Correction
This story misspelled the name of Stephanie Cantees, the sister-in-law of Richard Roberts and an employee of Oral Roberts Ministries.

Three professors said they lost their jobs because of a report about the Richard Roberts family.

Three former Oral Roberts University professors sued the school and four administrators in Tulsa County District Court on Tuesday, alleging wrongful termination and wrongful causing of one professor's resignation.

The professors said they lost their jobs because they turned over to administrators a report that alleged the Richard Roberts family extensively spent university money for personal uses. Roberts is ORU's president.

The lawsuit includes a summary of the report, minus the "more salacious" information, as former professor and plaintiff Tim Brooker said.

The report "poses a real grave threat to the university," Brooker said. ". . . I fear for ORU's survival, and if they don't make some very significant changes administratively, there won't be an ORU."

Brooker said leadership of ORU has shifted from God to the Roberts family, and "if God once again can regain control, I think many of the problems will take care of themselves."

The university issued a written statement on Tuesday that said: "It is important for ORU students and their families, faculty and staff, alumni, partners, as well as the general public to understand that this lawsuit is largely premised upon a compilation of incomplete statements, unsubstantiated rumors and innuendos. ORU will address these allegations through the legal process."

The university did not respond to specific questions about the lawsuit.

ORU senior Cornell Cross II said Roberts called a campuswide emergency meeting to pray "against the enemies" on Monday night in anticipation of the lawsuit being filed.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Brooker, who coordinated ORU's government program; his wife, Paulita Brooker, an adjunct professor who was first hired for the ORU School of Lifelong Education; and John Swails, professor and chairman of the history, humanities and government department. They sued ORU, Roberts, Provost Mark Lewandowski, Dean Wendy Shirk and Vice Provost Jeff Ogle.

Swails and Paulita Brooker were fired, and Swails said Tim Brooker was forced out of his job.

Tim Brooker said ORU's 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, nonprofit status could be at risk because, he said, Roberts required him to make his students work for 2006 Tulsa mayoral candidate Randi Miller's campaign, in violation of laws that prohibit nonprofit groups from getting involved in partisan political campaigns.

A complaint was lodged with the Internal Revenue Service, and Tim Brooker claims he was told to take the blame for the university helping a campaign.

While working on the Miller campaign, a student was asked to repair an ORU computer, Tim Brooker said. The student backed up the computer's files and discovered the report on the alleged misuse of ORU money. The student turned the report over to the professors, who read it and "said several times, 'We hope it's not true,' " Swails said.

The lawsuit claims the report was developed by Roberts' sister-in-law, Stephanie Cantese, who works for Oral Roberts Ministries.

The summary of the report in the lawsuit alleges:

• One of Richard and Lindsay Roberts' children vandalized and removed athletic department equipment from ORU property.
• University and ministries employees regularly do the homework of the Roberts' children.
• ORU paid $29,411 for one Roberts daughter to vacation with friends in Florida and the Bahamas and use the ORU jet for transportation.
• Lindsay Roberts routinely uses ministries security personnel during personal vacations.
• Lindsay Roberts awarded 13 non-need-based scholarships to friends of her children, two of whom had test scores below ORU's admission requirement; and more.

Tim Brooker said that days after the professors gave the report to administrators, Cantese called him and threatened that his wife would lose her job and his son would not graduate from ORU. Indeed, Paulita Brooker was fired, along with Swails.

The lawsuit claims Paulita Brooker was fired partly because Swails had reported that Vice Provost Ogle sexually harassed another professor. The professor, who worked in Swails' and the Brookers' department, resigned. Swails said ORU took no action regarding the report of sexual harassment.

With that professor and the three plaintiffs gone from the history, humanities and government department, student Cross, a senior majoring in government, said he is looking for a new university.

"The government program really is not credible anymore," he said.

The lawsuit requests for each former professor $10,000 in actual damages, $10,000 in punitive damages, attorneys fees, court costs and any other money the court may provide.

April Marciszewski 581-8475
april.marciszewski@tulsaworld.com