ORU names resource panel
BY APRIL MARCISZEWSKI World Staff Writer
Thursday, January 17, 2008
1/17/08 at 11:16 AM
For more: Read the latest ORU stories, view the lawsuit and other documents and watch slide shows and video.
Members are part of a
transition team to help
the school make changes.
Oral Roberts University on
Wednesday named the members of
a transition team organized to help
ORU's $70 million benefactors as
the school transitions from having a
board of regents to following the
benefactors' shared governance
plan.
Under the plan from the Green
family, which founded the Hobby
Lobby and Mardel Christian and educational supply stores, ORU will be
governed by a new board of trustees, to be made up of several ORU
graduates, executives of Christian
organizations, higher education officials and three regents.
The board of regents will turn into
a nonvoting board of reference
whose members will lend their
names to ORU, said donor Mart
Green, who will be chairman of the
board of trustees.
The board of regents, which includes prominent televangelists, appointed a transition committee to be
led by regent Billy Joe Daugherty,
pastor of Victory Christian Center in
Tulsa, states a press release.
The committee also will include
regents Karen Arutunoff, Rick Fenimore, Dr. Glenda Payas and Rick
Pearson, all of Oklahoma; regent
Scott Howard of Nevada; Executive
Vice President for Finance and Operations David Ellsworth, and Vice
President for Academic Administration Ralph Fagin, named by the
Green family to serve as interim
president.
ORU board of regents Chairman
George Pearsons was quoted in the
press release as saying, "The ORU
family is looking forward to these
coming weeks in assisting the
Green family in every way possible
. . . ."
Jeremy Burton, ORU's director of
public relations, said it is unknown
what will be needed for ORU to
make the transition, so "this
team is there as a resource."
In ORU's televised chapel
service Wednesday, Fagin
praised current Interim President Daugherty as a "man of
ability and character," and
both men said they would be
working together.
Daugherty has been serving as the interim president
since Richard Roberts resigned Nov. 23, following a
highly publicized lawsuit
against Roberts, ORU and
others, and following allegations that he misspent ORU
and Oral Roberts Ministries
money and poorly managed
the university. Roberts has
denied wrongdoing.
Fagin said he would serve
in the role "for a season, so
that we can find a president
who is worthy of Oral Roberts University."
Daugherty announced to
students and employees that
"a special day of prayer and
fasting" "for wisdom, . . . for
God to fulfill his intent in our
lives" and more would take
place on campus Thursday.
Burton confirmed that regents are tentatively planning
to meet Monday to receive,
review and vote on the final
version of the Green family
proposal, revised bylaws and
articles of incorporation. The
date of the meeting will be
determined by how soon the
documents are finished.
April Marciszewski 581-8475
april.marciszewski@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
BENEFACTOR
Mart Green: He
will be ORU’s
chairman of the
board of trustees.
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