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Founding
instructor teaches "business as usual"
By Fay Torres
He has watched the University blossom since he first began his teaching
career. Dr. George Gillen is ORU's founding Business Department chair.
He greatly enjoys his job and the people that it brings him in contact
with, both in and out of the classroom.
Where were you born and where did you grow up?
I was born in Little Rock, Arkansas; then my parents moved to Roxanna,
Illinois.
Where have you attended school?
I went to Catholic schools until the eighth grade (1948) when I moved
to Tulsa. I went to Roosevelt Junior High School and then to Central
High School and graduated from there as valedictorian of my class.
I went to college at the University of Tulsa and there received my
Associate of Arts in Sociology, B.S. in Economics and M.B.A. in Economics
and Management. I went on to the University of Oklahoma and got my
Ph.D. in Economics.
How long have you taught at ORU?
Thirty-seven years. I chose ORU because my father became ill, and
I returned home from working on my doctorate at OSU. While here in
Tulsa, I took a drive with my mother, and we saw a sign that said
"New Home of Oral Roberts University." We stopped and asked
a man if there were any openings for business professors. The man
said that there was a need for a teacher of economics so I interviewed
with him and with Oral Roberts and got the job, June 4, 1965.
How many years were you in school after you graduated from high
school?
Eleven years counting the year I attended Cambridge University in
England and did post-graduate studies there after receiving my doctorate.
Do you have a favorite class that you teach?
Principles of Economics. I have taught that class for 42 years, not
all at ORU. Many of my students have grown up and become fine international
businesspeople. I enjoy reuniting with them all over the world. Now,
with the emergence of e-mail, I receive e-mail from former students
who are surprised to know I'm still teaching!
What is your favorite memory from your years of teaching?
About 10 students of mine are millionaires now, and one of them started
his own business by laying TV cable in a mountainous town in Colorado.
He eventually sold the business for $2 million, and endowed the ORU
business department to be able to take a weekend retreat during the
year with the honor students. That's the greatest thing about the
job: getting to fraternize with the faculty and students and have
fun together playing games, preparing meals and doing devos. Also,
I enjoy teaching the children of people that I have taught in earlier
years. Sometimes I have had both parents in my class! Yes, I was responsible
for a few of those marriages!
Do you have any hobbies?
I am a musician; I am a pianist and pipe-organist. I am also an avid
card player; I play tennis and try to ride three miles a week on my
bike, but during the summer, I ride 12 miles a week.
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would that be and
why?
Venice, Italy. There is no noise because there are no motor vehicles,
and the beauty is . . . well, there's no city like it. I'm also partial
to Venice because of its political founding: the business leaders
ran the government, and the president could be disposed of if he was
opposed to the business people. I believe that when our founding fathers
observed this behavior, it laid the way for our own democracy.
What made you want to be a teacher?
When I was in grade school, I loved it when my friends would miss
class and I would get to teach them and tutor them. I've enjoyed teaching
since about the third grade.
Do you have a hero?
Yes. My hero is Thomas Jefferson because he was such an intellectual
giant. He was brilliant! He was an architect and inventor. He was
a champion of freedom.
What is one major truth that you have learned in life?
I believe in inductive reasoning and logic. Make no hypothesis until
you are finished gathering facts so you will not reject any information
that might disprove your hypothesis; it will free you from bias. However
painful, however difficult, we must seek truth and stamp out ignorance
wherever we find it.
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