KFOR recently featured Oklahoma Christian University professor Jeff Price in its "Is This a Great State or What?" series.

Price leads OC's gaming and animation program, which earned Oklahoma Christian national recognition from The Princeton Review. OC received honorable mention on The Review's list saluting the best undergraduate schools in the U.S. and Canada to study video game design.

Price also has vintage arcade games like Space Invaders, Pong, Defender and Centipede in his OC office. He uses them as teaching tools and, of course, to have some fun along the way.

Read more on KFOR.

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The 50 selected students will meet with authors, politicians and global thought leaders, such as Karl Rove, former presidential adviser, author and FOX News commentator.

Oklahoma Christian is the primary host for the all-inclusive program (tuition, room, board, travel and fees), which is free to the 50 selected students.

This year's Four Star Leadership Congressional Debate competition offers students expert policy briefings so they may address those issues in persuasive speech and editorial contests, while collaborating in a model Student Congress. Students will investigate contemporary policy controversies ranging from energy policy to human rights.

Excursions during the week will provide participants with opportunities to further develop leadership skills and employ them through cultural experiences and service projects.

General Tommy Franks, former commander-in-chief of American and coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, hosts the program, with OC, the National Center for Policy Analysis and the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs as partners.

Since 2008, Four Star Leadership has welcomed 206 American high school students from 42 states and 32 international students. Kings, governors, senators, Olympic gold medalists and top national policy experts have mentored students in developing and demonstrating the core leadership principles of the program: character, common vision, communication, and caring.

To apply, go to http://fourstarleader.com. The application deadline is May 15. For more information, call (580) 726-5900.

Any of the 50 students who choose to pursue their college education at Oklahoma Christian will receive a $1,000-per-year scholarship for up to four years.

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Oklahoma Christian University (OC)
Oklahoma Christian, which set an enrollment record with 2,271 students this year, is recognized as one of the best universities in the western United States by U.S. News and World Report and The Princeton Review. The university offers undergraduate programs in more than 60 fields of study and graduate programs in business administration, engineering, ministry, and divinity. In addition to its Oklahoma City campus, OC has study abroad opportunities in Europe, Honduras and the Pacific Rim. For more information, go to www.oc.edu.

National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA)
With offices in Dallas and Washington, D.C., the NCPA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research organization, established in 1983. The NCPA’s goal is to develop and promote private alternatives to government regulation and control, solving problems by relying on the strength of the competitive, entrepreneurial private sector. For more information, go to www.ncpa.org.

Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA)
With thousands of members across the state and a staff based in Oklahoma City, the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs operates as an independent, nonprofit public policy research organization - a think tank - focused primarily on state-level issues. Throughout its 20 years of existence, the primary purpose of OCPA has been to educate the citizenry to equip them for self-government. They want to empower Oklahomans to lead the nation in the defense of freedom by providing fact-based public policy analysis that promotes free markets, limited government and entrepreneurial opportunity. OCPA publishes the conclusions from its research in the monthly policy journal Perspective and online at www.ocpathink.org. Within the arena of public policy and politics, OCPA is regarded as the flagship of the free-market movement in Oklahoma.

Jase came to OC with his wife, Missy, and their three children. Prior to Chapel, he did a video shoot with Oklahoma Christian president John deSteiguer ... standing in the OC Pond. (Click here to watch the video.)

"The Bible is a weapon of mass instruction, and a love letter from God Almighty. And the message is clear - He is for you, not against you," Jase said during his Chapel talk. "The power is in the message. Share the message and let God water the seed."

Duck Dynasty is the most-watched program in the history of the A&E Network. The premiere of its third season on February 27 was the No. 1 cable show of the week.

This year, Oklahoma Christian joins a select group of programs Apple is renewing nationwide as exemplary learning environments.

The Apple Distinguished Program designation is reserved for programs that integrate technology in education and meet criteria for visionary leadership, innovative learning and teaching, ongoing professional learning, compelling evidence of success, and a flexible learning environment.

