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Oral Roberts University leaders are looking for a president who is "passionate about God," understands education and finances, and has vision, board Chairman Mart Green said Thursday at the conclusion of the board's second meeting.

They also are looking for someone who fits in at ORU, Interim President Ralph Fagin said.

"We want to embrace a larger part of the Christian world," Fagin said. "We don't want to lose the charismatic distinctive."

Through collaborative efforts of ORU employees and the board, the university is moving forward on renovations and employee raises, but leaders are leaving the vision and long-term goals up to the next president, whom they hope to have in place by summer 2009.

Former President Richard Roberts resigned in November after weeks of publicity stemming from a lawsuit that accused him of misspending ORU and Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association money. He denied any wrongdoing.

ORU's new board of trustees expects to start advertising for the presidency this summer, Green said.

The search consultant expects to see at least 100 names in the pool. The presidential search committee eventually will whittle the pool to three or four finalists and forward

Money: The university has raised more than $2.1 million in cash and pledges in a $25 million matching fundraising campaign to improve the university and erase its debt, Green said.

Students have been calling alumni, and in less than two weeks, 169 people who had never donated to ORU gave nearly $15,000 total, and 196 people who had not given in five years gave nearly $24,500 total, Fagin said.

Students and faculty members also have started their own campaigns to help ORU, Fagin and Green said.

ORU is trying to widen its donor base to ensure economic sustainability and avoid relying on just a few donors, Green said.

Student recruitment took a hit during the lawsuit publicity last fall -- the biggest recruitment time of the year, Fagin said. That is a concern for ORU's bottom line, Green affirmed.

"We think it's going to take us three years to operate in the black," Green said, partly because of ORU's ongoing separation from the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association.

The evangelistic association, which produces Roberts' television show, is expected to move off campus by the end of May, Green said.

Roberts and his family moved off campus a few weeks ago. The family and evangelistic association are staying in Tulsa.

At the board meeting this week, trustees decided to spend $7 million to repair CityPlex Towers. The school will use campaign donations or a loan, and the repairs will allow ORU to save as much as $1 million a year on costs such as heating and cooling, Green said.

Lawsuits: Besides the original lawsuit filed by three former professors, ORU also faces two student lawsuits and one lawsuit filed by a former employee.

In the latter cases, no dates for settlement talks are set, Fagin said, but Green said, "We're willing to work with people and do what's reasonable and fair."

A gag order prevents participants from talking about the first lawsuit outside of court. That suit prompted ORU's former board of regents to get an independent audit of ORU's finances.

The new board of trustees will consider making public the recommendations that the audit made, Green said.

"As a board, our responsibility is to do the right thing for ORU," he said.

The board would not release the audit if it would harm ORU. The university is working on all of the report's recommendations, he said.

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