Oral Roberts University (ORU) is a private Evangelical university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1963, the university is named after its founder, Oral Roberts, a renowned American Charismatic Christian preacher and televangelist.
Sitting on a campus, ORU offers over 70 undergraduate degree programs along with 20 graduate programs across six colleges. ORU is classified among "Master's Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs". The university enrolled over 6,000 students for the first time in 2025.
In recent years, the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles have performed above expectation in both college baseball and basketball, including reaching the College World Series in 2023.
History Foundation and early years Oral Roberts University was founded in 1963 by Oral Roberts, an influential Christian televangelist. In the 1950s, Roberts began to privately discuss the importance of not only educating ministers, evangelists and other religious figures, but how these values could form Christian-focused educational institutions in the United States.
During the same decade, he had played a minor role in the establishment of a bible school. The early plans for ORU were to follow a similar strategy and to operate as a bible school for foreign students, with that idea first surfacing sometime between 1958 and 1960. While in a meeting with Pat Robertson, who at the time was forming the Christian Broadcasting Network, Roberts began recording the formal ideas for ORU on a napkin. By 1961, that idea had progressed and plans had begun to take place for its construction. In the summer of 1961, Roberts formally placed an offer on a plot of farm land in Tulsa, totaling 160 acres. An adjoining 20 acres of land were later included in the purchase.
Ground was officially broken for Oral Roberts University in 1962 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The university received its charter the following year from the State of Oklahoma and Oral Roberts University officially opened in 1965 with an enrollment of 300 students and seven major completed buildings. The university was founded by Oral Roberts "as a result of Oral Roberts' obeying God's mandate to build a university on God's authority and the Holy Spirit. God's commission to Oral Roberts was to 'Raise up your students to hear My voice, to go where My light is dim, where My voice is heard small, and My healing power is not known, even to the uttermost bounds of the earth. Their work will exceed yours, and in this I am well pleased'." Roberts placed special importance on the Prayer Tower, even though the concept of a building specifically dedicated to prayer at the center of the campus caused considerable tension, as some academic leaders were afraid the school would be unable to receive accreditation with such a building. But the tower, designed by architect Frank Wallace, was completed in 1967 at a cost of $2 million, a further source of contention. After its completion, Roberts called for a three-day period of prayer and fasting. At the university's dedication ceremony in 1967, the evangelist Billy Graham was the keynote speaker.
The first partial graduation took place in 1968 and the first full graduation in 1969. ORU was accredited in 1971 by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. It is also accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada.Member Schools
During the first decade of the school's existence many of the campus's iconic structures were completed, such as the Howard Auditorium, the Graduate Center, the Mabee Center, and Christ's Chapel.
The O. W. Coburn School of Law opened in 1979. In 1986 the university "shut down its ailing law school and sent its library to Pat Robertson's Bible-based college in Virginia", which subsequently founded the Regent University School of Law.
Campus expansion and later years
The university built the City of Faith Medical and Research Center hospital in 1981 and started the Oral Roberts University School of Medicine in 1978. Severe financial difficulties with both of these institutions led to their closure in 1989. Oral Roberts's son Richard was named president in 1993.
In January 1996, Golden Eagle Broadcasting, a digital satellite Christian and family programming television network owned and operated by Oral Roberts University, was founded.
On February 5, 1997, Reverend Bill Shuler apologized after several ORU students attended a mosque on the 28th night of Ramadan and prayed outside. The university stated it didn't align with university policy with The New York Times stated that worshippers and the group of students had different accounts of the incident.
In 2006, The Golden Eagles basketball team comfortably beat Kansas Jayhawks in an NCAA road game, 78-71. Kansas was the number 3 seed.
In February 2007, ORU announced that it would offer new art degrees.
In 2010, ORU teamed up with the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference to open a bilingual Hispanic Center on campus. The goals of this partnership include targeting a 25% Hispanic population within the student body and to reduce the approximately 50% high school dropout rate among Hispanic students.
Resignation of Richard Roberts In 2007, ORU faced legal and administrative challenges, while also continuing to perform well academically. In February 2007, the university announced that it would offer new art degrees, further expanding its educational options to students. During the same month, Oral Roberts University was recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation in 2007 for its work in the field of assessing the quality of student learning. Oral Roberts University was only one of five colleges selected by the council in the entire country for the accreditation in 2007.
Shortly afterward, three former employees filed a lawsuit against ORU, initially for wrongful termination. The suit was then expanded to include the personal conduct of university president Richard Roberts and his wife Lindsay. Numerous claims were made in the suit against Roberts, his wife, and the university's Board of Regents, including the misuse of university funds and an allegation Lindsay had an inappropriate relationship with a student. The couple appeared on Larry King Live shortly afterward, where Lindsay firmly denied the student allegation.
