When Mike was a teenager, Antlers was home to nearly 2,200 residents.8 Although the abundance of whitetail deer made the area famous—it is known as the “Deer Capital of the World”— the town owes its existence primarily to the construction of the St. Louis and San Francisco train lines, which prompted the establishment of a post office in Antlers.9
Although Mike is not a tall man, the first time I walked with him across the campus at OC, I had to keep increasing my pace to keep up with him. Athletic and trim, he has worn glasses most of his life and what remains of his hair is close-cropped. Mike laughs easily, is deeply patriotic, and is in constant learning mode. Although his hearing is impaired due to a weapon discharging too close to his ear while serving in the Vietnam War, he is an attentive listener.
His graduating class at Antlers High School consisted of 47 students. After graduation in 1964, he left the familiarity of Antlers and moved 170 miles northwest to attend Oklahoma Christian College (OCC). OCC was located on the outskirts of Oklahoma City, along the boundary of Oklahoma City and the city of Edmond. At that time, the campus was one of the newest in the United States. The school had been founded in 1950 in the town of Bartlesville but had relocated to this 200-acre site in the fall of 1958. When he pulled onto the sparse property, the clean lines of seven modern buildings greeted him, which included four academic buildings, two dormitories, and a cafeteria.
The first two years of his college experience were at OCC, and he then transferred to sister school Harding College for the final two. Harding was 270 miles to the northeast of Antlers. At the time, it was not uncommon for OCC students to transfer to Harding to complete their degrees. The schools had a unique and supportive relationship with one another. In the fall of 1966, Mike left Oklahoma and moved to Arkansas to complete his degree.
It did not take long for the transfer student to make his mark. In the two years he was at Harding, it is difficult to imagine him doing more academically or socially. In 1967, he won the Ganus Award as the male student making the highest grade point average. When he graduated in 1968, he had maintained a perfect 4.0 and tied another student with the highest overall GPA.10 He was inducted into Alpha Chi for his academic achievements, and was twice named among the “Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.”11 In addition to being an exceptional student, he was also proving his ability as an emerging leader. He was elected Student Association president his senior year while simultaneously serving as the captain of the business team, which took first place in Michigan State’s International Intercollegiate Marketing Competition in 1968. 12
Upon graduation, he began an 18-month tour of duty with the U.S. Navy along the shores of the South China Sea. Utilizing his organizational skills, he was named Director of Outdoor Storage Unit Activity in Da Nang, Vietnam. In this role, he was responsible for directing the storage operations of more than 100 acres of construction and petroleum products. He threw himself into his assignment with the same energy he had used throughout his collegiate experience. With characteristic focus, he arrived at the Outdoor Storage Unit each morning at 7:00 a.m. and worked until 10:00 p.m. each night. His superior officers recognized his commitment, and in recognition of his exemplary service, Lieutenant O’Neal was awarded the Bronze Star.
In addition to his work with the U.S. Navy, O’Neal also sought to serve the people of Vietnam. As an Officer, he had access to a vehicle and would repeatedly travel into a restricted zone to provide supplies and encouragement to an orphanage. He spent his Sundays working with a Vietnamese church in Da Nang, providing preaching and teaching through an interpreter for the three families in attendance.
While stateside, in May of 1969, he sat for the CPA exam. Among the 17,954 people who took the test that spring, he earned the highest score in Oklahoma and the 17th highest in the United States. Due to his resume, he received a scholarship to Stanford University in 1971, where he was awarded a Juris Doctorate degree with a concentration in business and tax law in 1974. Upon completion of his degree, he was invited to join the faculty at Harding College as an assistant professor of business administration and a development officer.13 On December 21, 1974, he married Nancy Louise Lavender in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. 14
In 1976, Mike joined the administration of Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. The school, which was founded in 1937 and originally located in South Los Angeles, had relocated to Malibu in the fall of 1972. With its expansive views of the Pacific Ocean, the new campus instantly made Pepperdine among the most picturesque universities in the United States. Mike would serve as General Counsel and Vice President of Finance and Administration until 1991 when he transitioned to the Vice Chancellor role. During this time, the O’Neal family grew with the addition of a son, Michael, and a daughter, Mandy. In 2002, Mike was named the president of his alma mater, Oklahoma Christian University.
COMING HOME
There were several reasons for returning to Oklahoma, but among the most significant was the potential he saw in OC. The school had experienced a series of financial setbacks in the late 1990s, but otherwise, it was an institution with a solid academic reputation and a remarkable history of service. Once on the job, he began working with campus leaders to identify and adopt sustainable business practices. In addition, he sought a path to expand academic offerings, restore broken relationships, and forge new ones with alumni, donors, and community leaders.15
In 2004, Richard and Pat Lawson gave OC two gifts that would permanently alter the trajectory of the institution. The first consisted of a $30 million donation to the school. Richard, a 1966 OC graduate and member of the OC board, had launched Lawson Software with his brother and a third partner in his garage in 1975. When the company later sold for $2 billion, the Lawson family gave generously from their proceeds to help stabilize OC.16 The second gift was an invitation for Mike to join them on a trip to Rwanda, which included a personal introduction to the president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame.
