (alumni share their story with students) http://twitter.com/OralRobertsU • Departmental/affinity group reunions and receptions We’ll also keep you informed • Campus Tours — you won’t believe all the changes! through Facebook (enter • 20/30/40-year class reunions “ORU Alumni” in the Search box) • Souls A’Fire reunion and at alumni.oru.edu. • Past & Present Alumni Board Members Breakfast And, of course, there will be a • Speed Networking Homecoming brochure in your • ORU Update with Mart Green and Dr. Mark Rutland mailbox sometime this fall. • Alumni-faculty volleyball and basketball games in the AC • Women’s Luncheon with Alison Rutland • Grad Theology Luncheon We also need volunteers to help with • Women’s RA Tea various events. Call or e-mail the • Alumni Banquet and Alumnus of the Alumni office at 918/495.6610 or year awards [email protected] and sign up. • Men’s Basketball vs. IUPUI • Post-game Reception • Wing Chaplains reunion • Campus Run • Open Houses • Women’s Basketball vs. IUPUI
Come to play. Come to pray. Come to stay. Come to say hey to your friends!
Alumnus of the Year 2011 Who will be honored with an AOY award in 2011? That depends on who you nominate! Go to alumni.oru.edu and submit names of deserving alumni in one, two, or all three categories: Distinguished Service to God, to the Community, and to the Alma Mater. Deadline is July 1, 2010.
28 | SUMMER 2009 | Oral Roberts University lifelong links
Notes from Alums diation programs for the state of Connecticut. That Gerald Demarest 81, M.Div.-85 received the includes providing regulatory control over users doctor of ministry degree on May 16 from Phillips of radioactive materials, x-ray machines, and other Theological Seminary in Tulsa. He currently serves radiation-producing devices. The programs' major 1970s as senior minister of First Christian Church (Dis- objectives are to evaluate the radiation exposure of Rev. Ginny ciples of Christ) in Monongahela, Pa. (fcmonon- workers and the general public and to reduce it to Phillips Allen 75 gahela.com). the lowest practicable level. B.M.Ed. completed the process of trans- ferring her ordination Cornell McGee 81 says, “Hi to everyone from as a Southern Baptist the 1980s, especially Fortress, Crusaders and 1990s Minister (M.C.M. and Agape guys!” He is recently unemployed after 25 Obi Chidebelu-Eze 92 spent 10 years as a M.Div.-Southern years in the auto industry and “loves being out research scientist for Kimberly-Clark Corp. in Baptist Theological of work!” He and Catherine (Ingland) have been Roswell, Ga. He has been issued five U.S. patents Seminary 1979) into the United Methodist Church married for 22 years and have two daughters, and has six pending. In 1999, he left the corporate as a Full Elder (May 2009). She serves at First Molly and Annie, at Appalachian State University, world and started Dove Publishing, Inc. (www. United Methodist Church of Denham Springs in and a son, William, in high school. They reside in dovepub.com). Employing his gift of writing, he Greater Baton Rouge, La. Weddington, N.C. Cornell writes, “God has blessed has authored and published two children’s books: through kids ministry and a singing group, www. The Tales of Tortoise and The Lion That Finally Thomas Chalk 77-MBA was hired last fall to seedsoffaith.info,” and says he would like to Roared. The stories in Tortoise are designed to serve as senior vice president of sales and market- reconnect with brother wing and sister wing help children age 5 and up make better choices in ing by Secure64 Software Corporation, whose friends. “Call or write . . . Love to all.” life. Lion was written to inspire children to discover headquarters are in Greenwood Village, Colo. In their purpose and destiny. Obi and his wife, Mia, his new job, Tom is responsible for all sales and live in Atlanta with their two children, Jonathan marketing activities for the company. Before and Jordyn. joining Secure64, Tom was the director of global strategic sales at Symantec Corporation. Earlier in Robert Morris his career, he held senior sales and marketing posi- 93-MA writes that tions at Level 8 Systems, Compuware Corporation, since May 2008 he Platinum Technology and NCR Corporation. has been translating the New Testament and commentary on 1980s the New Testament Debbie (Clark) McElroy 80 is the perfor- from Jewish sources mance improvement manager in the Quality and for a Messianic Jewish Safety Division at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, publishing house. He lives in Medina, Tenn., with Fla., where she has been employed for 20 years. Andrew Zwick 82-MBA received a 2009 his wife, Jeanne, and their daughter, Virginia. Their Debbie received her master's degree at the Distinguished Team Service Award for the Con- older son, Joe, is a chiropractor in north Florida, University of Oklahoma in 1985. She is a licensed necticut Department of Environmental Protec- married with two children. Their