“Oklahoma Christian has been selected as an Apple Distinguished Program because we support the way students live and how they want to learn,” OC vice president for information technology John Hermes said. “From the iPhone and iPod touch, to the iPad and our current MacBook Air program for all undergrads, we’ve adapted to the technology needs of our students. We’re honored to be recognized by Apple for enhancing and extending teaching and learning with the thoughtful and innovative implementation of educational technology.”

OC’s technology innovation dates back to the 1960s, when individual study carrels gained national media attention and attracted college representatives from around the country to see the concept firsthand.

Oklahoma Christian stayed on the cutting edge, and in 2001, became the first university in the state and one of the few nationwide to offer campus-wide wireless Internet and a laptop for each full-time student.

Oklahoma Christian became an Apple Digital Campus in 2008. This year’s incoming students received the Macbook Air, which is the ultimate, lightweight, everyday notebook featuring the world’s most advanced operating system.

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Beginning at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, the event is titled “My Black America.” Panelists include Oklahoma City Thunder broadcaster Grant Long, KOCO news anchor Wendell Edwards, Dallas Cowboys Stadium human resources director Monica Brooks, OC professor Dr. Lawrence Murray and OC admissions counselor Candace Owens.

The event will be moderated by Gary Jones, OC’s multicultural and service learning coordinator. Jones also serves as the sponsor for Oklahoma Christian’s BSU.

“This event serves as a great venue to hear perspectives on what it means to be black in America in 2013,” Jones said. “Our speakers are very accomplished professionals from Oklahoma City and Dallas. They understand the sacrifices made by those for whom Black History Month was created to honor, as well as the challenges that still exist.”

The panel discussion will be held in the Adams Recital Hall in the Garvey Center on the OC campus. For more information, email gary.jones@oc.edu.

About Oklahoma Christian University
Oklahoma Christian, recognized as one of the best universities in the western United States by U.S. News and World Report and The Princeton Review, offers undergraduate programs in more than 60 fields of study, an undergraduate Honors Program, and graduate programs in business, engineering, ministry and divinity. In addition to its Oklahoma City residential campus, OC has study abroad opportunities in Europe, Honduras and the Pacific Rim. This year, Oklahoma Christian opened a Learning Support Center in Kigali, Rwanda, allowing Rwandan students to study in OC’s online MBA program.

By Kelly Ferguson

Baird, a professor of Bible and philosophy at Oklahoma Christian, will succeed Dr. Scott LaMascus, OC’s new vice president for academic affairs. LaMascus has directed the Honors Program since 2009.

Baird graduated from Oklahoma Christian in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in Bible and English. He received his theology degree from the Harding Graduate School of Religion in 1982 and earned his doctorate in philosophy from Oxford in 1992.

He has taught in OC’s College of Biblical Studies since 1992 and has served as the preaching minister at Wilshire Church of Christ in Oklahoma City since 2000.

In 2001, Baird won OC’s Gaylord Chair of Distinguished Teaching, which recognizes teaching excellence, innovation and effectiveness in working with students in and out of the classroom.

His class with Professor of Physics Dr. Len Feuerhelm, “The Bible, Science and Human Values,” is an integral part of OC’s Honors Program. The course, which explores the relationship between science and religion, won a $10,000 prize from the Templeton Foundation.

Baird and his wife Yodie have two sons, James and Taylor, and a daughter, Elizabeth. His father, James O. Baird, was Oklahoma Christian’s second president, serving from 1954 to 1974.

“Dr. Baird’s training at Oxford, his commitment to Christ and his family, and his intellectual leadership among faculty and students are all ingredients of a vision that will take OC Honors from regional leadership to national prominence,” LaMascus said.

OC’s Honors Program, which currently includes 30 National Merit Scholars, is accepting “waitlist” applications for fall 2013.

The program offers what the National Collegiate Honors Council calls the “most robust” model for Honors programs, with an Honors core curriculum in place of the general education core. Most OC Honors students live on campus in the new Honors House at Davisson Hall. 

Honors Program alumni have achieved a 100 percent acceptance rate to graduate schools the past three years. Recent alumni are graduate students at schools such as Florida State University, Stanford University, and the University of Texas at Austin. 

