AI & Emerging Technology Innovations Selected for Inaugural ORU Presidential Grant

Five Faculty-Led Projects Will Share $55,000 in Funding for Pioneering AI Research

Tulsa, Oklahoma, April 30, 2026-Oral Roberts University's (ORU) inaugural President's Emerging Technology Research Program has selected five winning proposals for funding. The program's $55,000 grant is designed to advance the University's mission while equipping students and faculty to engage in emerging technologies with wisdom, creativity, and Spirit-empowered purpose.

"Emerging technologies are mission-shaping opportunities that must be stewarded with discernment, courage, and conviction," said ORU President Dr. William M. Wilson. "At ORU, we are committed to ensuring that our faculty and students are not merely consumers of AI & technology, but thoughtful, ethical, Spirit-empowered leaders who understand it, shape it, and use it for the good of humanity and the glory of God. These five research teams represent the best of what ORU is called to be: innovative, rigorous, and deeply grounded in faith."

The $55,000 grant will be divided among the following faculty-led projects:

Dr. Angela Sample - ORU Library Research Launchpad: An AI-Powered Tool to Help ORU Students Start Their Research
This AI-powered tool, built specifically around ORU's library resources, research strengths, and Spirit-empowered mission, will provide every student-on campus or online, in Tulsa or across the globe-with a personalized, 24/7 research roadmap.

Dr. Terry Shannon - Immersive Faith, Learning, and Play: Deploying Arcturus 3D AI Volumetric Technology Across ORU Sports, Worship, and Classroom Environments
This project brings cutting-edge volumetric AI technology-the same platform transforming the NBA and leading European football clubs-into the service of Spirit-empowered theological formation, academic instruction, and campus worship at ORU.

Evan Hewitt - AI-Powered Film Production: Equipping Students for the Future of Cinematic Storytelling
A select cohort of ORU Cinema and Media Arts students will serve as co-researchers and practitioners, rigorously evaluating leading AI tools across five production phases: concept development, scriptwriting, pre-production, production, post-production, and marketing.

Nathan Opp - Slowing the Machine: Human-Centered AI for Reflective Creative Expression
This project will develop an experimental performance environment where an AI system analyzes cultural data and translates it into lighting patterns, spatial cues, and movement prompts for performers.

Dr. Jared Johnston - Trek AI Certification & Applied Use Across Teacher Education
Dr. Johnston will address one of the most urgent frontiers in educator preparation: ensuring that the next generation of teachers and educational leaders graduate with verified, ethically grounded AI fluency.

In a joint statement, the co-chairs of ORU's AI Task Force and leaders of this initiative, Dr. Andrew Lang (Dean of ORU's College of Science and Engineering) and Michael Mathews (Vice President of Global Learning and Innovation), shared their enthusiasm for the research projects.

The funded projects span five colleges and represent a university-wide commitment to understanding, applying, and responsibly shaping AI and technology's role in education, the arts, media, library science, and human creativity. All five projects are designed to be scalable for external funding. Potential external funders include the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Epic Games MegaGrants program, and multiple Spirit-empowered and Christian foundations.

ORU's AI Position Statement, AI Task Force, annual AI Symposium, and now the President's Emerging Technology Research Program collectively establish ORU as a leader in artificial intelligence and faith-integrated education. The University's AI and Innovation initiative is built on a foundational conviction: that AI has the potential to transform lives and serve humanity when guided by Christian ethics, compassion, and integrity.

For more information about ORU, visit https://www.oru.edu.

Nationally Ranked, Globally Recognized

ORU is a Christian, Spirit-empowered, interdenominational university in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with 17 years of consecutive enrollment growth. Regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, ORU offers over 150 majors, minors, concentrations, and pre-professional programs at the bachelor's level, ranging from business and engineering to nursing, ministry, and more. In 2024, the Carnegie Foundation recognized ORU with a "Leadership for Public Purpose" award, a distinction earned by only 25 universities nationwide. Under the leadership of President Dr. William Wilson, ORU is preparing students from all 50 states and 176 nations in the last 7 years to be whole leaders for the whole world.