From the Desk of … Dr. George Gillen
Dr. George Gillen, a professor in the College of Business and one of the founding faculty members, has served Oral Roberts University for nearly 50 years.
Statue of Moses. Gillen is a great fan of Moses because he was a great lawgiver. “The Ten Commandments were the basic code for morality and the basic code for law. The basic tenants of our Christian faith and concepts, along with law and ethics, all come from Moses. He was simply a messenger from God of those absolute concepts.”
Gifts from students. Souvenirs from Nigeria, Israel and a number of other countries sit on Gillen’s desk. Gifts given to Gillen from various students throughout the years can be seen all around his office. Gillen remembers where each item is from and which student gave them to him.
Outstanding Faculty awards. During his 50 years of service to the university, Gillen has been voted “Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year” more than any other professor.
In all 50 years of working at ORU, Gillen has never had a window in his office. His grandmother once lived in the Ozarks and gave this painting to him because she knew he wanted to have a window to look out of as he worked. With the Oklahoma weather constantly changing, Gillen said that he never knows what to expect when he leaves work each day.
Tennis trophies. Gillen has played tennis all of his life including playing on the varsity team all four years of high school. He has always preferred to play doubles rather than playing singles. That love for the sport only continued when he began working at ORU. The faculty started tennis tournaments that were held each year. Gillen, along with former ORU provost Dr. Ralph Fagin, won the ORU faculty tournament multiple times. Today, Gillen has traded in his tennis racket for a deck of cards and plays games with close friends each week.
Ignorance Bumper Sticker. Anyone who has sat in Gillen’s class knows his famous statement, “Ignorance is everywhere, and we must stamp it out!” There are a few ignorance quotes that he displays around his office as a friendly reminder of this strong belief.
