LeTourneau University 
The information on this page was last updated 3/17/2023. If you see errors or omissions, please email: [email protected]
Summary
LeTourneau University is a place for those who learn by doing. We are makers, doers, creators. We are small enough to give every student hands-on professional experience and comprehensive enough to assemble outstanding faculty in dozens of academic programs. The world is our mission field, where our graduates carry the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Contact information
Mailing address:
LeTourneau University
2100 S Mobberly Ave
Longview, TX 75602
Website: letu.edu
Phone: 903-233-3000
Email: [email protected]
Organization details
EIN: 751081109
CEO/President: Dr. Steven D. Mason
Chairman: Patrick A. Bertsche
Board size: 26
Founder: R.G. LeTourneau
Ruling year: 1962
Tax deductible: Yes
Fiscal year end: 06/30
Member of ECFA: Yes
Member of ECFA since: 1987
Purpose
Claiming every workplace in every nation as our mission field, LeTourneau University graduates are professionals of ingenuity and Christ-like character who see life's work as a holy calling with eternal impact.
Mission statement
LeTourneau University is a comprehensive institution of Christian higher education where educators engage learners to nurture Christian virtue, to develop competency and ingenuity in their professional fields, to integrate faith and work, and to serve the local and global community.
Statement of faith
A deep faith in God is the cornerstone of LeTourneau University. We believe that no education is complete until a student understands who God is and how to relate to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. This belief influences all that we do and teach. While we believe that everyone must have the freedom to interpret God's truth individually, LeTourneau University recognizes certain basic tenets of the Christian faith:
We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the only inspired, authoritative Word of God and are completely truthful and without error.
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We believe that Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit, was born of the Virgin Mary, and is true God and true man.
We believe that man, created in the image of God, sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God; that all human beings are born with a sinful nature, and that those who reach moral responsibility become sinners in thought, word, and deed.
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice, and that all who believe in Him are justified on the basis of His shed blood.
We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord, in His ascension into Heaven, and His present life there for us as High Priest and Advocate.
We believe in "that blessed hope," the personal, visible and imminent return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
We believe that all who receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ are born again of the Holy Spirit and thereby become the children of God; by Grace are we saved through faith.
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and unjust, the everlasting blessedness of the saved, and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost.
Donor confidence score
Transparency grade
A
To understand our transparency grade, click here.
Financial efficiency ratings
Sector: Colleges/Universities
| Category | Rating | Overall rank | Sector rank |
| Overall efficiency rating | | 413 of 1076 | 39 of 130 |
| Fund acquisition rating | | 602 of 1077 | 73 of 130 |
| Resource allocation rating | | 370 of 1077 | 42 of 130 |
| Asset utilization rating | | 441 of 1076 | 43 of 130 |
Financial ratios
| Funding ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Return on fundraising efforts Return on fundraising efforts = Fundraising expense / Total contributions | 11% | 14% | 19% | 16% | 15% | 11% |
Fundraising cost ratio Fundraising cost ratio = Fundraising expense / Total revenue | 2% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
Contributions reliance Contributions reliance = Total contributions / Total revenue | 18% | 10% | 7% | 8% | 8% | 11% |
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expense ratio = Fundraising expense / Total expenses | 2% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
Other revenue reliance Other revenue reliance = Total other revenue / Total revenue | 82% | 90% | 93% | 92% | 92% | 89% |
| Operating ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Program expense ratio Program expense ratio = Program services / Total expenses | 84% | 87% | 86% | 86% | 86% | 86% |