“OC’s Honors Program is one of the best in the nation. It is best in class because of high-caliber students receiving personal and expert instruction from top-notch faculty, and because of excellent leadership,” OC president John deSteiguer said. “Dr. Baird is the perfect choice to continue the OC Honors pattern of engaging, visionary leadership - pioneered by Drs. Bailey McBride and Scott LaMascus - that inspires students to be more than they thought possible.” 

Oklahoma Christian, which set an enrollment record with 2,271 students this year, is recognized as one of the best universities in the western United States by U.S. News and World Report and The Princeton Review.

The university offers undergraduate programs in more than 60 fields of study and graduate programs in business administration, engineering, ministry, and divinity.

In addition to its Oklahoma City campus, OC has study abroad opportunities in Europe, Honduras and the Pacific Rim. Honors students receive a stipend to participate in the Study Abroad program based out of OC’s new facility in Vienna, Austria.

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Another OC squad placed third in the regional competition, which featured 20 teams from three states and included schools such as Southern Methodist University, the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, Cameron University, Oklahoma City University, the University of Central Oklahoma and the University of Oklahoma.

The regional championship qualifies Oklahoma Christian for the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl on Feb. 28 in San Antonio.

OC’s first-place team consisted of Christian Asbill, Chas Carter and Austin Hughes. OC’s third-place team members were Hannah Ketring, Brandon McWaters and Genesis Rodriguez. 

Students from both OC teams will combine into one squad for February’s competition, which features 32 teams from around the United States and Canada.

“These students put in countless hours and worked together to get each other prepared for this tournament,” said sponsor Dr. Jeff Simmons, associate professor of business at Oklahoma Christian. “I am so impressed with their talent and am proud of the way they conducted themselves with grace and humility in their success. We are looking forward to representing OC at the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl.”

The Association for Practical and Professional Ethics organizes the 10 regional contests and the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl.

Each contest includes a set of cases that raise issues in practical and professional ethics. Teams prepare analyses of each case before the contest, then answer questions from a moderator in multiple rounds of competition at the event.

Questions may concern ethical problems on wide ranging topics, such as the classroom (e.g. cheating or plagiarism), personal relationships (e.g. dating or friendship), professional ethics (e.g. engineering, law, medicine), or social and political ethics (e.g. free speech, gun control, etc.).

For more information, go to http://appeonline.com/ethics-bowl.

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The Russian delegation toured OC as part of the Edmond Sister Cities Program, which Oklahoma Christian helped found.

President deSteiguer presented the students with certificates of accomplishment for participating in the educational portion of the Edmond Sister Cities Program.

The delegation also went to OC’s theatre production of “Barefoot in the Park” and visited a biology class taught by Dr. Eric Phelps, a music class taught by Dr. Kyle Pullen, and an international management class taught by Dr. Don Drew.

Drew, OC’s associate vice president for academic affairs and dean of graduate schools, was one of eight community leaders who went to Russia as part of Edmond’s first delegation to Engels in June.

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Doors open at 7 p.m. for the free event. CDs and t-shirts will be available for purchase afterward.

Vanderzee is a senior English major at Oklahoma Christian and a frequent performer on OC’s stages. His album of original songs began as an assignment in Dr. Rebecca Briley’s Creative Writing class and developed further as part of his Honors Program Catalyst Project.

Vanderzee used one song as the basis of a proposal for an Honors “Catalyst Grant” project for his Senior Capstone project in Honors and English.

His Catalyst Grant committee, comprised of Dr. Briley, Dr. Allison Garrett and Dr. Scott LaMascus, awarded $1,500 for the project, which Vanderzee parlayed into much more in donations and advance sales through kickstarter.com.

“Brett signed a Catalyst contract and went to work taking things to a higher level than required by our syllabi. In a great OC tradition of overachievers, Brett also took many other steps of unusual initiative,” LaMascus said. “He listens more carefully and learns better than most of us, taking suggestions from many collaborators and incorporating them productively into his own vision for these lyrics and the project. 

