LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 145

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5. Higher Education
To Revise Bylaw 3.409
re Closure of Colleges and Universities
RESOLUTION 5-01A
Overture 5-08 (CW, p. 207)
Rationale
Prior to 1998 the synodical Handbook stated the following
regarding the closure of educational institutions (3.601 l):
1. [The BHE/CUS Board shall] have authority, after
receiving the consent of two of the three following bodies: the Board of Directors of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod by its two-thirds vote, the Council of
Presidents by its two-thirds vote, or the Board of Regents by its two-thirds vote, to expand, consolidate, relocate, change to a junior-college level, or separate a college from the Synod. In the case of closure, the Board
for Higher Education shall have authority to act with
the consent of the Board of Directors and the Council of
Presidents.

The 1998 convention voted to revise a portion of the
Bylaw and to add the following (1998 Handbook Bylaw
3.409 l):
In the case of the closure of a college, university, or seminary, the approval of a two-thirds majority of the Synod in
convention is also required.
This revision removes an important feature of the responsibility and authority a corporate entity needs or is
privileged to exercise in a situation where some alternative
decisions need to be made based on the policies for financial responsibility and viability, or other valid reasons.
The proposed revision would restore that feature of responsibility and authority for a decision process, based on
the policies of governance as established by the BHE/CUS
Board for the closure of an educational institution (this resolution does not apply to the seminaries).
Resolved, That Bylaw 3.409 l be revised as noted below.

Committee 5 Chairman James Kalthoff

if it be so, the District be given the right of first refusal to
purchase said property; and be it finally
Resolved, That in the event of the closure of an institution of higher learning, the BHE/CUS make a full written
report to the next convention of the Synod explaining the
rationale and necessity of the closure, and in the event of
the sale of the property, a full evaluation of the market
value as provided by an outside auditor.
Action: Declined (6)
(After initial presentation and discussion, the convention
agreed to postpone further discussion for ten minutes to provide
opportunity to the Board for Higher Education to provide additional information regarding the financial condition of the Synod’s
schools. When the question was automatically called after 30 minutes of debate, the resolution was not adopted [yes: 415; no: 669].

PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
1. [The BHE/CUS Board shall] have authority, after
receiving the consent of two of the three following bodies: the Board of Directors of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri 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 twothirds vote, to expand, consolidate, relocate, change to a
junior college level, or separate a college or university
from the Synod. In the case of closure of a college or
university, following dialog with the appropriate Board
of Regents, the Board for Higher Education/Concordia
University System Board, by a two-thirds vote, shall
have authority to act with the consent of the Board of
Directors by its two-thirds vote and the Council of Presidents by its two-thirds vote. In the case of the closure
of a seminary, the approval of a two-thirds majority of
the Synod in convention is also required. In the case of
the closure of a college, university, or seminary, the approval of a two-thirds majority of the Synod in convention is also required.

To Amend Bylaws re Tenure
RESOLUTION 5-02
Overture 5-66 (CW, pp. 227–30)
Rationale
At its 1998 convention, the Synod adopted a resolution
(Res. 5-07) establishing a task force to study and make recommendations to the 2001 convention relative to tenure at
our colleges, universities, and seminaries. These are the
recommendations of that task force.
There is a good deal of discussion today about tenure.
This discussion tends to occur at two levels. The first is the
general public, where the major issues can be defined in
terms of two questions. The first is “Why should tenured
faculty, unlike other workers, be guaranteed lifetime em-

Resolved, That prior to the closing of a synodical institution of higher learning, the geographical District in which
the institution is located be consulted to determine if alternative Lutheran uses of the campus can be established and
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