Pat Robertson's Regent University Gets Bailout

Regent University is the Virginia Beach-based school founded by televangelist Pat Robertson to educate a new generation of conservative Christians for leadership roles in politics and society, and it has enjoyed much success:

Virginia's new governor, Bob McDonnell, is a Regent grad and a rising star in the Republican Party, and George W. Bush hired some 150 Regent grads to work in his administration. (Though at least one famous example, Monica Goodling of the attorneys general firing controversy, didn't work out so well.)

But influential alums are not translating into fundraising gains for Regent, which was recently given in effect a $95 million emergency line of credit from Robertson's television ministry, the Christian Broadcasting Network, or CBN. According to a report last Wednesday from Moody's, the rating agency, Regent last year had just $1.3 million in liquid assets, which could cover less than a week of operating costs.

The agency indicated that despite rising enrollment and the stimulus from Robertson, it doesn't expect a quick recovery for Regent.

"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.

An article in The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that Regent's financial decline began in 2006, well before the recession took hold. But various factors have accelerated the decline. Annual operating deficits averaged 26 percent from 2007 to 2009, and Regent drew down its endowment by 11 percent in 2008, more than double the normal payout rate.

Carlos Campo, president-elect of Regent (Robertson remains the chancellor), sees the glass half-full, however.

Campo told The Chronicle of Higher Education that Moody's report "clearly reflects the fact that the university has taken aggressive and appropriate steps to create a sustainable budget model for its future."

"While some fiscal challenges remain," Campo said, "the outlook for Regent University is quite strong overall." Campo said the university's expected endowment draw for 2010 and 2011 will be closer to 6 percent.