Oral Robert University Now Debt-Free
The erasure of ORU’s long-term debt is being called ‘miraculous.’
Nearly two years ago, the Tulsa-based university founded by evangelist Oral Roberts was embroiled in a scandal after then-president Richard Roberts was sued by three professors who claimed they were unjustly fired. The lawsuit also claimed Richard Roberts misspent school funds. Roberts resigned and all lawsuits were either dismissed or settled out of court.
It was also revealed at that time that the university was more than $50 million in debt. Soon thereafter ORU received an economic boost when Mart Green, an Oklahoma businessman whose family founded Hobby Lobby and Mardel chain stores, donated $70 million to the university.
Last week, ORU president Mark Rutland announced that the school is debt-free.
“It’s a miracle of biblical proportions,” he shares. “Of course there is always a hero and there are always lots of other heroes. [But] it has not been one person all the way through — a lot of people have given. There has been quite a resurgence of giving toward ORU.”
Green’s gift, offered in early 2008, was given on the condition that ORU adopt shared governance and financial transparency.
(Source: OneNewsNow)