younger son, clinical social worker in the state of Florida as well tion’s Employee Recognition Program on June Carl, died in 2007, leaving behind a daughter that as a national certified case manager. Her most 24. “I have been in this field for many years and Robert and Jeanne keep on weekends. recent challenge was completing a Black Belt it is truly gratifying to Certification in Six Sigma, a statistically driven be recognized in this performance improvement methodology. Debbie manner,” Andrew said. Terri Davis 96 moved from Indonesia to Taiwan met her husband, Bob, at St. Joseph's Hospital, He is an environmen- in August 2008 where she is now teaching middle where he works in biomedical clinical engineering. tal analyst (planning) and high school math. She says living in Asia has They reside in Tampa with their 3-year-old shih tzu, in the Radiation been one of the most rewarding and challenging Miss Sparkles, and love the outdoors, especially Division. This division’s things she’s ever done. She would love to hear beach activities and sunsets. E responsibilities entail from other Class of ’96 alumni. administering the ra-
Becoming a Board Member: A New System Last spring, alumni voted to approve changes in how Alumni Association Board of Directors members are selected. Most directors will continue to be elected by ORU graduates through annual elections, but a small number of them will be appointed by the board that is serving when openings occur. To run for office or be considered for appointment at a future date, contact Alumni Director Natalie Bounds-Adams at [email protected] or call 918/495.6610. The revised Alumni Association Constitution can be found at alumni.oru.edu.
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Jurgen Van Staden 99 joined the team of se- Rachel Wegner 07 moved to Kansas City, Mo. curity professionals at True Digital Security, Inc., a in May 2009 and took up a job as a writer for the Tulsa-based computer and network security and 24-7 Prayer Movement. She is primarily involved in forensics firm. After qualifying as an attorney and the Campus America (www.campusamerica.org) spending time with the High Technology Crimes initiative, which seeks to establish 24-7 prayer Division of the Los Angeles County District At- rooms on every college, university and seminary torney's office, Jurgen completed his master’s campus in America. Currently, the Campus Ameri- degree in computer science at the University of ca team is working to establish a year of unbroken Tulsa's Institute for Information Security. He prayer in 2010, which will be a collaborative effort has one daughter, Charlie, who is 2. of the many campus prayer rooms across the U.S. The greater 24-7 Prayer Movement has taken hold globally in over one hundred nations and count- less prayer room locations. Rachel is also an active 2000s Spencer-Gardners live in Shawnee, Kan. member of the Boiler Room church and commu- Annie (Singleton) Bridges 04 and her nity in Kansas City. She would love to hear from husband, Robbie 03, had their first child, Josiah fellow alumni and old friends. Jeffrey, on Nov. 25, 2008. Annie says Josiah William Hubbard MA-06 first came to ORU in was born with Cystic Fibrosis and spent his first 1976, left in 1979, began a career in law enforce- She also blogs at www.redemptiontakinghold. month in the NICU. “In spite of all this, God ment, and returned to ORU in 2005 to finish his wordpress.com. continues to show Himself mighty in and through degree in practical theology. Today, he is a police Josiah’s life,” Annie said. “Already, people have officer in Taos, N.M., assigned to the Patrol Divi- been touched by the peace that Josiah has, even sion. On Dec. 12, 2008, he was honored at the 9th as an infant. We know God is healing him and, Annual Law Enforcement Awards Presentation of in the meantime, He is giving us all a greater the United States Attorney’s Office, held at the measure of faith than we ever imagined Los Angeles Police Department headquarters. Bill possible!” received an award for contributions he made to an investigation into an international child pornog- raphy ring. Bill has been in law enforcement for Luke Spencer-Gardner 05 and his wife, 30 years. He is the author of the true-crime story Jessica (Boan-06), celebrated the birth of Substantial Evidence. He and his wife, Debbie, live their first child, Ella Grace, on Sept. 12, 2008. The in Red River, N.M.
On July 10, alumni from the ORU School of Medicine’s Class of 1984 came to campus for a reunion. Pictured (back row, L to R) are: Jim Elsbree 78, 80-MBS, 84; Don Colbert 80, 84; Keith Vaughan 84; Jim Anderson 78, 80-MBS, 84; Bob Abell 84; John Hutchison 84; Paul Higbee 84; Jeff Baker 80-MBS, 84; Chip Mershon 84; Stephen Murray 78, 80-MBS, 84; and Richard Knapp 84. Front row, L to R: Lisa (Landon) Anderson 84 (who hosted and sponsored the event), Alma (Rhoades) Alford 84; Carol Howard 84; and Cyndi McKinney 84.
