Oral Roberts University
From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
|
 |
Oral Roberts University or ORU, based in
Tulsa, Oklahoma, is a charismatic Christian university with an
enrollment of about 5,300 students from most US states along with a
number of international students. The university is named for its
founder, televangelist Oral Roberts.
Education
ORU claims "educating the whole person" as one of its core values.
According to the university, this means educating the mind, body and
spirit. For example, all students are required to attend a physical
education course every semester and are expected to maintain personal
physical fitness. Students also must attend chapel services twice a week
and there are student chaplains for each wing or floor of on-campus
housing.
ORU offers undergraduate programs in theology, music, communication
arts, modern languages, behavioral sciences, graphics, education,
chemistry, computer science, mathematical science, engineering, physics,
English, history, humanities, government and nursing. The university
also has a seminary and a limited graduate education program including a
business school.
History
|
Main entrance to campus and The Avenue of
Flags |
Oral Roberts founded the institution in 1963,
claiming God had told him, "Build Me a University. Build it on My
Authority, and on the Holy Spirit," and "Raise up your students to hear
my voice, to go where my light is dim, where my voice is heard small,
and my healing power is not known, even to the uttermost bounds of the
earth. Their work will exceed yours, and in this I am well pleased." The
first students enrolled in 1965. The school was accredited in 1971 by
the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of
Colleges and Schools. It is also accredited by the Association of
Theological Schools in the United States and Canada. Oral Roberts' son
Richard Roberts was named president in 1993.
Lawsuit by former professors
Wikinews has related news:
Oral Roberts University president accused of illegal political donations
and financial misappropriation
In October 2007 a lawsuit was filed in Tulsa County by three former
professors who claimed to have been wrongfully terminated. They also
alleged university president Richard Roberts misused university assets
and illegally ordered the university to participate in Republican
candidate Randi Miller's political campaign for Tulsa mayor. This
occurred while the tax-exempt university was working lawfully with the
Republican National Committee on out-of-state projects as part of a
long-standing, pre-approved curriculum which had been in place for
several years. Other allegations against Roberts include claims he used
university funds to pay for his daughter's trip to The Bahamas by
providing the university jet and billing other costs to the school,
maintains a stable of horses on campus and at university expense for the
exclusive use of his children, regularly summons university and ministry
staff to the Roberts house to do his daughters? homework, has remodeled
his house at university expense 11 times in the past 14 years, allowed
the university to be billed both for damage done by his daughters to
university-owned golf carts and for video-taped vandalism caused by one
of his minor daughters (along with benefiting from school property she
allegedly stole during the same incident, even after he was informed)
and acquired a red Mercedes convertible and a white Lexus SUV for his
wife Lindsay through ministry donors.
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Swails, Brooker, Brooker v. Oral Roberts University
Lindsay Roberts, who is referred to in ORU publicity as the university's
"first lady," is accused of spending tens of thousands of dollars of
university funds on clothes, awarding nonacademic scholarships to the
children of family friends and sending text messages on
university-issued cell phones to people described in the lawsuit as
"underage males." The lawsuit also alleges a longtime maintenance
employee was fired for the purpose of giving the job to an underage male
friend of Lindsay Roberts.
Richard Roberts publicly responded by saying, "This lawsuit ...is about
intimidation, blackmail and extortion." Former ORU professor Tim Brooker,
one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, questioned the university's
survival. "All over that campus," said Brooker, "there are signs up that
say, 'And God said, build me a university, build it on my authority, and
build it on the Holy Spirit.' Unfortunately, ownership has shifted."
Main campus building, the
Learning Resource and Graduate centers |
|
