A call to join ORU as we dream again
Fall 2015 will be a monumental celebration for ORU as we look back on the last 50 years and reflect on all God has done in and through this institution.
ORU has witnessed a miraculous turn since 2008! While there were some dark days in our past, the university is now in a position to dream again. Enrollment is up for the sixth consecutive year. We are completely debt-free, have no deficit and have seen more than $100 million in campus renovations. (You will read more about these exciting accomplishments in the next few pages.) We are now in the midst of a three-year celebration of our 50th anniversary, which concludes with the graduation of our 50th class in May 2017!
As we celebrate the past, we are also utilizing this 50th anniversary moment as a time to cast vision for the future.
The world is going through amazing changes technologically, socioeconomically and culturally. Today, we are seeing the massification of higher education around the globe. Enrollment in universities worldwide has expanded significantly in the past 50 years and is predicted to increase at an exponential rate in the next decades. The rising global middle class has a greater desire for and greater access to knowledge than ever before. The proliferation of technology, the influence of the Internet and the expansion of global learning opportunities are radically affecting all we know about scholarship and education.
How will ORU respond to this transformation in the world and in higher education? We must remain true to our founding vision while aggressively positioning ourselves for mission success in the 21st century.
Our founder was a grand innovator. ORU began on the cutting edge of technology, architecture and educational design. We are now casting a further vision for ORU and new generations that includes new technologies and educational innovation.
On my first day as president, I established the Task Force on the Globalization of ORU to consider how we could expand access to whole person education worldwide. Our University Planning Council (a unique collaborative group of trustees, faculty and administration) further developed the ideas from this Task Force and drafted a five-year adaptive plan to further fulfill the global mandate of ORU. This exciting plan was recently adopted by the Board of Trustees and is now being pursued throughout the university. I am grateful to say we are on a trajectory to indeed become a global leader in Spirit-empowered higher education, extending our vision and mission to the uttermost bounds of the earth. The future has never been brighter!
This future will require faith, courage and maximum participation from all of ORU’s many constituencies. God is calling us to do this together. We are now publicly launching our 50th Anniversary Comprehensive Campaign. This campaign is a united effort to raise $50 million on the 50th anniversary of ORU, which will help position us for the future and facilitate becoming a true international university—taking whole-person education to the uttermost bounds of the earth. Read more about this campaign here.
While our strategic direction may change to meet the needs of today and tomorrow, our principles never will. We will continue our passionate pursuit of academic excellence and raising up Spirit-empowered leaders for the glory of God. ORU at age 50 remains true to the vision and mission on which we were founded. We still believe in whole person education. We still believe in the Holy Spirit. We still believe in healing. We still believe in God’s Word. Many universities at 50 and beyond have forsaken their Christian heritage. By God’s grace, we will not drift. Our world needs ORU now more than it did 50 years ago, and we are ready for the challenge ahead.
Our best days are before us. What God has in mind for this university goes beyond anything that we have experienced in the past. Join us in celebrating all that has been accomplished thus far and dream with us for all God will do through ORU in the next 50 years!
Happy Anniversary, ORU!
