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TechnoratiTULSA, Okla. (AP) — The former president of Oral Roberts University, who stepped down amid allegations he misspent school funds to live in luxury, is being offered a severance package but university officials won't divulge its terms.
Televangelist Richard Roberts, the son of school founder Oral Roberts, resigned in November.
He and his wife, Lindsay, were accused of dropping money on shopping sprees, home improvements and a stable of horses for their daughters at a time when ORU was more than $50 million in debt. Both have repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
Billionaire Oklahoma City businessman Mart Green took the reins at ORU in January, donating $70 million and pledging to restore the public's trust in the small evangelical school.
On Wednesday, Green called the proposed severance agreement "fair, reasonable, and in the best interest of ORU." The package has yet to be finalized, and Green refused to comment further on the details.
Frank Hagedorn, Roberts' attorney, confirmed the negotiations.
"He was promised a severance and he should get his severance," said Hagedorn, who would not say whether his client was assured severance when he resigned last November.
Critics say any deal for Roberts sends the wrong signal.
"It's a slap in the face to the supporters of the university," said former ORU regent Harry McNevin, who quit the board in 1987 because of the misspending he alleged he witnessed. "It sends the message that it's more about money than winning souls."
Hagedorn defended his client.
"You tell the critics Mr. Roberts has done nothing wrong," he said. "He has not misspent and lived lavishly off ORU money."
Richard and Lindsay Roberts still face a lawsuit brought by two former professors who claim they were forced out after alleging financial and ethical wrongdoing on the part of Roberts and his family. They also are named in a lawsuit brought by Trent Huddleston, a former senior accountant at ORU, who is suing for wrongful termination.
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