LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1998, Sheet 301

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286 BLUE RIBBON COMMITTEE

3.703 Purpose of the Concordia University System

Concordia University System, as a corporate entity under the
laws of the State of Missouri, is operated by its members and Board
of Directors in accordance with its articles of incorporation and cor-
porate bylaws to further the objectives and duties of the Board for
Higher Education within the Synod. Any amendments to the arti-
cles of incorporation shall be subject to approval by the Members.

3.705 Membership of the Concordia University System

The Members of Concordia University System shall consist of
two groups, one group consisting of individuals appointed by the
Board of Directors of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and
the Council of Presidents, and the other group consisting of indi-
viduals representing the colleges and universities as established by
the corporation’s bylaws.

3.707 Membership of the Board

The Board for Higher Education shall consist of 17 members.
Seven of its members shall serve on a Committee for Pastoral Ed-
ucation, and seven shall serve on a Committee for University Edu-
cation. One member shall be elected by the board to serve as chair
and may sit with either committee but without vote on a committee.
The voting members shall be as follows:

a. Five laypersons (who are not regents of any synodical higher edu-
cation institution) with financial or administrative or educational ex-
perience, elected to the board by the Council of Members of the
Concordia University System. At least two of these shall serve on
the Committee for University Education.

b. Two laypersons (who are not regents of any synodical higher edu-
cation institution) with financial or administrative or education ex-
perience, and one ordained minister (who is not a regent of any syn-
odical higher education institution), elected to the board by the joint
action of the seminary boards of regents. At least two of these shall
serve on the Committee for Pastoral Education.

c. Two ordained ministers, one of whom must be a parish pastor; two
commissioned ministers; and two laypersons elected by the Synod
in convention; one District President elected by the Council of Pres-
idents. These persons shall not be regents of any synodical higher
education institution. They will be assigned to one of the two com-
mittees by action of the board.

d. The President of the Synod or his representative and the Chief Fi-
nancial Officer of the Synod, who shall have voice but not vote on
either committee. They shall have vote in the plenary board.

Any of the voting members, except the President and the Chief
Financial Officer, is eligible to serve as chair of the board. If one of
the five members elected by the CUS Council of Members or one
of the three elected by the joint seminary regents is elected chair,
that member will leave the Committee for University Education or
Pastoral Education. The vacated committee seat will be filled via an
appointment made by the plenary board.

The seminary presidents will serve as ex officio members of the
Committee for Pastoral Education, without vote. Two presidents
from the Concordia University System campuses shall be selected
by the college and university presidents to be ex officio members of
the Committee for University Education, without vote.

3.709 Functions

The board shall have the overall responsibility to provide for
higher education by supervising and coordinating the activities of
the Synod’s colleges, universities, and seminaries as a unified syn-
odical system through their respective Boards of Regents. The
board is particularly responsible for education programs leading to
synodical service as ordained ministers, commissioned ministers,
and other professional church workers. To that end and in keeping
with the objectives and the Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions
of the Synod, the board shall

a. develop detailed coordinating policies and procedures for imple-
menting structural arrangements and individual college, universily,
and seminary roles established by the Synod and be responsible for
their implementation:

b. coordinate institutional planning and prepare and execute sys-
temwide plans for adoption by the Synod for meeting constituency
needs and interests:

c. review and approve programs, both church work and nonchurch
work, both undergraduate and graduate, in the interest of the insti-
tutions and the constituency;

d. review and approve institutional budgets as related to system needs
and plans, and recommend a systemwide budget;

e. establish policy guidelines involving distribution of synodical sub-
sidy and efforts for securing additional financial support from other
sources;

f. through use of standardized forms secure data from the colleges,
universities, and seminaries; gather, interpret, and forward to the
institutions national and systemwide information including trends
in education and government programs and regulations;

g. determine detailed policies for the administration of synodical stu-
dent financial aid funds for the system and recommend individual
institutional allocation;

h. provide details for the application of policies regarding personnel
selection and grant prior approval for initial appointments of faculty
and professional staff;

i. approve capital projects on the basis of constituency priorities and
system and institutional needs in accordance with campus property-
management agreements,

j. assist congregations and Districts in recruitment of students for pro-
fessional church work and lay service, and in the development of
student-aid programs;

k. establish criteria for determining institutional viability, fiscal and
otherwise;

1. have authority, after receiving the consent of the Board of Directors
of The Lutheran Church—Missoun Synod by its two-thirds vote
and also the consent of either the Council of Presidents by its two-
thirds vote, or the appropriate Board of Regents by its two-thirds
vote. to expand, consolidate, relocate, or separate an educational
institution from the Synod. In case of the closure of an educational
institution, the Board for Higher Education (serving also as the
Board of Directors of the Concordia University System) shall have
the authority to act with the consent, expressed by a two-thirds
vote, of both the Board of Directors of The Lutheran Church—Mis-
soun Synod and the Council of Presidents;

m. visit colleges and seminaries on a periodic basis to assist in idenu-
fying strengths and weaknesses of the institutions on the basis of
agreed-upon standards and provide support for their growth in ex-
cellence;

n. serve as resource for the development of lists of potential teaching
and administrative personnel.

3.711 Standing Committees
The board shall be assisted by standing committees dealing with
the following areas:
Colloquy for the Pastoral Ministry
Colloquy for the Teaching Ministry
Colloquy for Deaconess Ministry

3.713 Boards of Regents, Presidents, Faculties
Each college, university, and seminary. with its president and
faculty, shall be governed by a Board of Regents as detailed else-
where in these Bylaws.

3.715 Advisory Council
Presidents and acting presidents of the Synod’s educational in-
stitutions shall comprise an advisory council which shail meet at
the call of the Board for Higher Education and report the results of
its studies to the board for consideration in making its decisions.