ORU Receives $1M Donation; Drops Debt from $55M to $2.5M
Just one day after its president-elect said the school would be debt-free "very soon," Oral Roberts University received a $1 million donation from one of its board trustees, effectively slicing a once $55 million debt to just about $2.5 million.
On Thursday, the historically charismatic university announced Wednesday's donation from ORU Board of Trustees member Michael Armand Hammer and his wife, Dru Hammer, to the school's Whole Person Scholarship Fund.
And because contributions to the Whole Person Scholarship Fund are matched dollar for dollar, the Hammers' donation actually adds $2 million to the scholarship fund, according to Tulsa, Okla.-based ORU.
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"God is doing some amazing things at Oral Roberts University and it truly is the best time to give to the university," said Hammer, according to ORU's announcement. "We are overjoyed to provide the opportunity for more students to attend ORU and receive an outstanding, whole-person education."
Dr. Ralph Fagin, ORU interim president, meanwhile said the school is "extremely grateful for this gift and excited about what it will do for ORU."
"We are also thankful to all the donors who have helped us come so far in such a short time," he added.
It was only a little more than a year ago that ORU reported being $55 million in debt amid the 2007 financial scandal that shook the institution and led to the resignation of its former president, Richard Roberts.
Roberts, son of the school's namesake founder, televangelist Oral Roberts, had resigned in November 2007 after he and his wife were accused of using university money for shopping sprees, home improvements and a stable of horses for their daughters at a time when ORU was more than $50 million in debt.
Three former ORU professors had filed suit early October 2007, claiming that they were forced out after uncovering financial and ethical wrongdoing by the school's former president and family. The suit was finally settled late October 2008 after a court-ordered mediation session, bringing to a close the scandal that engulfed the charismatic school.
Since then ORU has been trying to recover from the scandal and its debt, making very large leaps and bounds along the way.
Last year, about half of a single $62 million donation given to ORU went toward eliminating the university's debt while $32 million was allocated toward "campus renovations, technology upgrades, academic enhancement, financial aid for new and returning students, marketing and operations."
And while so far nearly 15,000 individuals have donated $21.5 million to the university since the launch of its "Renewing the Vision" campaign, the funds have all gone into ORU projects such as "establishing endowed scholarships, attracting and retaining quality faculty and staff, academic program upgrades, other campus improvements, and more."
For every dollar donated through the campaign, however, the ORU board of trustees has promised to give a dollar toward the remaining debt – up to $25 million.
"Renewing the Vision ... is about owing a debt to our people and owing a debt to our programs, besides owing a debt to the bank," ORU Interim President Fagin explained.
On Tuesday, ORU president-elect Dr. Mark Rutland told media at the Tulsa Press Club that the school would be debt-free "very soon."
"We are moving aggressively toward that, and it's been an absolutely astonishing ride to that," said Rutland, who currently serves as president of Southeastern University in Lakeland, Fla. "It's going to come quickly, and trust me, with some fanfare."
Earlier in the year, ORU Board of Trustees Chairman Mart Green, who donated $70 million to the school, said ORU's goal was to "lay the red carpet before the president comes."
He reiterated that statement earlier this month, reporting that the "reduction of our debt is strengthening the new ORU and paving a clear path for the university as our new president, Dr. Mark Rutland, prepares to take office."
"I believe that, with the continued help of our supporters, we can eliminate ORU's debt completely in the near future," he said, according to The Associated Press.
According to Southeastern University, Rutland will serve as its president until spring commencement on May 2 while a search committee combs for presidential candidates. Rutland will assume the presidency at ORU on July 1.
