HSRC 2017-2018 Academic Year in Review

As Oral Roberts University faculty and staff prepare for new academic year, we wanted to take an opportunity to look back some of the progress made in the Holy Spirit Research Center.

Perhaps the biggest change of the past year was the appointment of Dr. Mark E. Roberts to become the new dean of the Library last summer.  Dr. Roberts served as the director of the HSRC since 1999 and under his leadership many important advancements in the center were made, most notably the 2016 launch ORU Digital Showcase and various digitization initiatives aimed to provide resources to the global Spirit-empowered movement.  With Dr. Roberts' new appointment, Daniel Isgrigg, a graduate of ORU and a Ph.D. candidate in Pentecostal History, was asked to join the library faculty in November of 2017 to serve on an interim basis to help oversee the operation of the Center. As a student, Daniel spent over a year doing research in the HSRC for his MA thesis and eventually published his work Pilgrimage Into Pentecost: The Pneumatological Legacy of Howard M. Ervin in 2008.  Daniel's familiarity with the Center and his expertise in Pentecostal history made him a logical choice to succeed Dr. Roberts and earlier this month he was given a full appointment to become the new Director of the Holy Spirit Research Center.

Even in this year of transition, the HSRC continued to expand its holdings and digital initiatives. The info graphic below outlines some of the progress made in 2017-2018 academic year.