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A Gift of the Mind and Spirit
Professor's memory will live on in research and conference room
By Laura B. Raphael
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"Byron gave and gave and gave," Dr. David Hand, Dean of the School of Education, reminisced recently. "That's just who he was. He was very, very loving and 'mercy-motived.'"
The former Christian school administrator, who passed away on April 29, left his personal collection of educational books and other materials to ORU, a collection that Hand estimates reaches 2,000 volumes. A large portion of the collection focuses on Christian education and Christian educators, but there is also an eclectic mix of antique schoolbooks and materials on brain and memory research, an area which McKissack was frequently asked to give workshops about for both private and public school educators.
After McKissack's death, his wife, Jan, and the School of Education leadership worked together to develop an idea that would allow this unique gift to be used by ORU students and others interested in Christian education. Plans were quickly drawn up for "The Dr. Byron McKissack Christian Education Research and Conference Room" to be created in the Curriculum Media Center on the fifth floor of the Learning Resources Center.
"At first, we didn't know what we were going to do with his materials, but this seemed like the perfect solution," Hand said. "We were planning to start renovating that area anyway this summer, so it made sense in that respect. And of course, this is the perfect way to honor Dr. McKissack's memory--he loved Christian education so much, and ORU was his home. He lived and breathed ORU."
In addition, giving to the establishment of the room will allow former students and others to share their condolences with the McKissack family in a substantial way. A separate ORU School of Education fund has been set up to help build, maintain, and develop the room, including adding new materials to the collection; so far, more than $550 has been raised. (To donate to the fund, please send checks, payable to the ORU School of Education and with a notation designating the donation for the Dr. Byron McKissack Memorial Fund, to ORU School of Education, 7777 S. Lewis, Tulsa, OK 74171.)
The materials in the room will be available for onsite research only, not for check-out. The room will have two entrances: through glass doors on the fifth floor of the Graduate Center (near the School of Education offices), and through the Curriculum Media Center doors of the LRC. In addition to the materials on bookshelves, there will be several areas for individual research as well as a space for small groups and conferences; this will help fill one of the school's most pressing needs.
The room is still in the early stages of development, although the architectural plans have been drawn. Hand believes the remodeling will be done over fall break and completed by Thanksgiving.
A memorial service for McKissack was held on July 8 at ORU--a date that coincided with the annual School of Education Summer Institute, the program McKissack had coordinated since coming to ORU in 1993. In that time, he helped the Institute's enrollment grow from 60 to nearly 200 students pursuing graduate degrees, a "remarkable achievement," according to Hand, who helped start the program in 1988.
"It was always his dream to be a professor at ORU," Hand said. "He came from being headmaster at Ft. Worth's Lake Country Christian School to ORU as an assistant professor, then was promoted to associate professor, and then he became a full professor with tenure status within the last two years."
McKissack's rapid rise up the academic ladder was accompanied by a strong belief in Christian education as well as a special anointing from God that was apparent to students and faculty alike.
"Dr. McKissack ministered to us from the moment we walked in the classroom door to the moment we walked out," ORU registrar Sheree King, one of his former students, recalled. "It was a real blessing to be in his class."
Dr. Byron McKissack, and the research center and collection that will bear his name, will continue to give that blessing--of both the mind and the spirit--to ORU generations to come, a fitting tribute indeed to a man who never stopped giving.
