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Oral Roberts University head quits

The president's staff was in turmoil as he faces lawsuits alleging financial misconduct.

TULSA, Okla. - Facing accusations that he misspent university funds to support a lavish lifestyle, the president of Oral Roberts University resigned from his position, officials said Friday.

Richard Roberts' resignation is effective immediately, according to a statement e-mailed from George Pearsons, chairman of the school's Board of Regents.

Roberts and the university have come under fire since a lawsuit was filed by three former professors. The lawsuit includes allegations of a $39,000 shopping tab at one store for Richard Roberts' wife, Lindsay, a $29,411 Bahamas senior trip on the university jet for one of Roberts' daughters, and a stable of horses for the Roberts children.

Roberts, son of school founder and televangelist Oral Roberts, had been on temporary leave from the evangelical university, fighting the accusations against him. In a recent interview, the couple denied wrongdoing.

Roberts has said the lawsuit amounted to "intimidation, blackmail and extortion."

On Friday, he said in the statement that he loved the university. He became president in 1993. "I love ORU with all my heart," Roberts said. "I love the students, faculty, staff and administration, and I want to see God's best for all of them."

Gary Richardson, the attorney for the three professors, said, "Those who have seen what we have seen won't have any surprise about the fact that Richard has stepped down. ... There was no option, period."

One of the plaintiffs, John Swails, said Roberts "could have spared the university and the students by going ahead and stepping down and admitting his wrongdoing."

The professors also alleged in their lawsuit that Richard Roberts required students in a government class to work on candidate Randi Miller's 2006 mayoral campaign.

Roberts publicly endorsed Miller, but said then that he was doing so as a private citizen and not as an ORU representative. He has denied that he ordered students to work on the campaign.

Professor Tim Brooker, one of the lawsuit plaintiffs, accused the school of forcing him to quit after he warned Roberts that requiring students to work on Miller's campaign jeopardized ORU's tax-exempt status.

In the weeks since the lawsuit was filed, others have cropped up, including one from a former senior accountant who alleged that the Robertses ordered him to help them hide improper and illegal financial wrongdoing from the authorities and the public.

Besides the legal issues, the school's provost, Mark Lewandowski, offered to quit, telling the regents he could not "in good conscience serve under (Roberts') leadership."

[Last modified November 24, 2007, 01:04:05]