The album title comes from a line in T.S. Eliot’s poem “Journey of the Magi.” The album features original artwork by his wife, Laura Bowles Vanderzee, an art major and performer in many OC productions. To preview and order the album and other merchandise, go to www.brettvanderzee.com.

“It doesn’t matter if you live in post-exilic Israel or postmodern America, faith has always been a struggle. These songs are an honest look at what it means to seek God through hardship,” Brett said. “I hope we’ve made an album that will bring a fresh perspective to both people of belief and unbelief.”

A native of Tea, S.D., Brett will graduate from Oklahoma Christian in December. He recently became the worship minister at Quail Springs Church of Christ in Oklahoma City.

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A jazz recital at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13 in the Adams Recital Hall will feature Monaco, guitarist Mitch Bell, drummer Willie Peterson and saxophonist Dr. Heath Jones.

Jones, a professor of music at Oklahoma Christian, has played saxophone with the Temptations, the Four Tops, Frankie Avalon, Jim Neighbors, Leslie Gore, and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic.

The jazz quartet will perform works by Monaco, Pat Martino and Duke Pearson, as well as a commissioned piece by Steve Million.

Monaco also will appear with Oklahoma Christian’s Jazz Ensemble at the Fall Instrumental Concert on Thursday, Nov. 15. The free concert begins at 7:30 p.m. in Hardeman Auditorium.

The Jazz Ensemble set will feature works by Louis Bellson, Duke Ellington, Les Hooper, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, including include Mike Tomaro’s setting of the Beatles’ “Blackbird.”

OC’s Symphonic Band will perform Gustav Holst’s Second Suite in F, Nelhybel’s Trittico, and Ticheli’s setting of Amazing Grace. 

The Chamber Orchestra will play J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto, Edvard Grieg’s Holberg Suite, and Gustav Holtz’s Chaconne.

For more information about both free events and the OC Department of Music, call (405) 425-5530.

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Oklahoma Christian University will have a strong presence at the State of Creativity Forum next Tuesday at Oklahoma City’s Cox Convention Center.

The forum, in its third year, will attract approximately 1,500 educators, students, business and community leaders, technology experts, entrepreneurs and innovators.

Keynote speakers include Sir Ken Robinson, internationally-recognized creativity and education leader and author; Peter Diamandis, chairman and chief executive office of the XPRIZE Foundation; Gregg Fraley, a leading author, speaker and consultant; and David Green, Mart Green and Brent Ryan Green of Hobby Lobby.

Ken Parker, a 1983 OC graduate and member of the OC Board of Trustees, will lead the Education Breakout Session at the State of Creativity Forum. Parker has 28 years of experience in aerospace and Wall Street technology. In 2011, he founded NextThought, an innovative start-up focused on improving the quality and accessibility of online education.

“It is exciting to see Oklahoma becoming a global leader in encouraging and developing creativity,” Parker said. “Creativity is required if we hope to solve today’s most challenging problems, such as poverty, energy and environmental issues.”

David Bowden, who graduated from Oklahoma Christian in 2010, will be part of the closing session prior to the Greens’ keynote. Bowden, who serves as executive director of the non-profit Give-a-Goat, uses challenging and inspirational poetry to promote social justice and care for the needy throughout the world.

OC alumnus Ryan Groves and OC senior Yves Iradukunda will deliver “Creativity Slams” during the closing session. These short vignettes will feature inspiring stories about creativity and innovation in Oklahoma.

Groves, a 2011 grad, is chief executive officer of Wishing Well, a student movement he started at Oklahoma Christian aimed at ending the world’s water crisis. He also is the co-founder and co-owner of TheArtistbible.tv, a new platform designed to connect artists around the world with scripture.

Iradukunda is pursuing a mathematics and computer science degree at Oklahoma Christian. He is president of OC’s chapter of Rwandans4Water and serves as executive officer of ELE Rwanda - Rwandan Emerging Leaders and Entrepreneurs. ELE Rwanda seeks to inspire youth-led innovation and entrepreneurship to grow Rwanda’s economy.

