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DR. MARK RUTLAND PRESIDENT OF ORAL ROBERTS UNIVERSITY
Dr. Mark Rutland is the third president of Oral Roberts University. He is a distinguished educator, charismatic leader, business man and a nationally recognized figure in Christian higher education. The active pursuit of intellectual and spiritual awakening is central to Dr. Rutland’s worldview, making his vision a perfect complement to the ORU philosophy of whole-person education. Originally from Texas, Dr. Rutland completed a bachelor of science at the University of Maryland in 1970. Then, answering God’s call to the ministry, he earned a master of divinity degree from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Georgia in 1972. Rutland soon became a United Methodist pastor. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in church growth from the California Graduate School of Theology in 1988. Dr. Rutland founded Global Servants, which has a church-planting ministry in West Africa and a large girls’ home in Thailand, and in 1998 he launched out into a second turnaround adventure: the presidency of Southeastern College in Lakeland, Florida.
During his decade of leadership that college became a university, tripled enrollment from less than 1,000 to more than 3,000 students, and saw the Lakeland campus expanded with $50 million in new construction. While there Rutland also established the Jerusalem Studies Center in Israel. Along with his academic and ministry pursuits, Dr. Rutland has authored 13 books and hosted a 30-minute daily radio program called The Herald of Joy. He and his wife, Alison, have partnered in marriage and ministry for 42 years. They have three married children and five grandchildren.
MIKE CARTER ATHLETIC DIRECTOR • 19TH YEAR
To say Mike Carter had his work cut out for him when he accepted the director of athletics position at Oral Roberts University on Nov. 7, 1994, is quite an understatement. It was hard enough for Carter to leave a successful business and sports law practice to embark on a career change. But combined that with the fact ORU was just beginning its second year back to active NCAA Division I status with only three full-time support personnel and no conference affiliation, and his endeavour was even more challenging. However, nearly 18 years later, it’s clear that Carter’s vision and guidance -- along with a strong commitment to athletics by the University -- has led the department to unprecedented success. Under Carter’s leadership, the department is now properly staffed with support personnel. During his tenure he has developed positions in athletic development, business administration, compliance, academic services, sports medicine, strength training, marketing and media relations. All of these support services have proven to be necessary for ORU to compete successfully in today’s world of Division I athletics.
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Across the board, each athletic program has thrived with Carter at the helm. That success can be traced directly to the fact that Carter has chosen outstanding coaches and administrators to lead the Golden Eagle athletic programs. Since 1996, the Golden Eagles have totalled 72 NCAA Tournament appearances and one NIT appearance, 61 AllAmerica selections, and two Olympians. ORU’s athletic success hasn’t just been limited to wins on the field though. The Golden Eagles have been extremely successful in the classroom as well, earning an overall GPA of 3.0 or better in 12 out of the last 13 years. Carter and his wife, Paula have two grown children and two grandchildren.