City: Tulsa, OK

Category: Education

Telephone: (918) 495-6161

Address: 7777 S. Lewis Ave.

Description: Oral Roberts University opened in 1965, a small liberal arts college with a decided religious foundation. It went through some tough times a couple of years ago, but the foundation was strong and the University has rebuilt trust and reputation with hard work, strong faculty, and a massive infusion of cash from a major donor.The architecture, which reminds some of a Jetsons cartoon, definitely looks dated—but it’s been out so long, it may be back in. The improved financial picture has helped add new facilities and update older ones. The center of the campus is the Prayer Tower, a 200-foot structure with visual references to the cross and crown of thorns. From the observation deck you can get a good view of the rest of the campus, including the gold, geodesic-domed Howard Auditorium. Most of the buildings are white with gold trim and part of the campus is on a hill—bringing to mind the Biblical reference to a “city upon a hill.” Oral Roberts just added the “shiny” before Ronald Reagan’s “shining city” became part of our national vocabulary.While some of the rules have relaxed over the years—girls can wear jeans now—the student body is still expected to maintain high moral and ethical standards. You won’t find coed dorms here, but there are common areas joining segregated facilities.The school offers undergraduate degrees in various areas of arts and cultural studies, business, education, nursing, science and engineering, and theology and missions, and master’s degrees in business, education, and theology and missions. In all, ORU offers 65 undergraduate majors, 14 master’s programs, and 2 doctoral degrees. The largest majors are pastoral Christian ministry, mass media communications, business administration, psychology, biology, and nursing.The school is competitive in a number of athletic endeavors—particularly men’s basketball. Other sports offered are golf, soccer, tennis, cross-country, track and field for both men and women, baseball for men, and volleyball for women.Average current enrollment is just over 3,000, with students coming from many states and countries. Tuition for 2009–2010 was $18,476.