Episode 55: What Gen. Z Wants From Education with Dr. Charles Scott | Oral Roberts University

Summary

What does it mean to offer students a “whole-person education”? In this third conversation in our college series this July, Robert sits down with Dr. Charles Scott, the Vice President of External Affairs at Oral Roberts University (ORU), a private Christian college located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, whose mission is “to develop Holy Spirit-empowered leaders through whole-person education to impact the world.” They discuss what a whole-person education looks like practically at ORU, what cultural challenges college students face today, how to prepare students for work as worship, how to engage Generation Z students for Christ, and how Christ-centered businesses can serve the community around them. After the interview, Robert addresses the lowest decline in writing and math scores in decades in the U.S. and Will explains Blackrock’s proposed Bitcoin ETF.

Quote

“Most Generation Z are very concerned about the future. They want very much to make a difference in the world. . . . And so, as believers. . . we can show them how to spend time on what will make the most difference in work and in life and find that purpose that really comes from being Christ-centered and Christ-focused and a Christ follower.”

Dr. Charles Scott

Topics

• Intro to Dr. Charles Scott [0:39]
• What does a “whole-person education” look like? [2:03]
• How a whole-person education encourages students to seek truth [4:02]
• Seeing the results of a whole-person education from Oral Roberts University graduates—a 99.7% career outcome only six months after graduation! [5:41]
• What cultural challenges do college students struggle with? [8:00]
• How ORU prepares students for work as worship after graduation [9:50]
• Practical ways Christian businesses can make a difference in their local communities [12:31]
• How ORU seeks practical opportunities for students to live out the Christian faith [15:00]
• Staying true to Oral Robert’s original vision for the school [17:25]
• The #1 Best Value Regional College in the West, according to the U.S. News & World Report [20:40]
• How students can apply for ORU scholarships [25:05]
• What Generation Z wants; what makes ORU rank the fifth college in the nation for highest student engagement, according to The Wall Street Journal [27:38]
• Charles’s book, Storms Don’t Bother Me [30:33]
• Farewell to Charles [32:40]
• “Current Events Discussion”: U.S. reading and math scores dropped to lowest in a decade NPR article on June 21 [33:36]
• Ad: Testing options for homeschool families [36:16]
• “Classical Crypto”: Blackrock’s Bitcoin ETF and the Bitcoin halving cycle [38:04]
• Outro [42:17]

Mentions

• Oral Roberts University
• The King’s University
• Pentecostal Church of God
• Storms Don’t Bother Me by Charles Scott | Amazon
• Fitbit
• About Dr. Voddie T. Baucham, Jr. | Voddie Baucham Ministries
• Parent Engagement Office | Oral Roberts University
• Generation Z: Born for the Storm by Dr. Billy Wilson | Amazon
• How The Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In by Jim Collins | Amazon
• Undergraduate Scholarships | Oral Roberts University
• Quest First Scholarship | Oral Roberts University
• “Liberal professors outnumber conservatives 12 to 1: Study” | The Washington Times
• Oral Roberts University (@OralRobertsU) | Twitter
• Oral Roberts University (@oralrobertsu) | Instagram
• Oral Roberts University | Facebook
• Oral Roberts University (@oralrobertsu) | TikTok
• Oral Roberts University (@OralRobertsUniversity) | YouTube
• “U.S. reading and math scores drop to lowest level in decades” | NPR
• “BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF: What You Need To Know” | Forbes
• “What Is Bitcoin Halving? Definition, How It Works, Why It Matters” | Investopedia