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Developing Whole Leaders for the whole World

Oral Roberts University Board of Trustees Set the Stage for a Bright Future at Recent Meetings

Trustees UpdateThe world is changing at an unprecedented pace. With widespread technology and a shifting global socio-economic landscape, the need for higher education institutions to be adaptable is paramount for success. The Oral Roberts University Board of Trustees recently finished its spring meetings, where members made a number of decisions and were a part of several new initiatives that will position ORU for global success. Trustees adopted the 2016 budget, a bold, future-focused five-year adaptive plan, exciting changes to improve student life and a resolution passed on faculty governance. During the meetings, members also celebrated the start of construction on the new Global Learning Center and welcomed four new board members.

“I commend the work of the Board of Trustees and its chair Rob Hoskins for putting the university in a strong position for the future. This will allow us to continue forward with our global vision and mission with excellence,” said ORU President William M. Wilson. “We enter the 50th anniversary of the university this fall, and I have never been more excited about the future of ORU!”

The Board of Trustees approved a new, five-year adaptive plan. This plan, which has taken more than a year to construct, was implemented with the foundation from the Presidential Task Force on the Globalization of ORU and the diligent work of the University Planning Council (UPC). The UPC is a shared governance council designed to facilitate collaboration between faculty, administration and the Board of Trustees with an equal number of representatives from each group. The UPC committed its work to developing a mission-based, futuristic and robust plan that has the capacity for adaptive course correction, campus-wide buy- in, and motivational momentum.

It is expected that this five-year adaptive plan will be assessed annually by the UPC and utilized in directing the Board of Trustees, administration and faculty in making effective decisions for the continued pursuit of institutional vision. With renewed hope to impact the world with God’s healing, ORU’s well-planned efforts to globalize Whole Person Education will properly position the university for the next 50 years and increase its potential to be the premier Spirit-empowered university.

The university held a wall breaking ceremony with trustees, administrators and community leaders to celebrate the start of construction on a new state-of-the-art Global Learning Center. The Global Learning Center will pave the way for ORU to open satellite campuses around the world. Classrooms will be equipped with touch technology, interactive smart boards and added visual tools that give professors advanced options as they teach. This more than $7 million project will be paid for through gifts that have been given to the 50th Anniversary Comprehensive Campaign, “To the Uttermost Bounds of the Earth.” The campaign will raise $50 million over the next three years to impact academic growth and expansion.

Positive revisions made to student life at the university by the Board of Trustees were based on feedback from the student body. The changes, which were announced Friday in Chapel to a resounding cheer, included the following: room cost for a double occupancy room is being reduced by 15%.Co-ed residence hall visitation will take place weekly.These visit times will continue to be conducted with the utmost integrity. Curfew for all residential freshman students will be 1 a.m. every day. Sophomores, juniors and seniors will not be subject to a curfew, unless those students have academic or disciplinary challenges.

ORU is committed to providing a safe and vibrant campus life. Along with these changes, the university is reinforcing the concepts of personal safety and wellness, respect for the community and conduct that is reflective of the vision and mission of the university.

Changes to faculty governance have been initiated by the Board of Trustees to create maximum faculty involvement while allowing the university to respond quickly to the changes in higher education and demands on our students. The proposed changes came out of a task group on faculty governance that began their work in December of 2014. The group consisted of faculty, administrators and trustees. These recommendations from the task force, which will be implemented by the fall of 2015, will align the faculty governance structure with best practices consistent with other institutions around the world.

The Board of Trustees also appointed four new Trustees. These individuals are: Robert W. Barron, a 1984 ORU graduate and a partner at Berger Singerman Law Firm in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Camella Binkley, a 1980 graduate and owner and COO of Express Employment Professionals in Waxahachie, Texas; Tim Lyons, CPA, CCE, a 1982 graduate and president and CEO of Tulsa Teachers Credit Union in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Brad Thomas, a 1977 graduate and president and CEO of International Chemical Company (Inter-Chem) in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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