Dr. Everett Piper, president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, has announced he will retire in June of 2020 and the university has started the process to search for his replacement.

“Oklahoma Wesleyan University owes Dr. Piper a huge debt of gratitude for the amazing turnaround in the financial health of our school since his arrival 16 years ago,” said OKWU Board Chairman, Roger Metcalf. “Even more important is the spiritual vitality that Dr. Piper has helped us experience. Practically everyone who knows anything about OKWU knows of the 4 P’s that Dr. Piper implemented shortly after his arrival. We thank God for sending Dr. Everett and Marci Piper to us and are grateful for their leadership and service to OKWU.”

Over the past decade and a half, OKWU has moved from financial exigency to fiscal health. Debt is now zero while annual revenue has more than doubled. Over $17 million in capital improvements including a new library, a new school of business, new fitness center and three new residence halls have been added to the campus.

OKWU is recognized on the national stage for its defense of academic freedom and intellectual liberty. The university is known as a prominent voice for a biblical worldview through its Josh McDowell Institute for Christian Apologetics.

OKWU is a leader in advocating for capitalism, free enterprise, and constitutional liberty through its Keating Center and The Chesapeake Energy School of Business, a spokesman said. In addition, the university now leads both nationally and internationally in the fight for biblical justice and against human trafficking through its Orange Movement. Total enrollment has nearly tripled over the past 16 years and the university’s motto to ‘impact culture’ with the Lordship of Christ has increased exponentially.

 “We believe that God is in control and the future is bright,” said Metcalf. “and we are looking forward to wherever He leads us.”

Piper was vice president for Advancement at Grace College and Seminary in Indiana, then served as dean of students at Greenville College in Illinois. Before joining Oklahoma Wesleyan, Piper was vice president for student development at Spring Arbor University in Michigan.

Dr. Piper is the author of Why I Am A Liberal, and Other Conservative Ideas and the best-selling Not a Daycare: The Devastating Consequences of Abandoning Truth.