Join the ORU Fenimore & Fisher College of Business as we host the spring PECE (Partners in Economics, Commerce and Entrepreneurship) event with Jim Bridenstine!

Bridenstine has distinguished himself as the 13th Administrator of NASA and former U.S. Congressman and is now guiding Oklahoma’s participation in the global burgeoning space economy.

We are honored to have Mr. Jim Bridenstine speak on Tuesday, April 2nd, 11:30 am-1:00 pm in the ORU Global Learning Center.

The space economy is now $546B annually and set to grow to over $800B in 5 years. Opportunities abound as the United States becomes more dependent on space for communication, navigation, the power grid, food production, networks, banking, national security, weather prediction, and so much more. As opportunities grow, so do threats from our adversaries. Jim Bridenstine was instrumental in creating the Space Force to ensure our adversaries gain no advantage from threatening space.

Come to the Partners in Economics, Commerce, and Entrepreneurship (PECE) luncheon at ORU to learn more about how Oklahoma can position itself to grow in the new space renaissance.

Read Bridenstine's full bio

Jim Bridenstine served as the 13th Administrator of NASA, where he was responsible for managing NASA’s 70,000-person workforce and $23 billion annual budget. Under his leadership, NASA reestablished a human spaceflight program to launch American astronauts on American rockets from American soil for the first time since the Space Shuttles were retired in 2011. He also created NASA’s Artemis program to establish the first permanent presence on the Moon with commercial partners and the largest international spaceflight coalition in history.

Before being appointed as NASA Administrator, Jim served in the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma’s First Congressional District from 2013 to 2018. He was a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee where he chaired the Subcommittee on the Environment.

Prior to Congress, Jim served as a pilot in the United States Navy acquiring 1900 flight hours and 333 landings on an aircraft carrier. He flew combat missions in Afghanistan (2002) and Iraq (2003) off the USS Abraham Lincoln, where he earned an Air Medal and Navy Commendation Medal with Combat “V”. Originally an E-2C Hawkeye pilot, he transitioned to the F-18 Hornet and flew as an aggressor (Red Air) at the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center, the parent command to TOPGUN.

Jim serves on the Board of Directors for Viasat, Inc. and Starlab Space. He is also on the Board of Trustees of the Aerospace Corporation and serves as a consultant for various other aerospace companies.

Jim earned a triple major from Rice University in Economics, Business, and Psychology and an MBA from Cornell University.