These are people saturated with knowledge and experience of shared governance, a desire to see spirituality remain central to students' experience, and respect for university founder Oral Roberts and the school's unique blend of academic, spiritual and physical education, according to interviews with eight of the 16 trustees. Their top priorities are choosing a new president, stabilizing ORU's finances and instituting shared governance.

Five of the trustees are ORU alumni, three are members of the current governing board and many others have extensive experience in leading colleges and Christian organizations. Absent are the prominent televangelists who populated the board of regents, which the board of trustees is replacing.

The changes stem from a new plan for ORU, crafted by Mart Green's family, which is donating $70 million to the school. The family founded the Hobby Lobby and Mardel Christian and

The Greens' offer came after ORU announced in October that it was $52.5 million in debt. Former President Richard Roberts, who resigned Nov. 23, had been accused of misspending ORU and Oral Roberts Ministries money and of poorly leading the university, accusations that he denied. A lawsuit filed Oct. 2 by three former professors, who claimed they were wrongfully terminated, started the dramatic chain of events at the school.

Motivations: Trustees said they accepted the Green family's offer to join the board because of their love for ORU, their appreciation for its graduates, its new potential and their desire to help.

The Rev. William (Billy) Wilson, the host of the weekly TV show "World Impact," said he thinks ORU might be the premier charismatic Christian university.

Trustee Freddy Boswell, an ORU alumnus and the executive director of Summer Institute of Linguistics International, wants to help ORU recover and regain respect, he said. He is joining the board on behalf of alumni, who depend on ORU's reputation.

Trustee Charles W. McKinney, the ombudsman at Florida Gulf Coast University, said the Greens' donation compelled him to serve on the board.

"I think it was very gracious on the part of the Green family to invest in kingdom work through ORU," McKinney said.

Trustee Stan Burgess, a professor at Regent University in Virginia, said he sees potential for ORU to become a major research university with world experts.

Trustee Ron Luce, an ORU alumnus who founded of Teen Mania Ministries, said he sees ORU's future "brighter than ever before."

The new governing board and new financial policies will help ORU regain the trust of alumni, who are "waiting to get on board, waiting to secure ORU's future," Luce said.

The changes will give alumni an invitation to donate to ORU to build an endowment and restore aging facilities, he said.

Shared governance: Green, who will be the chairman of the board of trustees, has described ORU as a "founder's school" that will transition to "21st-century governance."

Shared governance, required by the Green family plan and commonly practiced at colleges nationwide, defines the roles of trustees, administrators and professors, according to trustees Don Argue, the chancellor of Northwest University in Washington, and Russell P. Spittler, a retired administrator and professor at Fuller Theological Seminary.

Under shared governance, trustees choose a president, approve of new and revised policies and maintain the college's mission and financial health, the trustees said.

Administrators manage the university efficiently and with regard for the people involved, and they maintain facilities, Spittler said.

Faculty oversee academic programs, decide which professors receive tenure and set standards for graduation, Spittler and Argue said.

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