LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1973, Page 130

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130

RESOLUTIONS

siastical authority or by the Board of Control ex-
cept for causes hereinafter enumerated and by
procedures hereinafter described.

c. The only causes for which members of a fac-
ulty may be removed from office (within the defi-
nitions of a and b above), other than honorable
retirement, are:

1. professional incompetency;

2. incapacity for the performance of duty be-
cause of physical, mental, or emotional disabilities;

3. refusal to cooperate;
4. neglect or refusal to perform duties of office;
5. conduct unbecoming a Christian;

6. advocacy of false doctrine (Constitution, Ar-
ticle II).

6.78 Board Supervision

The Board of Control shall have the sole pre-
rogative, subject only to the action of the conven-
tion, to investigate through procedures hereinafter
set forth charges of professional incompetency, in-
capacity for the performance of duty because of
physical, mental, or emotional disabilities, refusal
to cooperate, or neglect of or refusal to perform
duties of office; in these cases the president of the
institution shall normally present the charges.
Through procedures hereinafter set forth, the
Board of Control shall also have responsibility to
investigate charges of false doctrine or conduct
unbecoming a Christian.

6.79 Procedures for Exercising Board Supervision

a. When the Board of Control receives a charge
against any member of the faculty of an educa-
tional institution of the Synod, in the spirit of
Christian love it shall first call upon the complain-
ant to communicate directly with the person against
whom he has a complaint and attempt to find a
peaceful and amicable resolution of the matter.

b. If subsequently the complainant desires to
pursue the matter, he shall so notify the Board of
Control and present the charge in writing, formu-
lated with reasonable definiteness, and the evi-
dence. The Board of Control shall then direct the
president of the institution to attempt to deal with
it to the satisfaction of all concerned. Charges
against the president of the institution shall be
dealt with by the chairman of the Board of Control.

If the complainant does not notify the Board of
Control and present his charge in writing within
60 days, the Board of Control may rule that the
matter has been resolved to the complainant’s satis-
faction.

c. If the board decides not to proceed, or if the
board has not acted within 90 days after the com-
plainant has notified the Board of Control in writ-
ing that he wishes to pursue the matter, and if the
complainant is dissatisfied and the charge involves
conduct unbecoming a Christian or advocacy of
false doctrine (Constitution, Article II) the com-
plainant may take his complaint to the District
President. If he finds the action of the District
President unacceptable, he may take his complaint
to the synodical President under the pertinent
provisions of Bylaw 6.80.

d. If the board should decide to proceed, and if
the charge is of a theological nature, the Board
shall submit the theological question at issue to
the Commission on Theology and Church Relations
for an advisory theological opinion. If in such a
case the Board decides that the charge is serious
enough to threaten immediate harm to the accused
or others by his continuance as a member of the
faculty, the board may suspend the faculty member
from his teaching duties; contractual obligations
of the institution, however, shall continue until
the charge is resolved.

e. Furthermore if the Board of Control has de-
cided to proceed it shall also direct the faculty
hearings committee to hold a hearing with respect
to the validity of the charge that has been made.
The notification of the hearing, approved and issued
by the board through the president of the institu-
tion at least 4 weeks in advance and sent to the
chairman of the committee, to the complainant and
the accused, shall contain (a) a statement of
the charge or charges, (b) a summary of the evi-
dence on which the charges are based, (c) a state-
ment that the hearings committee will conduct a
hearing and that the time and the place thereof
shall be determined by the hearings committee,
(d) a formal invitation to the complainant and the
accused to attend the hearing, (e) a statement to
the complainant and the accused that they are en-
titled to counsel and (f) the opinion of the Com-
mission on Theology and Church Relations if a
theological issue is involved.

f. No less than 2 weeks prior to a suitable date
set for the hearing, the accused shall submit to
the president, to the hearings committee, and to the
complainant his written answer to the charges or
he shall state that he desires no hearing to be held.

g. If the accused fails to answer the statement
of charges or declares that he desires no hearing to
be held, the hearings committee shall consider
whether the grounds stated constitute adequate
cause for dismissal, and in its discretion may in-
dependently investigate the truth of the charges.

h. If a hearing is held it shall be private unless
the accused requests a public hearing. However,
the president or his representative, and the com-
plainant, the accused, and their advisers shall have
the right to be present at the hearing at all times.
Opportunity for cross examination and for pre-
senting testimony by competent witnesses shall be
afforded.

i. The hearings committee shall forward its
findings to the complainant, to the accused, to the
president, and to the Board of Control.

j. After the findings of the hearings committee
have been conveyed to the Board of Control, the
board after hearing whatever additional witnesses
it may desire to hear and considering all pertinent
evidence, including, if it is a theological issue, the
opinion of the Commission on Theology and Church
Relations, shall render a decision. This decision
shall in no case be rendered without having given
the accused a personal hearing, with right of coun-
sel, and with adequate opportunity for the prepara-
tion of a response to the charge, as well as having
given an opportunity for the complainant with
right of counsel to appear before the Board of
Control.

k. If the decision of the Board of Control is
that the accused is to be removed from the faculty,
the Board of Control shall formally, in writing,
notify the accused that his appointment to the
faculty is being terminated and shall specify the
effective date of the termination.

1. If the charge sustained against the individual
is of such a nature that it could disqualify him
from further membership in the Synod under
Article XIII, the District President of the accused
shall be so notified and a transcript of the proceed-
ing shall be forwarded to the District President.
The District President shall then proceed in the
manner prescribed in the Constitution and Bylaws.

m. If a faculty member has lost his membership
in the Synod through the ecclesiastical route (By-
law 6.80) he shall automatically forfeit his mem-
bership on the faculty after the appeals procedure
has been applied or after he has failed to file an
appeal within 90 days. During the 90-day period
and during the appeals procedure, if an appeal
is made, the Board of Control shall suspend him