Although Mike considered a trip to Rwanda compelling, he was concerned that it would be a distraction from the work at hand. OC was beginning to turn the corner financially, but even with the considerable gift from the Lawson family, it was not yet out of the woods. He was reluctant to travel at such an important time, but the Lawson’s had already met President Kagame, when they hosted him on a business trip to Minneapolis, and based upon their passion, he made plans to join them.
The story of Rwanda will forever be connected to the Rwandan genocide that began on April 7, 1994. Over the course of 100 days, Hutu extremists killed an estimated 800,000 Tutsi men, women, and children.17 The Clinton administration was slow to grasp the nature and scale of what was happening in Rwanda and was reluctant to label it a genocide.18 The United Nations Security Council, following the loss of American lives in Somalia, was reluctant to get involved. Instead of stepping in to stabilize the situation, they escalated the conflict dramatically when in the early stages of the genocide they reduced the number of U.N. peacekeepers by nearly 90%.19 Although news outlets were sharing the story of what was happening in Rwanda, the headlines that summer were dominated by the drama surrounding O.J. Simpson. For many, the significance of what happened in Rwanda would not be recognized until the movie, Hotel Rwanda, brought the genocide back into the public eye in 2004.
After landing in the capital city of Kigali and interacting with the people of Rwanda, Mike soon understood why the Lawsons felt the trip was necessary. As Mike and Nancy were waiting for their luggage at the airport in Kigali, Mike said to his wife, “I don’t know why we are here, but perhaps God has something in mind.” The nation, which is known as the “land of a thousand hills” is undeniably beautiful. In addition, it was clear there were leaders in key positions that had been first-hand witnesses to the destructive power of hate, and they wanted to redeem their loss by building something better. As he listened to their stories, it became apparent that the history of Rwanda and OC would become intertwined.
He had met people with amazing abilities and drive who wanted a new way of life but lacked access to the opportunities needed to pursue it.
One of the key reasons why Mike was drawn to the people of Rwanda was because of the historic efforts of Rwandan President Paul Kagame. General Kagame commanded the force that ended the Rwandan genocide in 1994. From 1994 through 2000, he served as vice president and minister of defense. Considered by many to be the de facto leader of Rwanda following the genocide, he was named president in 2000.
When Mike met President Kagame met in 2004, it set in motion a series of events that would lead to the Rwandan president speaking at OC’s graduation in the spring of 2006, where he was awarded an honorary doctorate. At that time, it was announced that OC would launch the Presidential Scholars Program, which would begin with 10 high-potential Rwandan students enrolling at OC in the fall. Through the program, which has now educated hundreds of Rwanda’s emerging leaders, students would receive full scholarships (half from OC and half from the Republic of Rwanda) to attend school, which would allow them to pursue an undergraduate degree in a scientific field.
President O’Neal had a deep love and respect for each of the presidential scholars. He would often remark in amazement, “Do you realize that the Rwandans are taking these courses in their third language? They also speak Kinyarwanda and French!” OC is highly regarded for their School of Engineering and has an exceptionally high acceptance rate into medical schools and other graduate schools. He could not have been prouder of the work ethic and success of the Rwandan students. He believed their hard work was enhancing the experience of the students from the United States. He felt they were setting the pace, and he loved the idea that a young person from an unlikely place could thrive if just given the opportunity. In short, the way he felt about their success was much like how the people from his small hometown felt about his.
In 2007, he asked me to join him for lunch one day with a local leader who had recently launched a program called, Peace Through Business Afghanistan. Dr. O’Neal had read about it in the paper and had requested a lunch meeting to discuss the concept more. By the end of the meal, there was an agreement to host Peace Through Business Rwanda the next summer at OC.20
In the spring of 2008, Mike and I traveled to the United Nations Headquarters where he presented at the VII Infopoverty World Conference: “Low Cost-Smart Technologies to Fight Poverty and Save the Planet.” On our way to New York City, we stopped in Washington, D.C. to meet with the senators from Oklahoma and the Rwandan ambassador to provide updates about the work that was being done and to strengthen relationships. Everywhere we went, his mission remained the same; he wanted to open doors of opportunity for others.
Working behind the scenes, he would look for student leaders who were passionate about service, and then look for ways to encourage and support them. An example of this approach was his efforts to support Ryan Groves. Ryan and his older brother had a dream of helping provide clean water to people throughout Africa. To accomplish this, the two created a student-led non-profit called Wishing Well. They hosted concerts and art shows, produced a documentary, and captured the beauty of Rwanda and the need for clean water through photography. Students in schools and churches across the United States began raising money to help fund Wishing Well’s efforts to increase awareness and sponsor wells. Ryan would be among the first to tell you that Mike O’Neal changed the course of his life and that his encouragement made Wishing Well possible.
When Mike learned of a group of Rwandan students at OC who wanted to launch a similar effort called Rwandans4Water, he did the same for them. He also used his influence to convene the leaders needed to launch the Kigali International Community School. In short, whenever possible, he was quietly using his platform to provide access to opportunities for others, and the vast majority of the people he has served will never know his name.