Oklahoma Christian has a strong relationship with the Republic of Rwanda. In 2006, OC established its Presidential Scholars Program, which brings 10 to 20 of the brightest students from Rwanda to OC each year to study in important fields such as engineering and business.

Oklahoma Christian, recognized as one of the best universities in the western United States by U.S. News and World Report and The Princeton Review, offers undergraduate programs in more than 60 fields of study, an undergraduate Honors Program, and graduate programs in business administration, engineering, ministry and divinity. 

In addition to its Oklahoma City campus, OC has study abroad opportunities in Europe, Honduras and the Pacific Rim. 

For more information about the State of Creativity Forum, go to www.stateofcreativity.com.

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The honorees include Dr. Bailey and Joyce McBride and Dr. Stafford and JoAnne North (Legacy Award), Dr. Lynn McMillon and Dr. James Cail (Distinguished Alumni), Henson Adams and Wil Norton (Distinguished Young Alumni), Jose Freede (Honorary Alumna), and couples Dale and Sheila Hartman, Kent and Nancy Hartman, Tony and Betty Keesee, and Charlie and Debbie Powell (Missions Award).

The banquet, scheduled for 6 p.m. in OC’s Gaylord University Center, will help kick off an eventful Homecoming weekend at Oklahoma Christian. Banquet tickets cost $20 and can be purchased by calling (405) 425-5110 or emailing dana.holley@oc.edu. Discounted prices are available for a table of eight.

“The impact that this group of honorees has made on Oklahoma Christian, on our community and around the world is immeasurable,” said Bob Lashley, OC’s executive director of alumni relations. “A celebration of their lives and accomplishments really is a celebration of OC’s history, too. This banquet will be a great opportunity for family, friends and alumni to come together to thank them for all they’ve done.”

Bailey McBride earned his associate degree from Oklahoma Christian in 1954 when it was a two-year school known as Central Christian College. Since returning in 1966, he has served as a faculty member, dean, vice president, provost, and director of OC’s acclaimed Honors Program. He also was a longtime editor of the Christian Chronicle. In 2004, Oklahoma Christian launched the McBride Center for the Humanities in the McBrides’ honor.

Stafford North came to Central Christian as a faculty member in 1952 and also has served as executive vice president and chief academic officer during his 60 years with the school. He helped put Oklahoma Christian on the forefront of academic technology, starting with a nationally-recognized dial access tape system in the 60s and continuing today with OC’s partnership with Apple and the North Institute for Teaching and Learning. JoAnne has helped raise support the university through Stepping Stones and the Oklahoma Christian Women’s Association.

The McBride and North family legacies at Oklahoma Christian include a combined seven children and nine grandchildren who have attended the university.

The distinguished alumni honorees have served Oklahoma Christian since the 1960s. McMillon graduated from Oklahoma Christian in 1963, joined OC as a faculty member in 1966, and later served for 13 years as dean of the College of Biblical Studies. He also serves as chief executive officer and editor of the Christian Chronicle.

Cail retired in 2003 after teaching at Oklahoma Christian for 31 years. He graduated from Oklahoma Christian in 1958, returned in 1963 as director of admissions, and later became a popular psychology and sociology professor.

Adams and Norton, the distinguished young alumni honorees, both served as presidents of OC’s Student Government Association. After graduating from Oklahoma Christian in 2011, they were accepted into the prestigious Teach for America program. They teach at Douglass High School in Oklahoma City.

The distinguished honorary alumna, Freede has been involved with Oklahoma Christian since the 70s when she hosted on-campus luncheons for civic leaders. She later supported Enterprise Square USA and helped enhance OC’s campus landscape with her generosity through the 100-foot-tall Freede Centennial Tower, built in 2007 and dedicated in 2008.

Oklahoma Christian’s long history of global outreach moved the university to launch the new “Missions Award” this year. The Hartmans, Keesees and Powells had various stints in Australia between 1979 and 2000, combining for 42 years of mission work there.

In addition to the Alumni Banquet, Homecoming weekend will feature OC’s production of the musical “Seussical” at 8 p.m. on Nov. 1-3 in Hardeman Auditorium. Tickets cost $15, with discounts for groups, senior citizens, and OC students, faculty and staff. Tickets can be purchased on weekdays at the OC Box Office or by calling (405) 425-5540.

