ORU Celebrates Largest Graduating Class in History

Over 8,000 people attend ORU's 2025 Commencement.

Tulsa, Oklahoma, May 5, 2025-Oral Roberts University (ORU) held its 2025 Commencement on Saturday, May 3, celebrating the largest graduating class in the University's history. With 1,065 graduates, the 2025 class represented 42 U.S. states and 62 different nations. ORU's student body has increased every year for the last 16 years. For the academic year (2024-2025), ORU enrolled 7,069 unduplicated students, setting a new record for the University.

As part of the Commencement proceedings, ORU President Dr. William M. Wilson commissioned the graduating class with these words:

"Today, you join over 34,000 other students who have graduated from this University over the last 58 years. As a graduate of ORU, you are different. While a student here, we have prepared you to be a Whole Leader for the Whole World. In this class, there are both future millionaires and future million soul winners. Because you live generously, your world is going to get larger and larger! Now, you are leaving here as a Holy Spirit-empowered leader who can hear God's voice, walk with spiritual integrity, display personal resilience, live with intellectual pursuit, engage the peoples of the world, and walk out God's bold vision for your life. Today, you are commissioned to Go-Change the World!"

Dr. Wilson presents Commencement speaker Bobby Gruenewald
with an honorary Doctor of Divinity

Commencement speaker Bobby Gruenewald shared with the class of 2025, "The world doesn't just need graduates. It needs people who are filled with purpose, rooted in integrity, and willing to follow God's voice even when the path ahead isn't fully clear. You are those people. So walk boldly. Dream big. And trust that the God who brought you to this moment will lead you into a future greater than anything you could ask, think, or imagine."

Representing the Class of 2025, ORU senior Lydia McNally delivered an address to the graduates and those in attendance. McNally said, "God has used this time at Oral Roberts University to shape you into a person equipped for anything and everything that He has for you. When the moment comes to take life's next step, whatever that looks like for you, cling to the Lord, and take that step with boldness, knowing that He has prepared you, He has a plan for you, and He goes with you."

ORU Provost Dr. Kathaleen Reid-Martinez encouraged the graduates with these words, "Class of 2025, the faculty, administration, and staff delight in your academic and in your cocurricular accomplishments. Your diploma reflects the lifelong call to spiritual integrity in all that you do. We know that you will do your part in spirit, mind, and body to be a force for good in our world, through the power of the Holy Spirit, wherever He plans to take you."

Graduating seniors shared their experience at ORU:

"I absolutely loved my time at Oral Roberts University. The professors were incredible and invested in me so much more than I anticipated. The student body is such a special community, and the atmosphere on campus is unlike anywhere else. -Hannah Skinner, Bachelors International Business

"I really enjoyed my online Master's Program at ORU. It worked very well with my work schedule and vocational ministry life. I am grateful for this experience!" -Kamyrn Paniagua, Masters in Christian Ministry

"Attending Oral Roberts University has been a life-changing journey. ORU challenged me to grow not only intellectually, but also spiritually, socially, and emotionally." -Esther Prasad, Masters Business Administration

"My experience at ORU was life-changing. I would have never become the woman I am today if it were not for the way that ORU helped to mold and shape me with my classes, with chapels, with my extracurricular activities." -Charzia Curtis, Bachelors Music Ed

"My time at ORU has been nothing short of amazing. Looking back, I know that God led me here for a reason. To grow in my relationship with Him, to learn and excel in my area of study, and to be surrounded by an incredible community."-Joao Mesquita, Bachelors Communication

With over five decades of graduating "Whole Leaders for the Whole World," this year marked ORU's 58th commencement. As a globally recognized University, ORU continues to develop Holy Spirit-empowered leaders from all 50 states and 165 nations (in the last five years) to impact the world.

Congratulations Class of 2025!

UNIVERSITY BRIEF

ORU is a Christian, Spirit-empowered, interdenominational university in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with 16 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. Under the leadership of President Dr. William Wilson, ORU is preparing students from all 50 states and 165 nations in the last 5 years to be whole leaders for the whole world.

The Wall Street Journal ranked ORU as the #8 university in the nation for student experience and one of America's Best Colleges (2025). This new category rates the best colleges in the U.S. to have a great experience while attending. This ranking is powered by one of the largest-ever independent surveys of verified college students and recent graduates in the United States. Niche has recognized ORU as one of the top 25 most diverse colleges in America, the # 1 best Christian college in Oklahoma, and the # 1 in Oklahoma for diversity. Princeton Review ranked ORU as the best regional college, and College Raptor ranked ORU as a Hidden Gem in the Southwest. Heritage.org classified ORU as a great option for families prioritizing freedom, opportunity, and civil society.

ORU has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report as:

• #1 in Undergraduate Teaching
• #2 in Most International Students
• #3 in Best Value
• #6 in Best College for Veterans
• #7 in Best Regional Colleges in the West

For more information, visit www.oru.edu.