Lindsay Roberts, the wife of Richard Roberts, was accused of spending university funds on clothes, awarding nonacademic scholarships to the children of family friends and sending text messages on university-issued cell phones to "underage males." The lawsuit also alleged a longtime maintenance employee was fired for the purpose of giving the job to an underage male friend of Lindsay Roberts.Associated Press, Scandal Brewing at Oral Roberts, October 6, 2007, retrieved February 8, 2008
The plaintiffs filed an amended lawsuit adding the university's Board of Regents (Oral and Richard Roberts, along with George Pearsons, Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Michael A. Hammer, John Hagee, Marilyn Hickey, Jerry Savelle and Charles Watson) to the suit and alleged that Roberts fired the university's financial comptroller and "voluminous materials and documents were shredded and destroyed, constituting spoliation of evidence." The filing also alleged Lindsay Roberts had spent nights in the ORU guest house with a 16-year-old male who also was allowed to live in the Roberts family residence on campus.Online copy of revised Swails lawsuit against ORU, October 12th, 2007Tulsa World, Lindsay Roberts, ORU deny latest claims, October 13, 2007, retrieved October 14, 2007
On October 17, 2007, Billy Joe Daugherty began to serve as Interim President. This was following Roberts asking to be granted a leave of absence, with the Chairman George Pearsons clarifying Roberts decision was not an admission of guilt.
In November 2007, the tenured faculty of Oral Roberts University approved by a simple majority a non-binding vote of no confidence in Richard Roberts.AP, Faculty Opposes Oral Roberts President November 13, 2007, retrieved November 15, 2007 Roberts tendered his letter of resignation to the board of regents on November 23.Roberts resignsEmbattled Oral Roberts President Resigns Pearsons said the university planned to separate its finances and leadership from the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association, to the apparent relief of many students and faculty members.AP, Justin Juozapavicius, Roberts Says God Forced His Resignation, November 29, 2007, retrieved November 29, 2007 On January 10, 2008, ORU settled with plaintiff John Swails, who was reinstated to his previous teaching position.Marciszewski, April, ORU reinstates one professor, tulsworld.com, January 11, 2008, retrieved January 13, 2008 The school also announced a formal search committee for a new president, to be headed by board of regents member and Tulsa resident Glenda Payas.Marciszewski, April, ORU regent to lead committee structuring presidential search, tulsworld.com, January 10, 2008, retrieved January 13, 2008
Tulsa evangelist Billy Joe Daugherty was named interim President and executive regent. The same month, the school was reportedly "struggling financially" with over $50 million in debt.
Finances ORU's operating budget for 2007-08 was over $82 million. On January 14, 2008, ORU's board of regents voted unanimously to accept $62 million from the Mart Green family, the owners of Oklahoma City-based Hobby Lobby, Mardel educational, and various Christian supply stores, an offer which included changes to the university's governing board. In October of that year, an ORU spokesman said the university was still $52.5 million in debt. The school accepted an additional $8 million from the Greens in November. Of the $70 million given to Oral Roberts University, approximately half went toward eliminating its debt. The remaining half was allocated to "campus renovations, technology upgrades, academic enhancement, financial aid for new and returning students, marketing and operations", according to the university website. In February 2008, the Renewing the Vision campaign was initiated in an effort to erase this debt. To free the university from its burgeoning debt, the board of trustees announced plans for a $25 million matching campaign, in which the board agreed to match dollar-for-dollar all donations. In addition to eliminating debt, funds from the Renewing the Vision campaign contributed to the 2008 summer campus renovations, as well as scholarships provided by the university. During the summer of 2008, $10 million went to campus upgrades and deferred maintenance. Many dormitories were extensively renovated and most other buildings received restoration and upgrades. In January 2009, the university's presidential search committee recommended Mark Rutland, President of Southeastern University of the Assemblies of God in Florida, to succeed Richard Roberts, which the trustees approved.Shannon Muchmore, "ORU has candidate for president," Tulsa World, January 14, 2009.Shannon Muchmore, "Oral Roberts University president takes office", Tulsa World, July 1, 2009. On January 14, Rutland confirmed that he had been offered the position and intended to accept it. The university began to implement employment reduction plans, laying off 53 employees and cutting about 40 unfilled positions."ORU cuts positions, 53 laid off," Tulsa World, January 13, 2009. On January 29, 2009, the Green family committed $10.4 million to additional campus renovations and upgrades to take place during summer 2009. Following Mart Green's contribution, the university's debt was reduced to $25 million.