# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1947_S188
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

186 SEMINARIES AND COLLEGES

Four-Year Colleges

Another proposal advocates the establishment of three four-
year colleges on existing campuses. If this plan were followed,
it would be logical to establish such colleges on the campuses at
Bronxville, Fort Wayne (or Milwaukee), and Oakland. For the
present consideration the analysis of the Milwaukee situation under
Proposal No. 1 would be applicable, except that the space deficiency
of available land and dormitory facilities would be still more acute
when related to a four-year Senior College development. For
present purposes we shall assume that Bronxville, Fort Wayne, and
Oakland would be used. ‘

It is to be noted here that there exists an extensive develop~
ment in general education on all three campuses mentioned. As a
matter of fact, approximately 65% of the student body in two of
these schools is currently classified in the non-ministerial category,
and approximately 68% is so classified in the third. It is felt
that the closing of such schools to general education and their con-
version into four-year ministerial training colleges would react
quite unfavorably upon the local constituency which, in many cases,
has given a very substantial financial support to the construction
and academic programs on these campuses. Such support has
usually been given expressly because Synod has expressed un-
willingness to subsidize general education but with the consequent
understanding that local interests might sponsor it. If these plants
were now to be assigned exclusively to ministerial training, Synod
would have to keep in mind the ethical aspects of such a pro-
cedure. In some cases hundreds of thousands of dollars are in-
vested. In fact, current proposals for physical improvements on
these campuses provide for expenditures of local funds approxi-
mating %4 of a million dollars, a substantial portion of which has
already been contributed.

Under this plan the reassignment of the present faculties would
pose a problem even more acute than the problem created by
Suggestion No.1. A very considerable number of called professors
(about 30) would be involved. On the other hand, the problem
of supplying three complete Senior College teaching staffs which
could meet accreditation requirements for such schools would
present difficulties for which no solution is apparent at this time.

As Senior Colleges each of these schools would be quite small
and there would be indicated, therefore, serious concomitant diffi-
culties in the effective operation of the academic program as well
as an excessive per-student cost to Synod.

With regard to accreditation, the problems would be equally as
severe as those posed by the suggestion that a two-year college
be established at Milwaukee. One of these schools (Bronxville)