cwnewz.com - Oral Roberts University alumni have been donating to their alma mater in record numbers as the school has worked to rebuild itself from a scandal-plagued past.
In the past 15 months the numbers have increased, with the amount and number spiking in the last two months of 2008. Through January, nearly 2,400 alumni gave about $1.2 million, according to ORU Alumni Foundation data. The number of first-time donors also increased significantly. The number went up by almost 200 from November to December and reached 585 in January. Although the number is far from the 1994-96 totals, it is the highest since 1998. Nathan Carlson, a 1979 ORU graduate, had never given to the university because he was uncomfortable with the leadership. "I just didn't trust where the money was going to go," said Carlson, who worked in undergraduate admissions at ORU until 1984. "I left the university convinced that the university was doomed to fail because of the leadership at the time," he said. But when former president Richard Roberts resigned in 2007 amid accusations of misusing university money, and ORU underwent major changes, Carlson began to take notice. He saw the new board of trustees, a system of shared governance and other changes in accountability as positive adjustments that changed his mind about donating. He went to ORU's homecoming celebration earlier this month and left convinced that the university was headed in the right direction. "I was witnessing the rebirth of an institution," said Carlson, who owns and operates a consulting company in Denver. Last month, ORU announced its new president, former pastor and evangelist Mark Rutland. He comes to ORU from Southeastern University in Florida, which he is credited with turning into a leading liberal arts college in the region. At a question-and-answer session during homecoming events last weekend, Rutland discussed working to increase enrollment numbers and beginning to offer evening, weekend and online courses. ORU launched its "Renewing the Vision" fundraising campaign in January of last year as an effort to pay down its $55 million in debt. A $70 million gift from the family of Yukon millionaire Mart Green retired a significant chunk of the money owed. Green, who is now chairman of the ORU board of trustees, rescued the university from a financial quagmire. The debt has been reduced to about $11 million in the past year. Natalie Bounds-Adams, director of alumni relations, said the spike in donations began immediately after Green stepped on campus. Alumni appreciate his commitment to the university, she said. "The positive comments have just kept coming in,"
About once a month, Bounds-Adams sends an e-mail newsletter to thousands of alumni to keep them up to date on the university's changes, and her office runs an ongoing phone campaign. "It isn't about the money as much as it's about relationship building with alums," says Bounds-Adams. The recent campaign has helped reassure graduates that ORU is moving forward and is a place they can recommend to their high school-aged children, Bounds-Adams said. "We are renewing the same vision that we've always had," she said. "It's not changing."
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