President of Oral Roberts University
On January 28, 2009, the Board of Trustees of Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, elected Rutland as the 3rd President of the institution. Rutland's selection came about after he was recommended by the university's presidential search committee to the Board of Trustees. The committee had been formed following the resignation of the school's former president, evangelist and son of the institution's namesake, Richard Roberts, in 2007. Roberts' resignation came on the heels of a financial scandal and a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by several former faculty members of the university, as well as numerous claims of misuse of funds and impropriety directed against his wife, Lindsay Roberts. Rutland's election marks the first time in the history of Oral Roberts University that a person not a member of the Roberts family will hold the office of president.
Rutland was selected from a pool of more than 130 applicants to lead the university and he assumed the office of the President on July 1, 2009, taking the reins of the institution from Interim President Dr. Ralph Fagin, who was appointed to the position following the resignation of Richard Roberts in 2007. Although Oral Roberts was not personally involved with the selection process, Rutland is reportedly the only person he seriously considered to take over the presidency of the university. Rutland initially told ORU he was not interested in the position, and would not even submit a resume, but was eventually persuaded to accept the post by ORU board chairman Mart Green. According to an Associated Press report, Rutland will be making a yearly salary of $275,000. Rutland has stated that his main goals as president will be to expand the university's enrollment, as well as work to restore trust between the university and the public with a "level of transparency, authenticity, and being straightforward as possible." In keeping with his goals for the university, Rutland decided to take on the responsibility for preaching at nearly all of the school's chapel services himself. It has been reported that Rutland hopes to be able to increase enrollment from its current level at just over 3,000 to as much as 6,500
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