Other big events include Homecoming Chapel at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3, followed by the Homecoming Parade and Homecoming Carnival/Lunch. The Homecoming Chapel service will feature a message from new president John deSteiguer, a devotional, a performance by the OC Chorale, and recognition of OC’s first class of four-year graduates, who earned their degrees 50 years ago in 1962.

OC’s season-opening basketball games tip off at 1 p.m. (women vs. Oklahoma Wesleyan University) and 3 p.m. (men vs. Central Bible College) on Saturday in the Payne Athletic Center. The “70’s Barn Bash” for 1970s-era alumni begins at 6 p.m. Saturday in the Dave Smith Athletic Center.

Numerous reunions, receptions and other Homecoming events will bring alumni from all eras back home to Oklahoma Christian. A complete schedule is available at www.oc.edu/homecoming.

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This year’s theme is “In Him,” an expression that appears in Colossians 2:9-10 and in many other places in Paul’s epistles.

Seven past or present Christian college presidents will participate in the lectureship, including current OC president John deSteiguer and former OC presidents Terry Johnson and Mike O’Neal.

Ohio Valley University president Harold Shank, a 1972 OC graduate, Harding University president David Burks, former Abilene Christian University president Royce Money and former Freed-Hardeman University president Milton Sewell also will lead sessions.

OC alumna Sherri Coale, the women’s basketball coach at the University of Oklahoma, is one of the highlights of the lectureship’s Women’s Day activities.

“This year’s lectureship has something to benefit everyone. There are classes and lectures to inform about the scriptures and to inspire us to follow the Bible’s teachings,” Vice President for Advancement Kent Allen said. “And there are lots of practical classes on preaching, evangelism, teaching, leadership, and Christian living. We hope all who can will take the opportunity to be with us.”

The lectureship begins at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 7 with congregational singing led by Keith Lancaster, founder of Acappella Ministries. Shank will deliver the opening keynote address, “All the Fullness of Christ,” at 7 p.m. in Hardeman Auditorium.

Monday night’s keynote lecture, also at 7 p.m., will feature deSteiguer speaking on “Hope in Christ.”

The keynote lectures on Monday and Tuesday morning, delivered by ministers Steve Cloer and David Lane, will be held at 11 a.m. in conjunction with OC’s daily Chapel services.

In addition to the keynotes and classes, Monday is Women’s Day at the lectureship. OVU first lady Sally Shank, a 1974 Oklahoma Christian graduate, will lead morning sessions. Coale will speak at the Mother-Daughter Banquet at 5:30 p.m. Monday. OC’s first lady, Darla deSteiguer, will conclude the women’s activities with a class on Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m.

Another lectureship highlight will be a reunion concert featuring Christian Music Hall of Fame recording artist Acappella and alumni from the group’s 30 years of ministry. The free concert begins at 8 p.m. Sunday in Hardeman Auditorium.

For the full schedule, registration for luncheons and dinners, and other information about the lectureship, go to www.oc.edu/lectureship.

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The free lecture starts at 7:30 p.m. in OC’s Judd Theatre. A panel discussion and free book-signing reception will follow. Lecture seating can be reserved at www.oc.edu/mcbridecenter.

During his visit, Hwang also will participate in symposia with board members of Ecumenica, a national journal and scholars association for theater and faith.

“Hwang continuously manages to navigate the precarious boundaries of enthnography, cultural criticism, and dramatic composition with facility and tenderness,” said Carolyn Roark, editor in chief of Ecumenica. “His contributions to American and world stages serve as a credit to the McBride Center’s commitment to exploring the breadth of the human condition through the humanities.”

Hwang received a Tony Award for the 1998 production of “M Butterfly,” a drama inspired by the music of Puccini. The play starred John Lithgow and BD Wong on Broadway, with the cast later including Anthony Hopkins. The 1993 film starred Jeremy Irons.

