Perkins Named Dean of Enrollment Management

OBU has named Bruce Perkins as dean of enrollment management, OBU Provost Dr. Stan Norman announced Thursday, Aug. 4. Perkins has served as director of OBU Admissions since 2006.

As the chief enrollment officer for the university, the dean is responsible for the strategic planning, recruiting and retention initiatives that assist the university to achieve its mission and fulfill its vision.

"Under his leadership as director of Admissions, Bruce has cultivated and led an outstanding admissions team that has produced enrollment increases since his arrival on Bison Hill in 2006," said Norman, who also serves as executive vice president for campus life. "His entrepreneurial leadership coupled with his vibrant interpersonal relationship skills make him an ideal candidate to lead our enrollment management team. As dean of enrollment management, Bruce will provide direction and supervision for the Academic Center, Admissions, Student Financial Services and Student Success Center. His service as a pastor and his passionate involvement in missional engagement have, and will continue to, strengthen his contributions to our mission of Christ-centered excellence as a Christian liberal arts university."

A native of Frederick, Okla., Perkins earned a bachelor's degree from Howard Payne University and a master's degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has completed work (ABD) toward a doctor of education degree at Oral Roberts University.

During Perkins' tenure as director of Admissions, freshman enrollment at OBU has grown from 315 in the fall 2007 class to an expected fall 2011 class of approximately 470. Approximately 2,000 new freshman and 600 transfer students have enrolled at OBU during these 5 years. New campus visit events for prospective students have been enhanced and attendance has increased 83 percent in the past year. Also this year, the OBU Admissions team received one of four national awards in marketing and recruitment from Noel-Levitz.

Before arriving on Bison Hill, he served as president and CEO of Shiloh Christian School in Springdale, Ark. In his five years at SCS, Perkins helped the school gain accreditation with the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. He previously served 15 years as senior pastor of Memorial Baptist Church in Grapevine, Texas. He helped establish MBC as a "global priority church" with Southern Baptists' International Mission Board. The church's contribution to international missions increased 745 percent under his leadership. He has served as pastor of other Texas Baptist churches, and he has led missions teams on six different continents.

Perkins' wife, Linda, serves as an instructor in the Intensive English Program at OBU.