Friday, July 02, 2010

Is Pat Robertson's Regent University in Financial Trouble?

Is it possible that Pat Robertson's ongoing lunacy and crazy/hateful statements towards gays and others beginning to catch up with Regent University - the "Christian" university and law school created to train "God's warriors" to go out into government and politics? According to the Houston Chronicle, Regent needed a financial bailout from brother Pat's CBN and has seen it's bond rating lowered by Moody's - the New York City based rating agency. While Regent has helped non-Christo-fascists by affording a means to secure graduate degrees attending part time while still working full time, the core mission of the school continues to be one that would subvert the separation of church and state. One needs only look at the actions of some of the Regent graduates in the Chimperator's regime to see that the "true believers" are a scary crowd. Some of brother Pat's recent pronouncements (Robertson remains Regent's chancellor and president) have not helped the institution's credibility. Here are some highlights from the Chronicle's story:
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Regent University is in dire financial straits, but it received help last week from the Christian Broadcasting Network, according to a report released on Wednesday by Moody's Investors Service.
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M.G. (Pat) Robertson, the influential evangelical broadcaster, founded both the network and Regent University, which was originally called CBN University. Both are located in Virginia Beach, Va., and Mr. Robertson is Regent's chancellor and president.
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The university's fiscal footing began to slide in 2006, when its bond rating was downgraded because of deficits and weak fund-raising. Regent's money problems have accelerated since then. Annual operating deficits averaged 26 percent from 2007 to 2009, according to Moody's, and its endowment draw was a whopping 11 percent in 2008, more than double the normal payout rate.
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While the balance sheet improved last year, thanks to increased tuition revenue from a growing undergraduate enrollment, Regent has a dangerously small amount of cash on hand to pay the bills.
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Moody's reports that last year the university had only $1.3-million in liquid assets, which could cover roughly six days of operating costs. But Mr. Robertson's television network came to the rescue on June 24, relaxing restrictions on a $95-million gift it made to the university in 1992.
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But the university is hardly out of the woods. The ratings agency remains negative on its outlook, and it affirmed a relatively weak Baa2 bond rating on Regent's debt. And Moody's says an improvement in Regent's rating is unlikely. "Moody's negative outlook reflects the expectations that the university will continue to experience deficit operating performance, which will continue to deplete or, at least hamper, financial resource growth," the report says
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Not surprisingly, the Virginian Pilot has yet to report on this story in its own backyard. To both the Pilot and the Daily Press investigative reporting is an unknown concept.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Thank God there is someone in Norfolk who is blogging about this. Live in Norfolk.