His most recent work to be performed on Broadway is “Chinglish,” a satirical look at the use of English in business communication between Western and Chinese enterprises.

He received the prestigious Steinberg Award for American Drama this year.

“Hwang remains a durable consummate of several dramatic mediums – librettist, dramatist and children’s plays,” OC theater professor Dr. Barrett Huddleston said. “His pedigree, accolades and social consciousness elevate his work among the best of the American theatrical experience.”

The McBride Lecture will serve as the keynote address for the annual meeting of the Southwest Conference on Christianity and Literature, which will bring scholars from five surrounding states to OC’s campus for panel discussions by scholars and for student research presentations.

The SWCCL program will be coordinated by program chair Dr. Ben Myers, professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University and arrangements chair Merle Gatewood, associate professor of English and French at Oklahoma Christian. 

The McBride Center is named for Dr. Bailey and Joyce McBride, who have been academic leaders in the English faculty, campus community and Oklahoma’s higher education community since the 1950s.

“At Oklahoma Christian, we aspire to transform the lives of our students, faculty and community toward greater scholarship, faith and service. This always has included a vigorous public engagement with the humanities,” said Dr. Scott LaMascus, director of OC’s McBride Center for Public Humanities. “Bailey McBride has championed the humanities as a professor, chief academic officer and community wise man. He loves people and ideas, so nothing could be more natural than honoring Bailey and Joyce with these activities.”

Endowment and operational funding for the McBride Center is made available by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Oklahoma Humanities Council, the Kirkpatrick Family Fund and the Oklahoma City Community Foundation provided additional funding. Generous annual gifts have come from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation in New York City and the Inasmuch Foundation of Oklahoma City.

Past guests for the McBride Lecture include: bestselling novelist Kathleen Norris (2005); U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky (2006); Pulitzer Prize winner Marilynne Robinson (2007); best-selling religions author Dr. Charles Kimball (2008); environmentalist and bestselling author Bill McKibben (2009); past national chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts and poet Dana Gioia (2010); and bestselling novelist Alice McDermott (2011).

For more information, call Frances Sawyer at (405) 425-5330 or go to www.oc.edu/mcbridecenter.

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OC is competitive:

Three of OC’s mass communication students, Josh Richardson, Jessica Estrada and Ryan Pendergrass, went to the Oklahoma Speech Theater Communication Association College PR student competition on September 8. Josh’s team won second place and Jessica’s team placed third. 

OC is getting the word out:

• Since fall 2011, Dr. Alan Martin, dean of OC’s College of Biblical Studies, has conducted six Marriage and Family Seminars in Oklahoma and Houston, Texas.
• Drs. John Harrison and Jim Dvorak published The New Testament Church: The challenges of developing ecclesiologies, for the McMaster Biblical Studies Series.
• In the past year, our Bible faculty have made at least six presentations at national and international conferences. Additionally, they have published six journal articles and conducted 14 seminars across the country and throughout the world.

OC is global:

• Ben Langford, director of OC’s Center for Global Missions, took a group of 10 students on a mission project to Chimala, Tanzania, for three weeks. They trained and equipped nine students to participate in a 5-7 week internship with mission teams in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Brazil. Click here to read about their service fighting a fire in a local dormitory.
• In July, Kent and Nancy Hartman helped organize the seventh-annual Global Reunion. The camp had 80 participants from 19 countries. It is specifically designed for missionary/military families who have returned to the United States.
• This summer, Dr. Grant Testut designed a YouTube Hebrew alphabet tutorial to aid students in learning the Hebrew language.
• Dr. Dudley Chancey participated in a presentation on Intergenerational Faith in Sophie, Bulgaria. In August, he began the first wave of data collection and interviews of three generations for the Intergenerational Faith Center.

OC is life-changing:

Student Charles (C.J.) Swanson, Jr., attended the Social Innovation Summit at the United Nations & J.P. Morgan this past summer. He was inspired to create the social entrepreneurial project, “Social Bank Co.” Stillwater Bank, Citizens Bank of Edmond and Impact Investment Partners LLP have expressed interest in this project. Check out the website at www.socialbankco.org.