Universities Weblog

Richard Roberts, president of Oral Roberts University and son of retired tele-evangelist Oral Roberts, has resigned, according to Tulsa World.

The resignation came after two months of controversy at ORU during which time Roberts eventually took a leave of absence. Roberts has been accused of misusing university resources and mismanagement and his wife has been accused of having improper relationships with underage male students on campus.

In a letter to the university's Board of Regents, Roberts reigned effective Friday, November 30. Roberts said that he loved ORU and wished the faculty, staff and students the best.

In a new twist to the situation at ORU, a group of students at the university have sued the school claiming, among other things, that the controversy of the last few months has decreased the value of their degrees. Peter Smith, who writes and blogs for the Louisville, Kentucky, Courier-Journal, had an interesting perspective on that lawsuit:

These two students were in the degree programs offered by the department for history, humanities and government - a department decimated by the departure of professors, including some now suing the university. They claim these were influential degree programs, providing good contacts with Republicans political operatives nationwide (an eyebrow raiser in itself). Now, the students say, their potential degrees have been devalued. One of them is attempting to transfer…

I do have that ORU degree, and it's never caused me a problem in a job interview. Even in the bluest state in the union, Massachusetts…

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