30 | SUMMER 2009 | Oral Roberts University lifelong links
Never to Be Forgotten Dr. Howard Ervin once called himself “something of a fixture” at ORU. To the campus community, he was a pillar of the university’s theological education.
By Danielle Parker 07
hose who knew and loved Ye Suppose, is recognized as the first and respected Dr. Howard scholarly defense of the Pentecostal T Ervin came together on Aug. experience. 15 to mourn his passing and celebrate “He was sort of the forerunner of all that he meant to so many. Along Pentecostal scholars,” Hart said. “Dr. with the indelible mark he left on Ervin was one of those pioneers who the lives of countless ORU students, believed that careful scholarship and Ervin was a key player when it came the charismatic movement belong to helping those in more traditional together.” denominations understand and ac- He is remembered as a man that cept the fullness of the Holy Spirit. loved sports, had a large vocabulary Ervin joined the ORU faculty on and an even larger heart, was dis- Sept. 1, 1966 and retired on Dec. 5, tinctly educated and had a desire to 2006 at the age of 91. By the time he see the church as a whole experience left the classroom for the last time, he the working of the Holy Spirit. had served as a professor of graduate “Dr. Ervin expected excellence in theology, the assistant dean and dean academics and insisted that we listen The ORU library and Holy Spirit Research of the original ORU seminary, and Center have books, tapes, CDs and videos to the message of the Holy Spirit,” Dr. chair of undergraduate theology. containing Dr. Ervin’s teachings on a variety James Shelton 73, ORU undergradu- of subjects, dating from the 1960s to the “I had him as both a professor and 2000s. ate theology professor, said. “He dem- a colleague,” Dr. Larry Hart 70, ORU onstrated that you could be a top-rate graduate theology professor, said. “The Pentecostal and Charis- scholar and be a spiritual person too. “He was an internationally respected matic movement did not have a lot of Dr. Ervin provided us a role model to scholar, yet he was also a warm and trained, scholarly voices in the ’60s be firmly Pentecostal, firmly scholarly friendly gentleman. He brought to and ’70s,” said Daniel Isgrigg 00, 07- and firmly ecumenical.” this university authentic spiritual- MA, author of Ervin’s biography, Pil- Ervin’s legacy lives on in his stu- ity, sound scholarship and genuine grimage into Pentecost: The Pneuma- dents, his colleagues and his brothers concern for his students.” tological Legacy of Howard M. Ervin. and sisters in Christ, now that he has Outside of ORU, Ervin was known “He had a Th.D. from Princeton Uni- “grasped the hand of God,” as it said for his ecumenical endeavors among versity, so he had the credentials to in his obituary. many denominations in the U.S. and talk about the spirit of baptism from “Bricks and mortar will pass away, around the world. It was his solid an academic standpoint. That made but what is built in the human char- theological background and position him accepted by the non-Pentecostal acter will never fade,” Shelton said. at ORU that enabled him to reach denominations and made his message “That was Dr. Howard Ervin.” across the aisle, denominationally more popular with them.” speaking — most notably, as a par- In his lifetime, Ervin pastored Dr. Ervin passed away on Aug. 12, 2009. ticipant in the International Roman two Baptist churches, earned five Read more about him and his legacy at alumni.oru.edu. Catholic/Pentecostal Dialogue that degrees and authored six books. His had begun in 1972. 1968 book, These Are Not Drunken As
excellence | SUMMER 2009 | 31 Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Tulsa, OK alumni association Permit No. 665 7777 south lewis avenue tulsa, oklahoma 74171 [email protected] http://alumni.oru.edu
Back to School? That’s Cool!
Some of this summer’s multi-million-dollar renovations were still in progress when students and families arrived in August, but that didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits. The Alumni office served free lemonade as new stu- dents, assisted by student leaders, emptied their cars and filled their dorm rooms with touches of home. In those rooms, students found a gift from the Alumni Association: salt and pepper shakers (to complement the micro-fridges that were installed last year) and a note that said “Welcome to ORU” from the Classes of 1968-2009. The day after move-in began, the Alumni office welcomed alumni back to campus at a Legacy Breakfast in the newly renovated cafeteria. It was attended by 180 alumni and their offspring. More than ever before, alumni are sending their sons
“Do I get aerobics and daughters to ORU. That’s because it’s a points for this?” great time to be an ORU student!
Saga: new tables/chairs/carpet/tile/kitchens!