The latest chapter of the story came Jan. 31, when months of accusations and legal wrangling ended and a newly organized board of trustees at ORU announced it had met the conditions to receive a $70-million gift that promises to keep the school alive, and offers hope for a new direction at the 3,082-student university.

“The energy surrounding this university is exciting,” said Dr. Ralph Fagin, interim president of ORU.

More accurately, the events of the past few months are good to have behind them. 

The financial crisis had been developing for years, as the school—though still one of the largest Christian colleges in America—had been in slow decline since its heyday in the 1980s, when it had both a law school and a medical school, now both shut down. By 2007, ORU had $45 million in long-term debt, and experts estimated the 263-acre campus needed $60 million in long-deferred maintenance and renovation.  

But it took three whistle-blowing faculty members, who filed a lawsuit last October, to bring the problems of ORU into the pubic. The suit said university President Richard Roberts, son of the founder, used university funds to pay for a trip by himself, his daughter, and several of her friends to the Bahamas. The suit also alleged that his wife, Lindsey Roberts, had an inappropriate relationship with an “underage male.”

At first Richard and Lindsey Roberts attempted to face down the controversy, appearing on “Larry King Live” Oct. 9 to deny the allegations and offer explanations. Roberts said, for example, that the trip to the Bahamas was a “preaching trip” and his daughter and her friends helped “recruit students to ORU.”

But the school, rather than try to hush the controversy, confronted it head-on. A week after the “Larry King Live” appearance, Richard Roberts took a temporary leave of absence. On Nov. 23, he resigned, apparently under pressure from Mart Green, whose family owns the Hobby Lobby retail chain, and who had committed $70 million to the school—pending a change in leadership and a major overhaul of the school’s governance structure. And all the while the university’s public relations department pumped out press releases, keeping the media and the ORU community up-to-date on developments.

The result is perhaps unprecedented in the history of the slow-moving, bureaucratic world of higher education administration:  a complete overhaul of a major university in less than 90 days.


Change in board
First, several members of the board resigned—including televangelists Benny Hinn and Creflo Dollar, who are being investigated themselves by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. ORU spokesman Jeremy Burton said their resignations had nothing to do with a need to distance the school from further scandal, but their departures opened the floodgates for more change. ORU created a completely new, and much smaller board of trustees, re-wrote its corporate by-laws, appointed an interim president, formed a search committee for a new president, and settled the lawsuit one of the three whistle-blowing faculty members—even restoring him to his former position. 

A faculty dinner on the evening of Jan. 30—in the midst of a climactic two-day meeting of the new board of trustees—was the stuff of high drama.   Neither Richard nor Lindsey Roberts attended the dinner, but ORU founder Oral Roberts—now 90 and in frail health—reminded many there of his faith-healing days of old when he appeared on video, stretching out his hands as he did in tent revivals in the 1940s and ’50s and declaring: “I believe in you. I trust you,” he told the faculty. He then prayed that the “healing power of the Lord” would come over the school.

This time, though, that healing power took the form of an unprecedented level of openness and transparency and a willingness to re-examine even the fundamental operating procedures of the institution—all motivated by the promise of a $70 million gift if the changes could be made quickly. 

Green himself made this point in announcing the outcome of the Jan. 30 to 31 meeting.  

“The immediate financial crisis has been averted with this gift,” Green said. “The good news is we believe alumni and donor confidence is growing and fundraising efforts are now a central priority.”


Chronology of a Comeback
2007
Oct. 2 — Dr. John Swails, Dr. Tim Brooker, and Dr. Paulita Brooker file suit against ORU, alleging they were wrongfully terminated for speaking out about alleged inappropriate behavior by Richard and Lindsay Roberts

Oct. 9 — Richard and Lindsay Roberts appear on “Larry King Live” to deny all allegations.

Oct. 17 — Richard Roberts, ORU president and son of the founder, issues a statement denying allegations made by faculty members, of financial impropriety by Roberts, and sexual impropriety by his wife Lindsey.

Nov. 23 — Richard Roberts resigns as president of ORU

Nov. 30 — ORU’s Board of Regents takes a full page ad in the “Tulsa World” to explain proposed changes at the university


2008

Jan. 10 — ORU settled with lawsuit plaintiff John Swails and reinstated him to the faculty.

Jan. 31 — Mart Green announces that ORU had met his family’s conditions and he finalized a $70-million gift to the school.