2018 Commencement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Saturday, May 5, 2018
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Stephanie Hill, Director of University Relations & Communications
Office: 918.495.7337, Mobile: 918.720.5548
sthill@oru.edu 
Tulsa, OK – Oral Roberts University held its spring commencement today at the Mabee
Center. Over 700 students received degrees ranging from bachelor to MBA and Doctor
of Ministry.
Author, entrepreneur, and President & CEO of The Freemount Corporation, Clifton Taulbert, delivered the commencement address. Taulbert who is a 1971 graduate of ORU and serves on its Board of Reference, encouraged graduates that they could trust God: "My purpose here today is very clear," he said. "I want to leave you with something you can take with you for the rest of your life, whatever that endeavor might be. I want to tell you that you can trust God."
"You’re into something bigger than yourselves," he continued. "You’re a cut above the rest, and much will be expected of you. And you will be able to do all that God has called you to do. God knew on this day, May 5, 2018, that I had to be in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This is not an opportunity, this is an assignment to let you know what I’ve always known: that you can trust God."
Dr. William M. Wilson, President of ORU, ended commencement by commissioning the graduates. "While you have been a student at ORU, I have ended almost every chapel with the statement: 'Go, change the world' or 'Go, change your world,'" he told them. "Now, here we are at the moment when you will fully commence on your journey to live as a world-changer. Today, you are leaving Oral Roberts University as more than just another college graduate. You are leaving here as a Holy Spirit-empowered leader who can hear God’s voice and share God’s light. Your plans are Big! Our God is bigger!"
The University also honored Mart Green and Jamie Weathers for their influence in establishing ORU’s Quest Whole Person Scholarship Program. Green and his family altered the course of ORU’s history in 2007 when they donated millions to help reduce the university’s debt. In 2008, Weathers, a graduating student, delivered a captivating speech about the necessity of a Whole Person education. From that speech, Green was inspired to create and helped fund the Quest Whole Person Scholarship Program. Since its inception, more than 5,000 students have taken advantage of the program.