Spending ratio Spending ratio = Total expenses / Total revenue | 95% | 105% | 107% | 102% | 103% | 100% |
Program output ratio Program output ratio = Program services / Total revenue | 79% | 91% | 92% | 88% | 88% | 86% |
Savings ratio Savings ratio = Surplus (deficit) / Total revenue | 5% | -5% | -7% | -2% | -3% | 0% |
Reserve accumulation rate Reserve accumulation rate = Surplus (deficit) / Net assets | 4% | -3% | -4% | -1% | -2% | 0% |
General and admin ratio General and admin ratio = Management and general expense / Total expenses | 13% | 12% | 12% | 12% | 13% | 13% |
| Investing ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Total asset turnover Total asset turnover = Total expenses / Total assets | 0.50 | 0.59 | 0.57 | 0.52 | 0.49 | 0.49 |
Degree of long-term investment Degree of long-term investment = Total assets / Total current assets | 2.66 | 4.66 | 4.59 | 2.58 | 2.56 | 2.61 |
Current asset turnover Current asset turnover = Total expenses / Total current assets | 1.54 | 2.74 | 2.62 | 1.35 | 1.26 | 1.27 |
| Liquidity ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Current ratio Current ratio = Total current assets / Total current liabilities | 7.30 | 3.86 | 4.06 | 7.39 | 7.60 | 7.10 |
Current liabilities ratio Current liabilities ratio = Total current liabilities / Total current assets | 0.14 | 0.26 | 0.25 | 0.14 | 0.13 | 0.14 |
Liquid reserve level Liquid reserve level = (Total current assets - Total current liabilities) / (Total expenses / 12) | 6.41 | 3.25 | 3.45 | 7.67 | 8.26 | 8.09 |
| Solvency ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Liabilities ratio Liabilities ratio = Total liabilities / Total assets | 25% | 13% | 14% | 15% | 16% | 18% |
Debt ratio Debt ratio = Debt / Total assets | 15% | 5% | 6% | 7% | 9% | 9% |
Reserve coverage ratio Reserve coverage ratio = Net assets / Total expenses | 143% | 149% | 151% | 163% | 171% | 168% |
Financials
| Balance sheet | |||||
| Assets | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Cash | $12,859,089 | $10,795,495 | $21,201,089 | $19,657,446 | $20,286,222 |
| Receivables, inventories, prepaids | $1,439,257 | $1,556,975 | $1,927,972 | $2,380,321 | $2,773,332 |
| Short-term investments | $11,076,190 | $14,415,232 | $27,250,031 | $30,298,116 | $30,175,630 |
| Other current assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total current assets | $25,374,536 | $26,767,702 | $50,379,092 | $52,335,883 | $53,235,184 |
| Long-term investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Fixed assets | $66,045,395 | $70,050,460 | $73,645,243 | $75,351,665 | $78,955,265 |
| Other long-term assets | $26,872,732 | $26,062,755 | $6,069,494 | $6,142,835 | $6,724,987 |
| Total long-term assets | $92,918,127 | $96,113,215 | $79,714,737 | $81,494,500 | $85,680,252 |
| Total assets | $118,292,663 | $122,880,917 | $130,093,829 | $133,830,383 | $138,915,436 |
| Liabilities | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Payables and accrued expenses | $3,027,368 | $3,870,216 | $3,999,698 | $3,550,162 | $4,371,336 |
| Other current liabilities | $3,546,040 | $2,725,743 | $2,818,985 | $3,339,776 | $3,131,723 |
| Total current liabilities | $6,573,408 | $6,595,959 | $6,818,683 | $6,889,938 | $7,503,059 |
| Debt | $5,979,823 | $7,864,104 | $9,662,426 | $11,389,856 | $13,180,841 |
| Due to (from) affiliates | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other long-term liabilities | $2,244,566 | $2,249,360 | $2,443,563 | $2,929,238 | $4,065,407 |
| Total long-term liabilities | $8,224,389 | $10,113,464 | $12,105,989 | $14,319,094 | $17,246,248 |
| Total liabilities | $14,797,797 | $16,709,423 | $18,924,672 | $21,209,032 | $24,749,307 |
| Net assets | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Without donor restrictions | $77,888,647 | $81,292,260 | $85,538,523 | $87,411,544 | $88,681,809 |
| With donor restrictions | $25,606,219 | $24,879,234 | $25,630,634 | $25,209,807 | $25,484,320 |
| Net assets | $103,494,866 | $106,171,494 | $111,169,157 | $112,621,351 | $114,166,129 |
| Revenues and expenses | |||||
| Revenue | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Total contributions | $6,309,611 | $4,672,156 | $5,628,494 | $5,334,183 | $7,812,512 |
| Program service revenue | $59,170,398 | $59,522,790 | $59,104,608 | $57,309,078 | $59,345,286 |
| Membership dues | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Investment income | $694,220 | $1,365,896 | $1,942,382 | $1,281,980 | $727,020 |
| Other revenue | ($17,336) | $105,167 | $136,145 | $147,191 | $175,279 |
