Tulsa World: ORU donations, debts decline

MAKE US YOUR HOMEPAGE | Saturday, November 21, 2009 | WIRELESS

Home > News > Article

Newspaper View Print this story

Comment

RSS

Bookmark

ORU donations, debts decline
Overall, the university is in better financial shape than a year earlier.

OPTIMISTIC
Mart Green: The chairman of ORU's board of trustees said the financial report reflects the university's decision to embrace transparency. "Your donors want to know what their money is going for and they have a right to know," he said. "We're each day trying to rebuild trust with people because people don't give to something they don't trust."

By SHANNON MUCHMORE World Staff Writer
Published: 12/2/2008 2:23 AM
Last Modified: 12/2/2008 3:34 AM

Thanks almost entirely to a donation from Yukon businessman Mart Green, Oral Roberts University is in far better shape financially than it was a year ago, according to financial statements.

But discounting Green's contribution, total donations are down. And a $5 million debt owed ORU by the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association could go unpaid, tulsaworld.com first reported.

Contributions for 2008 were $75.3 million — including the $71 million donation from the Green family, which owns the Hobby Lobby and Mardel Christian stores.

The 2007 number was $7.7 million. The university's endowment as of April 30 was $34.8 million.

In a phone interview, Green, who is now chairman of the ORU board of trustees, said the financial information is being released as part of the university's recent decision to embrace transparency.

Families of ORU students want to know how the university is spending its money, as do contributors, he said.

"Your donors want to know what their money is going for and they have a right to know that," he said.

A key aspect of that transparency deals with ORU's separation from the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association — headed by former President Richard Roberts — which owed ORU about $5 million for 2007-08. The university has deemed the debt potentially uncollectible and has provided a reserve for the amount, according to the note.

Some employees worked for both companies at the

same time and each organization provided services for the other. The statements provide no specific account for how those employees were paid.

The groups were separated in November 2007, and ORU stopped doing any services for the association as of April 30, according to the note.

ORU's financial status has been in the spotlight amid recent news of a separation agreement paying nearly $450,000 to Richard Roberts and the announcement of layoffs for 100 employees early next year.

Green said both decisions were necessary for the university to continue its mission.

"There are two separate issues," he said. "One is, we had an agreement and we're going to pay our agreement — and we did — to Richard. And two is we're committed not to live in deficits forever."

Roberts resigned a year ago last month amid scandal resulting from lawsuits that alleged he and his wife misspent university funds for their personal gain.

The university had $190 million in total assets as of April 30, when the statement ends the fiscal year. That number is up $30 million from 2007. The change in net assets for 2008 was positive in the amount of $55.6 million, as opposed to $10.5 million in the red during 2007, according to the statements.

ORU's debt in 2007 was at its record high of $55 million. That was down to $23 million as of April 30, and officials say it has been further reduced to $17 million.

An independent audit by Cole and Reed P.C. of Oklahoma City does not list any problems with the financial statements, and states they are a fair presentation of ORU's financial position.

Green said the financial position is obviously different from last year, but still needs to be improved through an increase in enrollment and donations, as well as overall better money management by the university.

"We're each day trying to rebuild the trust with people, because people don't give to something they don't trust," he said. "So we're just out there sharing the story that there's great things happening at ORU."

Green said he and ORU Interim President Ralph Fagin are traveling across the country to talk to alumni about the changes at ORU, Green said.

He said it will take two or three years for ORU to turn its financial situation around, but it should improve with each annual statement.

"I think the prospect for ORU is better than it's ever been because of all the changes and what we're putting in place," he said.

Shannon Muchmore 581-8378
shannon.muchmore@tulsaworld.com By SHANNON MUCHMORE World Staff Writer

Newspaper View Print this story

Comment

RSS

Bookmark

Reader Comments

Show: Most Recent Comment First

Add your comment

10 comments have been made on this story so far. Tell us what you think below!

Reporting Comments

If you see a comment that violates our terms and conditions, please help us by clicking the "Report this Comment" link next to a comment. That will alert the web staff to review the comment. Thank you. -- Web Editor Jason Collington

