THE 2024 ALUMNI AWARDS
Five alumni were honored at the November 9 Homecoming Banquet as Alumni Association Board Chair Kevin Cox presented the 2024 Alumni Awards. They are:
- David Cerullo '73, Distinguished Service to God
- Dr. Robert J. King '81-M.Div., '02-D.Min., Distinguished Service to God
- Arthur Greeno '92, Distinguished Service to the Community
- Jim Moore '76, Distinguished Service “In Every Person's World”
- Nicole Hopkins '15, Rising Servant Leader
This year, two alumni were chosen in the Distinguished Service to God category. The Alumni Association Board of Directors did not select an honoree in the Distinguished Service to the Alma Mater category.
At this time, we also want to encourage you to nominate alumni for the 2025 awards. The deadline for nominations is March 1, 2025. Use this link to submit your nomination(s).
Meet the 2024 honorees!
David Cerullo '73 (Business Administration) | Distinguished Service to God
David is a minister, entrepreneur, author, and businessman; President and CEO of Inspiration Ministries’ Inspiration Network (INSP); founder of MediaComm, Inc.; and the force behind the creation of several other cable networks. Along with INSP, which is one of the most successful networks in the U.S., Inspiration Ministries presents the gospel to millions worldwide via print materials, streaming and on-demand programs, and prayer ministry. The focus of Inspiration Ministries is two-fold: evangelism and discipleship.
Dr. Robert J. King '81-M.Div., '02-D.Min. | Distinguished Service to God
Dr. King has dedicated his life to full-time ministry as he and his wife, Susan (d. 2021), raised five children. In Juarez, Mexico, he established multiple Christian schools with biblically based curricula, founded the “Abundant Life in Jesus” ministry, and hosted missions teams from ORU. In Afghanistan, he founded Bahar International School, an institution that enabled Afghan students to continue their education in the midst of challenging circumstances. In the summer of 2021, he was actively involved in efforts to evacuate Afghan refugees in order to save their lives.
Arthur Greeno '92 (Commercial Art) | Distinguished Service to the Community
Arthur has been involved with Chick-fil-A for 34 years—30 of those as an owner—and has been giving back to the Tulsa community for many years as well. As a founding member of Tulsa Pop Kids, he’s involved with a nonprofit whose mission is to advance literacy, inspiration, and aspiration to children through pop culture and entertainment. Arthur has also served on the Tulsa Christmas Parade committee. His Chick-fil-A stores broke two Guinness World Records (world’s largest sweet tea and lemonade), and his store-sponsored events have collected school supplies for children in need and funds for Little Light House, a faith-based center that offers special-needs children many therapeutic services.
Jim Moore '76 (Business Administration) | Distinguished Service "In Every Person's World"
Jim is the founder and chairman of Moore Companies, an enterprise with more than 46 companies in multiple cities. Moore is the largest fundraising services provider in the world—working with a wide variety of nonprofits (Mercy Ships, Wounded Warrior Project, and Christian Appalachian Project, to name a few) and focusing on “integration of the donor experience across all platforms, channels, and devices.” The award-winning company has a Pay It Forward program that encourages Moore's various company branches to choose local charities that their employees can help through volunteer work and donations. Jim and his company are also well known for their generosity.
Nicole Hopkins '15 (International Community Development) | Rising Servant Leader
Nicole has worked with underprivileged youth through many avenues, including the Zone Academy in northwest Tulsa since 2015. She recently opened a mortgage company after working as a private wealth banker; launched financial literacy programming with the OKC Thunder's nonprofit; and chairs the Oklahoma Hall of Fame's Second Century Board of Directors. Nicole has also served on numerous boards and leadership teams, including those of the American Heart Association and the National Accounting & Finance Women's Alliance. She was an OK Magazine “40 Under 40” honoree in 2021, has served as a classroom speaker at ORU, and is very active as a mentor for students and a cheerleader for fellow alumni.
THE ALUMNI AWARDS PROGRAM
In 1998, the Alumni Association Board of Directors established an Alumni Awards program. The first awards were handed out in 1999. In 2014, a new award was introduced for Distinguished Service "In Every Person's World." (Note: In 2015, as part of its 50th Anniversary celebration, ORU presented 50 Lifetime Global Achievement Awards to alumni, friends, and other notable individuals. Alumni Awards were not presented in 2015.)
In 2020, another new award -- the Rising Servant Leader -- was presented for the first time.
The categories and criteria for the Alumni Award nominations are as follows:
Distinguished Service to God
Excellence in fulfillment of Oral Roberts' vision for students to go into "every person's world" through full- or part-time ministry in a church, missions organization, or other ministry.
Distinguished Service to the Community
Excellence in serving the community and society, including those outside the Kingdom of God, by bringing God's voice, light, and power into their world; and excellence in meeting unique challenges presented by their environment.
Distinguished Service to the Alma Mater
Excellence in their field of service, contributions to the total life of the university, and spiritual impact on students, the ORU community, and fellow alumni. Nominations based in part on outstanding or faithful financial support of ORU are welcomed, but this is not a prerequisite for the award.
Distinguished Service “In Every Person’s World”
Excellence in carrying out ORU's founding vision through service and achievements in non-ministry/non-missions fields, and by representing Christ in their particular corner of "every person's world."
In these four categories, quality and longevity of service and ministry will be considered. Those who have served "quietly and faithfully" will be on equal footing with those who are widely recognized for their work. Each nominee's life and conduct should reflect Christ's character as revealed in scripture.
The Rising Servant Leader Award
At their November 2019 meeting, the Alumni Association Board of Directors voted to create a new award: The Rising Servant Leader Award. This annual award is granted to a young alumnus or alumna who has received an undergraduate degree from ORU within the last ten years, and who has shown exceedingly outstanding, Christ-like character.
As with the annual Alumni Awards, nominees for this award are evaluated based on the information submitted by their nominators, and through the references that must come from a mentor, a pastor, and a peer. The nominator’s information on the nominee, and positive impressions from the references, must provide verifiable evidence of the nominee’s Christ-like conduct, and the fruit of his or her outstanding character.
This award is intended to empower and acknowledge younger alumni within their first decade out of school—to honor them for being of unimpeachable character in representing ORU. Board members want this award to be reminiscent of how Paul empowered Timothy “to lead and continue to press on in the good fight.” The board wants to acknowledge young alumni and their accomplishments while commissioning them to fight the good fight of faith by representing ORU through their service to God, service to the community, service to their alma mater, and service in every person's world.
For more information on these awards, contact your board representative or the Office of Alumni Relations at alumni@oru.edu or 918.495.6610.