| Total other revenue | $59,847,282 | $60,993,853 | $61,183,135 | $58,738,249 | $60,247,585 |
| Total revenue | $66,156,893 | $65,666,009 | $66,811,629 | $64,072,432 | $68,060,097 |
| Expenses | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Program services | $60,274,289 | $60,725,312 | $58,885,857 | $56,603,053 | $58,499,704 |
| Management and general | $8,296,384 | $8,619,268 | $8,406,211 | $8,609,823 | $8,483,146 |
| Fundraising | $898,496 | $893,086 | $900,421 | $775,667 | $840,616 |
| Total expenses | $69,469,169 | $70,237,666 | $68,192,489 | $65,988,543 | $67,823,466 |
| Change in net assets | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Surplus (deficit) | ($3,312,276) | ($4,571,657) | ($1,380,860) | ($1,916,111) | $236,631 |
| Other changes in net assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total change in net assets | ($3,312,276) | ($4,571,657) | ($1,380,860) | ($1,916,111) | $236,631 |
Compensation
| Name | Title | Compensation |
| Dr Dale A Lunsford | President | $419,240 |
| Steven Kent Starrett | Dean, School of Engineering An | $176,917 |
| Steven D Mason | Provost and Vice President For | $167,174 |
| Michael Hood | VP For Finance and Admin | $149,195 |
| Terry A Zeitlow | Vice President For Development | $146,625 |
| Don K Egle | Vice President For University | $132,427 |
| Kimberly J Quiett | Professor and Dean, School of | $132,199 |
Compensation data as of: 6/30/2020
Response from ministry
No response has been provided by this ministry.
The information below was provided to MinistryWatch by the ministry itself. It was last updated 3/17/2023. To update the information below, please email: [email protected]
History
LeTourneau University is named for its founder, R.G. LeTourneau, one of the world's greatest inventors of earthmoving equipment. A businessman and devout Christian, LeTourneau toured Longview, Texas, with his wife, Evelyn, in 1946 to consider a manufacturing site for his next earthmoving equipment factory. While flying over a sprawling complex of a vacated Army hospital consisting of over 200 frame buildings, Mrs. LeTourneau inquired about the facility. When told it was no longer in use, she suggested establishing a school to educate returning World War II veterans.
The site became LeTourneau Technical Institute, founded in 1946 with only male students. In 1961 the school became LeTourneau College, a co-educational four-year school. In 1989 LeTourneau College became LeTourneau University, a SACSCOC and ABET accredited, nondenominational Christian university, offering four-year and two-year degree programs in engineering, technology, the liberal arts, business, aeronautical science, education, and the sciences, plus master's degree programs in business and education.
In that same year, the university began expanding into offering programs for working adults in evening and weekend classes. Calling it the LEAP program, which stood for LeTourneau Education for Adult Professionals, classes with the same students making a group, or cohort, met weekly for six to eight weeks per course. Cohorts were kept on track through to degree completion with students automatically enrolled in each next class, and as each class finished, the next course began in the same location the following week with a different professor. Many other universities have adopted this format to reach working adults.
Today, more than 1,150 students attend LeTourneau University classes online or at our educational centers in Dallas and Houston, and might not step foot onto the university's beautiful main campus in Longview, Texas unless they come for graduation. The university has eight schools. Currently, LeTourneau University is led by its sixth president, Dr. Dale A. Lunsford, and its board of trustees.
LeTourneau University is an unapologetically Christian university. While it has no direct denominational ties, it welcomes students of all denominations who love and seek after God. It is a place where students have found a deeper relationship with Him, grown in their spiritual walk and discovered God's purpose for their lives.
Currently, LeTourneau University is led by its seventh president, Dr. Steven D. Mason, and its board of trustees.
LeTourneau University is an unapologetically Christian university. While it has no direct denominational ties, it welcomes students of all denominations who love and seek after God. It is a place where students have found a deeper relationship with Him, grown in their spiritual walk and discovered God's purpose for their lives.