In 2010, the OC community hosted President and First Lady Kagame for the graduation of the first class of Presidential Scholars. In the four years they had called OC home, the Rwandans had earned the respect and admiration of their classmates and established high expectations for future Presidential Scholars. When the final grades were tallied, the group had a combined GPA of 3.79.21 They could do the work; they just needed access to the opportunity.
As part of the festivities surrounding the presidential visit, there were numerous events. One of those was a breakfast that was held primarily for community leaders from Oklahoma City to meet leaders from Kigali. I was seated next to the mayor of Kigali, Aisa Kirabo Kacyira. We talked about the future of Rwanda. She felt that the future of Rwanda was tied to its commitment to character. She said, “Before the genocide, some people planned to do evil. Today, we must have people who are planning to do good.”
Mike stepped down from his role as president in 2012 and was named president emeritus. In 2013, he was named the first chancellor of the University of Rwanda.22 The position is largely ceremonial, but it provides an opportunity to positively impact the 30,000 students and 2,150 members of the faculty and staff. 23 He considered it one of his greatest privileges to serve for several years as one of approximately 25 people from around the world (including Rick Warren, Dale Dawson, Prime Minister Tony Blair, et al.) on President Kagame’s Presidential Advisory Council. It is a long way from Antlers, Oklahoma, to Kigali, Rwanda. It is awe-inspiring to see what can happen when someone chooses to use their abilities to activate and unleash the potential of others.
CONCLUSION
The woman my father spoke with about the job at the National Park Service was not interested in opening the door of opportunity for others. If she had been, she would have engaged him differently. She would have expressed empathy and then suggested other options that might have been a better fit. Instead of using her position of influence to add value to the lives of others, she had become disengaged and territorial.
Her approach to life is all too common and, I am assuming, was taught to her by others. Unfortunately, unless she eventually selected a different path, each day that she sat behind her desk, she was becoming increasingly comfortable with her way of doing things. If something did not change, I can only assume her mental model would continue to perceive life as something to be endured versus something to be experienced.
What makes Mike’s approach to life unusual is his mental model. From an early age, he considered it his responsibility to serve others. Consequently, the accolades and opportunities that he earned were viewed as tools to help him pursue his purpose with greater effectiveness. If he had chosen to apply his skill as an accountant, lawyer, and executive for personal gain, he would have been very successful, but his success would not have opened as many doors of opportunity for others. Instead, he sought to apply himself where he was needed on behalf of others. As a result, when his life intersected with the people of Rwanda, there was little, if any, hesitation in his response. He had been preparing for the moment his entire life.
HOW ARE YOU OPENING DOORS OF OPPORTUNITY FOR OTHERS?
The following is an excerpt from a speech given by President Paul Kagame on February 10, 2017. It was given 5 days after Chancellor Mike O’Neal’s 71st birthday, and it is a fitting tribute to his work. President Kagame stated:
I would also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Mike O’Neal, the former president of OC, a friend, and more or less a citizen of Rwanda.
He played the key role in initiating and driving our partnership more than a decade ago, as he has just been explaining.
So we thank you, Mike and Nancy, for the years of dedicated service to our nation.
They first visited Rwanda in 2004 with OC trustee Richard Lawson and his wife Pat, and that’s where the relationship started. By the way, I want to ask right from the outset that you pass our best wishes and greetings to the Lawsons.
They saw what we were trying to accomplish in Rwanda and also how Oklahoma Christian could make a
real difference.
Most importantly, they understood that our approach was fundamentally values-based, much like OC’s educational philosophy.
It was, therefore, a meeting of both minds and hearts, and under Mike’s leadership, the Oklahoma Christian community took immediate action.
In 2006, the Presidential Scholars Program was born, and the first 10 Rwandans arrived on campus in Oklahoma.
Today, OC offers an MBA right here in Kigali, as you have heard from the speakers, and hundreds of young Rwandans have benefitted from an Oklahoma Christian education.
Many are now working here at home, contributing to our country’s development.
In addition, an incredibly diverse range of beneficial initiatives have blossomed over the years, undertaken together with the many new friends who have gotten to know Rwanda because of their connection to OC.
The relationship with Oklahoma Christian is, without doubt, among the most productive and meaningful that we enjoy with institutions of higher learning around the world.
In our view, that strength comes back to the shared character traits and positive mindsets that we recognized in each other from the outset, and which we seek to instill in our young people.
Let me remind you of just one example. The first Rwandans who came to Oklahoma Christian didn’t just live in dormitories. They stayed with host families and became part of a home.
Over time, we saw that these families had come to love our children as their own; and thank you, all of you, in the Oklahoma family. They helped our students to be the best they could be.
I would like to commend the OC alumni for two things in particular.
First, for working hard to get good results, even where it might have been a struggle to catch up academically and linguistically.
It is important to understand how important this is in our country’s context. Success is never just about the individual who achieves it.
Sleeping Giants Page 7
