# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1941_S42
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

42 Seminaries and Colleges. — Individual Institutions

resented: Italian, Polish, Danish, Swedish, Russian, Finnish, Slovak,
Mexican, Indian, Filipino, and Arab.

Your Board held regular monthly and special meetings when-
ever circumstances made them necessary. The affairs of the in-
stitution were conducted in the manner demanded by the interests
of Synod and the welfare of the institution. As they became
necessary, repairs and improvements were made. Our long-
established practice of employing student labor whenever possible
aided us in making many of the repairs at a minimum of expense
to Synod and served as a “helping hand” to those students whose
resources were limited.

The many graduates and friends of the Seminary will be sad-
dened to hear of the passing of our Mr. Fred Van Horn. In all the
years of the Seminary’s existence in Springfield the name of Van
Horn has been associated with the institution, and for 48 years
Mr. Fred Van Horn served on the Board. In 1938 Synod elected
him to honorary life membership on the Board. His earthly
pilgrimage and his many years of fruitful service to our Seminary
came to an end with the closing hours of the year 1940.

It has been the constant aim of the Board and the faculty not
only to keep academic standards on a high level, but wherever
possible to anticipate future needs and make provision for them.
In line with this practice your Board in 1938 renewed the plea
made on previous occasions to grant a fourth year in the Prepara-
tory Department. Synod recognized the justice and wisdom of the
plea and granted our request. We have sought to incorporate
that year into our curriculum, but in order to obviate any mis-~-
understanding with regard to Synod’s purpose in granting this ad-
ditional year, we present the following plan for your earnest con-
sideration and eventual approval:

Synod has been confronted now for many years with the prob-
lem of providing suitable courses for public high-school graduates
who desire to enter the ministry. Several of our preparatory in-
stitutions, in the past, have endeavored to meet this demand. The
problem, however, it seems, has been found difficult by reason of
the fact that most of these students lack the religious background
supplied by our parochial schools and also are deficient in their
language courses.

During recent years, and that without any solicitation or effort
on our part, such high-school graduates have been applying for
admission in increasing numbers at our Springfield Concordia.
During the last three years we have had from forty to fifty ap-
plications each year, and during the last three years we enrolled
about thirty of such students each year. If the matter of financial —
support had not stood in the way, the number might have been
considerably larger.