Mark Rutland, author and president of Southeastern University in Lakeland, Fla., has been named the new president of Tulsa, Okla.-based Oral Roberts University (ORU).

"We are excited about the future under the leadership of Dr. Rutland," said ORU board chairman Mart Green, founder of Mardel Christian & Education stores, who pledged $70 million in 2007 to help the debt-ridden school. "He has been selected as the result of a careful process and we are confident that he will take the university to new heights while continuing to uphold the mission and vision of Oral Roberts University."

Rutland, who tripled the enrollment of Southeastern--a once-struggling Assemblies of God college--and also helped Calvary Assembly of God in Orlando, Fla., reduce a $15 million debt, has written several books, including Holiness (Creation House) and Nevertheless, Power, Dream and Character Matters (Charisma House).

Rutland will remain as Southeastern's president until July 1. Approved in a vote by the ORU board of trustees Jan. 28, Rutland succeeds former President Richard Roberts, who resigned in November 2007 amid a wrongful termination lawsuit brought against him and the school by three former professors.

Green gave the school an initial $8 million to meet immediate debts and payroll needs, and gifted the remaining $62 million after ORU complied with several accountability measures. Green said ORU has reduced its debt from $55 million to $15 million with support from some 12,000 donors.

Southeastern has named pastor and author Tommy Barnett as the school's transitional chancellor, although university officials have not yet decided when he will assume the role. Pastor of Phoenix First Assembly of God in Arizona and co-founder of the Los Angeles Dream Center, Barnett has written books, including Reaching Your Dreams (Charisma House) and There's a Miracle in Your House (Strang Communications).

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