# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_2019_S173
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

7. UNIVERSITY EDUCATION
candidates for prior approval, with the result that regents
and search committees have invested a great deal of time
interviewing candidates; and
WHEREAS, Opportunities for disappointment and
misunderstanding can be mitigated by advancing the prior
approval process so that it occurs nearer to the outset of the
search; therefore be it
Resolved, That Bylaw 3.10.6.6.2 be amended as follows:
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
Concordia University System Presidents
3.10.6.6.2 The following process shall govern the selection of
a college/university president.
(a) When a vacancy or an impending vacancy in the
office of president is known, the board of regents shall
inform the campus constituencies, the Board of Directors
of Concordia University System, the President of the
Synod, an official periodical of the Synod, and other
parties as appropriate. If a vacancy in a presidency
occurs, the board of regents shall appoint an interim
president, who shall meet the qualifications established
for the office of president. He shall bear the title “interim
president” and may not serve more than eighteen (18)
months without the concurrence of the President of the
Synod. Such interim appointee shall be ineligible to serve
on a permanent basis without the concurrence of the
President of the Synod.
(1) The board of regents shall request that the Board
of Directors of Concordia University System authorize
the institution to publish a request for nominations
for the position of president.
(2) The board of regents shall request that the Board
of Directors of Concordia University System schedule
a transition review of the campus. The review is to
provide a report on the state of the campus for use by
the search committee, the board of regents, and the
candidates.
(b) The board of regents shall oversee the process of
defining the institution’s needs, describing the desired
characteristics of the new president, and issuing a
request for nominations.
(1) A search committee shall be formed that
represents the board of regents, the faculty, and the
staff. Faculty members and staff members on the
committee shall be members of LCMS congregations.
(2) The search committee shall prepare a description
of the needs of the institution based on listening
forums, the findings of the Board for University
Education’s transition review, and other relevant
information. Before publishing a call for nominations,
the President of Concordia University System shall
convene an in-person conference involving the board
of regents, the search committee, and the prior
approval panel to discuss the qualifications that will
be sought and the search criteria.
(3) The search committee shall develop written
criteria that will be utilized by the committee to screen

Resolutions

the candidates and will be utilized by the board of
regents to guide the presidential election.
(4) A person designated by the board of regents shall
act as its agent to issue a request for the nomination of
candidates for the presidency of the institution. The
request for nominations shall be submitted to the
parties who are authorized to nominate. Candidates
may be nominated by congregations of the Synod, the
Board of Directors of Concordia University System, the
board of regents, and the faculty of the institution. The
request for nominations shall state when the
nominating period closes.
(5) After the nomination period has closed, the agent
of the board of regents shall contact each nominee to
notify him of his nomination and to determine
whether such nominee will allow his name to stand
for election. Nominees who wish to be considered
must furnish written consent, along with such
documentation as the board of regents has requested
from candidates in its call for nominations, to the
agent by a date set by the board of regents, which date
shall be not less than fifteen days after the last
nominee is notified.
(6) After the due date set by the board of regents for
nominee responses, the agent of the board of regents
shall forward the list of nominees who have agreed to
let their names stand, together with all materials
received from such candidates, to the President of
Concordia University System to enable him to
convene a prior approval panel consisting of the
President of the Synod, the district president serving
on the institution’s board of regents, and the chair of
the Board of Concordia University System. The names
of the nominees shall not otherwise be disclosed
outside the board of regents.
(7) The prior approval panel shall meet to consider
the nominees. The panel may choose to remove names
from the list by its two-thirds majority vote. The panel
shall complete its work within sixty (60) days after
receipt of the list of nominees.
(8) After the prior approval panel has completed its
work, the President of Concordia University System
shall transmit the finalized list back to the agent of the
board of regents within 15 days and shall cause such
list to be published in an official periodical of the
Synod. The board of regents shall thendistribute via an
announcement to the congregations of the Synod the
list of names of nominees who have received approval
but shall not publicize the names of those not
receiving approval. The announcement shall contain
contact information to submit correspondence
regarding the nominees and provide a reasonable
deadline for receiving correspondence. The board of
regents shall establish a procedure for processing
correspondence regarding nominees.
(c) The board of regents shall utilize the work of the
search committee to establish a short list of candidates
continue its search process.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2019 (67TH) LCMS CONVENTION | 173