20121024_oru_announces_plans_to_open_center_for_faith_and_learning_
ORU Announces Plans to Open Center for Faith and Learning
Oral Roberts University will be opening a new Center for Faith and Learning on Jan. 1, 2013.The program will be headed up by Dominic Halsmer, who announced plans to step down as dean of the College for Science and Engineering to lead the initiative.
The center is designed to engage and inspire truth-seeking individuals to hear God’s voice and apply appropriate Christian thinking to the knowledge gained from their academic studies. Through these efforts, it is believed that students and faculty at ORU will discover meaning, value and purpose for their lives that leads them to a greater appreciation of nature and human culture.
“ORU is known for raising up student-leaders that hear God’s voice,” said Halsmer. “The Center for Faith and Learning will create an environment that not only encourages students to hear God’s voice during their personal devotions, but also in the midst of their academic pursuits.”
Halsmer believes that the center will become a leading research organization for “hearing God’s voice” in the context of a university education. They plan to engage students and faculty from each academic area and to conduct interdisciplinary research regarding the topic. From there, the program will encourage faculty and students to develop presentations, articles and books for publication.
The program also hopes to open up a dialogue with other universities and groups in the form of grants, conferences, workshops and seminars.