Charity Governance

$70 MILLION IS QUITE A LEVER: RICHARD ROBERTS IS HISTORY, BUT ORU WILL SURVIVE

DATELINE: November 28, 2007, Chicago

She's a junkyard angel and she always gives me bread
Well, if I go down dyin', you know she bound to put a blanket on my bed.

Bob Dylan, From a Buick 6

We did not think Oral Roberts University would survive the ongoing crisis that has engulfed the university and captivated the readers of Tulsa World, the leading newspaper in Oklahoma. But we never would have guessed that what Tulsa World's headline writers characterize as an angel would deliver...

SILENCE AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: ORU BOARD HAD BETTER START TALKING

DATELINE: November 27, 2007

Everybody thinks of conflicts of interest in terms of a nonprofit buying plumbing, legal, or insurance services from one of its directors. The unfolding scandal at ORU reveals another type of conflict, one that could be far more damaging than purchasing services from a related party. Yesterday, ORU's board of regents met to discuss last week's resignation by ORU President Richard Roberts amidst allegations of financial improprieties, mismanagement, and inappropriate political activity. Rumored to be on the agenda was discussion of the Miller & Chevalier report detailing its findings regarding the alleged financial improprieties that triggered independent investigation.

And so far, no comment ...

EVER SO PREDICTABLY THE END CAME: ORU PRESIDENT RICHARD ROBERTS RESIGNS

DATELINE: November 24, 2007, Chicago

The pattern is always the same, making the end result inevitable. A charismatic leader of a nonprofit is accused of wrongdoing. He or she resists. More and more unflattering revelations end up on the front page of the local newspaper. After much resistance, the leader resigns. The ultimate question: At what cost to the institution?

The scandal de jour is the one that has engulfed Oral Roberts University. Given the allegations, we were not surprised to learn this past Wednesday that...

TULSA WORLD IS SILENT TODAY, BUT SENATOR GRASSLEY ISN'T: WHAT DO NONPROFIT HOSPITALS AND MINISTERS HAVE IN COMMON?

"Send us your money and we will make sure it is in heaven when you get there"

Attributed to Firesign Theatre--please advise if you know of a better attribution

DATELINE: November 6, 2007

As far as we can tell, Tulsa World is uncharacteristically silent today on the ongoing controversy surrounding Oral Roberts University and Richard Roberts. That's OK, everybody is entitled to a day off unless that everybody is Senator Grassley and his staff. They never rest. The Wall Street Journal's Suzanne Sataline is reporting today that Senator Grassley has sent...

TIME FOR THE OKLAHOMA ATTORNEY GENERAL AND THE IRS TO INTERVENE: THE CRAZY EVENTS UNFOLDING AT ORU

Things fall apart, the center cannot hold.
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world…

Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand
          W.B. Yeats, The Second Coming (1920)

DATELINE, November 4, 2007, Chicago

We suspect that the IRS would love to jump into the controversy at Oral Roberts University, but is being efficient, waiting for the lawsuit and the Miller and Chevalier investigation to surface the critical facts. It is unclear to us why the Oklahoma Attorney General has not already intervened. ORU may have its roots in religion, but it is still a tax-exempt charitable entity, meaning that the regulators must be prepared to protect ORU's assets. The school's Web site proclaims that it has over 4,000 for-credit students. That is a significant charitable class.  It deserves the protection that only the regulators can provide.

Why the need for immediate action on the part of the regulators? This past Friday, ORU, Richard Roberts, and three administrator-defendants filed a...

SEE NOTHING, SAY NOTHING, HEAR NOTHING: A MESSAGE FROM NINE ORU VICE-PRESIDENTS

DATELINE: October 31, 2007, Chicago

The developments are coming out of Tulsa, Oklahoma faster than we can keep up with them. What is becoming quite clear is that ORU is not handling the crisis well, leading to the strong possibility that that it will not end well. If nothing else, this story is a study in crisis management.

Of course, how the crisis ends will be largely dependent on the facts. Each day's developments make us more suspicious and skeptical. Today there were two notable developments. First, Tulsa World made available an October 29, 2007 letter from nine...

LET IT BLEED: ORU SHOULD LET THE MEDIA CHIPS FALL WHERE THEY MAY

DATELINE: October 30, 2007, Chicago

The business press was awash in rumors over the weekend that Merrill Lynch's CEO Stanley O'Neal was on his way out the door. Although all reports treated this as fact, there was no firm confirmation that O'Neal was gone even by yesterday morning.

The news accounts point to a board that could no longer take the heat from massive third-quarter losses largely attributable to Merrill's mortgage-security portfolio. At first, the board was told that the losses were in the neighborhood of $4.5 billion. Heads rolled, but not O'Neal's. Then the number inexplicably jumped to...

ORU BOARD OF REGENTS SHOULD GET ORAL ROBERTS OFF CAMPUS

DATELINE: October 24, 2007, Chicago

Is it a dream? Is it a lie?
I think I'll let you decide.
Just light a candle for the kids

Arcade Fire, Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)

"This is a warning to other boards just how serious it is that they do their jobs," said George Pearsons, the chairman of Oral Roberts University's board of regents, as reported today by Tulsa World reporter April Marciszewski in an article entitled Regents Take Stronger Role After Lawsuit. Well we hate to say it, but all boards seem to get...

ORAL ROBERTS UNIVERSITY: THE FIRST OF WHAT ARE LIKELY TO BE MANY POSTS

DATELINE: October 18, 2007, Chicago

• Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
• Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
• Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Matthew 5:10-12, as posted by an apparent Roberts supporter on a Tulsa World comment list.

Now the preacher looked so baffled
When I asked him why he dressed
With twenty pounds of headlines
Stapled to his chest.
But he cursed me when I proved it to him,
Then I whispered, "Not even you can hide."

Bob Dylan, Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again from Blonde on Blonde.

We aren’t yet sure what to make of the reports coming out of Oklahoma pertaining a lawsuit filed by three employees against Oral Roberts University (ORU) and President Richard Roberts, Provost Mark Lewandowski, Dean Wendy Shirk, and Associate Provost Jeff Ogle.  It seems Fall brings scandal to college campuses.  Remember all the commotion two years ago at American University? 

An internal report apparently/allegedly prepared by Stephanie Cantese, the sister of Roberts' wife, Lindsay Roberts, contains descriptions of lavish and what would seem to be inappropriate expenditures on personal items, together with what might be characterized as inuendo...