	Report Comment johnboy51, Tulsa (12/2/2008 11:17:20 AM) Jim, you mean aside from having the best School of Nursing, School of Business, and School of Education in Oklahoma?
	Report Comment PD, (12/2/2008 11:21:06 AM) Like every school they have their strengths and weaknesses academically. They have a good school of nursing, but I feel I would not have gotten the job I have if I had stayed there. Instead I transferred to OU to finish my nursing degree and work in ICU instead of labor and delivery.
	Report Comment Basil, Tulsa (12/2/2008 12:08:41 PM) Academically, the school's above average compared to other Oklahoma universities, thanks to it's diverse faculty and strong ethical standards expected from all students. That's a sadly overshadowed secret, due to all the bad publicity received by the Robert's family. I hope they can continue to leave behind the nuts, and move forward into greater academic achievements. When I left ORU to attend a state university, I was surprised by the lower expectations and easier coursework.
	Report Comment love 918, (12/2/2008 12:53:00 PM) Johnboy, its good to have school pride, but those are some strong statements. I've always heard that Rogers State Univ has the highest nursing boards pass rate of any OK school.
	Report Comment biblthmp, Tulsa (12/2/2008 10:12:34 PM) A master of arts in Theological and historical studies in one academic year? That would be some feat, considering it is a 66 semester hour degree, including a thesis that is a minimum 50 pages. Especially if you add the mandatory chapels on top of that. These days it takes 5 semesters, or 4 and a bunch of summer school during the middle summer.
	Report Comment Anonymous Guy, Tulsa (12/2/2008 11:17:29 PM) I don't know about Newsweek, but U.S. News just published its "World's Best Colleges" list. Doty wants to know about Christian institutions? The only American ones I see among the 200 listed are Georgetown (#110) and Notre Dame (#168). Catholics are still considered Christians, aren't they? Do ORU science classes actually entertain serious discussions of "young earth creationism"? The Bible is not a science text. If it were, the value of Pi would be 3.00. If ORU's net was $55 million, and Mr. Green gave $70 million, would it be fair to conclude that all of ORU's other operations lost $15 million? That's going to take quite a turnaround.
	Report Comment Josh S, (12/3/2008 12:00:09 AM) @Anonymous Guy: At Oru, Science is taught in science classes and theology is taught in theology classes. The professors are clear that you don't have to believe in evolution but you do have to learn about it. Intelligent design was not part of the (science) curriculum when I was there ('03 grad).
	Report Comment JL, Broken Arrow (12/3/2008 1:24:40 AM) I am astonished I am going to agree with Doty on something. Carbon dating. we have observed the decomposition of something over a certain period of time. Now we obviously have not observed the rates over millions of years of time. We then obviously have to take the amount that has been observed and multiply that rate by the amount of decay. I have a fault with this because until we could observe the rate of decay and not have to use multipliers we are taking pot shots in the dark. To use the same theory and transfer it into the way 401k's were handled is would be to exclude the accruing compounding interest. You could almost draw it up as a mathematical equation. y=rate of decay over say 50 years (observed rate of decay) a=total amount of decay in a fossil found M=number of years old that a fossil is. ay=m so there you go right? Nope there is the factor of compounding rate of decay (unobserved) lets say X= compounding rate of decay a(xy)=M so lets put some values with it a=10 units y= 1 unit per 50 years 10(50x) = 500 years right? No because x could be 1 but it could be 999 or 13456. We dont know because we have not been able to observe it. It is possible that the decaying slows and the earth is alot younger than we think and it is also possible that it is a whole lot older until we sit and observe X to come up witht he variable we will never know and cannot say definitively.
	Report Comment Tandi, aurora (12/8/2008 8:47:49 PM) Please see Oral Roberts Scandal website,[ dated 10-08-07], in referrence to the Prayer Center closing on November 07th, 2008, at Marilyn Hickey Ministries, based out of Denver, CO. 40 employees were laid-off, including myself, Tandi Padilla. Some severance pay was given, but we are unable to collect unemployment because of their Non-profit status. Marilyn Hickey Ministries hired InService America out of Lynchburg, VA. to take their Prayer,Product and Global calls.
	Report Comment Tandi, aurora (1/28/2009 5:27:51 PM) Marilyn Hickey Ministries sent a threatening letter to a former employee which is myself. It was dated Jan. 22, 2009. The letter stated: "that if I did not stop pursuing my unemployment claim, M.H.M. would make me pay back the severance pay they gave me on my last day of employment - Nov. 07, 2008." The amount was one weeks of wages for every two years of employment. I worked their in the Prayer Center for six years, until they closed it on 11-07-08. They made us sign for our last paycheck. The amount of severance pay was just enough to cover one months of bills!! That is why I had to file for Unemployment Benefits! "As a United States citizen it is my legal right to be able to file for Unemployment Benefits"!!! "Religious Organizations like Marilyn Hickey Ministries have "NO RIGHT" to take away my legal privileges"! They may "play" GOD, but they are "Not GOD"!!

Add Your Comment
In order to post a comment on this article, you must sign in to Tulsaworld.com. If you do not have a site account, you can create an account for free.