As The ORU Turns: TV Preacher’s University Faces Mounting Accusations Of Misdeeds
One of the professors, Tim Brooker, claims he was fired after he informed the ORU Board of Regents that he had been ordered by Roberts to prod his students into helping Randi Miller’s 2005 Tulsa mayoral campaign.
Oral Roberts University (ORU), which has a stated mission that includes a “commitment to the Christian faith,” continues to garner national attention for allegations of improper politicking and a slew of other misdeeds that are befitting of a daytime soap drama.
The mounting allegations swirling around the university have apparently become too hot for Richard Roberts; he resigned the presidency last week. The Tulsa World reports that Roberts told ORU students that “God spoke to him last Thursday and told him to resign.” According to the article, Roberts also told the students that he initially resisted God’s instructions, “but God told him that if he would resign, the school would be blessed ’supernaturally.’”
Only days earlier on Nov. 12, tenured faculty passed a no-confidence vote on Roberts, who succeeded his father, the colorful and retired televangelist Oral Roberts, as president in 1993. The senior Roberts said he was ordered by God to create the university, which was founded in 1963.
ORU sparked media scrutiny after a lawsuit was filed in the fall by three former professors who alleged they were fired for shedding light on political machinations and other wrongdoings orchestrated by the Tulsa school’s leaders.
Roberts’ resignation won’t halt the lawsuit, which also incorporates a report written by his sister-in-law, Stephanie Cantees, laying out salacious accusations against the Robertses. Included in the slew of allegations are charges that Lindsay had inappropriate contacts with underage males and dropped around $39,000 on clothes and that the university spent millions on remodeling a home for the Robertses. Richard and Lindsay appeared on CNN’s “Larry King Live” in early October and denied all the lawsuit’s allegations.
One of the professors, Tim Brooker, claims he was fired after he informed the ORU Board of Regents that he had been ordered by Roberts to prod his students into helping Randi Miller’s 2005 Tulsa mayoral campaign. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the university is barred from using its resources for electioneering.
On Nov. 22, the Tulsa World reported on e-mail exchanges it received anonymously. The correspondence, the newspaper reports, is allegedly between Cantees and Roberts. Cantees was paid by the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association to provide Roberts with reports on government workings, social issues and rumors about the university.
Those e-mail exchanges, if verified, reveal the extent to which Roberts was driven to use his position to meddle in politics. In one of the alleged messages, Cantees urges Roberts to contact the Tulsa mayor about placing “ORU affiliates” on key city boards.
“Richard if you have enough people on boards you will be far more likely to get the projects you need supported and funded,” states the e-mail.
Another e-mail from Cantees’ address reportedly advises Roberts that if 80 percent of ORU students were registered voters and politicians knew it, the university’s political muscle would be greatly strengthened.
“They come now to have a chance to speak to the students, now make it so they come with the same desire to bring gifts and highly desirous to be given a seat at your table to become a part of the ‘gift giving’ … fearful if they do not keep their word or include you equally they will face consequences in their next term,” the e-mail states.
The Internal Revenue Service has taken an interest in the allegations of illegal electioneering. The Associated Press reported in October that university officials acknowledged an IRS investigation, but refused to give details.
It appears that a Pandora’s Box has been opened, and the output is unsightly.
Late last week, another lawsuit was lodged against ORU. Trent Huddleston, a former ORU accountant, alleges that he was ordered “against his will and over his objections” to mislead the IRS and the Oklahoma Tax Commission in order to protect Richard and Lindsay.
The Tulsa World reported on Nov. 22 that Huddleston accuses the Robertses of frittering away university and ministry money on personal uses, including more than $100,000 to remodel their home, more than $40,000 for a swimming pool and close to $5,000 for a pool table and wet bar.
ORU Board of Regents Chairman George Pearsons says the university is more than $50 million in the red and that accreditation officials are returning to the university to investigate management of finances.
The airing of such allegations – which paints a picture of excess, greed and mismanagement run amuck – is a stark reminder that proclaiming a godly mission does not insulate oneself from human failings. Indeed, to err is undoubtedly human. So is misleading others for self-preservation or enrichment, regardless if done under the guise of religious fervor.