Roberts takes ORU leave
BY APRIL MARCISZEWSKI World Staff Writer
Thursday, October 18, 2007
10/24/07 at 9:51 AM
For more: Read the latest stories, view the lawsuit and other documents and watch slide shows and video.
Vote in a poll: Controversy and rumors continue to swirl around Oral Roberts University and President Richard Roberts has taken an indefinite leave of absence. Do you think ORU will survive this controversy intact?
The ORU board of
regents will decide when
and if he returns to the
presidency.
Oral Roberts University President
Richard Roberts issued a written
statement Wednesday saying
he is taking a leave of absence following
intense scrutiny spawned
by financial, political and other allegations
raised in a lawsuit.
Roberts will continue to live in
his university-provided house and
be paid his $228,000 salary, ORU
board of regents Chairman George
Pearsons said.
The board will decide when and
if Roberts returns to the job, based
on the outcome of its own and an
independent auditor’s investigations
into the allegations.
Roberts and Pearsons said Roberts
asked the board for the leave
of absence. Roberts will continue to
work as chairman and CEO of Oral
Roberts Ministries, stick with his
television work, keep teaching and
preaching, and continue to write
letters and books.
The decision was in “the best interest
of my family and the university,”
Roberts said.
“I pray and believe that in God’s
timing, and when the board feels
that it is appropriate, I will be back
at my post as president.”
The allegations — particularly
“untrue allegations of sexual misconduct
by my wife” — “have taken
a serious toll on me and my family,”
he said. The Robertses have denied
the allegations.
During Roberts’ leave, he said, “I
will give myself afresh and anew to
my family and to prayer and the
Word of God.”
April Marciszewski 581-8475
april.marciszewski@tulsaworld.com
ORU’s board
chairman expresses
confidence about the
lawsuit while giving the
helm to Billy Joe
Daugherty.
Oral Roberts University’s board
chairman said Wednesday that he
thinks the college will survive a
lawsuit alleging political and financial
malfeasance by President Richard
Roberts’ family.
ORU board of regents Chairman
George Pearsons also announced
that the board had given ORU’s
presidential duties to local pastor
and Regent Billy Joe Daugherty.
The regents voted unanimously
to grant Roberts the leave of absence
he requested, Pearsons said.
The board and Roberts, the son of
ORU founder Oral Roberts, both
want to fix anything about the university
that needs it, he said.
Roberts’ leave of absence was
not an admission of guilt, Pearsons
said. A request to ORU for an interview
with Roberts on Wednesday
was unanswered.
Three former ORU professors
filed the lawsuit, claiming that they
had been wrongfully fired or forced
to resign. The lawsuit alleges that
Roberts involved ORU in politics in
violation of tax laws. A report —
which the professors claim cost
them their jobs — attached to the
lawsuit alleges that the Roberts
family misspent ORU and Oral
Roberts Ministries money on themselves,
among other allegations.
The professors have said they hope
the report is not true. The Robertses
have denied the allegations.
The board’s audit and compliance
committee and “independent,
outside, professional firms” will investigate the allegations made
in the lawsuit, according to
Pearsons and a written statement
from the board. Pearsons
did not have a timeline
for the investigations but said
they are under way.
“I would love for him (Roberts)
to be cleared of all of
this,” Pearsons said. “ . . . I
have to be honest with you; if
it’s the other way around, we’ll
have to make decisions accordingly.”
Rhae Buckley, ORU Alumni
Association board chairman,
said, “If there are no improprieties,
I think it would be great
to have President Roberts
back.”
Roberts’ leave of absence
lets the public know the investigations
are “truly independent”
and the university plans
to be transparent, Buckley
said.
Pearsons said, “My responsibility
as the chairman is to
make decisions based on what
is best for the university.”
The investigations will include
a look into ORU’s finances
and other practices. The
university remains in debt, although
Pearsons said he did
not know how much. His goal
is to eliminate the debt.
He also said that since the
lawsuit was filed about two
weeks ago, donations to the
university have not dropped.
Daugherty’s leadership will
bring stability to the ORU
“family,” including as the university
undergoes a visit for
academic reaccreditation next
month, Pearsons said. Daugherty
declined to be interviewed.
Pearsons told ORU staff
members in a meeting on
Wednesday that Daugherty
was being named the “executive
regent,” and the employees
rose in a standing ovation,
he said.
Daugherty graduated from
ORU, served as a regent in the
past and rejoined the board
last week. He is the pastor of
Victory Christian Center in
Tulsa, across the street from
ORU.
“He knows this university
inside out, and he is a great
proponent of the university’s
mission,” Pearsons said.
The board does not have
anyone in mind to be a replacement
president, and
Daugherty’s goal is helping
ORU get through the current
situation, Pearsons said.
The written statement from
the board says Oral Roberts
will join Daugherty in leading
ORU. Oral Roberts, 89, will
continue in his role as chancellor,
in which he provides wisdom
he has gained from his
experience leading ORU,
Pearsons said. The school’s
founder spoke with regents by
phone during their private
meeting on Wednesday.
“He just keeps reminding us
(the regents), ‘We’ve been
through a lot, and we’ll make it
through,’ ” said Pearsons, who
agrees. “I know it’s going to
turn out fine.”
April Marciszewski 581-8475
april.marciszewski@tulsaworld.com
