Dr. Mark Rutland, the founder and director of the National Institute of Christian Leadership and Global Servants, has joined the administrative team as a consultant to the office of the Tarkio Tech President.

Dr. Rutland is a New York Times best-selling author, educator, charismatic leader, businessman and a nationally recognized figure in Christian higher education. In 1999, Dr. Rutland was asked to become the new president of Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida. At that time, Southeastern University was struggling financially, facing many maintenance issues, and was suffering from declining enrollment. Under his leadership, the university completed 13 major building projects and took the enrollment from 900 to over 3,000.

On January 28, 2009, the Board of Trustees of Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, elected Dr. Rutland as the third president of the institution. ORU, like Southeastern, was in dire need of a turn-around. The university was facing scandal and bankruptcy and was over 55 million dollars in debt with three former professors filing suit against the university for unlawful termination. When Dr. Rutland left ORU in 2012, the university’s reputation had been revived; it was operating in the black and it had returned to the prominence it enjoyed under its founder Rev. Oral Roberts.

Tarkio Tech board members believe Dr. Rutland’s experience and expertise in re-launching struggling post-secondary institutions will be an immense resource.

Dr. Rutland’s published works include: Launch Out into the Deep (Rutland’s memoir and autobiography, originally published in 1987), The Finger of God, Hanging by a Thread, Behind the Glittering Mask, Streams of Mercy, God of the Valleys, Nevertheless, Dream, Character Matters, Power, Holiness, Resurrection, Most Likely to Succeed, Relaunch, 21 Seconds to Change Your World, and David the Great.

Dr. Rutland will be greeting fans at the East Atchison/Mound City game Friday night. The Tarkio Tech Local Steering Committee will be hosting a continental breakfast at Thompson Learning Center from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Saturday where Dr. Rutland will be available to greet local citizens. He will be meeting with the Tarkio College Board following the breakfast.